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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Juan Giner - INNOVATION International Media Consulting Group I got links from the Weekly Standard, Hot Air and Instapundit yesterday - but SDA was running at least equal to those in visitors clicking through to my blog. Jeff Dobbs "You may be a nasty right winger, but you're not nasty all the time!" Warren Kinsella "Go back to collecting your welfare livelihood."Michael E. Zilkowsky Intelliweather Seismic Map Comments Policy Read this Best Of SDA Hide The Decline The Bottle Genie (ClimateGate links) You Might Be A Liberal Uncrossing The Line Bob Fife: Knuckledragger A Modest Proposal (NP) Settled Science Series Y2Kyoto Series SDA: Reader Occupation Survey Brett Lamb Sheltered Workshop Flakes On A Plane All Your Weather Are Belong To Us Song Of The Sled The Raise A Flag Debacle (Now on Youtube!) 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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: 22: 23: % foreach my $c (@categories) { 24: <%perl> 25: my $category_id = $c->get_id(); 26: my @stories = Bric::Biz::Asset::Business::Story->list ( { element_type_id=>1148, category_id=>$category_id , Order=> 'cover_date', publish_status => 't' , OrderDirection=> 'DESC' , Limit=>10 } ); 27: 28: 29: ... code stack: /usr/local/bricolage/data/burn/stage/oc_1027/smetimes/dhandler.html:25 /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm:948 /var/cache/mason/obj/2011159162/main/smetimes/dhandler.html.obj:17 /usr/local/bricolage/data/burn/stage/oc_1027/smetimes/autohandler_template.html:149 Can't call method "get_id" on an undefined value at /usr/local/bricolage/data/burn/stage/oc_1027/smetimes/dhandler.html line 25. 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After an investor backlash against mining veteran Mick Davis, Rio is now scrambling to find a chairman to replace outgoing Jan du Plessis before an end-of-year deadline. Among potential candidates is Simon Thompson, a non-executive director at Rio and chairman of British buyout firm 3i Group, according to a person familiar with the deliberations. Rio had to restart its search after some of its biggest shareholders, including BlackRock and JPMorgan Chase, were unhappy with former Xstrata chief Davis's record on acquisitions and high executive pay, said people familiar with the matter. The campaign culminated in a shareholder letter last week to Rio threatening that the company would face "a very hostile audience" if it moved forward with the pick, according to a copy obtained by Bloomberg. Martin Shkreli, the former hedge fund manager once dubbed the "most hated man in America" after raising the price of a life-saving drug by 5000 per cent, should forfeit more than $US7 million ($8.8 million) in assets after being convicted of lying to investors, US federal prosecutors said on Friday. 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 $US5 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. Shkreli is being held at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn, New York, while awaiting sentencing. The prosecutors' request did not address how much time they believe he should serve. The most serious changes can lead to up to 20 years in prison. The three named heavy metals are cumulative: therefore, the only safe amount of them is zero. Coal burning has little to recommend it. It is a practice of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, and does not belong in the 21st. Douglas Mackenzie, Deakin Correct measure On Sunday, November 26, you ran a report that the ABS had $20 million left over from the same-sex marriage survey. The money would be very well spent if it was used to run a pilot study on measuring a Genuine Progress Indicator [GPI] in addition to the GDP. The GDP measures "diseconomies" like crime and environmental damage but takes no account of volunteering work of all descriptions nor house work etc. Not only does a GPI seek to correct these anomalies but it includes other factors like unemployment, income inequality and land degradation. However there is an even more important role for the GPI. For any nation, if both GDP and GPI are plotted, they at first rise together but at some point the GPI will start to fall away from the GDP. This point is usually at a lower level of income for less developed nations than for developed but in both cases, the experts advise, it indicates the point at which further economic growth is costing more than it delivers growth has become "uneconomic" [Herman Daly]. Dick Varley, Braidwood, NSW Ribbon in a knot The article "What White Ribbon could learn from a series of tweets by police in Scotland" (Sunday Canberra Times, November 26), and one on Saturday which preceded it, gloss over an issue with White Ribbon in that it gives no funds to help the actual victims of domestic violence all is spent on administration and publicity. Indeed, Rosie Battie has criticised it for diverting funds from her own organisation set up in memory of her son, a victim of domestic violence. It is never clear if White Ribbon is campaigning against violence, which has halved in 10 years according to ABS data, domestic violence (where 30 per cent of perpetrators of partner to partner violence are women) or about male violence to women. Originally male victimhood was not even surveyed by ABS but the latest People's Safety Survey shows female to male domestic violence now comprising a third of all partner to partner violence, so when will White Ribbon campaign against that? John Coochey, Chisholm Cosmetic change The government is about to shovel through another set of shonky oil and gas deals. The Australian Petroleum Producers and Explorers Association has welcomed new offshore rules to increase industry transparency ("Rule changes aim to improve offshore oil transparency", November 30, p24). Small wonder! Hidden behind this concerted PR exercise, which would come into effect "too late to impact current projects poised to drill in the Great Australian Bight", is the news in the final paragraph. "The federal government will also explore the potential of Queensland and South Australia's Cooper Basin" for fracking. The changes do not include any improvement to operational transparency, that is production and profit, the critical industry data which establish government revenue. They are essentially cosmetic concessions. Gary J. Wilson, Macgregor Devilish dilemma The self-assured prophet controlling Brindabella "Christian" College insists the devil is the demon preying on our democratic society ("Families question principals turnover", December 1, p1). Which is the greater evil? Tolerating, subsidising, being silently complicit while innocent young minds are frightened and warped by delusional teachers, or requiring those who wear the cloak of religious freedom to substantiate their versions of truth, goodness, right and wrong? Don Burns, Mawson Loose talk costs The old wartime posters with the warning "Loose talk costs lives" may need to be updated given Twitter and the various forms of "social' media', especially for politicians. We have all sent off that email too swiftly and sometimes to the whole office although the worst that could probably happen is the opportunity to find a new job. The concern is what happens when the messages are sent by the world leaders. The passing comment in 1984 by president Ronald Reagan that they had solved the Russian problem "We begin bombing in five minutes" nearly started a nuclear war. The modern version of quick-fire commentary is Donald Trump's Twitter account. The latest controversial tweet seeming to support British right-wing organisations can be considered a poor choice and at least offensive to the British people that he is intending to visit as a "friend". The words of our leaders should inspire and provide a direction for their citizens to follow, so perhaps they should be few, significant and released through official channels. Stop, think, rethink and then speak. Dennis Fitzgerald, Box Hill, Victoria It's sparkly, it's sticky, it spreads everywhere, and it's the bane of clean-up squads at every festival and children's party. But now there are calls from scientists and environmentalists across the globe to ban glitter, because the shimmery particles do not break down and can be digested by animals, making its way into the food chain. Most glitter is made with plastic, and when it drifts into a landfill or down a drain, it can become a microplastic pollutant. Credit:Katherine Griffiths Dr Trisia Farrelly, a senior lecturer and environmental anthropologist at Massey University, told The Independent, "I think all glitter should be banned, because it's microplastic." Microplastics are bits of plastic debris that are less than five millimetres in length with glitter just one of many products that falls into this category. It was the One Nation snorkelling trip meant to prove that the coral bleaching of the Great Barrier Reef was nothing more than a "green lie". Senators Pauline Hanson, Brian Burston and Malcolm Roberts chartered a commercial catamaran and a glass-bottom boat with an entourage of at least 25 staffers and media in tow to inspect a small patch of the reef last November. One Nation Senator Pauline Hanson assesses some coral near Great Keppel Island. Credit:AAP They were pilloried at the time by conservationists who pointed out that the spot they chose Great Keppel Island's Monkey Reef was in an area unscathed by the bleaching that had inflicted widespread destruction further north. Now Fairfax Media can reveal that the cruise was actually an expensive gift that Senator Hanson failed to declare, potentially putting her in breach of parliamentary rules and at risk of being found in contempt of the Senate. Myra has lived in the building since 2008. Credit:Janie Barrett So she stayed put. Now she is the only one left, a blind woman in a hollow building. At night, beyond Myra's door, it's dark and quiet, as still as a crypt. I ask if she gets scared. "Not at all," she says. On the wall of Myra's apartment there is a reproduction of Van Gogh's A Pair of Boots. She bought it more than 30 years ago, to remind her then husband, Nick, about how he made his money. Nick was a cobbler. He was also Greek Cypriot, which is where Myra gets her surname. ("I'm not actually Greek, but everyone thinks I am.") Myra met Nick in 1954, at a ballroom dancing school in Pitt Street, which she visited partly because she loved dancing she did ballet as a kid and partly as a way of meeting men, who likewise came to the lessons as a way of meeting women. Nick was balding, and an inch or two shorter than Myra. He was also 11 years older. (Myra was then 28.) He'd only been in Australia a couple of years, so his English wasn't great. But he made Myra laugh, and he was smart and curious. Together they talked politics: Myra was left-wing, but Nick was a communist, which was taking it a step too far for her liking. Nick was also a "bit naughty", she says. His father, who was a stonemason, had built Nick and his siblings a house each in Cyprus. But Nick had got his maid pregnant, and had to sell his house to pay off her family. That was part of the reason he'd moved to Australia, to make a fresh start. Nick told Myra all about this, but she didn't mind. Nick and Myra met at ballroom dancing lessons, and married in 1955. He was a bit naughty. Sydney Harbour was once, in a very real sense, the muscles of the city. Nowadays, its more like a set of fake teeth, full of shiny new apartments owned by wealth management advisers and boutique bankers. When Myra's mother, Rhoda, found out about the relationship, she went off her brain. There was the religion thing: Myra's family were strict Methodists; Nick was Greek Orthodox. More importantly, though, Nick was not Australian. Indeed, he was from Cyprus. Somewhere along the line, Rhoda remembered Shakespeare's Othello, about a Moorish general who is sent to Cyprus to fight the Turks. By some contorted feat of reality-twisting illogic, she thus concluded that Myra and Nick's children would be black. ("She was very uninformed," Myra says.) Myra's father was fine about the whole thing, but Rhoda remained so viscerally offended that she didn't come to Myra and Nick's wedding in 1955; it would be years before she and Nick finally met. Myra had a daughter, Ruth, in 1956, and a son, Jim, two years later. Then she started bleeding. And bleeding, and bleeding. She discovered she was haemophiliac, and was advised by the doctors to have a hysterectomy. It was very traumatic, not because of the operation, but because of Nick, who walked beside her as she was wheeled into theatre, crying all the way. In 1959, they rented a terrace in Erskine Street, Millers Point, from the Maritime Services Board. Nick's shop was on street level; the bedrooms were upstairs. Myra washed the kids' nappies in an old copper, which she heated on a open fire, using the wooden bricks that once paved the streets and which were being ripped up and replaced with bitumen. Nick's business was good, but not great. Myra, meanwhile, had secretarial skills. And so, just weeks after Jim was born, she went to work, doing publicity at the advertising firm, J. Walter Thompson. She didn't mind the job, that was fine, but she hated leaving Ruth and Jim. "In those days, there was no such thing as daycare," she tells me. "So we had a woman who lived in the suburbs who came and picked the kids up on Monday and brought them back at the end of the week." It was "just awful", she says, smiling a smile that is more like a grimace. "All I could do when I got them back was sit and nurse them and cry." It's easy to forget that Sydney is, or at least was, a port town. It had a working harbour, with shipyards, docks and factories, where people made things with their hands and did lots of heavy lifting. It was, in a very real sense, the muscles of the city. Nowadays, it's more like a set of fake teeth, full of shiny new apartments owned by wealth management advisers and boutique bankers. Myra has seen that change unfold. She has been its living embodiment. Take her dad, Ernest. A fitter and turner. Worked 60 years on the wharves, making parts for ships. During the war, he sometimes worked 24 hours a day. Then, on the weekends in Gladesville, where they were living, he dug the family's air raid shelter, or tried to. "He got three feet down and hit sandstone, and gave up," Myra laughs. When the Japanese midget submarines came into Sydney Harbour in 1942 and the sirens went off, Myra and the family Mum, Dad and her two younger sisters hid under the kitchen table. After the war, Myra went to Miss Hales Secretarial College, in Margaret Street. "I was great at shorthand, terrible at typing." Still, she soon found herself in the typing pool at the Health Department, and, after that, at an engineering firm, Macphersons, which had its factory in Sussex Street. The noise was out of this world: the clak clak clakedy clak of the metal typewriters, and the heavy machinery on the factory floor next door, grinding and growling through the wall behind her. Myra has always felt herself to be close to God. She still talks to Him, through prayer, twice daily. If she'd been born a Catholic, she would have become a nun. Being a Methodist, she became a deaconess. And so, at 22, she left Macphersons and moved into Leigh College, at Enfield in Sydney's inner west, where she studied theology and psychology. "It was a live-in college," she says. "My parents weren't happy about it, because I was too useful at home, looking after my sisters." After graduating, the church sent her first to Menindee, near Broken Hill, where it was so hot she thought she'd catch fire, and then to Crookwell, in the Southern Tablelands, where it was so cold she swore she'd freeze. She took scripture at school, visited the sick, and learnt the pianola from a Catholic nun. She also met a man. He was going to be a minister. They got engaged, but before long it fell apart. "He was too bossy for me," Myra says. Not that it mattered. Soon she was back in Sydney, at a dancing lesson, where she took a spin around the boards with a man named Nick. It all begins in the middle and ends at the beginning. That's how it is with Myra, whose mind is like the road system of an ancient city, with memories laid over memories and cross streets meeting cul-de-sacs, and, here and there, when you least expect it, exit ramps that veer off into long-forgotten suburbs. And, so before I know it, we're back in Erskine Street, in Millers Point, with Nick and the children, and it's the late 1960s. Or the 1970s. The city was changing. Shipping was being redirected to the ports at Botany and Newcastle. When the ferry services that used to terminate at Millers Point were moved around the corner to Circular Quay, Nick's business lost crucial passing trade and started a precipitous decline. Their income fell to the point where they had trouble paying rent to Maritime Services, so the government moved them to a rundown Victorian terrace in Trinity Avenue, a kilometre away. The kids went to Fort Street Public School, down the road. They grew up, got jobs. Became adults. Then one morning, in 1991, Myra woke up and looked across to Nick. His eyes were frozen in terror, and he couldn't talk. He'd had a massive stroke. He was a big man by then: it took several beefy paramedics to get him down the stairs and into the ambulance. Nick lived for another 11 weeks, but was unable to eat or drink. "It was horrible," Myra says. "He just wanted to die. He kept pulling his feeding tubes out." Shortly after Nick died, Myra decided to get a computer. It would be a distraction. For months she read up on IBMs, Hewlett-Packards and what not, then went into the city to buy one. She was in the shop, reading the descriptions on the boxes, but found it difficult to make out the writing. She blinked and focused again, but it wasn't much clearer. Over the coming years, her eyes got worse. Finally she went to the doctor, who told her she had macular degeneration, and that there was no cure. Was she scared? Absolutely. But what could you do? You gotta keep living. So she became the deaconess at the nearby Church of the Holy Trinity, which everybody called the Garrison Church; she volunteered as curator of its military and historical museum. She also became the senior vice-president of the Darling Harbour branch of the NSW Labor Party, where she often speaks about the need for social housing in the city. In time, she had grandchildren, then great-grandchildren: despite the fact she could barely see, she went into the city, now and again, to buy a thing or two for them, shuffling down the teeming pavements; if she got lost, she'd wave down a pedestrian and ask them for directions. At Sirius, where she moved in 2008, she made new friends: they would help her read letters and shop for her. There is a lovely young Iranian man who takes philosophy classes down at the local community centre, every Monday. They discuss the nature of being, the meaning of life, the idea of justice. Sometimes they just gossip. The SOS lights shine from Myras windows, illuminating the residents plight. Just last month, Myra agreed to move to a unit in Pyrmont, as it was the first place she had been offered that she could actually get in to: there are no steps, and no heavy security doors that slam in her face. "They finally got me out!" she says. She will move there in mid-December. Since Kate Middleton's seamless transition into the royal family, her classic style has been envied by women worldwide. If Kate Middleton wore it, you want it. It's a process that has been labelled the Kate Middleton effect, and it's renowned to have pieces selling out in minutes. Following the engagement of Meghan Markle and Prince Harry, the jacket that the soon to be princess wore has sold out online. Say goodbye to the Kate Middleton effect, and hello to the Meghan Markle effect. Demands for rings in the style of Markle's are predicted to skyrocket. Credit:PA While Markle's classic jacket has already sold out, fashion monarchists are now looking to buy engagement rings in a similar style to the starlet's. According to the founder of Cerrone Jewellers, Nic Cerrone, their workshop is in preparation for a high demand for rings in the style of Markle's engagement ring. Jamie Whittaker, photographed at the Newtown Mission Church Mr Whittaker has been visiting since his son Eric died. Credit:Dean Sewell But the family say they are still in the dark about many of the basic facts surrounding his death. A straight story "The family should get a very straight story," said Corrective Services Commissioner Peter Severin, who agreed to speak with The Sun-Herald about the case. Eric Whittaker in Westmead hospital on July 3, 2017, the day before his death, with leg cuffs. Eric Whittaker was arrested on Tuesday, June 27. No stranger to police, he was a drug abuser and homeless when officers charged him with offences including possession of stolen goods, carrying a knife in a public place and failure to appear before court. "Bail was refused, most probably because of his inability to have a place of residence," Mr Severin said. On the evening of Friday, June 30, he was transferred from Surry Hills to Parklea jail in Sydney's north-west. On arrival, he was automatically classified as a maximum-security inmate because Parklea does not conduct security assessments on weekends. About 8am on Sunday, July 2, corrections officers realised something was wrong, they said. Doctors were later told Mr Whittaker had been in an isolation cell, incontinent, agitated and handcuffed, The Sun-Herald understands. "He had trashed his cell," Mr Severin, said. "He was incoherent, he was quite uncontrollable, so that's when medical intervention immediately commences." But the family say they were given different versions of events by hospital staff, police and Corrective Services. Some were told he had collapsed in an exercise yard, others that he fell in his cell. Mr Severin said if the family received different information, "that is very regrettable". Eric Whittaker's aunt Diane Whittaker. Credit:Kate Geraghty 'Doesn't look good' In the infirmary at Parklea jail on the Sunday morning, Mr Whittaker's condition was worsening. He was rushed in an ambulance to Blacktown Hospital at 10.47am, bound hand and foot, under the supervision of two guards. Combative on arrival, his condition then deteriorated further, The Sun-Herald understands. Doctors put a breathing tube down his throat, after which he went into cardiac arrest. A brain scan revealed the aneurysm and bleeding. Corrective Services have declined to say when Mr Whittaker had fallen unconscious, directing medical inquiries to Justice Health. Justice Health referred questions to the Western Sydney Local Health District, which declined to comment, citing privacy laws and the upcoming coronial inquest. On the Sunday evening, the hospital called Mr Whittaker's next of kin, his aunt Natasha Whittaker. "They told me that he is there and it doesn't look good," she said. She immediately began calling family members including Mr Whittaker's father, Jamie. "I just slumped down on the couch, in disbelief," he said. Just before midnight, Mr Whittaker was transferred to the intensive care unit at Westmead. When he arrived he was unresponsive. His hand cuffs were taken off, but, after briefly being removed, his ankle cuffs were left on, the commissioner said. 'The God's honest truth' The next day, the first visitors to arrive were three family members, including his aunt Daisy Fernando, who said she could not feel a pulse. "I'll tell you the God's honest truth, when I walked in, my nephew was dead," Ms Fernando said. He was only being kept alive by machines. One of the family went to check whether he was comfortable. "When I lifted the blanket up I noticed the shackles around his ankles," said the relative, who did not wish to be named. A "big fight" followed. The relative said they "freaked out" and took a photograph of the restraints straight away, before asking the two Corrective Services guards to remove them. "They said this was our orders, we have to do it," the relative said. About 40 minutes or so later the guards called their supervisor and then removed the cuffs. It had been 15 hours since Mr Whittaker arrived unresponsive at Westmead and 28 hours since he first left Parklea. "Bloody appalling, the way they can have a man on his deathbed and still have shackles on him like that," Jamie Whittaker said. "There is no dignity shown towards Aboriginal people when they pass away." Ms Fernando said he was treated "like a mongrel dog". Under security protocols, it's up to the escorting officers to make an assessment regarding the use of restraints in hospitals. Mr Severin said Mr Whittaker's release order "clearly stipulated that he had to be restrained at all times". But he also acknowledged staff had the discretion to remove the cuffs with the approval of supervisors, who are available round the clock. "Unfortunately we have had more incidents of restraints being removed and prisoners doing the wrong thing than we have incidents of situations where again, only with hindsight one can say, OK, maybe we should have removed the restraints earlier," Mr Severin said. A protester marches on NSW Parliament House over Eric Whittaker's death. Credit:Kate Geraghty 'Wrongful and criminal' In addition to the royal commission's recommendation, a 2012 South Australian Ombudsman review found shackles should only be used as a precaution against escape, harm to self or harm to others. Under NSW law, the unjustified use of a restraint is treated as an assault. "I feel so ashamed that this could happen," said Thalia Anthony, an associate professor at University of Technology, Sydney who specialises in Indigenous justice. Ms Anthony said the image of Mr Whittaker on his hospital bed reminded her of 19th century photographs of Aboriginal men in chains. "There needs to be systemic change," Dr Anthony said. "But there also needs to be a message sent that this kind of conduct, this way of treating Aboriginal people as less than human beings is wrongful and criminal." The family's lawyer, Stewart Levitt, who is exploring potential human rights violations and discrimination, said "we need to appoint interstate Special Prosecutors to deal with deaths in custody throughout Australia." Mr Whittaker died in Westmead Hospital at 12.55pm on July 4. The family said they were given 10 minutes with him after they decided to turn the machines off. "It was a life time," Jamie Whittaker said. "It was just silence. Everyone was just standing around rubbing his head." First ever love Mr Whittaker's former partner, Jessica Holman, was living in Queensland when she heard he was ill. Without money for flights, she was trying to find a way to reach Sydney with their children. The pair had separated two years earlier as Mr Whittaker struggled with drugs and alcohol. Ms Holman at one point had taken out an apprehended violence order against him. "He was my first ever love," she said. "He's the father of my children the bond was there. It's just that he had his own personal issues." He died before she could reach Sydney. "I couldn't imagine getting there, if I was able to get there before he did pass, with the children, and seeing their father like that ... It's not okay." Ms Holman and Mr Whittaker's father and mother say they have not been given an account of the events leading up to his death. "It's a horrible thing, the feeling that people are just trying to forget about it," Ms Holman said. The commissioner, Mr Severin, said "I would like to think" all of the information provided to The Sun-Herald had also been provided to the family. Eric Whittaker with his son. 'I want this out' Parklea, a privately run prison operated by the US-owned GEO Group, has been criticised heavily for a series of security breaches this year, including one incident in which an inmate posted a YouTube video of himself with drugs and a weapon. The NSW government renewed GEO Group's contract in October, following a review that led to 35 recommendations for improvement. The company declined to answer questions, citing the upcoming inquest, but extended sympathies to the family. Mr Severin extended his own and said Corrective Services had helped to contribute to the cost of the burial. Murderers still like knives, robbers continue to have a penchant for guns and burglars don't go anywhere without a mask and a pair of gloves. The criminality may remain constant, but the pursuers are acutely aware that crooks are also rapidly changing the way they go about their crimes. State Crime Commander Assistant Commissioner Mal Lanyon says new crime squads mirror changes in how criminals work. Credit:Wolter Peeters And they must follow. The state's biggest band of investigators the 1000 detectives based in squads within the State Crime Command have just gone through rigorous change as senior police look to streamline operations. By PTI: By Lalit K Jha Washington, Dec 2 (PTI) The US wants Pakistan to act in "its best interest" and take action against terror safe havens, Jim Mattis said today, ahead of his first visit to Islamabad as Americas 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. advertisement "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. PTI LKJ MRJ --- ENDS --- advertisement Small bars, or small factories? One inner Sydney council, according to its staff, has put itself in the position where it faces a choice between the two. M&J Chickens in Marrickville owns 19 vans and trucks to run deliveries through the day. Credit:Dean Sewell The issue relates to a 20-hectare area near Sydenham railway station, earmarked by the former Marrickville Council for a "creative hub". But the trouble, according to the staff at amalgamated Inner West Council, is that the area is already a rare successful industrial precinct close to Sydney's central business district. A man has been found at an intersection in Brisbane's east with a gunshot wound to his stomach. Emergency services were called to the junction of Torquay Crescent and Michael Place in Tingalpa about 9.40pm on Friday. Police said a 33-year-old man was standing at the intersection when he was shot, before being taken by ambulance to the Princess Alexandra Hospital in a stable condition. Investigations are ongoing, but detectives have appealed to anyone who may have been in the vicinity of Torquay Crescent or Bognor Street to make contact with Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000. Veteran Ipswich councillor Paul Tully sends an average of five emails a day from his personal email account to council colleagues, in spite of Crime and Corruption Commission warnings of the corruption risks of such behaviour and its effect on transparency. Fairfax Media understands the former deputy mayor's email habits have come up in interviews conducted with council staff by the CCC as part of its continuing investigation into alleged misconduct and corruption at the council, which has so far led to criminal charges against four current and former senior council officials including former mayor Paul Pisasale. Paul Tully outside the Crime and Corruption Commission in April this year. Credit:Chris Hyde Ipswich City Council received 838 emails from Cr Tullys private Gmail account between February 26 and August 10 of this year, representing up to an estimated 3400 pages of documents. The statistics emerged in response to a Right To Information application by Fairfax Media. A State Control Centre spokeswoman said residents were being doorknocked at 10pm on Saturday. Bourke Street on Saturday morning. "They're expecting high tide to affect the Elwood Canal and with steady rain - there's about 10 millimetres an hour - it's looking like that will impact the water there and along that area that's affected by the Elwood Canal," she said. "There has been some doorknocking done to make people aware of what the situation is around the most affected part of the Elwood Canal." Euroa Caravan Park flooded after storms on Saturday. Credit:Liam Mannix Port Phillip mayor Bernadene Voss said on Saturday night that the council was ready to help if people needed to evacuate. The Elwood Canal will reach high tide at 2.58am. Heavy rainfall is causing localised flash flooding, with a minor flood level of 2.1 metres likely to be reached. Standish Street, Myrtleford was closed after flooding. Credit:Mark Jesser Between 20 millimetres and 50 millimetres were predicted to bucket down on the city over Saturday night. After a day of light drizzle on Saturday, "a significant band of rainfall" hit Melbourne around 5pm. Within 20 minutes of the latest band of rain sweeping across the city, flooding was reported in Brighton East, Yallambie and Thornbury, trees were down in Hawthorn, Yarraville and Wantirna, and building damage was reported in Northcote, Ringwood, Brunswick and Greensborough. A landslip closed Lower Heidelberg Road at Eaglemont on Saturday, from Carlsberg Road to Burke Road, with local traffic access only. Drivers were being advised to take Bulleen Road or Upper Heidelberg Road instead. Two middle lanes eastbound on the Maroondah Highway before EastLink at Ringwood were also closed due to road damage from a burst water main. It is expected to be closed until Monday morning. Rain radar, December 2 How it fell On Saturday, Melbourne had the coolest day for December since 2013 with a top of just 16.4 degrees at 2.16pm and a low of 13 degrees. Mr Williams said the state had experienced record-breaking rainfall, with some areas in the north and north-east reaching rainfall up to 200mm. Rainfall reached 123mm by Saturday morning in Echuca, 223km north of Melbourne, breaking a 159-year record. In Euroa, 164mm north-east of Melbourne, rainfall reached 146mm, breaking a 132-year record. Officials urged residents in the township, as well as further east in Myrtleford, to consider evacuating. A one-off payment of up to $540 per adult and $270 per child, capped at $1890 per household, is available to those forced to leave their homes because of the floods. Applications for financial assistance can be made at the relief centres for up to seven days after the event, the state government said on its emergency website. In Eildon, 139 kilometres north-east of Melbourne, rainfall reached 149mm, breaking 131-year record. "Others at Strathbogie, Stanhope ... all setting new daily records, certainly for some parts of the state that is fairly exceptional," Mr Williams said. "The event is not quite over, and we always watch out for these events for what we sometimes call here at the weather bureau the 'sting in the tail' before the low finally moves away. We've still got quite a bit more rain from the north-east, there's a lot of thunderstorm activity and heavy rain in NSW and some of that will still spill into the north-east." The residents of Wangaratta and Benalla are watching the King and Ovens Rivers nervously as the rainfall that was dumped in the Apline region swells catchments and flows downstream over the next day towards the towns. Flood warnings have also been issued for Broken River between Benalla and Shepparton. VicEmergency is warning that local roads in Benalla may be closed or flooded. Rowville residents near the Dandenong Creek, those near Murray River, upstream of Lake Hume, Harris Lane and Wallace Drive area in the Buckland Valley near Porepunkah and Macalister River upstream of Lake Glenmaggie had all been issued a flood warning on Saturday evening. There was no flooding during the day in Melbourne, despite the serious warnings prompting officials to cancel major events, businesses to prepare for major flooding, and even workers to leave the city early on Friday upon the urging of the state's premier. However, there was the risk of flash flooding Saturday night. A number of vehicles became stuck in flood waters across the state including an elderly couple who were rescued by a farmer. A Victorian SES spokeswoman said the incident happened late on Friday afternoon close to Seymour in Central Victoria. Emergency crew were on their way, but a farmer on his tractor managed to rescue the couple in their 70s. In another incident, two vehicles became trapped in floodwater about 6.45am on Saturday in Cathkin in the north-east of the state. The two people in the car managed to get out, but the vehicle remains trapped. Two vehicles became trapped in floodwater at 9am on Saturday on the Goulbourn Valley Highway in Molesworth in the north-east. No one is reported injured and there were no reports of a rescue. Ambulance Victoria spokesman John Mullen said they received a call out about 5am onSaturday morning about a sinking vehicle on the Hume Freeway, Balmattum in the north-east. "In a funny way, I mean the Female Eunuch was lucky because it was written at the right time. How many publishers would do it again? You know, they assumed feminism was a fashion and that it would be over." Germaine Greer is reflecting on the role luck, self-belief and boredom have played in building her success as an internationally recognised feminist, writer and academic. Germaine Greer spoke to The Thread. Credit:The THREAD Greer spoke to The Thread, a Kickstarter-funded documentary project that seeks to "learn what connects different Aussie icons who broke away from the pack," such as businessman Alan Bond and burns specialist Dr Fiona Wood. Created by two university mates, former AFL player with Port Adelaide Hugh Minson and journalist Jack Morphet, the pair spoke to Greer at Melbourne University, and began by asking her why she chose an academic career at a time when women's career options were narrow. Thousands of Australians stranded in Bali have faced another setback as several flights were cancelled on Saturday due to a threat from volcanic ash. Jetstar and Qantas were still operating seven flights out of Bali during the day, but said flying conditions at Denpasar Airport were forecast to deteriorate at night because of the erupting Mount Agung volcano. Clouds of ash from the Mount Agung volcano in Bali Credit:AP Seven flights were cancelled on Saturday including the JQ36 to Melbourne. Jetstar spokeswoman Kate Millar said about 2000 Australians were still in Bali. Washington: Carl Portman remembers watching, heartbroken, from Anchorage in 2005 as a US Senate effort to allow drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge lost by two votes. Now, 12 years later, another effort to open up the reserve to oil and gas drilling is working its way through Congress. And this time, the political winds have shifted. Portman, now a top official of a pro-drilling group, has seen oil revenue improve the schools, roads and hospitals in Alaska, his home state. He said he was cautiously optimistic about the drilling measure, which is included in a sweeping bill to overhaul the tax code. Environmental activists and their allies in Congress, on the other hand, are on the cusp of forever losing the decades-long political battle over the refuge. "It is critically important and I don't think anybody knows it is stuck in a tax bill," said senator Maria Cantwell, the Washington Democrat who led the 2005 fight against drilling in the refuge. "It's been around for thousands of years, and for no good reason we're going to change it? Is there no such thing as a special place?'' Ottawa: Simon Thwaites was a master seaman analysing radio signals and surveillance in a secret branch of Canada's navy in the 1980s when he was summoned by investigative officers. Strapped to a lie detector in an interrogation room, he was asked by two officers if medical records showing that he had contracted HIV meant that he was gay. Thwaites confirmed that this was the case, and not long afterward his security clearance was revoked and he was assigned to work as a janitor. Eventually Thwaites was forced out of the military on a medical release without benefits, lost his house and filed for bankruptcy. "We were treated like something was wrong with us, but none of us did nothing wrong," Thwaites said from his home in Truro, Nova Scotia. "We did our jobs and we did our jobs well. It kind of undermines your sense of self." This week, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau formally apologised to Thwaites and thousands of other members of the military, the public service and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police who faced discrimination, lost their jobs and, in some cases, were imprisoned because of their sexual orientation. Some of the victims are believed to have killed themselves after their careers were ruined. Flynn was the highest-ranking current or former White House official to be convicted of a crime since two national security advisers to President Ronald Reagan -- John M. Poindexter and Robert McFarlane -- were found guilty during the Iran-Contra scandal. Poindexter's conviction was later reversed on appeal and McFarlane was pardoned by President George H.W. Bush. Almost everyone in Washington, it seemed, had expected an indictment of Flynn and the possibility that he was cooperating with prosecutors was telegraphed last week with the news that his defence lawyers had cut off contact with Trump's lawyers. And yet the announcement Friday still hit the White House like a thunderclap. The president's legal team had no warning. His chief of staff, John F. Kelly, learned about it from television. He called Trump, who was still in the residence part of the White House, to let him know he would be hearing about a Flynn plea deal soon. The president's reaction, according to one adviser, was that Flynn "is in a lot of trouble." Whether that fear turned into something more immediate about himself or his family, Trump did not vocalise it, the adviser said. His staff urged him to stay off Twitter and, for the most part, he complied. The president had a cordial, if at times awkward, lunch with Secretary of State Rex W. Tillerson, and then used Twitter to deny any plans to fire him. In the afternoon, Trump stopped by a White House Christmas party for reporters but stayed less than five minutes. The president's optimistic outlook last weekend was fuelled by his White House lawyer, Ty Cobb, who has consistently assured him that the investigation by Mueller would most likely conclude by the end of the year. Cobb has successfully persuaded Trump for the most part to curb his combative instincts and work in the parameters of Mueller's investigation, turning over requested documents and avoiding incendiary attacks on the prosecutor. But Trump has been slipping free of Kelly's restrictions for several weeks, speaking with old friends by telephone during his Mar-a-Lago trip and becoming incensed all over again about the Russia inquiry. Friends said he was particularly excitable in his phone calls in the days leading up to Flynn's guilty plea, a mood that seemed reflected by a week of lashing out on Twitter at various targets other than the investigators. Aides insist that Trump is not consumed with the Russia inquiry more than he has been at other times. Yet he has been leaning on Cobb, constantly summoning him to the residence and dialling another lawyer on his team, Jay Sekulow, for consultations, people briefed on the discussions said. The White House made a point of playing down any appearance of concern Friday. A statement issued by Cobb diminished Flynn's importance by noting that he served as national security adviser for only 24 days before being fired for misleading Vice President Mike Pence and others about the details of his conversation with a Russian ambassador. The statement also sought to distance the president from his former aide by calling Flynn a "former Obama administration official," which was not exactly the full story. During President Barack Obama's administration, Flynn was an active-duty lieutenant general who was promoted to direct the Defense Intelligence Agency, but he was not a political associate of the president and Obama fired him. Los Angeles: Michael Flynn had a reputation as a maverick and rule breaker years before he joined US President Donald Trump in the White House, including being investigated for inappropriately sharing highly-classified intelligence with Australian forces. The retired US three-star lieutenant general became the biggest scalp of special counsel Robert Mueller's deepening probe into ties between the Trump campaign and Russian government officials on Friday when he entered a guilty plea to lying to the FBI about communications he had with Russian ambassador, Sergey Kislyak. Flynn was considered one of the great minds in the US military intelligence community and during his decorated 33-year career worked alongside Australian forces in Afghanistan and Iraq. Some detractors believed he worked too closely with allies. By PTI: New Delhi, Dec 2 (PTI) The water level in 91 major reservoirs across the country has gone down to 62 per cent of their total storage capacity from 64 per cent last week, according to an official statement. As of November 23, the water storage in the reservoirs was 101.77 billion cubic metres (BCM). It has now decreased to 98.578 BCM for the week ending November 30. advertisement The latest water levels in the reservoirs are 96 per cent of the storage reported during the corresponding period last year, the Union water resources ministry said in the statement. The water stock is 95 per cent of the decadal average, the statement added. The reservoirs in states such as Punjab, Rajasthan, Jharkhand, Odisha, Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Telangana have reported lesser storage level than last year. Major dams in Himachal Pradesh, West Bengal, Tripura, Maharashtra, Uttarakhand, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu have reported better storage level vis-a-vis the corresponding period last year. The total storage capacity of the 91 reservoirs is 157.799 BCM which is about 62 per cent of the total storage capacity of 253.388 BCM, which is estimated to have been created in the country. Thirty-seven of these reservoirs have hydropower benefit with installed capacity of more than 60 MW. PTI ENM SMN --- ENDS --- WILLEMSTAD, Curacao:--- The three Inspector Generals of the Public Health for Curacao, Aruba, and Sint Maarten signed a Covenant of Collaboration on November 30, 2017. In this document, the three Inspectors will support each other in terms of exchanging manpower, information and collaborate on relevant projects. This cooperation agreement is a logical follow-up to the 'Memorandum of Understanding' which was signed last July by the Ministers of Public Health of the three countries. The signing of the covenant happened at the end of the first very successful work conference between employees of the three inspectorates. This has laid the foundation for strengthening the supervision and enforcement functions in the three Caribbean countries of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. This will go to expected soon to be followed with the formal (re) recording of the cooperative relationship with the Health Care Inspectorate (IGZ) of the European Netherlands. Press Release from the Inspectorate of Health of Curacao Most of my friends think I dont eat fish. The truth is I am so fussy about fish that I rarely order it at a restaurant and forgo it elsewhere unless I buy and make it myself. I am especially picky about shrimp, which is how I first discovered La Pescaderia a year ago when it was a seafood market called Fish Tales. It was one of the few places where I bought things with fins and other ocean dwellers. On a recent trip to New Canaan to buy a pound of my favorite cooked shrimp, I gasped when I saw that Fish Tales was now La Pescaderia Fish Market & Arepa. As I grasped the steering wheel, I imagined long months and years without my shrimp. I went inside to see if by any chance the plump pink crescent shaped beauties had survived the transition. They had. The fabled shrimp and all the other wonderful offerings I always bought are still here: the over-stuffed clams, the superbly made chowders and the glistening hunks of ready-to-cook fresh fish remain. More Living La Pescaderia rebrands to offer arepas, tacos and fresh fish Best of all was seeing owner-chef Rafael Marin behind the counter. This is the man in charge of everything served here. La Pescaderia is Fish Tales reborn. Marin moved to Connecticut in 1988 from a small fishing village in Venezuela. He knew all about fish and after running a wonderful and successful fish store decided to expand the little place into a casual Venezuelan-style eatery. The star of the show are arepas. Arepas are the cornerstone of Venezuelan food. They are as old as the history of that country, going back to the pre-Columbian age. Like many indigenous foods from that period (tortillas are an example), it is basically a dough cooked on a hot stone. Modern Venezuelans use more up-to-date methods than a rock, but the result is still the same, producing thick hamburger-sized buns made of corn flour. The discs of dough are stuffed with myriad fillings: shredded beef, roast pork, black beans and cheese, swordfish and shrimp, to name a few. Fresh Fish cone enjoy our delicious new menu items including our arepas, quickly becoming a favorite! A post shared by La Pescaderia (@lapescaderiancanaan) on Jul 19, 2017 at 5:10am PDT Arepas are a classic street food. Often sold from outdoor carts and at the beach, they are quite unique, tasting nothing at all like cornbread, tortillas or any cognates. I ordered the shredded beef and roast pork arepas. They were very filling and could make a good one-shot meal, but as I was not on the run I wanted to try some of La Pescaderias other foods. More Information La Pescaderia 53 East Ave., New Canaan See More Collapse I ordered a rice bowl. Here is the way a rice bowl works at La Pescaderia. First you select white or brown rice, then decide on the filling. I chose my favorite shrimp, but as with the arepas, you can get either roast pork, chicken, salmon, cod or lobster. On top of the filling I asked for a ladle full of sweet plaintains that had been carmelized through long, slow cooking. I asked for other toppings, as well: spicy pico de gallo, corn salsa, a tab of guacamole, black beans and shredded cheese. This was a Super Bowl, but only a grouch could resist all the options. If you want a more elaborate full meal, commandeer one of the small tables and place an order. Top of the list is the seafood paella, a glorious mash-up of shrimp, scallops, calamari, mussels and chorizo sausage cooked in a savory yellow saffron rice. At $25 it is a splurge, but considering what you get, it is also a bargain. The dish contains top-of-the-line seafood cooked by a chef who knows what he is doing. At a fancy restaurant the paella would be twice the price and half as good. One surprise was a new item Marin told me about: chili. First, I thought this was wildly out of place at a fish market, then I remembered Marin had spent three years cooking at the brilliant South West Cafe in Ridgefield, a longtime favorite for those of us who treasure Mexican food many steps up from Taco Bell. Jane Stern / For Hearst Media Group I ordered the chili, asked for it topped with cheese and sour cream, and it exceeded my expectations. It was really remarkable for its intense beefy flavor, with a balance of chili pepper, cumin and a nice cinnabar color. With no shortage of chili served at local restaurants, I would vote this one a top choice. Enter it in any chili contest and it would blow away the competition. One rather sad note I must mention is the dire situation in Venezuela. If you follow the news, you must know that this once beautiful country has fallen into a dark pit of poverty, political unrest and desperation. I have heard the lack of food available to the people is at famine level, and the notion of dining there on arepas is at the moment a far-off dream for most of the population. Please enjoy the fact that Connecticut is home to many fine people who came here from Venezuela, and brought with them the best of their culture. La Pescaderia is a delicious example. Jane Stern, a Ridgefield resident, coauthored the popular Roadfood guidebook series with Michael Stern. Join her each week as she travels Fairfield County finding a great meal in unexpected places for $20 or less. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate STAMFORD Workers at the Hilton Stamford who are set to decide Monday whether they will become the citys first unionized hotel say they expect to succeed despite the efforts of managers wearing Vote No buttons and a company that specializes in blocking organized labor, including at Trump hotels. About 125 housekeepers, bellmen, cooks, dishwashers, servers and other workers at the 484-room Hilton on First Stamford Place say their wages are so low and health-insurance costs so high that, in weeks when they arent assigned enough hours, they have to pay the hotel instead of the company paying them. Family health insurance costs $230 a week. Sometimes, after that comes out, they take home a negative paycheck, said Donald Jean-Marie, who is helping organize Hilton Stamford workers for UNITE HERE Local 217. Banquet server Lupe Martinez, of Stamford, said shes worked at the Hilton Stamford for 18 years and earns only $7.80 an hour. They said I cant get a raise because I reached my maximum, Martinez said. They said its because I get tips. Housekeepers who have worked at the hotel for 30 years earn only $13 an hour, workers said. We need a union. They treat us like horses, said Remy Leconte, of Stamford, a driver for the hotel. They dont respect people. Jean-Marie said working conditions worsened after Hilton hired Atrium Hospitality, a Georgia-based hotel-management company, in 2015. The employees used to get holiday pay. No more. They used to get raises. No more, said Jean-Marie, the Local 217 shop steward at the Hyatt Regency Hotel in Greenwich, where workers formed a union more than two years ago. They used to get enough hours, but now the company brings in outside contractors and some of the hotel employees work only two or three days a week. Full-time workloads have become unreasonable, Jean-Marie said. Housekeepers clean 35 rooms on average in an eight-hour shift, he said, though sometimes its 39. To do it, housekeepers arrive at work an hour before they clock in so they can load their cleaning carts, he said. If they dont, they wont have enough time to finish all the rooms. Sometimes they are yelled at, or they are timed. Its very disrespectful, said Jean-Marie, who emigrated from Haiti in 2008. Housekeeping is the biggest department and most of the people are Haitian women. Some of their stories bring tears to my eyes because these housekeeping ladies could be my mom, who worked as a housekeeper in a hotel in Miami. Most Hilton Stamford employees earn about $20,000 a year and have second, and third, jobs at other hotels, at Walmart, or cleaning office buildings, Jean-Marie said. His life improved after the Greenwich Hyatt organized, Jean-Marie said. I want other people to get the same chance, he said. Hilton General Manager Robert Langevin and Jacinta Carter, vice president of human relations for Atrium Hospitality, did not return calls for comment. However, Langevin and Carter met with workers and elected city and state officials who assembled at the hotel Friday to address what they described as unlawful intimidation tactics as voting day approaches. Workers wore buttons reading UNITE HERE. Managers wore buttons reading Vote No. City Rep. Anabel Figueroa, D-8, asked about meetings managers have been calling with employees. We are hearing reports of intimidation. What is happening at these meetings? Figueroa asked. It has not been brought to my attention that anyone was feeling intimidated, Carter said. If they are, I need to know so I can address it appropriately. Langevin said management may speak with employees. We are trying to educate, not intimidate, Langevin said. They have the right to lodge their campaign but we have the right to present the facts. Irwin Martinez, of Stamford, a cook, said meetings are intimidating because workers are called in alone or in pairs to talk with multiple managers. They say to us, the union is not good for you because the union will charge you money, he said. They promise things will change. But they have never said that before. Jean-Marie said the hotel has hired Cruz & Associates, a union-avoidance company from California. It is the same company that Donald Trump and his partner, Phil Ruffin, hired last year, before Trump became president, to stop workers at the Trump International Hotel in Las Vegas from unionizing. Trump and Ruffin paid the company $560,000, according to published reports, but it was not successful in defeating the workers, who earned $3 an hour less than those at other Las Vegas hotels. UNITE HERE is in the middle of a push to organize hospitality-industry employees in the United States and Canada. The union, formed in 2004 with the merger of the Union of Needletrades, Industrial and Textile Employees UNITE and the Hotel Employees and Restaurant Employees Union HERE has about 300,000 members, according to its website. State Rep. William Tong, D-Stamford, said he met with Hilton managers in support of the workers because he hears often about labor abuses. The workers fight is personal for me, said Tong, whose parents were Chinese immigrants. My parents came here with nothing, but they had the opportunity to work really hard seven days a week, and they were able to make it, said Tong, an attorney. Because of that, I had tremendous opportunities. People need some breathing room if they are going to succeed. Its not a fair fight if they are drowning from the get-go in negative paychecks or in this reported bullying and intimidation. City Rep. Denis Patterson, D-6, said he came out in support of the workers because hes gotten to know them as a justice of the peace. I see firsthand the difficult lives of some of these workers and have a tremendous respect for the hard work and sacrifice they make to keep their families together, Patterson said. Several of these employees live in my district and I am here to support their right to learn about unions and to make informed and free decisions about what options they may chose for their own future. acarella@stamfordadvocate.com. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate HARTFORD - The state Supreme Court, in a case that has been closely followed by lawyers, prosecutors and advocates, ruled Friday that crime victims have no right to participate directly in plea-bargaining discussions. The ruling comes out of a Bridgeport case in which a judge barred the lawyer for a teenager, who claims he was sexually assaulted by a Stratford teachers aide, from attending a pretrial conference in the case. In-chambers, off-the-record disposition conferences between the prosecuting attorney, defense counsel and the presiding judge are not court proceedings the accused has the right to attend under (the state constitution) consequently neither the victim nor his authorized representative has a right to attend them either, the justices ruled. This certainly makes things less transparent for the victims, said James Clarke, of the Victims Rights Center of Connecticut. There is a lot of impact the victim does not get in the case because their lawyers cannot be present in that room. Kyle Damato-Kushel, a former teacher's aide at Wooster Middle School in Stratford, is awaiting trial in Superior Court in Bridgeport charged with having a sexual relationship with a 15-year-old boy, beginning when she had been the boy's preschool teacher. She also is accused of molesting the boy's 16-year-old friend. Damato-Kushels lawyer, Richard Meehan, said the Supreme Courts decision is important not only for the states defense bar but also for prosecutors because it clarifies the law regarding the purposes of pretrial discussions. Victims right are important but this is an important decision for the orderly process of plea resolution, Meehan said. Under the state's decades-old practice, criminal defense lawyers meet privately with prosecutors and judges sometimes on numerous occasions to discuss possible plea bargains in cases. The discussions are kept private. Defense lawyers were concerned that having either the victim or their lawyer present could have a negative affect on the plea bargain discussions. Clarke, a former New Haven prosecutor, represents the 15-year-old boy. He filed a motion early in the case to be present during any plea bargain negotiations in the case. Superior Court Judge Robert Devlin, the state's chief criminal administrative judge, denied Clarke's motion to be present at the discussions in the Damato-Kushel case. "The confidential nature of these discussions is a key component to their efficacy," the judge ruled. "This is why neither defendants nor victims have a right to attend them. Moreover, the state has an obligation to keep the victim advised of the progress of the case and any potential disposition that may be the result of the plea negotiation process." Clarke had argued that Bridgeport State's Attorney John Smriga does a good job speaking to victims and keeping them up to date on the proceedings following the plea bargaining sessions. "But he can't possibly know as much about my victim and what he wants as I know. We aren't claiming we have a right to go in there (plea bargain meetings) and say anything -- we just claim we have the right to be there," Clarke said. "I can't properly advise my client on how to properly exercise his constitutional right to comment at sentencing if I don't know what went on." Last week, the New Orleans Tribune, a venerable news magazine of the New Orleans African-American community, published a devastating editorial about the fallacy of New Orleans school reform. After Hurricane Katrina, education reformers swooped in to transform New Orleans into an all-charter school district, operated by host of different charter companies. These reformers promised to improve New Orleans schools by enhancing autonomy and choice. In the years that followed, pro-charter groups and pundits proclaimed the miraculous improvements in New Orleans schools. Nina Rees declared in U.S. News & World Report that the results were nothing short of amazing. Jonathan Chait called them spectacular. Then-Secretary of Education Arne Duncan declared that Katrina was the best thing that happened to the education system in New Orleans. Reformers across the country pushed to replicate the New Orleans model of state takeover and school privatization. Michigan established the Educational Achievement Authority, Tennessee, the Achievement School District. States closed struggling schools and opened charters in Chicago, Philadelphia and beyond. Even here in Connecticut the charter lobby ConnCAN featured New Orleans as a model for school turnaround, claiming that New Orleans miracle dramatically improved performance, particularly for African-American students. The problem with this miracle, as the Tribune notes, is that it was a lie. The improvements were the result of manipulated cut scores and a lack of oversight. The state raised the bar to make New Orleans schools fail and thus be susceptible to state takeover, then lowered the bar to disguise charter school failures allow charter operators to retain control. Louisiana was castigated by the legislative auditor for relying on unverified self-reported data to renew charters, and for failing to ensure charters have fair admissions policies. The auditor also slammed New Orleans charters for financial improprieties. The tragic story of New Orleans is the story of the past 20 years of American school reform: some arbitrary determination (of school failure) that fits the end goal of those wielding power and influence no matter the impact on our communities. The impact was severe. Parents are forced to navigate a complex admissions maze where the schools are the ones exercising choice and to send their children to schools far from their neighborhoods. Charters have astronomical suspension and expulsion rates. They also exclude students, especially students with disabilities. Families have nowhere to bring complaints, as each charter operates as its own district, with its own unelected board. Veteran teachers of color were fired en masse, decimating the citys black middle class. They were replaced by inexperienced recent college graduates from Teach for America. The Tribune editorial notes that 12 years after our schools were hijacked ... many of them are performing just as poorly as they were before they were stolen. Seventy-nine percent of schools are either failing, have failed or are only providing mediocre results. Research reveals that the achievement gap between African-American and white students has widened. A handful of schools did well during this period. But, as the editorial points out, there were always a handful of schools, with selective admissions, that did well in the city. The reform enabled even more selective admissions, perpetuating the segregation that existed prior to Katrina. In fact, the reform increased segregation in high school, particularly for African-American, Latino, low-income students and English Language Learners. (W)e refuse to get excited about a few schools doing well because these schools can only serve a fraction of the public school students in New Orleans, the Tribune asserts. This observation gets to the heart of the myths of New Orleans reform and charter schools as the saviors of American education. Charter advocates peddle the notion that charter expansion advances civil rights, improving equity and quality in public education. If that were true, an all-charter district should have improved results for all children. New Orleans was that laboratory, using the citys children as guinea pigs. Yet its results show just the opposite. The most vulnerable children in New Orleans fared the worst, and poor parents and parents of color were disempowered. This all-charter district increased inequity without improving education. And its failure was replicated across the country in Detroit, in Tennessee and elsewhere. Incredibly, the failed New Orleans reforms are still being pushed on poor communities. Karran Harper Royal, a New Orleans parent and longtime public school activist quoted Frederick Douglass in describing her efforts on behalf of public school students and parents: Power concedes nothing without a demand. It is time for disenfranchised communities to speak out like the Tribune and start demanding. Wendy Lecker is a columnist for the Hearst Connecticut Media Group and is senior attorney at the Education Law Center. According to the victim, a man groped her, unzipped his pants, and masturbated in front of her near Connaught Place. By Munish Chandra Pandey: In a horrific incident, a 32-year-old professor was molested in Connaught Place, the heart of the national Capital, on Thursday afternoon. According to the victim, she had gone to the terrace of the building when the incident took place. The accused, who is yet to be arrested, also snatched her phone before fleeing the spot. "During my break at 1.30 pm, I went to the terrace of the building and was talking on phone. I realised that a man in his mid 20s followed me to the terrace. He was constantly staring at me while I pretended to be on the phone. Then I asked him whether there was a problem, he said there wasn't but did not leave. Then he suddenly came in front of me and pointed at my breasts. Suddenly, he unzipped his pants, pulled out his penis, and started touching himself," the complainant told India Today. advertisement When the woman attempted to run past him, the accused grabbed her and groped her. "I made another attempt to run out from there and somehow managed to reach the door of the terrace but the molester had bolted it while coming up. I pushed him against the door. He then snatched the mobile phone, jumped on to an adjacent terrace, and fled," added the woman. I was on a break on the terrace, when a man started pacing in front of me, he then groped me, when I tried running away I noticed the terrace gate was bolted, he then grabbed my hand and started touching himself, I shouted after which he ran away: Victim #Delhi pic.twitter.com/ySoIio6X9a- ANI (@ANI) December 2, 2017 After listening to her screams, few people from the building gathered at the spot, however the accused had fled. A CCTV camera installed in the building has captured the man following the victim but his face was hidden under hoodie. The professor has lodged an FIR under sections 354 (criminal force to woman with intent to outrage her modesty), 342 (wrongful confinement), 356 (theft), and 379 (punishment for theft) of Indian Penal Code at the Connaught Place police station. The victim recorded her statement in front of the magistrate under Section 164 of the CrPC on Friday. The accuse is still on run. VIDEO | Kerala: Man's attempt to molest woman caught on camera --- ENDS --- For those wary of in-person transactions with buyers and sellers of online items, several police departments have designated safe meeting areas. And theyre full of cops. Bridgeport, Orange and Hartford police departments are among those providing meeting spots this holiday season for those using Craigslist or similar sites. Police stations are open around the clock, well-lighted and under video surveillance. Bridgeport Police Chief Armando Perez said online shopping can be tricky. These criminals will offer something that is too good to be true and they will mislead victims to meet in an unfamiliar, dark place, Perez said. Unknown to the victim, there will be someone else lying wait. We are offering the front of our headquarters as a safe, convenient alternative. There has been a rise in crime against people using Craigslist, OfferUp, Letgo and other sites where individuals can buy and sell items, said Sgt. Joseph Szor of the Bridgeport Police Robbery and Burglary Division. Bridgeport police said criminals whether theyre the buyer or seller will sometimes assault the victim and leave the scene with the stolen goods or money. Deputy Chief Max Martins of the Orange Police Department said the holiday season felt like an appropriate time to offer a safe the designated meeting spot. The key to this is that people were already using our parking lot, unofficially, Martins said. (Now) people who hadnt had that same idea can use it and can feel safe. And the idea has caught on with other police departments. According to OfferUp, over 1,000 similar sites have been set up around the country by law enforcement agencies. About 20 Connecticut municipalities that have formally designated spots. Hartford police may have been one of the first to appoint an internet safe zone in Feb. 2015. We had a homicide, said Hartford Police spokesman Brian Foley. A Craigslist homicide, over some computers. The victim in that case, 40-year-old Felix DeJesus, of Cromwell, was shot dead in 2013 by a man who responded to his ad. After two men were convicted in the murder, Foleys boss floated the idea of a safe zone. I told the chief he was crazy, Foley said. Luckily, Im wrong a lot of the time. Foley said the department realized the internet safe zone would be similar to something it already had a child pick-up and drop-off location provided for parents with custody arrangements. Two years after they put up their sign, Hartford police said they see exchanges about twice a day, as internet strangers buy everything from digital gadgets to motorcycles. Were always looking for opportunities to bring in the public, Foley said, pointing to a 24-hour drug disposal box and other department services. Internet-transaction robberies continue to happen at non-secure locations. And online markets have only grown as competitors take on Craigslist. OfferUp is the largest problem we have right now, Foley said. But theyre working with us. In an email, OfferUp said it works with thousands of police departments. (O)ur dedicated Trust & Safety team is monitoring for incidents 24 hours a day and proactively engages with PD to provide as much information as we can regarding the users in the reported incident, said OfferUp spokesman Jerry Howe. OfferUp donated the Meetup Spot internet exchange area sign to the Orange Police Department. We know that trust is the most valuable commodity in any marketplace, and what sets OfferUp apart has been our willingness to tackle the issue of trust since day one, Howe said. We work with them to set up Community MeetUp Spots that must be well-lit and surveilled, by providing them with a sign, verifying the location, and then surfacing that location in the OfferUp app for our users. LYMAN In early August, a golden eagle preyed on the wrong snake. She was bitten during the attempt, possibly by a rattlesnake. For many birds, the encounter would have been fatal. But a few days later she was found by a Nebraska Game and Parks wildlife conservation technician in the Montz Point Ranch area west of Scottsbluff, weak and barely able to fly. That began an odyssey that took the big raptor across the state and concluded with a ride back with a well-known Nebraska photographer and the eagles subsequent release Friday into the rugged hills where she was rescued. Lori Reeh of Alliance, a volunteer with the Fontenelle Forest Raptor Recovery Program, initially cared for the bird until it could be transferred to a veterinary facility in Elmwood, run for more than 40 years by Betsy Finch. She got weak and couldnt hunt, Reeh said. We cared for her overnight and found her a ride to Elmwood. When we pick up a bird, we call Betsy immediately. The bird became one of 500 to 600 raptors rescued each year by the non-profit program, which formed a partnership several years ago with the Fontenelle Forest conservation organization, located along the Missouri River near Bellevue. It relies on a network of volunteers across the state, who are trained and hold permits to transport the wild birds. Finch nurses the birds back to health, and if they recover sufficiently theyre banded and released back into the wild. Others are held for wildlife or educational programs. We think it was bitten by a snake. We found a puncture wound on her foot, Finch said. She was very thin at the time. The birds leg was swollen, but not broken. She was treated with topical antiseptics and antibiotics to help heal the wound. From there, recovery was a matter of daily feeding and regaining strength and weight. All we had to do was put some food in front of her and she was good, Finch said. Recovering birds are placed into a series of pens than allow them greater freedom to fly during the weeks that they regain strength. We have an eagle flight pen thats 120 feet long, she said. Finch has been running the recovery center, which started as a branch of the Audubon Society and has since worked closely with Game and Parks for 41 years. Its the only organization in Nebraska holding state and federal permits to rehabilitate injured or orphaned raptors, which include eagles, hawks, ospreys, falcons, owls, vultures and similar birds of prey. When I started this, I had no idea this would be my lifes work, she said. The center relies on donations, and the partnership with Fontenelle Forest brought the recovery center greater financial stability. The bird rehabilitation and education unit is now known as Fontenelle Forests Raptor Recovery. Fontenelle Forest has been around for more than a century and consists of nearly 2,000 acres of forest, prairie and wetlands along the Missouri River. It gets about 90,000 visitors a year. Some birds that dont recover completely are on display at the park. The recovery center in Elmwood is closed to the public. Finch lives there and cares for birds year-round. The bird rode back across the state for Fridays release with Michael Forsberg, who is known for his photographs of landscapes and wildlife of the Great Plains. His work has appeared in Nebraskaland, Audubon, National Geographic, Nature Conservancy and Outdoor Photographer magazines. His photos are on display in the Great Plains Art Museum of the Center for Great Plains Studies at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and in his book, Great Plains: Americas Lingering Wild. Reeh and Wendie Henderson met with game officer Scott Brandt of Nebraska Game and Parks and officials from Platte River Basin Environments, which manages the Montz Point Ranch property, to release the eagle. The big bird needed little encouragement to leave its carrier, bounding into the air and flying a few hundred yards before resuming her hunt for wild prey. GERING Nebraska Transport Company, founded in Gering in 1973, recently underwent a major change, but most people will see no differences. NTC owner Brent Holliday, the second generation of the family to operate the business, has sold the LTL (less than truckload) small package delivery division to Cross Country Freight Solutions, a family owned company out of Bismarck, North Dakota. Holliday and his son, Phillip, will retain ownership of the truckload portion of the business, which will operate under the name Twin City Cartage. A new building is currently going up just west of the current NTC headquarters to serve as a terminal. It will also serve as a warehouse for Hydrotex Oil, for which Phillip has acquired the area distributorship. Another part of the business theyll keep is NTC Logistics, which Phillip is heading up. In the old days, it was called a broker, Holliday said. If we cant handle a specific load for a customer ourselves, well take responsibility for the shipment and find an outside trucking firm that can make the delivery for us. Its really freight management. NTCs service area includes eastern Colorado, all of Nebraska, eastern Wyoming, the northeastern corner of Kansas, western Missouri and parts of Iowa. The purchase by Cross Country Freight Solutions doubles the companys direct shipment coverage. Holliday said he wasnt really thinking of selling any part of the business his father had started, but the call from Cross Country came out of the blue. I wasnt that interested, but they asked to visit us and talk about it, he said. This company has been my identity for a lot of years so I wanted to be sure this was within Gods will for my life and for the company. He added that any possible sale had to be right for his family, as his wife, two children and their spouses, and a nephew all work for the company. But his family extends beyond that. I wanted to know the new company would treat my employees well, he said. I have people who have worked here for 30 years. Any business has to make money, but when we draw our last breath, its not about money but how weve treated our fellow human beings. As a vice president, Holliday will continue working part-time for NTC, calling on major clients as needed and representing the company at industry meetings and shows. Cross Country Freight Solutions will keep the Nebraska Transport name and its familiar black and yellow color scheme. They also plan to keep all the current terminals open and keep most of the employees, including those in Gering. This community was good to my dad as a one-man operation trying to make a living, Holliday said. Its that community support thats enabled us to grow to where we are now and Im thankful that tradition will continue with the new owners. SCOTTSBLUFF The Riders in the Sky have been playing and singing together for 40 years. The Riders, Ranger Doug, Too Slim, Woody Paul and Joey are returning to Scottsbluff as part of their Christmas tour. Americas Favorite Cowboys can be found at the Midwest Theater Dec. 5 at 7:30 p.m. We wanted to keep the beautiful tradition of Western music alive; Western music in the sense of Gene Autry, Roy Rogers and the Sons of the Pioneers, Ranger Doug said. It just sort of caught on and weve had 40 great years. One ditty the Riders are well known for is Woodys Roundup, which debuted in Toy Story 2 in 1999. Ranger Doug, lead guitarist, talked about the upcoming show. Every year we do a Christmas tour, Ranger Doug said. Its partly seasonal favorites, partly Christmas originals and a lot of humor. Well also play some of the favorite songs that people have known us for through the years like Woodys Roundup and such like that. Ranger Doug shared what he is looking forward to with returning to Scottsbluff with the Riders. I think that warm Nebraska hospitality is what I like best, he said. People understand where were coming from, where the music is coming from; we dont have to explain it to them kind of like you do out east. Its not exactly folklore to them, its just part of the cultural heritage. The Riders plan to bring a lively and entertaining show. Well, weve been bringing good beef to hungry people for 40 years, so I think well just bring some more good beef to the hungry people of Scottsbluff, Ranger Doug said, laughing. I hope well bring them a little bit of sentiment and a lot of laughs. With a career that has lasted four decades, the Riders often have experiences like the one Ranger Doug shared. After one show, a lady came up to us and said I was sitting between my dad and my son and youre the favorite band of both of them, Ranger Doug said, smiling. Ranger Doug said his favorite part of the show is seeing the happy looks on kids' faces. Its a really good time, he said. Just a lot of laughs and some really good music we hope, if we do our job right. I hope to have a great time here in the rolling hills of Nebraska. Tickets, ranging from $22-25, for the Riders in the Sky show can be bought online at midwesttheater.com or in person at the Midwest Theater. The girl disclosed that she had met Brown at a church camp in June 2016. On two different occasions, the girl told police, Brown had come from South Dakota and engaged in sexual intercourse with the girl. She alleged that incidents occurred on Sept. 2, 2016, and Sept. 30 and Oct. 1, 2016. Police confirmed the man had rented a hotel room that the girl had identified Sept. 30-Oct. 1. It was also confirmed that the girl had used her iPod and iPhone on those dates. GERING Gering Junior High students are getting a head start on spreading holiday cheer this year by writing letters to active duty military men and women. Shannon Kauffman teaches English at Gering Junior High. Her brother is Staff Sgt. Justin Horn, who is active duty in the United States Air Force. Horn is part of Squadron 37 EBS, expeditionary bomb squadron, based out of Ellsworth in Rapid City, South Dakota. He and his squadron are currently deployed in Guam. Kauffman has her five classes of seventh- and eighth-grade students writing letters to Horn and his squadron. It was supposed to be near Veterans Day, but some things happened that changed that, Kauffman said. So theyll arrive shortly before Christmas. Im encouraging the students to give it a holiday sort of message. And then theyll decorate them, be it red and green or whatever they want, for Christmas or whatever. Horn actually visited Kauffmans students and the rest of the junior high near Veterans Day for their special assembly. He brought with him a neat opportunity for the school. They do this cool program where if you buy a flag, theyll fly it in one of their bombers, Kauffman said. We got one for Gering Junior High. So he has a certificate saying that and then hell bring that back with the flag that they flew when he comes back in January. Aside from teaching her students to be thankful to the heroes who protect their freedom, Kauffman gave an explanation of why her students are writing the letters. Were starting a unit on correspondence, letter writing, she said. So this is kind of their kick-off project with it so I can get a sense of where theyre at with it. This is the first time Kauffman has had her students write letters for her brothers squadron. Well see how it goes, she said smiling. Also, I offered extra credit, so its not solely out of the goodness of their hearts, but they brought me a ton of stuff to send along with those letters. So Im going to send a care package with the letters. Kauffmans students brought gum, drink packets like lemonade and hot cocoa and hard candies for Horn and his buddies. Kauffman shared her expectations, besides letter formatting, for her students. I would say, hopefully, that the students appreciate it more, she said. Theyre spending Thanksgiving, Christmas, Hanukkah and New Year's without their families. Some of them have young wives, young kids, so theyre doing that without them; all those holidays without them. So to be appreciative, hopefully, that message rings clear for them. 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Also the Bayer-Monsanto merger is expected to be completed in early 2018, according to company officials. An earlier online version of this story and the story that appeared in the print edition were incorrect. _______ CHESTERFIELD The gleaming new confines of Monsantos expanded research and development facilities show that dramatic change is underway in Chesterfield. Not only is that true for the physical layout of the company's research campus, but soon it may also extend to the ownership at the helm of the agribusiness giant, with Bayer and Monsanto looking to complete their $63.5 billion merger early next year. Regardless of the future that awaits the company, Monsanto officials emphasized that the Chesterfield facilities would retain their place as a center of innovation for agricultural science a status they say is only further anchored by the recent completion of the new, 400,000-square-foot research building showcased Friday, and by the pending merger. What the deal really means, in my mind, is a continued ramp-up of innovation, said Monsanto CEO Hugh Grant, in remarks at a Friday ceremony christening the new building. This site becomes an R and D engine even more so than in the last 10 years. The building accommodates 250 research labs and represents by far the biggest milestone within the companys $400 million expansion that began in 2013, said company spokeswoman Christi Dixon. Another phase of the expansion was completed last fall, when 36 greenhouses opened, encompassing an additional 105,000 square feet. Were already thinking about how we move scientists from Bayer into this facility, said Robb Fraley, Monsantos executive vice president and chief technology officer, after speaking at Fridays event. About 350 employees from Monsantos regulatory affairs team have also recently transitioned to the Chesterfield campus, many of whom are now housed in the new building. They had previously been stationed at the companys Creve Coeur headquarters. Fraley said significant progress was being made in the merger process, as Bayer and Monsanto seek approval from antitrust regulators in dozens of countries. He said more than half of those countries have signed off already, with the U.S. and Europe representing the main exceptions thus far. If the merger goes through, Fraley said Monsantos expanded St. Louis operations would be the headquarters for seeds and traits research and for the combined companies operations in North America which he said remains the largest market for sales. Monsanto executives said no single area or product line would be emphasized most at the expanded facility, with research being done across the board. Company leaders conveyed excitement, however, about work at the intersection of fields like data science, robotics, and climatology. Fraley noted the irony that, despite being arguably the oldest industry on the planet, agriculture is probably the last industry to undergo the transformation and become digitized. But thats starting to change, as Monsanto and other companies seek applications for new technology. All of that technology is now flooding into agriculture and transforming modern farming, Fraley said. Were leveraging all of those advances right here. The new building which attained LEED Gold certification was designed by the architecture firm, Jacobs, with Alberici Constructors managing the building process. Other speakers at Friday's ribbon-cutting event included Gov. Eric Greitens and Jim Carrington, president of the Donald Danforth Plant Science Center, which partners closely with Monsanto. WASHINGTON A federal judge on Friday ordered the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to rescind its delay of a rule that allows some foreign entrepreneurs to stay in the United States to grow their companies, court documents show. Judge James Boasberg of U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia ruled in favor of a lawsuit filed by a U.S. venture capitalist group in September challenging a delay by DHS of the International Entrepreneur Rule. In the lawsuit, the National Venture Capital Association argued that President Donald Trump's administration bypassed proper procedures when it delayed the International Entrepreneur Rule, which had been due to go into effect in July 2017. The trade group was later joined by several tech startups active in the United States that were founded by foreign entrepreneurs who wanted to stay in the country and work with their businesses through the entrepreneur rule but are now unable to. The rule, proposed by the administration of President Barack Obama, would allow some foreign startup founders to stay in the United States for up to five years to develop their businesses. Instead, in July the administration of President Donald Trump pushed back implementation to March 2018, and said it was "highly likely" to ultimately rescind the rule. Boasberg, in his ruling issued on Friday, agreed with the lawsuit's claim that the government's actions violated the Administrative Procedure Act, which requires advance notice of new rules. "This decision is an important reminder that this administration must comply with the law and allow the public to have a voice during the agency rule-making process," Leslie Dellon, an attorney at the American Immigration Council, said in a statement. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency said on Friday it would not act on a proposal to require hardrock mining companies to show they can afford to clean up their sites. EPA is confident that modern industry practices, along with existing state and federal requirements address risks from operating hardrock mining facilities, EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt said in a statement. The financial responsibility proposal, issued by the administration of President Barack Obama, was supported by Democrats and environmental groups, but opposed by the mining industry and Republicans. It would have required companies mining metals such as gold, silver, copper and lead to show they had the financial means to clean up their sites once they finished mining by issuing bonds or buying insurance. It was partly aimed at taking the burden off Washington to clean up sites when miners declare bankruptcy. It represents the latest move by Pruitt, an appointee of President Donald Trump, to reverse or weaken a series of regulatory actions by the Obama administration, often at the request of the affected industries. The agency faced a court-ordered deadline of Friday, Dec. 1 to take final action on the proposal. U.S. Senator Lisa Murkowski, a Republican from Alaska who chairs the Senate's Energy and Natural Resources Committee, praised the decision. "Im pleased the EPA took all of the facts into consideration and decided against imposing new, duplicative and burdensome financial assurance requirements for hardrock mines," Murkowski said in a statement. Principal Chris Clapper is leaving Emily Howland Elementary School by the end of the year to take the top post at another upstate New York school district. Clapper, who has lead the Poplar Ridge school for five years, will be the new superintendent for the Alexandria Central School District. His last day with the Southern Cayuga Central School District will be Dec. 27, and he will start at his new district the next day. Clapper was well-known in the elementary school for bringing his standard poodle Archer, a certified therapy dog, with him to roam the hallways. He has said using time with the dog as a student reward has helped curb misbehavior. Clapper said this week that he is grateful for his time with the district, as he began there as a high school social studies teacher 15 years ago. District parents and staff alike were consistently supportive with him, he said. He's never occupied a superintendent's chair before but he's ready to try his hand. "I've worked at Southern Cayuga for 15 years and I've enjoyed every bit of it, but it was time for a new adventure," Clapper said. A notice on the principal vacancy was posted to the district's website Nov. 15, with a Dec. 12 deadline for applications. Although district Superintendent Patrick Jensen was awaiting the Alexandria district's appointment of Clapper for final confirmation, Jensen sent out the notice because hiring can be tricky during the holidays, he said, so he wanted to give applicants time through Thanksgiving weekend to ready their applications. He said the district has received applications already. The job notice said the selected candidate would begin in a probationary capacity March 1, but Jensen said it would depend on the candidates, as he said some contracts stipulate 30-day or 60-day periods before administrators can start at another district. Starting salary will be $85,000. The notice said the district is seeking a student-focused "knowledgeable and inspiring educator" with a background in administration and teaching. Along with filled-out applications, hopefuls should send a resume, a letter of interest, credentials with copies of certifications, transcripts, fingerprint clearance and at least three employment references. Mid-January is being targeted for interviews with selected candidates with three separate committees consisting of faculty and staff, community members and parents, and district administrators and board of education members, one after the other. Jensen hopes to have a finalist by late January. As the district recently confirmed Clapper's appointment with Alexandria, plans for filling Clapper's chair in the meantime, such as with an interim principal, haven't been hashed out. Jensen is leaning towards placing a retired experienced administrator in the interim role paid on a per day basis as districts have done in similar situations. Jensen praised Clapper's efforts with the district as an administrator and a teacher. A superintendent job involves long hours, immense responsibility and little sleep, Jensen said, but he believes Clapper is up for the task. Jensen also joked that the district needs to ensure the principal candidate has a dog they can bring to school. "(Clapper has) proven himself here at Southern Cayuga to be a great administrator, so I support him," Jensen said. ST. LOUIS A mother whose daughter died in a house fire in 2015 on Thursday sued the manufacturers of a space heater she says caused the fire and her then landlord for not having working fire alarms in the house. The fire at a north St. Louis home shortly before 5 a.m. Feb. 13 killed Cadis Strong, 8, and sent her 7-year-old sister to the hospital with critical injuries. The probable source was two space heaters plugged in to the same outlet in a rear upstairs room, Fire Chief Dennis Jenkerson said after the fire. The house had no working smoke detectors, he said. Firefighters called to the fire in the 3900 block of North 21st Street had found a frantic Higgins outside. They rushed into the burning house to rescue Cadis and her sister and carried them out to an ambulance that took the girls to the hospital, where Cadis was pronounced dead. Her sister was critically injured but survived. In a suit filed Thursday in St. Louis, the girls' mother, Candace J. Higgins, says the family was asleep in their home about 4:45 a.m. when a defective Pelonis electric radiator heater overheated and exploded, causing the fatal fire. Cadis's sister required substantial medical treatment for her injuries from the fire, the suit says. The suit alleges Texas-based Pelonis Appliances, five affiliated companies, and a Florissant-based retailer that sold the heater, one that was known to overheat and explode, knew of its defects and showed "complete indifference" by selling it without adequate inspection or warnings. Betty Elder, a St. Louis woman who owned the home and rented it to the Higgins, did not have the house adequately inspected or repaired and didn't warn Higgins the house had no working smoke detectors, the suit says. The suit seeks at least $25,000 in damages for a total seven counts: two counts each of negligence, strict liability and failure to warn against the companies, and one count of negligence against Elder. Higgins' family moved into the house Jan. 6, and the defective heater, a Pelonis model HO-02050H, was bought two days later from a Deep Discounts Warehouse store at 412 Adelaide Avenue in St. Louis, the suit says. Pelonis negligently designed and manufactured the space heater by allowing it to overheat without shutting off, causing the chambers to explode and release hot oil, and neglected to adequately test or inspect it, the suit says. Pelonis is owned by China-based Midea Group. Deep Discounts, based out of Florissant, failed to adequately inspect the space heater model and did not provide adequate warnings of its dangers, the suit says. Cadis was at least the fifth person to die in house fires in St. Louis city and county by that time in February 2015. All of them appeared to have involved alternative heat sources such as space heaters or hot plates and firefighters said none of the homes had working smoke detectors. ST. CHARLES COUNTY A man from Winfield was charged Friday with shooting a Francis Howell High School teacher who jogged past him on a trail. Joshua R. Curtis, 35, was being held in lieu of $500,000 bail Friday. St. Charles County prosecutors charged him with first-degree assault and armed criminal action. Curtis was arrested Thursday. The teacher, 36, was shot Wednesday afternoon on a trail in the conservation area near the high school. The teacher was treated at a hospital and released Wednesday night. The teacher is identified in court documents only by his initials, C.W. The teacher was running about 2:45 p.m. Wednesday on a trail he knows well called the Hamburg Trail when he crossed paths with a stranger. The stranger was the only person the teacher saw on the trail that day. The stranger, wearing a black or brown coat, was walking toward the teacher. The teacher made a gesture with his head acknowledging the man, now identified as Curtis. The stranger did not acknowledge the teacher. About 30 yards after the teacher ran past Curtis, the teacher heard a loud bang, felt pain in his back and fell to his knees, police say. While on his knees, the teacher looked over his shoulder and saw Curtis standing on the paved trail, pointing a gun at him, police say. Then, Curtis fired two more shots, police say. The teacher sprinted toward Highway D, screaming for help. The teacher flagged down the first car he saw on the highway. The driver gave him a ride back to the school. According to a probable cause statement filed in court, a witness who was fishing at a lake in the Busch Wildlife Area heard a gunshot, then a blood-curdling scream, followed by two more shots. Another witness was riding his bike on the Hamburg Trail, a quarter-mile south of Highway D, about 2:30 p.m. He told police he rode past a man. The witness now tells police that the man matches Curtis description. The bicyclist saw the man holding what appeared to be a radio and was talking into it. Two other people in the area that day told police they also saw a man matching Curtis description. Police say they recovered a spent 9 mm casing a foot from the paved surface where the teacher was shot. They found a tent 75 yards east of there. Inside the tent was a black bag from a gun range that could hold up to 100 rounds of ammunition. They also found a receipt to Curtis mother from Ultimate Defense, police say. Family members told police that Curtis had taken a class at the Ultimate Defense Firing Range several years ago. They told police that Curtis owned a handgun. When police captured Curtis in the woods Thursday, he had a hand-held radio similar to the one the witness described. Police searched Curtis car and found a locked safe underneath the drivers seat. The safe is the kind generally used to store weapons, but no weapon was inside, police say. Conservation agents told police that they had seen Curtis car in the area for two months. It had been parked in different spots, including the parking lot on Highway D near where the tent was found. The teacher identified Curtis in a photo lineup as the man who attacked him. The incident appears to be a random act of violence with no motive, police say in court papers. When police told Curtis about the criminal charges against him, he showed no emotion, court papers say. It was a close call with students, too, officials indicated in the charging documents. This incident occurred behind the Francis Howell High School (where) students were outside at the time of the incident. Furthermore, at the time of the incident several high school students were running other trails in the area. Based on the facts, it is believed that Curtis (chose) his victim at random, court papers say. EDITOR'S NOTE: This story has been corrected to say that the bag police found was designed to hold 100 rounds of ammunition, not that police found that quantity. TOKYO - When the injured soldier was loaded onto into the Black Hawk helicopter, Sgt. 1st Class Gopal Singh, on his last mission as a flight medic, said a prayer. He did not think the man, who had been shot five times, was going to survive. "I could tell immediately that this guy was probably going to die in the next 15 minutes if we didn't start working on him and get the aircraft off the ground," said Singh, a medic in the Eighth Army's 2nd Combat Aviation Brigade, stationed at Camp Humphreys in South Korea. The evacuation crew did not know it then, but their patient was a North Korean soldier who had just made a daring dash for freedom across the Joint Security Area, the neutral section in the demilitarized zone where enemy troops stand face-to-face. The soldier, a 24-year-old named Oh Chong Song, was shot five times by North Korean border guards Nov. 13 as he ran across the line, but he managed to get himself to shelter against a building on the southern side. He lay there, in a pile of leaves, for as long as 30 minutes until South Korean soldiers were able to crawl to him and drag him to safety. While they were doing that, Pfc. Karina Lopez, the radio operator in a UH-60 medical evacuation Black Hawk crew that was on duty at Camp Casey, a U.S. base on the southern side of the DMZ, received a call saying they might be needed for a medical evacuation. For more than six decades, American and South Korean troops have been coordinating in a faceoff with the communist North; the DMZ is their front line. Military chiefs say events such as this underscore the importance of the alliance. The crew was four days into a seven-day shift, on call around the clock - similar to firefighters or ambulance teams - for medical emergencies. The crews assigned to Camp Casey get about three medevac calls a month, usually to transfer a patient from a clinic near the border to a hospital. One of their recent missions was to collect a South Korean farmer who had been injured and take him to a hospital. This time was different. The next call that Lopez received summoned the crew to the Joint Security Area; she was told that a soldier had been shot. They arrived seven or eight minutes later, finding the medical personnel on duty in the JSA waiting with the patient ready to be choppered out. It was when the soldier was loaded onto the Black Hawk that Singh, who was starting his final month in both South Korea and the Army, realized how serious his patient's injuries were. "I actually said a prayer because I saw the condition he was in," said Singh, who is 39 and from San Antonio. "The pilots could probably tell by my voice that he was in real danger of dying." The personnel at the JSA had stopped a lot of the bleeding from the gunshot wounds to the shoulder, chest and abdomen, but Oh was having difficulty breathing. He was trying to sit up on one side - a sign that he might be taking air inside his chest from a wound. Singh performed a needle chest decompression, puncturing the soldier's chest cavity to allow the air building up inside to escape. "I knew if I didn't do that he would probably die because once his chest cavity filled up with air, it would push his heart and lung and everything over, and he wouldn't make it," he said. As the chopper lifted up and away, the soldier was still struggling with breathing and was going into shock. His hands and feet were going blue, and his pulse was weak. In the front, pilots Nathan Gumm and Eric Tirro pushed the throttle to full. "It's difficult because we can hear the level of concern in the medic's voice," said Gumm. Spc. Carroll Moore, the crew chief, added, "It was very intense because he was working nonstop for 20-plus minutes trying to make sure this guy survives." The helicopter crew was focused on getting to Ajou University Hospital south of Seoul. There, trauma surgeon Lee Cook-jong was waiting for them. "If it weren't for their emergency measures, he would have died before arriving at the hospital," Lee said later of the American crew's actions. The North Korean soldier is still in the hospital but - after several surgeries - is making a steady recovery. He has told the doctor that he wants to study law. South Korea has been using its propaganda speakers lined up along the DMZ to broadcast messages northward about Oh's medical condition - he was suffering from pneumonia, hepatitis B and a severe infection of parasitic worms when he arrived in the south. North Korea has not yet responded to his defection, but its border guards have been seen digging and placing boulders along the area where Oh crossed, apparently to stop future defection attempts. It wasn't until after they had landed at Ajou hospital that the crew found out their patient was North Korean. Singh said he had suspected it because the man appeared malnourished, but Oh had nothing on him that identified him as North Korean. "We got texts from friends after we landed," Gumm said. "We really had no idea, like, how big it was. It was already on the news by the time we landed." Then it began to sink in - what this man had risked and endured to escape. "He got shot five times to be free, for the chance of a new life and a chance to live in South Korea," Singh said. The crew hasn't been back to see Oh since dropping him off that day. The medic, who finishes his service in two weeks' time, has thought about going to congratulate the soldier. "It's truly a miracle. From the time that I saw him on the aircraft, I thought he was going to die," Singh said. "So to able to see him make it, it's been a good feeling for all of us as a crew." WASHINGTON 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. Before leaving the White House for New York City, Trump told reporters there was "no collusion" between his campaign and the Russians. How long are we going to pretend that President Donald Trump is fully rational? How long are we going to ignore the signs that he is dangerously out of control? Trumps supporters comfort themselves with the idea that hes being crazy like a fox that all the outrageous lies, abrupt reversals, bizarre pronouncements and vicious personal attacks are calculated to achieve some rational goal. Hes just playing to his base, perhaps, or distracting everyone from unpopular legislation cutting taxes for the rich, or trying to deceive other world leaders into thinking he might be unhinged and therefore should be accommodated. But what evidence is there of calculation? Congress may indeed pass a slapped-together tax bill, but there is no indication Trump even knows whats in it. That would be his first and only significant legislative accomplishment. His approval rating plummeted after the inauguration and has been stuck at 40 percent or below since June, according to Gallup. He has managed to alienate our closest allies even drawing a rare rebuke last week from British Prime Minister Theresa May and created a vacuum in world leadership that China is happily beginning to fill. The logical thing to do, at this point, would be to come up with a new strategy. But Trump stays his wild and erratic course, as if he simply cannot help himself. The most alarming development is the revelation that Trump continues to entertain paranoid conspiracy theories of the kind usually found beneath tinfoil hats. According to both The Washington Post and The New York Times, Trump still clings to the ridiculous birther theories about where former President Barack Obama was born. The papers also reported that Trump has privately claimed the infamous Access Hollywood tape, in which he bragged about harassing and assaulting women, was somehow forged or doctored. You will recall that Obamas birth in Hawaii has been definitively proved; and also that Trump acknowledged the Access Hollywood tape when it surfaced last year and gave a televised address apologizing for it. I said it, I was wrong, and I apologize, then-candidate Trump told the nation. It would be one thing if Trump were broadcasting this nonsense for a reason. Id feel better even if he had a nefarious reason to appeal to racists who cannot accept the legitimacy of the first black president, say, or to encourage his base to doubt everything they see and hear in the media and instead to trust only him. But Trump has raised these off-the-wall subjects in private conversations with aides, associates and a sitting U.S. senator settings in which the president is likely to say what he truly believes. It is one thing to create a fantasyland for political ends appealing to some voting groups prejudices or giving supporters a reason to excuse bad behavior. It is another thing altogether, however, for Trump to fall into his own rabbit hole and actually believe what he once knew to be untrue. For decades, when he was a publicity-seeking developer and social-climbing Manhattan playboy, Trumps method was to fabricate his own reality; he even called gossip columnists and pretended to be a publicist named John Miller or John Barron in order to sing his own praises. But he employed this shtick with a wink and a smile, knowing it was all a game. Increasingly he sounds and acts as if he thinks his make-believe is real. One of the things that first drew attention to Trump as a presidential candidate was his public speaking style free-association, basically, with no discernible filter between brain and lip. Follow one of his speeches and you can track how his mind works. On Monday, at a White House ceremony honoring Navajo code talkers, he bizarrely slipped in his Pocahontas slur against Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., who wasnt there and had nothing to do with the event. On Wednesday, at a Missouri rally touting the tax bill, he came to a line about how it would add rocket fuel to the economy, paused a second, and then reprised his Rocket Man insult of North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un, whom Trump went on to call a sick puppy. Kims state-controlled media has called Trump an old lunatic. That the rival, nuclear-armed leaders speak the same language is not comforting. Maybe Trump is rattled by the Great Reckoning on sexual harassment and assault. Maybe he is worried about the steamrolling Robert Mueller investigation. Or maybe his mental state is just deteriorating. Whatever the problem is, its serious and its getting worse. Eugene Robinson Copyright The Washington Post The Senate Republicans disastrous tax-cut bill was moving inexorably toward passage late last week when two key GOP senators suddenly realized that the $1.5 trillion package wouldnt pay for itself. Well, of course it wouldnt pay for itself. Since details began to emerge last summer, every independent analysis said it wouldnt. Nearly every economist from across the political spectrum agreed. The notion that corporations and wealthy Americans, who would receive the vast majority of the benefits, would invest their windfall in ways that would trickle down to the rest of America was always the big lie at the heart of this legislation. But it wasnt until Congress Joint Committee on Taxation projected Thursday that the bill would add $1 trillion to deficits over the course of a decade even after accounting for economic growth that a couple of Senate deficit hawks began to have second thoughts. Not coincidentally, both of them, Bob Corker of Tennessee and Jeff Flake of Arizona, arent seeking re-election. They were thus free to ignore the Republican donors for whom this tax-cut bill is a massive payoff. Senate leaders spent Friday seeking ways to finesse Corker and Flake. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said the bill had enough votes to pass. The next step will be reconciling it with the version that the House passed Nov. 16. Both bills contain different horrible things, but the overall implications are the same: Most people will see lower taxes next year, but by 2027 most individual tax cuts will expire. The result, says the Congressional Budget Office: Lower-income taxpayers will jointly pay $5.3 billion more in taxes, and those earning $1 million or more will pay $5.8 billion less. This is staggering: A donation of $5.3 billion a year by lower-middle class workers to the richest 1 percent of Americans. These bills are milestones in the history of American plutocracy a government run by wealthy people for the benefit of wealthy people. Its no coincidence that income inequality in America began accelerating in the mid-1970s, the same time that the U.S. Supreme Court declared, in Buckley v. Valeo in 1976, that limiting political campaign donations violated the First Amendment. The Buckley decision and subsequent money is speech decisions created todays era of unlimited, and often anonymous, campaign donations that are behind this irresponsible tax bill. GOP legislators are pushing these tax bills largely to placate corporations and other wealthy donors. A few were honest enough to admit it. Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., said financial contributions will stop if the Senate failed to pass tax cuts. Rep. Chris Collins, R-N.Y., said My donors are basically saying, Get it done or dont ever call me again. On Thursday, Republican Sens. Marco Rubio of Florida and Mike Lee of Utah floated the idea of setting the corporate tax rate at 22 percent instead of 20 percent and using the savings to help low-income parents. Lobbyists for Charles and David Kochs network of donors immediately fired off a letter warning them not to. Will companies use their savings to invest in new plants and higher wages for workers? Probably not, according to surveys and business analysts. Executives say their first priority is to increase dividends for shareholders or buy back their own shares. Eighty percent of all stock is held by the richest 10 percent of Americans. Buybacks reward them with a nice gain, and executives can get nice bonuses. But the money isnt used to expand the business or pay higher wages. So forget trickle-down. As President Donald Trump likes to boast even as he says businesses suffer from high taxes major stock market indices are at record highs. U.S. companies are awash with nearly $2 trillion in cash. If they were going to invest in new American plants and jobs, they could have done it by now. This tax-cut bill is simply sheer greed, an effort by those whom Theodore Roosevelt called malefactors of great wealth to escape more of their obligations to the society that enabled them to prosper. It is shameful. But thats the way plutocracy works. King Edward VI School. King Edward VI School has paid tribute to a former student who died in a road accident in South Africa last week. Joe Harris, who studied at the school between 2007 and 2014, was a senior prefect before going on to study Classics at Warwick University in 2014. He was killed in a road accident whilst undertaking charity work as part of his post-university gap year. Bennett Carr, Headmaster at KES, tweeted: "It is with great sadness that we inform the KES community of the death of Joe Harris (KES 2007-14) following a tragic accident in South Africa last week. Our thoughts are with his family and friends." His funeral will be held at Holy Trinity Church on 20th December, followed by a reception at the school. Killer Simon Frank has joined the ranks of those acquitted of murder by reason of insanity, a group of offenders that are steadily on the rise. Frank was charged with murdering his wife earlier this year and found to be insane at a hearing in the Rotorua High Court in October. At a sentencing hearing this week Frank was made a Special Patient under Mental Health Legislation and ordered to be detained in a Forensic Mental Health facility to treat his illness. Frank, 56, from Wellington, killed his 58-year-old wife while the pair were on holiday in Taupo at Easter this year. A record number of offenders were found not guilty by reason of insanity in New Zealand in 2016 with 34 successful acquittals for various offending compared with only four acquittals in 2000. Victim advocate Graeme Moyle has long campaigned for a change in the verdict citing its unfairness in terms of delivering justice to victims. "To state, in Court, that an offender who is known to have committed an unlawful act, is found to be not guilty of that act is abhorrent to any survivor or victim and denies them justice" says Graeme. "The verdict is wrong, archaic and after 180 years in existence is well overdue for reform". "It may well suit lawyers, judges and psychiatrists" says Graeme, "but it is offensive to those who have suffered at the hands of an insane offender". "I have championed a verdict of Proven But Insane for many years and believe this simple change will bring a great deal of relief to victims knowing that the Courts actually acknowledge the defendants offending". "It is time we put the victims first in these cases and not victimise them further with the current not guilty verdict". "Insanity acquittals have continued to rise steadily over the last 17 years and with Police attending over 40,000 incidents a year involving the mentally ill it stands to reason that these types of acquittals will continue to increase." "Increase in acquittals equates to an increase in victims denied their right to justice. Reform is the only option to balance the books and give the victims the accountability they deserve". The Mount Maunganui Weet-Bix TRYathlon is sold out this weekend, with a record 1400 children, aged seven-to-15, entered in the annual event. Held at Arataki Park, the age-appropriate course includes a 50-150m swim at Baywave, a 4-8km cycle around the streets surrounding the park and a 1.5km run. All participants receive a medal on the finish line and ambassadors handing out medals this year include Tauranga Olympic canoe slalom silver medallist Luuka Jones and retired New Zealand heptathlete and high jump champion Sarah Cowley-Ross. Welcome Bay twins Sam and Levi Mitchell, 9, will be doing their third Weet-Bix TRYathlon this year and their second at Mount Maunganui. Its really fun, says Sam. The bike is my favourite, and you get a really cool t-shirt and a medal at the end. When I finished the TRYathlon in South Auckland I got a high five from (world shot put champion) Valerie Adams. Levi says he is always really tired at the end, but there is extra motivation to get to the finish line. I like the prizes they give away at the end, even though I havent won one yet!" The Mount Maunganui TRYathlon is the first of the 2017/2018 season that will see 17 events completed throughout the country between December 2017 and April 2018. The Weet-Bix TRYathlon series has been running since 1992 and more than 300,000 Kiwi kids have taken home a medal during that time. The event is all about giving it a TRY and participants also get a certificate, an official t-shirt, a drawstring bag and a swim cap as well as complimentary breakfast and a chance to win spot prizes and meet their sporting heroes. The Mount Maunganui Weet-Bix TRYathlon will be at Arataki Park on Sunday, December 3, from 7am. Prizegiving is at 12.45pm. The Countdown Kids Hospital Appeal has raised an impressive $1.26 million for 13 childrens wards nationwide. The twelve-week appeal finished on October 29 with all proceeds used to buy much needed medical equipment to help Kiwi kids around the country. In the 11 years Countdown has run the appeal, more than $11.6 million has been raised and between 2008 and 2016, Countdown Kids Hospital Appeal has helped donate $780,000 to Tauranga Hospital. Countdown stores across the country organised local events to bring the community together and help raise funds for the appeal. Countdown Bay of Plenty did activities, such as sold raffle books, facebook sponsorship, and climbed the Mount. We rely on our staff to push it, and the reception and the commitment we get from them all is absolutely outstanding, says a Countdown Whakatane Spokesperson. Not only does it make a difference for the kids, but it also makes a real difference to our teams they can walk out of here and feel like theyve done something for the community and the future of New Zealand. Other events nationwide included a country dance night in Kaiapoi, joining a family motorbike and car poker run in Waikiwi, dressing up for a charity ball in Whanganui, and organising a classic grocery grab in Blockhouse Bay, Auckland. Countdown Kids Hospital Appeal spokesperson Ruth Krippner says the success of this years campaign is thanks to the enthusiasm and ongoing support of local communities across the country. Every year there are thousands of Kiwi kids that need hospital care which is always an extraordinarily hard time for children and their families. The success of this years campaign shows a desire within communities to help these children in their time of need and get them home, says Ruth. This year some of the equipment on the 13 childrens wards wish lists included a Cardiovascular Ultrasound machine to measure heart rate, a Colposcope for internal examination, a Neonatal Video Laryngoscope to examine the throat and a Wireless Fetal Monitoring System to monitor fetal heart rate. Cheque presentations will take place over the next few weeks to present the participating hospitals with funds from this years appeal. A cheque will be presented to the Bay of Plenty DHB at Countdown Fraser Cove on Tuesday, December 5 at 10.30am. The total amount being presented is revealed on the day and will go towards much needed medical equipment for the Tauranga and Whakatane Hospital to help get Kiwi kids home from hospital faster. The second day of the DHL International Surf Rescue Challenge has resulted in New Zealand and Australia finishing a mere two points apart, with the Australian side ultimately taking their second consecutive test win in Mount Maunganui. Racing was so close between the two nations that it came down to the final race of the day for a winner to be decided for the second day, as they sat on equal points after an intense day of racing. While New Zealands Black Fins got pipped at the post for the second test win, they are still within reach for the overall win as points are accumulated after the three tests. The top points scorer will then be declared the 2017 DHL International Surf Rescue Challenge Champions this evening at ASB Baypark Stadium Lounge. Meanwhile, the fight for third is heating up after South Africa beat the United States of America (USA) by three points. This also means the overall battle for third will come down to the last day as the two nations are separated by one single point. Great Britain rounded out the top five and finished only two points behind USA, meaning they could still pose a threat to the overall result. Japan finished in sixth while Canada finished the day in seventh. Meanwhile, in the under-19 youth division, it was a history making day for the Kiwi team, the Junior Black Fins, who won their first ever test since the series started in 1999 which makes it a big deal. While the New Zealand team is ecstatic about the result, they know it will be tough to beat the Australian team again today, who finished in second on Saturday, but say they are proud to take a win for the Kiwis on home soil. Rounding out the youth podium in third was South Africa with 62 points. Great Britain finished in fourth and USA in fifth. DHL ISRC event manager Ross Merrett says he cant believe how close the racing has been, but is again impressed by the sportsmanship being displayed by all the athletes. I didnt think the racing could get any closer but the athletes have proven me wrong today. The racing has been absolutely incredible and there are lots of great battles going on. The overall winner will be decided today, as will third place, so there is a lot on the line for every single team so Im sure they will be giving it everything. Ive also had a lot of comments from teams, spectators and athletes saying they think this is the best International Surf Rescue Challenge ever, because of the quality and depth of racing, but also because of the venue. Theyve all said how great the local community has been plus the proximity of all the services, which has just made it a really enjoyable and easy place to come and compete. Merrett added that he knows of supporters who have travelled specifically to Tauranga from as far as Wellington and Northland to support the international teams. The event is based over three tests, which includes swim, surf board, surf ski and beach events. The ISRC originally started in 1939 as the Trans-Tasman Series between Australia and New Zealand, with the current format of the event first conducted in 1999, which included South Africa and then followed by other countries. The original Trans-Tasman Series is now contested as the Trans-Tasman Trophy within the ISRC, where New Zealand hasnt won since 1950; a result they wish to overturn this weekend. The third and final day of the DHL International Surf Rescue Challenge continues today. Leaky home owners on the Tauranga City Councils leaky homes register are offered new hope this week with the Court of Appeal decision opening the door to a class action against cladding manufacturer James Hardie. There are 223 claims on the Tauranga city council register of leaky homes claims and the total paid out on them by the Tauranga City Council so far is $6.85m The register includes potential claims or closed claims that the city council has been notified of under the Weathertight Homes Resolution Services Act 2006. Tauranga City Council has also been served with proceedings outside of the WHRS and has currently four active claims. The update on the register comes as leaky home owners are offered another opportunity to re-coup losses, a class action lawsuit against cladding manufacturer James Hardie. Leaky home owners who have received no satisfaction through the council process have until January 30 to join the class action. A judgement released this week declined James Hardies leave to appeal to the Supreme Court meaning the Court of Appeal decision stands, allowing the claim to proceed as a class action, with a final opt-in date of January 30, 2018. They claim nherent defects in cladding systems manufactured by James Hardie, and that James Hardie made misleading statements in its technical literature. Because of the allegation that a large number of homes are affected, the leaky home owners sough and were granted orders to be able to bring the class action. All owners or previous owners of properties using the relevant cladding systems who are already represented or who in future elect to opt in can be included. Leaky building owners represented by Wellington law firm Parker & Associates are encouraging people to move quickly. We are dealing with a large number of enquiries, many from people who have seen and are responding to the claim for the first time, says the groups lawyer, Dan Parker. A number of owners have approached us unaware of any problems with their properties until expert investigations identify issues. They have subsequently joined the claim. We will be pushing forward now to deal with owner enquiries and to get as many owners signed on as possible. As it is a self-funded action, the bigger the group is, the lower the costs per owner. The opt-in period will be the last chance for most affected owners to pursue any legal action for recovery of their losses. If they join during the opt-in period they will not be affected by a 15-year limitation longstop that will probably otherwise bar claims after the opt-in period expires. Also the Supreme Court confirmed last year in the leaky schools litigation that the 10 year Building Act limitation longstop does not apply to a product liability claim like this, says Dan. The group first brought a product liability claim against James Hardie New Zealand Limited and James Hardie company, Studorp Limited, in negligence and for breach in the Fair Trading Act in 2015. Owners allege that leaks in their homes are attributable to inherent defects in cladding systems manufactured by James Hardie. They also claim James Hardie made misleading statements about its cladding systems in its technical literature. James Hardie denies the allegations. Thousands of properties were built using Harditex from 1987 until the early 2000s. Titan Board was widely used from 1995. Owners of monolithic clad buildings constructed since 1987 using Harditex or Titan board are urged to get in touch to find out how to opt in to join the claim. Experts can be arranged to investigate whether the materials in question have been used and whether damage has resulted. For further information contact Parker & Associates, 04 499 0390, www.parkerandassociates.co.nz. The arrival of 2018 will bring noticeable advancement of Chilhowies million dollar project to revitalize old Main Street and its environs. Several years in the planning, this project and a revamping of the nearby intersection -- intends to bring a fresh look to an historic area and an economic boost to the town with improvement of stormwater drainage, building facades, pedestrian walkways and motorist pathways. A dedicated committee of residents, town officials and representatives of public and private organizations has been meeting regularly to plan the upgrades. A major move forward is expected following a meeting on Dec. 18 for property owners in the old Main Street area to make decisions on their buildings future appearance. At the committees meeting Monday night, members went over architectural renderings provided recently to the town by Hurt & Proffitt of Blacksburg, hired as architects and engineers for the project. Copies will be provided to the property owners along with ideas for building facades they can discuss at next months meeting. That discussion is planned for 5 p.m. at Chilhowie Town Hall prior to the committees regular meeting at 6 p.m. Anyone interested can come by town hall to see the architectural renderings and the revitalization project information. The town will host state legislative representatives on Wednesday to tour the project site. Delegates Israel OQuinn and Jeff Campbell and Sen. Bill Carrico have been invited. The revitalization project started with $35,000 in planning grant funds from the Department of Housing and Community Development to develop a master plan, written by Mount Rogers Planning District Commission. That plan was completed in December 2015. In September 2016, Gov. Terry McAuliffe announced approval of more than $9.5 million in CDBG funding for 13 projects in Virginia, including $999,989 for the town of Chilhowie for downtown revitalization. The town also earned a $3,000 grant for a mini-project during the waiting period on the larger grant. With that money, the committee constructed a descriptive map of the town and surrounding area located at the Smyth County Tourism Center. The first phase of the downtown revitalization project will include facade improvements, concrete sidewalks, curb and guttering, brick accents and paving, stormwater system improvements, branding and marketing, clearance and demolition, and blight removal efforts. Chilhowie was also awarded a Site Assessment and Planning Grant of $50,000 under the Virginia Brownfields Assistance Fund. The grant is supporting environmental site assessments including testing for lead paint and asbestos, and a building demolition and grading plan for the former Superior Mills building on East Lee Highway. Town Manager John Clark said at the town council meeting earlier this month that during Phase I of the environmental assessment no lead was found in the building although in the samples taken for asbestos, some came back positive for an unsafe type that must be removed before the building can be demolished. Conversations were planned this week with the property owner to share further information about the environmental assessment and expected demolition. Clark said he hopes the building can be taken down during the winter or early spring for revitalization efforts to move forward next year. Other discussion at the meeting included replacement of a power pole on old Main Street and reduction of the multiple lines with new lighting to improve the visual aesthetics of the street. Some Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8 Plus owners are reporting that fast charging is not working for them anymore. It's believed that the October update is the culprit behind the issue, as complaints turned up only in November. Galaxy S8 Issues: Fast Charging Not Working Over at Twitter and the Samsung forums, Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8 Plus users complained that their devices no longer supported fast charging. "I just updated my phone 4 days ago and it stopped fast charging and taking 5+ hours to charge. Tried using a different charger with an adapter and still not working," a user wrote. "Recently my charger hasn't been fast charging so when I charge my phone the battery would still be draining even when it's charging without me on the phone. Or it would stay on the same charge overnight. I actually factory reset my phone and the fast charging started working again, but once all my back up data upload back on my phone it stopped fast charging," another user said. @SamsungSupport GM, My fast charger for my galaxy S8 just stopped working. I now say 5 hours to charge. I went into settings to see it fast charger was still on & it is. Can you help please? Thank you! Etica (@justeeks) November 13, 2017 @SamsungHelpUK @SamsungUK Firmware update has screwed up my fast charging feature on S8+; tested charging block on S7 Edge and all is fine! Good ol' Samsung and there software updates again. Bunch of idiots who accept no responsibility! ShaVerZ (@_ShaVerZ_) November 25, 2017 Everybody's problem is more or less the same, where they noticed that the feature stopped working after downloading and installing the update in question, despite using the same chargers that didn't have an issue before. To make matters worse, a few users even reported that the smartphone won't charge anymore when it ran out of juice, while others have said that only wireless charging works but the battery still gets drained way too fast. That's not even the end of it. According to SamMobile, one of its readers reported that wireless charging on their device has also been affected. In short, the October update really messed things up for Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8 Plus owners, and it's been difficult to pinpoint the root of the problem so far since the complaints indicate various issues, not to mention that it's making the rounds online only recently. Not Widespread From the look of things, the fast charging issue with the Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8 Plus hasn't hit that many users. Reports are rolling in, but they're few and far between compared with past problems such as the Galaxy Note 7 debacle and the whole thing with the Oculus app draining batteries and overheating Samsung phones. At any rate, that doesn't mean this is any less important, though. Now the upcoming November update is expected to fix the issue, but it's unclear whether it really will or not since the South Korean brand has yet to make an official announcement acknowledging it. Fingers crossed that this isn't a foretelling of any delay with the highly anticipated Android 8.0 Oreo, especially now it's already in beta. With all said and done, feel free to hit us up in the comments section below and let us know if you've noticed any similar problems with your Galaxy S8 or Galaxy S8 Plus or any other Galaxy phone with Samsung's Adaptive Fast Charging technology, for that matter. 2022 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. The continuous rise of sea levels could threaten more than 13,000 archeological and historical sites in the Southeastern United States, according to new research. If sea levels worsen, landscapes and cemeteries on the Gulf and Atlantic coasts could be at risk of being wiped out or going underwater completely. The research was published in PLOS One, a peer-reviewed journal. David Anderson from the University of Tennessee in Knoxville, along with his colleagues, wrote the study, arguing that that the effects of sea level rise can be examined through "quantitatively-based analyses encompassing large data samples and broad geographic and temporal scales." Rise In Sea Levels Will Destroy US Heritage Sites The researchers looked at data acquired from the Digital Index of the North American Archaeology, or DINAA, to predict the effect of the continuous rise in sea level on historical sites. "DINAA allows us to examine where people were living in North America over the entire 15,000-year record of human settlement," Anderson told Live Science. Their conclusion says thousands of sites could be submerged within the century. These include the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse in North Carolina, and Jamestown, Virginia, the country's oldest permanent English settlement. Charleston, South Carolina, and St. Augustine, Florida, two of the country's continuously occupied European settlements, were estimated to become high-risk areas as well. What's startling is that even a measly sea level rise of around three to 10 feet would be enough to threaten the above-mentioned historical sites. It would be more catastrophic if the rise climbs higher, say, around 16.4 feet. In that scenario, 32,000 sites could be affected, many of which are included in the National Register of Historic Places. "We will lose much of the record of the last several thousand years of human occupation in coastal areas, where a great deal of history and settlement has occurred," said Anderson. Sea levels rising hold far more pressing implications than merely damage to the areas. Not only will history and heritage be destroyed, residents of said places will inevitably be displaced in the process. Predicted Damage And Effects Florida and Louisiana are expected to be affected the most, especially because Florida has the longest coastal margin in the Southeastern area. As for Louisiana, the Pelican State is likely to be burdened with shoreline erosion and a rise in sea level that's higher than average. The estimates should already be a cause for concern, but they're actually modest predictions, according to Eric Kansa, one of the authors of the study. There are many more undocumented areas that have yet to be studied; the research merely scratches the surface, in a sense. 2022 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. A model is at risk of losing her eyeball after an eye tattoo gone wrong, placing the dangerous procedure under heavy scrutiny. The procedure, formally called a scleral pigmentation, usually stretches over a few days and involves using a small needle to inject diluted ink into the eye's top layer. The cosmetic body modification is currently unregulated. Eye Tattoo Goes Horribly Wrong Catt Gallinger, a 24-year-old model from Ontario, Canada, had the white of her right eye tattooed purple in September. The eye tattoo, however, went horribly wrong. Gallinger's boyfriend at the time injected pure purple ink into her eye using a large needle, completing the procedure in 10 minutes instead of taking a few days. After a few hours, Gallinger found herself in pain as her eye started leaking the purple ink and became swollen, which Gallinger's boyfriend said was normal. He then dumped her. Three months after the botched eye tattoo, the pain has not stopped for Gallinger. She has gone through numerous consultations, different kinds of medication, and even attempted surgeries, but nothing has fixed her eyeball. Her damaged eye remains swollen shut with blurred vision. "My cornea is thinned out from lack of moisture because the lump [of ink] directly interferes with my lid closing properly," Gallinger said. She needs to use artificial tear drops once every 15 minutes to try to keep her cornea intact. If it ruptures, she will lose her eye. Gallinger's doctors are also racing against time to save her damaged eye. If the ink solidifies, the eye will need to be removed. "There have been a lot of times where I've thought, if I have to live like this for the rest of my life, I'd rather get [my eye] taken out," Gallinger said to Global News. Will Eye Tattoos Be Banned? The harrowing experience that Gallinger is now going through has put eye tattoos in the spotlight. The Eye Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario have proposed to ban cosmetic eye modification. "We would rather be leaders in legislation promoting eye safety and banning eye tattoos than leaders in how to deal with the complications associated with eye tattoos," said EPSO President Jordan Cheskes. Ontario is the only province in Canada that is currently looking to issue a ban against eye tattoos, but Cheskes hopes that other provinces, and the rest of the world, will soon start considering the same thing. 2022 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. CHARLESTON -- December rolled in with warm weather that's expected to continue for a few more days. Temperatures reached 60 degrees earlier this week and that could return at the start of next week, according to Cameron Craig, climatologist with the Eastern Illinois University weather center. But while it's been warmer than what's typical for this time of year, there were no record high temperatures this week, Craig said. He said the records for the dates on Monday and Tuesday, the warmest days this week, are in the mid-70s. The entire autumn season was warmer than normal, Craig also said. The average daily high temperature for September-November was 59.8 degrees, while the 30-year average is 56.1 degrees, he said. Craig said the recent warm weather is because the jet stream is staying to the north so the "roller coaster" weather will continue with lower temperatures later next week. It's a result of climate change that's forcing the jet stream to "hover" between Canada and the United States, he said. Meanwhile, precipitation for the three months was below normal by nearly one inch, he added. The total rainfall for that time was about 9.7 inches, compared to the 30-year average of about 10.6 inches. Craig noted that September was "really low" with just three one-hundredths of an inch of rain, while October saw most of the rain with 8 inches that month. The outlook for temperatures and precipitation for next month are for both being near normal, Craig also said. And with December meaning the start of winter on the way, he said the forecast for the next three months is for near-normal temperatures and somewhat above normal precipitation. "There are equal chances we could see some snow," Craig said. "As for how much, we don't know." The 30-year average for snowfall in the area for the winter season, December-March, is 19 inches, he said. Orlando Ballet will join the Tri-Parish Ballet in "The Nutcracker" on Dec. 9-10 Close Get email notifications on {{subject}} daily! Your notification has been saved. There was a problem saving your notification. {{description}} Email notifications are only sent once a day, and only if there are new matching items. The Chinese sedan market continued to contract in October, with total sales having decreased by 5.0% year-on-year. According to statistics compiled by Gasgoo.com (Chinese), a total of 1.11 million sedans were sold in October, accounting for 47.9% of all passenger automobile sales made in the country, up 2.7 percentile points. Combined sedan sales over the first ten months of this year were 1.5% less than the same time period from the previous year. Looking at individual segments, own brand manufacturers performance in the sedan market has been especially interesting. While they performed exceptionally well last month, this month their performance has been kind of a letdown, resulting in them losing their top three position in the sales charts. Own brand sedan sales fell 14.1% year-on-year, with a total of 202,395 units sold. German manufacturers continued to dominate the sedan segment in October, constituting 32.5% of all sedans sold; German sedan sales totaled 360,089 units, down 0.4% from last October and nearly 40,000 units less than the amount sold this November. Japanese brands ranked second in the charts, with 221,039 units sold over the course of the month, representing slight year-on-year growth of 1.1%. Just behind in third place were American brands, sales of which totaled 202,899 units, up 4.5% year-on-year. On the opposite end of the spectrum were Korean and French manufacturers, whose sedan sales continued to fall in October. Korean and French sedan sales totaled 91,202 units and 24,577 units, representing negative year-on-year growth rates of 17.6% and 42.7%, respectively. The A-class sedan segment accounted for 63.1% of all sedan sales in October. A-class sedan sales for this month totaled 700,019 units, around 50,000 units less than Septembers figure and representing a 9.1% drop year-on-year. Meanwhile, A0-class and B-class sedan sales totaled 144,308 units and 176,254 units, representing year-on-year drops of 1.8% and 7.3%, respectively. Meanwhile, C-class sedan sales increased 12.9%, totaling 53,288 units, while A00 sedan sales totaled 35,346 units, over doubling from the previous year. FAW Volkswagen led the sedan market in October, followed by Shanghai GM, Shanghai VW, Dongfeng Nissan, Changan Ford, Geely, Beijing Hyundai, Guangqi Honda, FAW Toyota and Dongfeng Yueda Kia. Among the top three, Shanghai VWs sales fell 13.8% to 138,182 units, forcing it to fall behind FAW-VW and Shanghai GM. By comparison, FAW-VW and Shanghai GMs sales increased 8.3% and 7.7%, totaling 178,919 units and 143,361 units, respectively. Dongfeng Nissan and Changan Ford retained their the fourth and fifth spots in October. The formers monthly sales totaled 67,835 units, down 2.3% year-on-year, while the latters sales totaled 59,538 units, down 2.4% year-on-year. Geely was the months top performing own brand sedan manufacturer, with its sedan sales totaling 57,718 units, down 1.6% year-on-year. It was followed by Beijing Hyundai, whose sales totaled 55,541 units, down 9.4% year-on-year. Behind that was FAW Toyota, which was one of the only manufacturers on the chart to see its sedan sales increase; the JV achieved sales growth of 20.8%, totaling 38,761 units. The JVs performance was due in large part on the success of the Toyota Corolla, whose sales increased 44.7%. The Nissan Bluebird Sylphy was the months best-selling sedan model. It was followed by the VW Jetta, VW New Santana, VW Sagitar, Buick New Excelle, Ford Focus, VW Bora, SAIC-GM-Wuling Baojun 310, Toyota Corolla and Geely Emgrand EC7. The difference between the number one and number two entries was very small this month. The Bluebird Sylphy, sales of which totaled 38,514 units, led the Jetta, sales of which totaled 38,157 units. The Bluebird Sylphys sales grew 5.3%, while those of the Jetta increased 28.7%. Just behind was another VW entry-level sedan, the New Santana, whose sales totaled 36,831 units, representing year-on-year growth of 27.9%. Further down the rankings, the Sagitar, New Excelle, Focus, Bora and other JVs all saw their sales decreased by different levels. The Corolla was the exception, with its sales totaling 25,937 units. Among own brand models, the SAIC-GM-Wuling Baojun 310 managed to surpass the Geely Emgrand EC7 to take the eighth place spot, with 25,983 units sold, over double from last years sales volume. The Emgrand EC7 finished in tenth place, with its sales totaling 24,813 units, down a slight 0.8% from the previous year. The VW Lavida, which was the previous months best selling sedan model, failed to make it into the top 10, ranking in 12th place 21,377 units sold, down 49.6% year-on-year. 100 years ago, Dec. 2, 1917 Sunday. No paper. 50 years ago, 1967 MATTOON -- J.W. Connelly, Mattoon commissioner of public health and safety, yesterday afternoon released the amount of a settlement between the City of Mattoon, James Pappas and the City of Newton. Connelly said he learned the figure, $8,750, from an attorney and not from any other Mattoon city official. Connelly said the total figure was broken into $4,000 from the City of Mattoon, $4,000 from Pappas and $1,750 from the city's insurance company... MATTOON -- Today might be Dec. 2, but it sounded more like mid-summer as claps of thunder, flashes of lightning and heavy rain covered the area. The thunderstorm, which started before daybreak, awakened several sleepers with its accompanying loud claps of thunder. Heavy rain continued through the morning. Just a few days after Mattoon was covered by 3 inches of snow, this morning's storm dropped 1.5 inches of rain on the city. 25 years ago, 1992 CHARLESTON -- The Charleston City Council last night discussed a compromise on the disputed Lake Island Tract leases, leaving any real decision on the issue to be made by the council seated in 2009. The resolution that was placed on file for public inspection allows the city to renew expired contracts and those set to expire in the future up to 2009 the date the last lease expires. City Attorney Brian Bower, Mayor Wayne Lanman and the council members agreed the decision was not ideal for all parties but was a compromise aimed at giving the leaseholders some continuity as well as enable the city to bring the area up to building and water codes. Commissioner Roger Rives said he doesnt believe its the intent of the council to take anyones property in 2009 MATTOON -- A little more than 120 acres of farm land about two miles north of Mattoon brought nearly $300,000 in a public auction yesterday at the Burgess-Osborne Auditorium. The tracts are near each other near the intersections of County Road 1000 North and 700 East, just north of Riley Creek, about a mile east of Kal Kan. The first tract, totaling 80.82 acres, brought $2,530 an acre. Eleanor Elliott from Westfield was high bidder. The other tract, totaling 40 acres, brought $2,295 an acre. Larry Price of Humboldt was successful bidder. Auctioneer Mike Stanfield said the sale was about 5 percent more than he had expected CHARLESTON -- Eli Sidwell, a 10-year member of the Coles County Board, will serve the board as chairman for the next two years. Sidwells fellow board members unanimously voted him to the post at a reorganizational meeting and swearing-in ceremony yesterday. Sidwell, a Republican, previously served as board chairman from 1986-88. Tim Yow, also a Charleston Republican, was elected vice chairman. Circuit Judge Paul Komada also administered the oath of office to newly elected county officers States Attorney Steve Ferguson, Circuit Clerk Vicki Hite and Coroner John Schilling. 100 years ago, Dec. 3, 1917 MATTOON -- Mayor Swan returned to Mattoon Sunday evening from Milwaukee, Wis., where he went to spend the Thanksgiving holiday with his son, Harold O. Swan. Mayor Swan witnessed the passing of the funeral procession for the 10 Milwaukee policemen and detectives who were killed by an Italian bomb at police headquarters in Milwaukee last week. Each casket in the procession was escorted by a platoon of 27 policemen... CHARLESTON -- Eleven Charleston gamblers, all said to have given fictitious names, were arrested Saturday night and taken at once before Magistrate Millar. He assessed fines against each one, the total amount collected being $180. The men were gathered in two separate raids. One was made on Sixth Street in the Briggs block, while the other was on Monroe in the 500 block. It is said the bluecoats were hot on the trail of another gambling house, one which the "higher-ups" of the city are rumored to frequent, but the tip had been given to management. When officers reached the place, all was quiet, the one or two persons present smoking and chatting as though cards were the furthest thing from their thoughts... CHARLESTON -- At the annual meeting of the Coles County Agricultural Development Association held at the Coles County Courthouse on Saturday, it was decided to make an effort to obtain a farm adviser for the county. It is expected that a campaign will be made among the farmers and others interested in the next two weeks. The federal government will donate to any county employing a farm adviser the sum of $2,150 to be jused towards the adviser's salary. At Saturday's meeting officers elected were Roscoe Farrar, Humboldt, president; William E. Dole, vice president; and Harvey Ames, secretary-treasurer. 50 years ago, 1967 Sunday. No paper. 25 years ago, 1992 OAKLAND -- The city of Oaklands swimming pool should be open for the 1992 season, according to the renovation schedule provided by a newly hired contractor. Cardinal Pool of Champaign has indicated work should be done by about two weeks before the traditional Memorial Day weekend. Karen Temples, president of the East Oakland Township Park District Board, which oversees pool operations, said yesterday that Cardinal began work last week. The previous contractor failed to make much progress, prompting the park district board to cancel the entire 1992 swimming pool season SULLIVAN -- A hobby of entering contests resulted in a $250,000 prize for Mary Ann and Doyle Arnold of Sullivan. The Arnolds, who both work at the Sullivan IGA, first saw the national contest sponsored by Buick in a magazine. The couple plans to buy a home and start a college savings fund for their children, Chase and Chandra. Kesler Motors Sales manager Jim Warren each won $10,000 in the promotion, which attracted about 650,000 entries at 3,100 dealerships nationwide. 100 years ago, Dec. 4, 1917 MATTOON -- Three physicians from Mattoon and three from Charleston appeared before the Coles County Board of Supervisors yesterday to present tuberculosis information and to urge an appropriation to provide for the employment of a nurse to have supervision of the tuberculosis cases in the county. The state is organizing through medical societies of each county an anti-tuberculosis association, to work with the Red Cross Society. Dr. T.O. Freeman of Mattoon said 90 percent of tuberculosis cases are curable if discovered in time. He also said that France has 500,000 soldiers suffering from tuberculosis. American soldiers are sure to come home from Europe suffering from the disease. Dr. N.C. Iknayan of Charleston is to serve as medical director of the Coles County effort... MATTOON -- The $60 million good roads bond proposition which is to go befrore the voters of Illinois in November 1918, was endorsed yesterday evening by those who attended the complimentary banquet of the Mattoon Merchants Association at the Buckler cafe. Special guests included the secretaries of the various merchants associations of Illinois, holding their semi-annual convention in Mattoon, and a delegation from the Charleston Merchants Association. Dr. I.A. Lumpkin of Mattoon, president of the Egyptian and Big Four trails, was the main speaker. He explained that if the bond issue carries it will be paid with automobile license fees. The bonds will make possible the construction of 4,800 miles of brick, macadam, concrete, asphalt or other kind of hard roads. 50 years ago, 1967 MATTOON -- A $3.9 million building bond issue for Lake Land College won resounding approval Saturday when voters passed the proposition on a 7,238 to 2,805 vote margin. Voters went to the polls in a chilly driving rain. The weather is credited with keeping the total vote below earlier predictions. The proposal, which insures the college district's share of matching funds for building and equipping a permanent campus, was defeated in just five of the 38 precincts. Negative margins were recorded at precincts in Fairgrange, Lerna, Hutton and Oakland in Coles County, and in Beecher City in Effingham County. A tie vote was recorded in Shumway... MATTOON -- An estimated 700 people crowded the First Methodist Church in Mattoon last night to participate in an historic service. The service, marking the opening of the Advent season, was conducted by Franciscan Brothers of St. Joseph Seminary in Teutopolis. The "Service of Christian Symbols" was described by Clifford Brown, minister of First Methodist, as "an historical moment of ecumenical fellowship" in Mattoon. About 20 Franciscan brothers and friars were involved in the presentation which included narration and musical settings on the symbolism inherent in "Angels and Arch-Angels" and its relation to the meaning of Christmas. 25 years ago, 1992 SPRINGFIELD -- The Mattoon school district would be the only one in the 106th Illinois House District to qualify for property tax relief under a proposal from a task force studying school funding. And because it wouldnt help property owners in more area districts, state Rep. Mike Weaver, R-Ashmore, said he went against the majority of his fellow task force members in opposing the measure. Weaver said the proposal seems to benefit the Chicago and suburban school districts, but doesnt benefit the downstate districts at all CHARLESTON -- Twenty-two people have taken out petitions to run for mayor or city commissioner in Charleston. City Clerk Patsy Loew said yesterday the petitions still can be picked up, but Dec. 14 is the last day a petition can be filed in order for a candidate to be on the ballot next spring. Mayor Wayne Lanman and Commissioners Jim Dunn, Bruce Scism and John Winnett have pledged to seek re-election. Commissioner Roger Rives has not yet made a decision. East Baton Rouge Parish prosecutors urged the Louisiana Supreme Court on Friday to reinstate Wilbert Jones' 1974 conviction in the abduction and rape of a young Baton Rouge nurse. Jones, who spent nearly 46 years in prison for the crime, was released on bail Nov. 15 just two weeks after a state judge ruled prosecutors withheld "highly favorable" evidence from the defense. District Judge Richard Anderson agreed with Jones' attorneys that evidence implicating another man, Arnold Ray O'Conner, in a very similar rape a month later outside a different Baton Rouge hospital should have been provided to Jones' trial lawyers. The East Baton Rouge Parish District Attorney's Office, in an appeal electronically filed with the state Supreme Court late Friday, claims the second rape which occurred in the parking lot of Our Lady of the Lake hospital was common knowledge in Baton Rouge and insists prosecutors did not "hide evidence" from the defense. "It was defense counsels' duty to investigate their case," prosecutors contend. "They were obviously aware of other rapes in the Baton Rouge area during this period of time." Jones was twice found guilty in the 1971 rape of a Baton Rouge General Medical Center nurse. The first conviction was thrown out because of statements a prosecutor made to the jury. "Both juries knew that the victim called the police after the January 14, 1972, lineup to tell them she was ninety-eight percent sure (Jones) was her attacker, that (he) looked a little bit taller on the night of the rape, and that (his) voice seemed different at the lineup," prosecutors argue in their Supreme Court appeal. "The credibility of this witness and the weight of the evidence was a question for the juries to decide, not the trial court on remand forty-six years after the crime took place." In his Oct. 31 ruling overturning Jones' conviction, Anderson also cited what he called a "plethora of similarities" between the OLOL suspect and how the Baton Rouge General victim had described her attacker. The District Attorney's Office said it disagrees with the judge's assessment. "The physical characteristics of (Jones) and Arnold Ray O'Conner are different," prosecutors argue, "and the trial court was incorrect in its assessment that 'there is a reasonable probability that, had the information been disclosed to competent counsel, the result of the proceeding would have been different.'" The District Attorney's Office insists there are many differences in the two rapes and say prosecutors "would never have reasonably thought that the same perpetrator could have been responsible for both crimes." The office also says it cannot try Jones again because the victim in the Baton Rouge General rape died nearly a decade ago. "The state will not be able to retry this case due to the death of the victim in 2008, as well as the deaths of both trial prosecutors, the lead defense attorney, and many of the law enforcement officers who would be needed as witnesses," prosecutors acknowledge in their appeal. Jones' Innocence Project New Orleans attorneys say an appeal of Anderson's ruling is a waste of resources and an effort to further deny his legal rights. +4 BR man whose rape conviction was overturned to taste freedom after nearly 46 years behind bars A state judge set a $2,000 bail Tuesday for a 64-year-old Baton Rouge man who has spent nearly 46 years in prison for a rape conviction that t Jones has said he is not worried about an appeal because he is innocent. A "suspicious" Sunday night fire destroyed the Zachary residence of Taurus Ike Hamilton, who was accused last week of killing four people in t Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke vowed to use his clout to fast-track coastal restoration projects during a Saturday visit to Louisiana. "Louisiana and the coastline are important, and we're losing too much of it. ... There's a lot of things that Interior can do," the secretary told reporters at the Water Institute of the Gulf where he began the day. The U.S. Department of the Interior oversees the nation's natural resources. Members of the Louisiana congressional delegation invited Zinke to the Pelican State to demonstrate current restoration efforts and ask for federal assistance. Zinke said he's in a position to work with other federal agencies like the Army Corps of Engineers to "get the bureaucracy out of the way." He turned to Congressman Garret Graves, a Baton Rouge Republican, for an example of how bureaucratic red tape poses problems. The state is ready to spend a billion dollars on South Louisiana coastal projects like the Mid-Barataria Sediment Diversion, Graves said, and can't wait the five years the federal government has estimated it will take to perform all the required studies and permitting. The federal government has become an impediment to performing necessary work that's been vetted and peer-reviewed by scientists, the congressman continued. He said the state needs someone to "grease the skids," and Zinke appeared to be ready and able to help. Coastal restoration is important to protecting Louisiana residents from hurricanes and storm surges, Graves noted. The secretary and delegation members also framed restoration as an economic issue. Louisiana's oil, gas, shipping and other industries are reliant on a healthy coast, Zinke said. "No one does energy production better than the U.S., and no one does it better than here in Louisiana and the Gulf," he remarked. Graves hopes Zinke's visit underscores the importance of coastal erosion not just to Louisiana but to the nation. "This really helps to highlight the national significance of this (to the energy sector,)" he said. The Department of the Interior also oversees offshore oil drilling. Under the Obama administration, Interior ceased new development in the Gulf of Mexico, said Louisiana Republican Sen. Bill Cassidy. Zinke came to Louisiana at the invitation of Cassidy, who wasn't able to make the morning event at the Water Institute because he was delayed in Washington for the tax reform vote. However, Cassidy hooked up later with Zinke on his tour of Louisiana. Cassidy said in a telephone interview that he hopes the interior secretary will open up more drilling opportunities. He said that's desirable both for the jobs they will provide and because those companies pay leases that fund coastal restoration projects. "I'm glad (Zinke's) down here to see it first hand," Cassidy said by phone from Thibodaux. During Zinke's morning visit to the Water Institute with state policymakers and researchers, he viewed the new Mississippi River model on display there, calling it phenomenal. +7 Water Campus' plans for impressive model of Mississippi River? Teach, learn, inspire Winding from one corner of the warehouse to the other, the trough of the Mississippi River dominates the gigantic but still dry model of south Zinke praised local scientists and said he will look to them to determine how best to "do the right plumbing for the basin." His Saturday schedule also included private events at the Jean Lafitte National Historic Park and Preserve near Thibodaux and an airboat tour of a freshwater diversion in St. Charles Parish. FILE- In this March 19, 1994 file photo, Socks the cat peers over the podium in the White House briefing room in Washington. Hillary Rodham Clinton in 1998 followed Bushs lead, with a childrens book about family dog Buddy and cat Socks. Dear Socks, Dear Buddy: Kids' Letters to the First Pets featured photographs of the pets, details on their habits and more than 50 letters from children to the pets. (AP Photo/Marcy Nighswander, File) While "very shocked" by abuses uncovered by the press, a 27-year veteran of State Police says he wants to restore faith and accountability to 1. Comments must not be racist, misogynistic, homophobic, or otherwise bigoted. 2. Comments must not involve little more than name-calling and insulting remarks. 3. Comments must not be made by "anonymous" or "unknown". 4. Comments must not try to sneak in some free advertising for themselves (like spam). I invite anyone who wishes to comment on this blog to do so. I enjoy the comments, whether you agree with what I have said or not. But some people want to abuse the right to comment, and since this is my blog, I have decided to lay down the following rules. If your comment violates these rules, it will not be published. For the past 26 years I have served as sheriff for the people of Lafourche Parish, people who are as concerned about and tough on crime as any Quite how much cobalt this grey sector generates is the main "known unknown" in any analysis of world production. A "creuseur" descends into a tunnel at the mine in Kawama. About 100,000 cobalt miners in Congo use hand tools to dig hundreds of feet underground with little oversight and few safety measures, according to workers, government officials and evidence found. Credit:Michael Robinson Chavez/Washington Post But it is an undisputed fact that it has been seeping into the official supply chain for years. Speaking at a London Metal Exchange (LME) seminar in October, Tony Southgate, head of cobalt marketing at Eurasian Resources Group, warned that "it's almost inevitable (...) there are mobile phones in this room" containing cobalt from child labour in the DRC. The arrival of automotive companies to the dysfunctional cobalt market could in theory be a game-changer. The issue has moved to the top of the LME's own agenda after complaints that one of its registered brands, produced by China's Yantai Cash Industrial, could include metal sourced from the dark side of the DRC cobalt sector. The LME has written to producers asking for assurances on ethical and socially responsible minerals sourcing, while Yantai told the Financial Times that it is conducting its own due diligence exercise. Magic mineral: Most of the world's cobalt comes from the DRC. Legal opacity Child labour is only one of multiple problems posed by the DRC to the emergence of an efficient raw materials chain for commodities used in batteries. The legal and financial framework around the country's mining sector is both opaque and tinged with political interference. A recent study by US advocacy group The Carter Center described state mining company Gecamines as operating a "parallel state" and concluded that $US750 million ($943 million) from DRC's copper mine privatisation process cannot be tracked reliably. Such allegations are vehemently denied by the DRC government, but legal controversy is never too far away in the DRC mining sector. Glencore, one of the leading operators in the country, has been sucked into a controversy surrounding the role of Israeli billionaire Dan Gertler in the acquisition of assets now operated by its Katanga Mining subsidiary. Another operator, Groupe Forrest, is in legal dispute with Gecamines after the latter blocked access to its production site this year and awarded mining rights to another entity, Bloomberg reported. This particular three-way court tussle is having a direct market impact because production at the site has been halted, taking about 5,000 tonnes of cobalt out of the supply equation this year. The future is (DRC) cobalt Frankly, if the rest of the world could, it would happily not source any cobalt from the DRC. And the likes of Tesla and Apple are trying to do just that, working with potential future producers in Canada and the United States to create their own cobalt supply chains. There is no shortage of junior miner contestants in this ethical cobalt beauty contest, but right now the DRC is the dominant producer. And it's going to remain so for the foreseeable future. Six of the top 10 cobalt-producing assets last year were located in the DRC, according to S&P Global Market Intelligence. In 2022 the number will rise to nine out of the top 10, it forecasts. ("Cobalt - Supercharged as supply chain risk increases") Quite simply, unless someone works out how to engineer cobalt out of the lithium-ion battery, the world is going to need a lot more cobalt and it's still going to get most of it from the DRC. Dangerous dependency This is a dangerously concentrated dependency, leaving a whole supply chain beholden to the political, legal and ethical uncertainties surrounding the DRC's mining sector. The only comparison, S&P Global suggests, is a similar concentration of platinum production in South Africa. When that country was roiled by a wave of industrial action in 2014, it translated into a 20 per cent dent in global supply that year. At least there were above-ground platinum stocks to fill the supply gap. Whether there would be sufficient inventory of cobalt to buffer the market against serious disruption in the DRC is a very moot point. The arrival of automotive companies to this dysfunctional market could in theory be a game-changer if they stimulate more supply and force a collective industry move to responsible sourcing. A template already exists in a programme aimed at improving transparency in the tin-tantalum-tungsten mining sector of central Africa, including particularly challenging operating environments such as Kivu Province in the DRC. Right now, however, a company such as Volkswagen is still at the early stage of simply trying to secure enough units to deliver on its electrification promise. Attempts to lock in future supply at prices below current levels have not yet yielded any tangible results. VW and other automakers are learning, to quote Rebecca Gordon, head of technology metals at CRU, "the value of cobalt in the ground". Investing at the mine site would be one way of simultaneously ensuring supply in outright tonnage terms and in socially acceptable terms. Most car companies are still understandably wary of getting involved at such an upstream part of a supply chain. The cashless society is here and shopping centre landlords and tenants are now bracing themselves for the next phase - the exit of ATMs from malls. Although the concept might be daunting, less cash will pay off in the long run. ATMs could be a thing of the past in shopping centres as we move to a cashless society. Credit:Paul Jeffers There will be advantages for shopping centres and also individual brands in terms of tracking spending and also identifying trends in real time. For retailers, the opportunity in the digital era to track 'big data' will enable them to identify consumers' needs and wants in real time something that is more important than ever before. The picture of Eric Whittaker in our newspaper today is a harrowing one. More so for his father, Jamie Whittaker. The family asked The Sun-Herald to make public the image showing Eric on life support. Tubes and drips sustain a "life" of sorts in its final hours. As Eric lies comatose, it is remarkable and incongruous to see that the ankles of this Indigenous man are secured by metal shackles. It is in the same league as the shocking video that emerged last year showing 17-year-old Dylan Voller, head hooded, strapped into a mechanical restraint chair in detention in the Northern Territory. The events that preceded this scene are confused and, for the several agencies involved, there are unanswered questions. What isn't disputed is that Mr Whittaker, aged 36, homeless and a known drug user, was arrested in June and charged in relation to possession of stolen goods and missed court appearances. Lack of a fixed address meant bail was refused. On the last day of the month he was transferred from Surry Hills to the privately run Parklea jail in north-west Sydney and classified as a maximum-security inmate. Eric Whittaker in his hospital bed the day before he died. Events moved quickly on the Sunday morning of July 2. Doctors said he was in an isolation cell, agitated, incontinent and handcuffed. Corrective Services says he trashed the cell. Thereafter events differ, according to the family, depending on whether you listen to police, hospital staff or Corrective Services. After "medical intervention" he was transferred to Blacktown Hospital, bound hand and foot. Combative on arrival, his condition deteriorated. Doctors put a breathing tube down his throat, after which Mr Whittaker went into cardiac arrest. From here Corrective Services declined to discuss details and referred our reporters to Justice Health, which in turn referred questions to the Western Sydney Local Health District, which declined to comment citing, the oft-repeated mantra of privacy laws and that the matter was before the coroner. The hospital says it found an aneurysm. Next he was transferred to intensive care at Westmead Hospital, arriving unresponsive. Restraints were removed but, as the family's photograph testifies, the ankle shackles were in place. Life-support systems were switched off at 12.55pm on July 4. "They are lying! You are lying!" Those were the words of former Bosnian Serb Gen. Ratko Mladic, a defendant who could not contain his anger at being held to account for his crimes. As a judge read aloud the final trial judgment of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, Mladic, a man once known as the "Butcher of Bosnia", demanded that he stop reading the list of convictions: guilty of genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes. "I am very distraught," Mladic shouted in the courtroom in The Hague in the Netherlands. "Everything that you have said is pure lies. Shame on you." Yet as guards pulled his hands behind his back and removed him from the courtroom, the shame was on Mladic, a man who used to boast he would choose suicide over being tried in a foreign court. In part, the verdict meant that the bodies finally caught up with him. His conviction rested on a near-tidal wave of evidence: hundreds of witness statements, documents, public statements, recorded phone calls and television appearances. But it was the bodies of the people he had killed that gave life to his trial. Although digital techniques are changing the nature of war crimes investigations, Mladic's conviction is a reminder that the bodies of victims have a unique power even in death. Here are a few things that Australian audiences are used to seeing on a swimsuit runway: fake tan, toned limbs, Camilla caftans. And a few they're not: tummies, bums and even the odd scar. So when online retailer The Iconic cast some very realistic (i.e. size 12 and up) models in its swimwear parade on Thursday, Australia's diversity on the runway meter received a healthy boost. Because let's face it, traditionally swimwear and cellulite have not been friends on the runway. Doctors in France have found the first evidence that a drug normally used to treat lung, kidney or skin cancer may be able to eradicate HIV-infected cells in people with the AIDS virus. In a case described as potentially exciting by scientists who also advised caution, doctors said a 51-year old man given nivolumab - sold as Opdivo by Bristol-Myers Squibb - saw a "drastic and persistent decrease" in the reservoirs of cells where HIV normally hides away and evades standard treatments. The case, at the Pitie-Salpetriere Hospital AP-HP in Paris, was detailed in a report in the Annals of Oncology journal, where the same doctors also gave a case study of another patient treated with Opdivo who did not show any HIV benefit. "We must remain careful, especially because this is only one case," said Jean-Philippe Spano, a professor and head of the medical oncology department at the Paris hospital. "This is the first case of such a drastic decrease of the HIV reservoir (but) we have ... another case where there was no decrease." Some 37 million people worldwide have the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) that causes AIDS. Scientists have for years been trying to find a way of clearing HIV reservoirs with a view to being able to eradicate the virus completely and cure AIDS. A man whose investment property burned down five years ago has been denied an insurance payout after two courts found his friend deliberately set the home alight. Sachin Sharma's five-bedroom house at Ingleburn in Sydney's south-west was destroyed by fire on the night of June 12, 2012, two months before its insurance policy was due to expire. The Court of Appeal found there was a "compelling inference" the man "consented to the lighting of the fire". Credit:Louie Douvis No one was living at the Fields Road home at the time, though it was usually rented out for $600 a week. Mr Sharma applied to have NRMA Insurance pay out his policy, worth $466,252 for the home and $60,637 for the contents. Batten down the hatches everyone, it's going to be a grey weekend and a wild start to the working week, according to the Bureau of Meteorology. Isolated falls in excess of 70 millimetres and strong wind gusts are on the cards for Sunday and Monday, with large hail also possible for Tuesday. Severe storms were forecast to hit south-east Queensland over the coming three days. BoM meteorologist Michelle Berry said the state had also had a damp start to the weekend, with storms and significant rainfall across the southern interior on Saturday. Cunnamulla recorded 27 millimetres overnight, with surrounding areas receiving as much as 40 millimetres. The rain and storm activity continued into Saturday afternoon. Suggested representations for a Hindu temple, oil lamp and snorkel mask emoji, which have been added to a draft lift of candidates. Credit:Unicode The Deakin University graduate was working as a consultant for Australian universities and helping them improve their websites for students when he started Emojipedia as a pet project in 2013. He blames it on his obsession with little details and a tendency to examine and question efficiency - whether it be the way a university's website services its students or the way his local coffee shop processes its order. The vomiting emoji is among those approved by Unicode. "I like the details of things, that interests me, which annoys my fiancee to no end," he says. "When emojis came out, I saw them on the phone and then there was an update with some new ones and I thought, 'why these ones?' I Googled it and couldn't find anything [so] I dug into it and tried to come up with a list of which ones were new." He created a basic site that catalogued each emoji, each new update, which emojis had been adopted by vendors like Apple and Gmail and the way they were presented slightly differently across devices. For a while, no one cared, he admits. Then, one day in 2014 when he was on holidays in Spain, the site exploded. "I'd published the list of new draft candidates which had been on Unicode's site for a couple of months but Unicode is a standards body, the target audience isn't the public, so it was probably a bit hard to find. "Someone found the list on my site and ... then every website in the world suddenly went 'Wait, we can know which new emojis are going to come out? You mean to tell me there's a list of them?' They lost their collective minds and the whole site crashed." Ads on the site bring in a six-figure sum and, while Burge declines to say how much, it was enough to quit work in 2015. It also opened the door to Unicode membership, allowing him to have a say on future emojis. Before the spike, Burge thinks people were unaware there was a transparent, democratic process behind emoji creation. Unicode, made up of members like Apple and Microsoft and independent emoji advocates like Burge, accepts proposals for new emojis from members of the public. Proposals are approved if they meet criteria including high potential usage and distinctiveness. "Until then, I think there was a collective understanding of 'We just thought the list [of emojis] was done'," he says. "Maybe it caught Unicode by surprise." The explosion was not quite a surprise to Burge. He knew emojis would be popular - although perhaps not so much so that they would become a cult-like digital language. Emojis were used in about 2.3 trillion mobile messages last year and have spawned merchandise, a movie - and the emoji keyboard is on more mobile phones than any language keyboard worldwide. But Burge is being polite when he says that Unicode may have been caught by surprise. In fact, the popularity of emojis sparked a minor civil war among the group of web developers and typographers. Emails between Unicode members, published by BuzzFeed, show that some were angry that the apparent obsession with emoji might be jeopardising the important work of encoding minority languages. Irritated that his proposal to code a medieval punctuation mark had been sidelined, one Unicode contributor complained that the committee had "lost the plot". "Emoji, emoji, emoji. It's all about emoji," he wrote. "What does it take to get your attention, folks? An April Fools' proposal for EMOJI PUNCTUS EXCLAMATIVUS MARK?" For more than 20 years, Unicode has only encoded characters if it can be proven that they have appeared in published works. "The hard part is that emoji follows different rules," Burge says. "Emoji opens the gates and says this doesn't exist, there's nothing we have in the past, we just think it should exist. For a very small group of people who are just really into the tradition of how those standards have worked, it might be confronting." The conflict hits at the heart of a grander tussle over whether emoji is a valid language, one that is being created with the world's input. Decisions made by Burge and his fellow emoji overlords in Silicon Valley have sparked heated debates about religious, political, cultural and gendered messages inherent in the emojis that are - or are not - created. A red hair emoji is one of the most frequently requested. Credit:Emojipedia Unicode has been accused of being a group of old, white men with blind spots for the potential impact of, for example, not including any women's shoe emojis that are not high-heeled; having a narrow set of international foods and religious symbols; or not representing all hair colours. Burge has pursued a gender neutrality strategy, recognising that the selection of characters can reinforce stereotypes of, say, males as firefighters or women as dancers. He has also pushed for a red-hair emoji, one of the most common requests from Emojipedia users who tend to use Burge as their touch point for complaints and demands. "The giraffe is the one people request the most," he said. "For some reason, people are wild about the giraffe." Long term, the goal is to make everything customisable by skin colour, hair colour and gender. But Burge takes a practical line down the middle, saying decisions should be guided by data on potential usage. When I spoke to Hollywood screenwriter Christine Conradt in 2010, she told me she eventually would like to write a Christmas movie. I would love to turn my TV on at Christmas every year and see it come on, Conradt, who grew up in Lincoln and graduated from Lincoln East High School in 1992, said at the time. On Sunday, it finally will happen when 12 Days of Giving enjoys its premiere at 6 p.m. on the UP network (Spectrum channel 124) and repeats periodically throughout the month. Starring Ashley Jones (True Blood, The Bold and the Beautiful) and David Blue ("Star Gate Universe," Ugly Betty), the holiday film tells the story about a photographer, who after winning $50,000, becomes the Secret Santa for his town. In doing good deeds, he meets the single mother of a boy he helps, and falls in love. Conradt, 44, not only wrote the movie, she directed it, too. And heres the best part -- she filmed it entirely in Fremont, with shooting taking places in February in a variety of the citys locales. It was fun coming back to Nebraska to shoot this, said Conradt, who makes her home in Los Angeles, where shes become quite prolific as a screenwriter with more than 80 scripts to her credit, including several thrillers for Lifetime and LMN. Id been wanting to do a movie back home for a long time and the financial incentives put together by the Eastern Nebraska Film Office are what convinced us to it in Fremont. During a phone interview, Conradt said the film brought in more than $65,000 to Fremont businesses and $140,000 to Nebraska businesses during its four weeks of production and gave several college students at Midland University (Fremont) and Metro Community College (Omaha) internship opportunities. Conradt also provided acting jobs for locals. Fremont residents Linda Cutts and Heidi Melcher make their film debuts in supporting roles, and Conradt used many of her Nebraska friends as extras. We had other people who came from as far away as Kearney just to be in the background, Conradt said. Its a fun way to experience what its like to make movies. But filming in Nebraska didnt come without a few issues -- like a lack of snow, which, well, is important for a holiday film. Conradt said it snowed (and melted) the day they arrived, and once more during what was supposed to be a day off for the crew. Instead, Conradt and her team filmed locations day and night to get what she needed. We used everything we had with snow in it, she said. We had to make it look Christmas-y. For Conradt, whos been screenwriting regularly since 2005, 12 Days of Giving is her third directorial effort. The other two, 2015s The Bride He Bought Online (aka Flirting With Madness), which she also wrote, and 2017s Killer Mom were thrillers, her most familiar genre. Most of my career have been crime thrillers, so it was nice not to kill somebody in a movie for once, she said with a laugh. In the spring, she'll become a published author. She's expanded scripts from three of her movies with "at 17" in the title into young adult novels for HarperCollins. The first is expected out in May -- the same month she'll marry her fiance, David Baker. "Novelization is a very different experience from adaptation," Conradt said. "You're taking something that's bare bones and fleshing it out instead of paring it down." A tiny piece of Prussian Blue cloth will go to auction soon in Melbourne and it's expected to fetch a hefty price. The 40 x 85 miliimetre fragment is a scientifically-authenticated piece of Australia's most famous flag, flown at the Eureka Stockade in December 1854 by the rebelling miners. Another piece of the puzzle: Adrian Millane with his piece of the Eureka Flag. His family thought it was a piece of 'Nana's knickers' or a sugar bag. Credit:Ballarat Courier Auctioneers Mossgreen have put an estimate of $20,000 to $25,000 on the souvenir, which will be offered on December 11. The fragment has been on display at the Museum of Australia Democracy at Eureka (MADE) since 2013. Dights Falls, Abbotsford "The message to the Victorian community, particularly in north-east Victoria or Gippsland, is stay tuned about your river system and what it will do in your backyard." A number of moderate flood warnings remain in place, including for the Yarra, Ovens and King rivers. Jake Baker, Ivy Baker, Logan Farrar and Layla Baker use a boat to get from their front door on Simmie Road, Echuca. Melbourne was hit by its heaviest day of December rainfall in 25 years as more than 43 millimetres of rain fell on the city on Saturday and Sunday morning. The city recorded more than 66 millimetres between Friday and Sunday, beating its December average in the first three days of the month. A Maserati stricken in floodwater on Victoria Street, Seddon on Saturday. Credit:Twitter/@NebulousMusings But a Country Fire Authority captain in the state's north-east believes warnings of an "unprecedented weather event" wherein "farms would turn into lakes" were over-the-top. Myrtleford CFA captain Gary Gunson said the warnings were extreme considering what took place. After days of rain Dights Falls, Abbotsford has become raging white water rapids. "It was very flat, it wasn't what was expected, but we were prepared and that's important," Mr Gunson said. "We need warnings but maybe not to the extremities they did go." On Sunday, Daniel Andrews was forced to defend emergency warnings as he visited what was meant to be the flood's worst areas Myrtleford and Wangaratta greeting CFA and SES volunteers by exclaiming it was "drier than expected". Mr Andrews said the Bureau of Meteorology correctly predicted the amount of rain, but indicated he might have phrased warnings differently than the bureau. "We can look back on whether some comments were words I would have used but ultimately the bureau and emergency services, myself included, we've been very clear with the Victorian community," he said. "The total of rainfall was absolutely accurate the intensity of it was different and the exact location if it was a bit different, that's something we all should be happy about." State weather bureau manager Dr Andrew Tupper also defended the language and warnings saying the storms were "pretty much as we described". Mr Andrews said he was certain Victorians would continue to heed warnings, including those likely to be issued later in the week. "We've been a bit fortunate as well that the ground conditions were a bit drier at the beginning of the event compared to last year," he said. "We're not out of the woods yet though there are still significant waters to flow through the rivers systems. "We have further rain forecast for this week and the bureau are concerned it could be 100mm it all depends where it falls and the intensity." Statewide, the most rain fell at Mount St Leonard near Healesville which was drenched by 228 millimetres in three days - and Strathbogie, which had 221 millimetres The respite from the storm meant relief for the parts of the state under threat from flooding, as water began to recede in the towns of Euroa, Myrtleford and the Buckland Valley that had been put on high alert. During the weekend, more than 2700 calls were made for assistance across Victoria and 73 homes affected by flooding. Some had water above floor level. The federal and state government announced that payments of up to $1890 per household would be available for those affected by the storm. Authorities said on Sunday the worst of the massive storm system was over, with the focus shifting to what impact the rain would have as it moves further downstream. Moderate flood warnings remained in place for the Seven and Castle creeks and the Yarra River, with kayakers making the most of the deluge as the water passed through Dights Falls near Abbotsford. M All major roads had been opened by Sunday morning, with just a few minor thoroughfares closed by the downpour. A driver in Williamstown had to be rescued after he was swept off Racecourse Road due to a creek flooding the road, an MFB spokeswoman said. The man was uninjured during the 30-minute ordeal. Victorian Farmers Federation president David Jochinke said the impact on crops would be established the next few days. He said grain growers who worked hard to harvest before the storm came through would have been happy with their decision. Loading "What we need is a lot of wind and dry conditions to prevent more damage occurring from disease," he said. It is unclear whether Mr Carrozza has actually treated patients. But in describing his involvement in Black Saturday recovery efforts, his professional profile stated: "This is experiential knowledge, obtained in the field, is [sic] something that certificates simply cannot compare to". The 51-year-old, in a post that has now been removed from his company's website Mindworks Australia, also promoted himself as being part of a team who ran "critical incident stress management sessions" for victims of the 2009 Kinglake and Marysville fires. Adam Carrozza said he was a qualified clinical psychologist for more than two decades while holding senior positions at the Department of Human Services, an aged care and disability service provider, and as a mental health consultant. A self-described mental health specialist who has claimed to have supported victims of the Black Saturday bushfires is facing more than two dozen charges of impersonating a psychologist. Mr Carrozza's alleged qualifications and professional experience has also seen him serve as a board member for a mental health charity and appear as an expert in a prominent media publication where he was described as a psychologist. But the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency will claim that Mr Carrozza knowingly used the title of psychologist despite being unregistered. He is facing 25 charges in the Melbourne Magistrates Court relating to the unlawful use of a protected title and holding out as a registered practitioner when he was not registered with the Psychology Board of Australia. Mr Carrozza said "the work I do currently do and the work I did in the past, did not require me to be registered or even qualified as a psychologist. I have qualifications in psychology but I have never practised as a psychologist or treated anyone as a registered psychologist." He said he did not register with AHPRA because it was "not a requirement of any job that he have ever held. I have never treated patients, either at the Black Saturday bushfires or the Bourke St incident in January 2017. I accept that I did the wrong thing in the use of the term 'psychologist' given that I was not registered at the time with AHPRA. This is despite the fact that I have psychology qualifications and have successfully worked in the field for many decades." Much Christian commentary about the 500th anniversary of the start of the Reformation on October 31 has taken an oddly apologetic tone: Oh dear, how terrible that it divided the church, and we should put it behind us as soon as possible. Disagreement does not disturb me and, while I recognise the importance of history, G.K. Chesterton is right that tradition is the democracy of the dead. No three people can agree entirely on faith, let alone more than 2 billion Christians. No three people can agree entirely on faith, let alone more than 2 billion Christians. Credit:Tanya Lake Everyone must regret the wars, atrocities, cruelty, rivalries and prejudice that have marked the centuries since the Reformation, but they also marked the centuries before. Cruelty, rivalry and prejudice are always with us, whatever religious or political position we hold. Both sides of the Reformation divide, Catholics and Protestants, are alike capable of great generosity and also mean-spiritedness, of insightful rationality and also muddled bias. Indeed, all these are commonly found in the same person. When transgender trailblazer Georgie Stone first visited Melbourne's Royal Children's Hospital in 2007, she was the only patient that year to receive treatment for gender dysphoria. But the world is changing, and it's changing fast. Since 2012, the hospital's gender service has experienced an exponential increase in demand. More than 230 referrals have been received this year, and more than 700 since 2003. Dire warnings urging Melburnians to prepare for a super storm that could put lives at risk were appropriate, even though the worst of the storm missed the city and instead drenched the state's north-east, the Victorian head of the weather bureau says. The super storm dumped up to 200mm of rain near Euroa, about 175km north-east of Melbourne, as officials urged residents in the township, as well as further east in Myrtleford, to consider evacuating. But there was no flooding overnight in the metro region, despite the serious warnings prompting officials to cancel major events, businesses to prepare for major flooding, and even workers to leave the city early on Friday upon the urging of the state's premier. State weather bureau manager Dr Andrew Tupper said they would do it again if faced with a similar weather pattern. The family of an Australian woman missing for more than a week in Canada has arrived to join the search. Alison Raspa, 25, was last seen on November 22, when she left a bar in the ski village of Whistler, north of Vancouver on Canada's west coast, about 11.30pm. Alison Raspa moved to Canada in May. Credit:Facebook The Perth woman's phone was found in a small lakeside park, some five kilometres away, about 6.30am the following day. On Friday, Staff Sergeant Paul Hayes, of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police in Whistler, confirmed to AAP that Raspa's family had arrived from Perth. Two years ago representatives from Southern state tourism departments gathered at Georgia State University to start work on what would become the nation's first civil rights trail. They knew their states were dotted with landmarks that commemorated significant events in the struggle for racial equality. In Arkansas, for example, there is Little Rock Central High School, where nine brave African-American students enrolled in an all-white high school. In Alabama the Tuskegee Airmen National Historic Site honours black pilots who risked their lives during World War II even as Jim Crow laws denied them rights at home. Hazel Bryan, centre, her face twisted in anger, is part of the crowd taunting Elizabeth Eckford, right foreground, as she walks in front of Central High School in Little Rock on Sept. 4, 1957. National Guardsmen who blocked the main entrance wouldnot let Eckford enter. She was the first to try to break the school's color barrier. Eight others later were also turned away. Credit:AP While many sites were thriving on their own, some weren't connected to one another, even ones nearby, said Lee Sentell, Alabama's state tourism director. "No one had even done an inventory of civil rights landmarks," he said. "They saw themselves as one-offs and didn't realize they were part of a network." The group, under the umbrella of Travel South USA, decided to do something about it. Tegucigalpa: Five days after Hondurans went to the polls to elect a president, the outcome remained unclear as electoral authorities launched a count of thousands of disputed ballots amid protests and violence. Protesters supporting the main opposition challenger, Salvador Nasralla, have alleged widespread fraud and vowed to push for a national strike if incumbent President Juan Orlando Hernandez is officially declared the winner. A supporter of Libre Alliance presidential candidate Salvador Nasralla returns a canister of tear gas launched by riot police in Tegucigalpa, Honduras. Credit:AP With 94 per cent of ballots counted, Hernandez had 42.9 per cent of the vote, compared with 41.4 percent for Nasralla, the nation's Supreme Electoral Tribunal reported on Friday afternoon. The Central American nation of almost 9 million has been semi-paralyzed by protests and widespread street vandalism since the Sunday election. Its holiday show season in Lincoln, and, for that matter, everywhere around the country. Tuesday night, for example, acoustic guitar wizard Tommy Emmanuel will bring his Classics & Christmas tour to the Rococo Theatre. On Wednesday, pianist Lorie Line will take the same stage for her King of Kings show. And on Thursday, its Straight No Chaser Christmas, the vocal group's holiday concert at the Lied Center for Performing Arts. Emmanuels show is titled Classics & Christmas for a reason. The worlds best fingerstyle guitarist knows that a little Christmas music can go a very long way. Thats why we break it up, Emmanuel said. The first half of the show Ill be doing my solo stuff. For the second set, we reset the stage, get out the decorations, put a Christmas tree out there. The second set has Pat Bergeson, John Knowles and Annie Selleck with me. And Emmanuel says the Christmas half of the show is more than just running through the holiday standards something that needs to be done to keep the holiday-themed show fresh and involving for the performers and the audience. During the Christmas set, theres instrumental stuff, original stuff, he said. Its not just ho ho ho, Jingle Bells. Some of us have written songs. Theres a new song in the set that I wrote with a friend, he provided a great lyric. Its a song that somebody like Michael Buble could sing. Then theres a song called Christmas Memories, where I tell the audience about Christmas in Australia and what it was like when I was a kid. Then Ill kind of slide into Waltzing Matilda. Christmas Memories is the title cut of 2016 seasonal album, the second Christmas album hes recorded. And this years Classics & Christmas is his third holiday season tour. Emmanuels not alone in making regular Christmas tours. Some artists, including Line, make the annual holiday shows the anchor of their careers. Minneapolis-based and classically trained, Line has toured for 28 years. She's been bringing her annual holiday shows to Lincoln for many of those years. This one, with her pop chamber orchestra, is accompanied by a new CD, book and collector's bell. The annual holiday touring list includes a pair of acts with local connections: Mannheim Steamroller and Trans-Siberian Orchestra. Mannheim Steamroller, the Omaha neo-classical new age outfit led by Chip Davis, aka 18th century classic rock band, recorded the first of its 25 Christmas albums, boxed sets or compilations, in 1984. Now the all-time leader in Christmas records sold more than 28 million records besting No. 2 Elvis Presley by close to 12 million albums Mannheim Steamroller tours every year. Our first Christmas tour was 33 years ago in 1974 when we played in five cities, Davis said in the news release announcing the 2017 tour. Currently, we play an average of 75 cities each year and its a real privilege to continue sharing the holiday spirit through our performances. Davis, who no longer performs with Mannheim Steamroller, produces the tours, sending out two companies to play one- or two-nighters in cities across the country and putting a third version of Mannheim Steamroller in Orlando, Florida, where it headlines Universal Orlandos holiday celebration throughout the month of December. Mannheim Steamroller will play Omahas Orpheum Theatre Dec. 22 and 23. The Trans-Siberian Orchestra starts its holiday tour every year in Council Bluffs, Iowa. Thats where it comes to rehearse for the annual cross country tours that has made it one of the top ticket-selling acts of the first decade of the 21st century. Assembled by Paul ONeill, who died in April, TSO has been taking its holiday-themed, production-rich rock operas on holiday tours for 19 years, with one group heading east from Council Bluffs, the other going west. Were the first band in history to have split in half and got away with it, ONeill told the Journal Star in 2013 before TSO played Pinnacle Bank Arena, the only time its performed in Lincoln. We only do it in the winter, only in November and December. We were petrified the first year we did that. But the fans, I think understand why we did it. TSOs shows are filled with original songs in classical music/rock styles that have generated sales of more than 10 million albums. Mannheim Steamroller delivers a mix of originals and standards. So do Straight No Chaser, Line and Emmanuel. But even when he and his collaborators are playing a holiday standard, Emmanuel said there is plenty of improvisation. In every song, absolutely, Emmanuel said. Its fun, everybody takes solos. People are going to love it. You play a song like Let It Snow' and the harmonica takes a solo, its just beautiful. Regardless of whether the song is hundreds of years old or written this year, there are standards that have to met for it to be part of a satisfying holiday performance, Emmanuel said. It still has to be a great arrangement, has to groove, has to swing, he said. Its important its played right and we all have a good time. On October 7 the Office of the Director of National Intelligence and the Department of Homeland Security jointly stated that US intelligence believed Russia had directed the hacking of Democratic National Committee's email system during the election. Damaging emails were subsequently released via Wikileaks at key points during the campaign. Trump remains an unpopular president who commands real support in the Republican base. Credit:AP On October 31 Obama called Putin and told him to stop his interference. With investigations continuing by the FBI, intelligence agencies and Congressional committees about apparent financial ties between Trump associates and the Kremlin, Trump sacked the FBI director Robert Comey on May 9. There was always smoke. Mueller's recent moves suggest he believes he has found fire. Credit:AP The New York Times later reported that the following day Trump told Russian officials visiting the Oval Office, "I just fired the head of the FBI. He was crazy, a real nut job,I faced great pressure because of Russia. That's taken off." On May 11 Trump told NBC, "When I decided to [fire Comey], I said to myself, I said you know, this Russia thing with Trump and Russia is a made up story." Paul Manafort, accompanied by his lawyers, arrives at federal court in Washington on November 2. Credit:AP On May 17 Mueller was appointed Special Counsel for the Justice Department to lead the collusion investigation. Key moments The first sign that he was making concrete advances came on October 30 with news of charges being laid against two key figures. One was Paul Manafort, a political gun-for-hire who had made a fortune consulting for the ousted pro-Putin Yanukovych government in Ukraine before being appointed Trump's campaign manager. The other was his business partner, Rick Gates. They surrendered to the FBI on October 30 and have pleaded not guilty to charges including conspiracy against the United States, conspiracy to launder money and lying to the FBI. Even more chilling for Trump's White House was the revelation at the same time that months earlier, on July 27, George Papadopoulos, a former foreign policy adviser to Donald Trump, had secretly pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI. In the intervening period he had acted as a so-called "proactive witness" effectively acting as a spy for the investigation in return for leniency. There have been other extraordinary revelations. In May the Washington Post revealed that Trump's son-in-law and senior adviser, Jared Kushner, and Russia's ambassador to Washington, Sergey Kislyak, discussed the possibility of setting up a secret and secure communications channel between Trump's transition team and the Kremlin, using Russian diplomatic facilities in an apparent move to shield their pre-inauguration discussions from monitoring. A fortnight ago Kislyak said during an interview with Russian media that he could not name all the Trump officials he has spoken with because it would take too long. Where Flynn fits in News that Flynn has pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI and, in return for leniency, agreed to co-operate with the investigation is the most serious development yet. Flynn is a former general who became central to Trump's campaign, a hyper-partisan who led chants of "Lock Her Up!" about Hillary Clinton during Trump's boisterous nomination convention last year and railed against the dangers of Islam. He had also had his own Russian ties, sitting next to Putin and delivering a foreign policy speech during a function hosted by the Kremlin-controlled media outlet RT in 2015, for which he was paid $45,000. On January 20 he was appointed to be Trump's National Security Adviser, one of the most senior roles in administration. He resigned just weeks later after it was revealed he had lied to Vice-President Mike Pence about his dealings with Kislyak. Investigators will now be asking him if Trump or another official instructed him to contact the Russians, and if so, to what end. "Those in Flynn's orbit should be terrified by today's development," Stephen A. Miller, a lawyer and former federal prosecutor who has specialised in corruption cases told the Washington Post. "A structural plea like this is more ominous for President Trump and others than one where the book was thrown at Flynn. Today's deal signals that Flynn is being rewarded for co-operation deemed highly valuable by Mueller." Mueller's footsteps When Mueller was appointed as Special Counsel even Trump's allies noted that he was the right man for the job. Mueller is a combat veteran who was decorated for his heroism in Vietnam. He went on to become an FBI agent and then FBI director, famed for his impartiality. He was also the man who sharpened FBI's focus on counter-espionage. The path he has taken in this investigation resembles one that he might once have led into organised crime. He started at the outside of the organisation, he secured leverage over foot soldiers and turn them into informants, moving higher up the chain at each point. Having flipped Flynn there is not much higher he can go. Only three names spring to mind Jared Kushner, Donald Trump Jr, Donald Trump. So far the White House is playing down Flynn's admission. "Nothing about the guilty plea or the charge implicates anyone other than Mr. Flynn," said Trump's lawyer Ty Cobb in a statement. "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." This is optimistic at best. If Mueller believed his investigation ended with Flynn, he would have thrown the book at him rather than cut a deal with him for even more information. Where to next? It could be that the White House is right, that Mueller's investigation will end before Christmas without more revelations. But the signs are that Mueller believes people even closer to the president or the president himself broke the law in colluding with Russia and in seeking to derail the subsequent investigation. These would be impeachable offences, but impeachment is a political rather than a judicial process, once that would need to conducted by a Republican-controlled congress. if the people of Biafra want Republic of Biafra, it will be a reality during my administration. ----Donald Trump Donald Trump I wi... Lets cut right to the chase here. Songs of Experience is U2s best record in 20 years, a dramatic rebound from the disaster, both musically and p.r.-wise of Songs of Innocence, the incoherent album that was jammed into everyones iTunes, whether they wanted it or not. Rather than simply being a response to Trumps America/Brexit Britain, etc., Songs of Experience was written, Bono has said, as a series of letters to his wife, Ali, his children and the bands audience. The latter comes via the self-deprecating The Showman -- key line: I got just enough low self esteem/To get me where I want to go -- the funniest song on a joyful record. Theres some age of Trump social commentary from Bono, but thankfully not enough to bog things down and hes not trying to save the world much either. Rather, the personal approach makes the songs universal, exploring sentiments like Youre the Best Thing About Me and the coded apology to Ali of Landlady. Even American Soul, the most political song on the album on which Kendrick Lamars raps battle with Bonos singing, is so uplifting and rocking that its message goes down easy and its hook of You are rock and roll/Came here looking for American Soul sticks in the mind. Songs of Experience was put together by a passel of producers and engineers, evidence that during its three years of production, U2 worried over every single sound that would come out on the record. But, despite a few missteps, like the Auto-Tune vocals on the otherwise lovely opener Love Is All We Have Left, the record has the coherence of a band doing what it is supposed to do -- The Edges chiming, ringing guitar all over the place; Larry Mullen Jr.s drums driving the songs and Adam Claytons bass bringing it all together. Grade: A Bilingual navigators and health care enrollment specialists will be on-hand today at Santa Teresa Catholic Church from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. to help Brazos Valley residents enroll in health insurance through the healthcare.gov online marketplace. Area residents hoping to sign up for health care provided by the Affordable Care Act have until Dec. 15 to enroll in a plan. Stephen Galvin, a marketplace navigator with the Brazos Valley Council of Governments, urges anyone in need of enrollment assistance to attend today's help session, or to contact Enroll Brazos Valley by calling 979-595-2806, option 4, to either ask a question or sign up for a one-on-one appointment. "Anyone that needs to be insured or needs to renew, it's a good idea just to see if you're eligible for lower cost insurance through healthcare.gov. We're here to answer questions and help people through the process," said Galvin. Today's help session is co-hosted by Brazos Valley Council of Governments and HealthPoint. BVCoG will have also offer extended office hours on Tuesdays and Thursdays leading up to Dec. 15, so area residents looking for enrollment help can schedule an appointment and seek help up to 7 p.m. Navigators help those signing up for health insurance to most accurately determine their eligibility for cost-sharing reductions and advanced income tax credits, which help the majority of those seeking insurance to control their out-of-pocket and monthly premium costs. Brazos County residents will have two insurance firms -- Ambetter and Blue Cross Blue Shield Texas -- to choose from in 2018 for the first time in two years. Galvin said Ambetter plans have been especially popular because of the generally lower monthly premium. "We're actually kind of worried that not enough people are coming in to compare options with the new plan in Brazos County and some of the other surrounding counties," said Galvin, recommending that even those policyholders who are happy with their current insurance schedule an appointment to determine if a cheaper plan is available. Doing so, he added, allows area residents to make the most informed possible choice regarding their 2018 coverage. So far, Galvin said, navigators at BVCoG have answered more general questions from residents during this open enrollment period than this time last year; they have answered 200 questions through calls and walk-ins, compared to 140 last year. "We're confident that the end numbers will be higher than last year," Galvin said of the number of people enrolled in marketplace coverage by the end of the open enrollment period. Todd Gunnels, vice president of Anco Insurance, said brokers at his company aren't hosting enrollment events, but are helping people "on a constant basis." Gunnels is a broker, which, unlike navigators, do not get a stipend from the federal government to help people sign up for health insurance. Instead, brokers receive a small monthly commission for each person they help enroll. Gunnels said there was "maybe a bit of an uptick" in those who have signed up for insurance compared to last year. Regarding whether to sign up for an Ambetter or Blue Cross Blue Shield Texas plan, Gunnels said "it kind of depends what system you lean toward." For those more apt to use CHI St. Joseph, Ambetter is a better bet, but if for those who would use the College Station Medical Center, it's best to go with Blue Cross. To set up an appointment with Anco, call 979-776-2626. Upperclass students living in double-occupancy rooms at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln could get new block meal plan options at lower costs beginning next year. The NU Board of Regents on Tuesday will set residence hall room and board rates at the university's campuses in Lincoln, Omaha and Kearney, as well as the Nebraska College of Technical Agriculture in Curtis. The meeting is scheduled to begin at 10 a.m. in the Varner Hall boardroom at 3835 Holdrege St. Offering lower-priced meal plans to returning and transfer students will be used as an incentive to keep those students in UNL residence halls, according to the regents' agenda. While room rates will rise 3.5 percent next year from $11,044 to $11,430 students will be allowed to buy cheaper plans with fewer meals. The "All Access Meal Plan," which replaces the "7-Day Plan," will cost $4,450 annually beginning next year. The "Red 440 Meal Pack" will offer 220 meals each semester for a total $3,400 next year, a discount of 24 percent from the "All Access Meal Plan," according to the university. A "White 250 Meal Pack," available to third-year students and above and costing $2,400 annually, would save students 46 percent on meal costs paid to the university over the standard plan. "(Upperclass) students will see substantial discounts and greater options providing significant savings and greater flexibility in their dining choices," the agenda states. "Kitchens are available in several residence halls allowing students to cook their own meals whenever they choose." The revised rates will also offer a $500 discount to returning UNL students who choose to live on campus, changing a 1993 program locking students into a room and board rate for their university career. By offering a flat rate to all students beginning in 2018-19, UNL expects to attract more students to campus. The proposed increase to UNL's rates will keep costs at the median of its peer institutions, the university said. Brazos Fellowship -- which is aiming to provide food for the holiday through the Blessings in Bags program -- is coming up short in putting together the kits that help feed 1,500 families in Bryan-College Station. According to current organizer Michele Colburn of College Station, school counselors in both Bryan and College Station, as well as staff members with the Area Agency on Aging, help determine how many children and elderly will be in need of food over the holidays. "Most of the kids in this program are usually getting two meals per day at school during the school year," Colburn said. "So for two weeks on Christmas break they aren't at school to get those meals." Once the church and program leaders receive the estimated numbers of families in need, they begin collecting money to purchase discounted canned goods from the Brazos Valley Food Bank. Each family will receive more than 20 items, including boxes of pasta, cans of meat and vegetables, jars of peanut butter and jelly, boxes of oatmeal and bags of beans and rice. Volunteers from the community will assemble bags of food on Dec. 10, and school counselors and agency staff will pick up the bags the next day to be distributed before the end of the month. Of the 1,500 families that will be helped this year, Colburn said about 78 have yet to be secured with donations. A meal for one family costs $15, and Brazos Fellowship will be accepting financial donations up through the time of bag assembly. Donations can be made by visiting www.brazosfellowship.com/give, or can be dropped off or mailed to the church, which is located at 226 Southwest Parkway E. in College Station. Colburn noted that the church is asking for financial donations, as Blessings in Bags food is purchased and rationed for distribution exclusively via the Food Bank. For years, Blessings in Bags has provided families with meals during the holidays, although the nonprofit powering Blessings in Bags resigned their efforts after 2015, Colburn said. She explained that in 2016 a school counselor with Oakwood Intermediate School in College Station mentioned to her that the school's students and their families who have benefited from the food program in the past wouldn't be getting their donations. Colburn and her friend Holly McBerty took the initiative to keep the program alive, and called upon McBerty's church, Brazos Fellowship, to help. In 2016, Brazos Fellowship gathered $20,000 for the program in less than three weeks. The Bryan-College Station community is invited to join in bagging on Dec. 10. "It's a great family event," Colburn said. "People bring their kids. It's a good way to show them how families benefit. One of the kids receiving the food might be their classmate." For information on volunteering, email blessingsinbagsbcs@gmail.com. A Bryan man was sentenced to 25 years in prison Friday after pleading guilty to a March drug charge. Authorities arrested Stephon Craig, 29, on March 9 around 8 p.m. near CHI St. Joseph Regional Hospital after police found him in the parking lot. Before being winded in the parking lot, police said Craig had been running from them after getting out of his car when they tried to stop him for a traffic violation. Police said Craig had been holding a tan backpack as he fled, which he did not have in his possession when authorities caught up to him. Police later found the backpack next to an apartment swimming pool nearby. Authorities found cocaine, methamphetamine, individual baggies filled with marijuana and a digital scale inside the bag. Craig's punishment range on the manufacturing or delivery of a controlled substance between one and four grams charge was enhanced to up to life in prison because of his prior criminal convictions. Brazos County Assistant District Attorney Steve Zimmerman said in a statement that Craig had "earned a lengthy prison sentence" after repeatedly "putting the safety of our community in jeopardy." "Thanks to vigilant police and citizens, this defendant was quickly captured and brought to justice," Zimmerman said in his statement. Bryan Mayor Andrew Nelson and College Station Mayor Karl Mooney will be going head-to-head today in a friendly Salvation Army bell-ringing competition. They hope to raise money for families in need during the holiday season. The competition will take place at the Wal-Mart stores located on Briarcrest Drive in Bryan and on Brothers Boulevard in College Station. From noon until 1 p.m. today, the mayors will ring Salvation Army bells with donation red kettles, with each mayor at their own city's Wal-Mart location. This marks the 11th year the mayors have competed for donations. With models in tow, dozens of barbers will make their way to College Station this weekend to show off their skills and maybe make some money along the way. Mike's Barber Studio, 607 University Drive East, will have its first Barber Games on Sunday. Mike Espitia, owner of the studio, is expecting around 35-40 barbers from all over to test their skills in timed competitions. The event includes five competitions: One of the competitions will be specifically for students; the others will test licensed barbers on their freestyle designs and their ability to quickly execute a fade, both on a woman and on men with and without beards. Espitia says the overall winner will earn $500, a trophy and clippers. Second and third place will each get a pair of clippers and trophies. But the competition is about more than the prize. The owner credits his start in the industry to competitions such as the one he is hosting Sunday. He hopes the competition will bring a little bit of exposure to the area and its barbering scene, but it's also a matter of pride to him that he is able to bring this event to the area. "I used to compete all over Texas and all over other states. Just competing, doing classes or doing showcase work," he said. "It's kind of how I got started, so I want to show this city what I used to do." He said he has been cutting hair for about seven years and was able to open a store five years out of school. This would not have been possible without the experience he got from such competitions. "It helps you in your shop -- it helps you with your speed and time," he said. "And just having somebody critique your work. It puts pressure on you. It's challenging, but every day you challenge yourself with different haircuts. It gives you exposure, but it also help you learn." The studio is charging $15 for admission for anyone who is interested in watching. To purchase tickets, visit http://bit.ly/barbergames Contestants will check in at 2:30 p.m., and doors will open at 3 p.m. My first thought was: Youve got to be kidding. I was reading the online order form for my daughters senior-class portrait and noticed we had the option of altering her appearance for a price. For $20, we could whiten her teeth. Or her eyeballs. For $40, we could make her tan lines disappear. Or even the braces on her teeth. (If she had either, anyway.) Youve heard about the price of beauty. Well, in this case, the price was $120 to get the whole eye-whitening, braces-vanishing shebang. But it didnt stop there. Enhanced retouching also offered us the chance to soften age lines. Yes, age lines for a 17-year-old. No wonder children are growing up obsessed with their body images. The adults are telling them they should. This isnt new. A few years ago, an all-girls school in Kansas City made waves when the schools photo company slimmed down the faces and bodies of the students without their permission. One senior who had grown to accept her big cheeks said she hardly recognized her altered picture, saying she felt like she was looking at her prettier twin sister. Let that sink in for a moment. In another case, a mom in Australia finally realized why her 8-year-old sons school picture looked so odd because the company had photoshopped in his missing front teeth. Surely we have lost the plot when we start photoshopping an 8 year olds gappy grin, Angela Pickett wrote on her blog. She said she was baffled. I was actually irritated. I wanted to tell the photo company that my daughter is beautiful exactly the way she is. And not just beautiful, but smart, independent, creative and entrepreneurial and I dont need some company giving her a list of all the possible physical imperfections she might consider photoshopping away. I mean, I have to imagine that there are any number of kids who never worried that the whites of their eyes werent white enough until offered the chance to photographically bleach them. Pediatric psychologist Dr. Beth Long, the interim chief of behavioral health at Nemours Childrens Health in Orlando, said the retouching offers play into kids worst fears. This immediately sends a message that we need to alter our presentation, she said, during a period in their lives that is so critical in developing identity. In many ways, this is already the world of a 21st-century teen an Instagram, Snapchat society where kids constantly share photos of themselves using filter and photo technologies that allow them to change their appearances quicker than any photo company can. In fact, Luke Stewart, vice president of Dean Stewart Photography the Brevard County company that handles photos for schools throughout Central Florida, including my daughters said that, while his company wont thin out students, customers expect many of the other photoshop options. The customers come to us with a perspective that photoshop can fix anything, he said. And he does mean anything. Parents once asked for his company to remove the piercings from their child but only in the copies they wanted to give to family members. The piercings stayed in the yearbook pics. Maybe grandma didnt want to see it, he supposed. Remember, most of the time, its not the child making the request. Its the parent. And one thing we dont do is argue with mama. Its hard to argue with that from a business perspective. I guess I get cleaning up temporary skin conditions. Still, Long said she still would rather see companies respond to requests for photoshopping, rather than offer them as a laundry list of physical flaws that kids may not have even considered they had. Besides, adolescence is messy. Braces, bad haircuts and missing teeth are part of growing up. In my senior picture, I had ridiculous orange hair, thanks to a summer of lifeguarding and well Sun-In. I had to own that. I dont suffer any delusions that we can or should put the photoshop genie back in the bottle. Instead, the best thing we can do is what Long suggested remind our children that they are loved. And beautiful. Both inside and out. Remind them that they dont need to live up to anyone elses standards for beauty, whether its a magazine cover or a friends retouched yearbook photo. I think my daughter knows that. When I asked her if she had considered getting any of the retouches, she just shrugged and said: I dont really care about any of that. Smart girl. Smart, beautiful girl. Scott Maxwell writes for The Orlando Sentinel. Hal Daub filed for re-election for the District 8 seat on the University of Nebraska Board of Regents on Friday, the first day candidates can file for the 2018 election cycle. Daub, a former U.S. congressman and Omaha mayor, was first elected to the Board of Regents in 2012, where he represents a majority of Douglas County. "I'm filing for re-election today because I don't want there to be any question about my intention to campaign hard to retain my position," Daub said in a statement. "The university has been a big part of my education and the education of family members for years. I want our young people to have the best educational opportunities for the most economical dollars." Barbara Weitz, a former instructor at the University of Nebraska at Omaha who has a building named for her on that campus, said in August she intends to run against Daub for the District 8 seat. Several candidates have also announced their intention to run for the District 4 seat that will be left vacant by Bob Whitehouse at the end of next year. Larry Bradley, a member of the Papio-Missouri River Natural Resources District board, said he intended to file for candidacy. Bradley has unsuccessfully run for the regents twice before, in 2006 and 2012. And Elizabeth O'Connor, a UNO graduate and former student regent who now practices law in Omaha, announced her plans in November to run for the District 4 spot on the board. Whitehouse, of Papillion, said in October he would not seek a third term on the board representing a swath of Douglas and Sarpy counties, including downtown and south Omaha. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate 3 1 of 3 Fairfield County Chorale / Contributed photo Show More Show Less 2 of 3 Fairfield County Chorale / Contributed photo Show More Show Less 3 of 3 The Hallelujah Chorus from Handels Messiah has become a staple at many a holiday concert, but the Baroque masterpiece is done rarely in its entirety. The Fairfield County Chorale will address this lapse at its holiday concert on Sunday afternoon Dec. 10 at the Norwalk Concert Hall, said music director David Rosenmeyer, adding that the concert will feature the 100-plus voices of the Fairfield County Chorale, its Orchestra and four dazzling young soloists soprano Pascale Beaudin, countertenor Gon Halevi, tenor Nils Neubert and bass Andrew Cummings. Currently Reading SEEN: Two Roads and THC Road Home for the Holidays fundraiser 2017 BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) North Dakota has developed state rules for use of the controversial weed killer dicamba on soybean crops next year, including an application deadline to which chemical maker Monsanto objects. However, a court battle similar to the one in Arkansas over dicamba restrictions in that state appears unlikely, with a Monsanto official saying the company will focus instead on urging North Dakota officials to be more flexible. Dicamba has been around for decades, but problems arose over the past couple of years as farmers began to use it on soybean and cotton fields where they had planted new seeds engineered to be resistant to the herbicide. Because it can easily evaporate after being applied, the chemical can settle onto neighboring unprotected fields and damage them. In North Dakota there were more than 200 such complaints this year. The federal Environmental Protection Agency last month announced a deal with agribusiness giants Monsanto, BASF and DuPont for new voluntary labeling requirements for the chemical for the next growing season. Dicamba products will be labeled as restricted use, requiring additional training and certifications for applicators and limiting when and how the herbicide can be sprayed. States can go further, and North Dakota has. For example, applications of certain formulations on soybeans will be banned after June 30 or the crops first bloom phase, whichever comes first. A violation could carry a potential fine of up to $5,000. We believe that a one-size-fits-all approach does not adequately address some of the unique conditions we face in our state, Agriculture Commissioner Doug Goehring said. Goehring said farmers should strongly consider using pre-emergence weed management tactics, and that relying solely on post-emergence applications of dicamba or any herbicide for weed control should be avoided. The first day of candidate filings in Hall County saw a number of people filing for elected office, including two running to represent District 3 on the Hall County Board of Supervisors. Republicans Dick Hartman and Amber Schuppan-Gerdes both filed Friday to run for a seat on the county board. Current District 3 Supervisor Steve Schuppan told the Independent Thursday that he does not plan to seek re-election. He said he is getting older and there is a need for younger people to file to run for a seat, and to serve, on the county board. Hartman said he is no stranger to the county board, having previously served on the board for 16 years. I have some experience on the county board and I felt I could bring (that to the board), he said. I just dont like the taxes. Weve got to get these taxes down. Its tough, especially on the rural people. Weve got to quit spending so much money. Hartman said getting spending under control and decreasing taxes is the most important issue facing the county board. He added his plan for getting spending under control is to look at everything. I just think I have enough experience and enough common sense, Hartman said. I am going to work for the people that put me in there. If I get in, then they will have somebody to talk to if theyve got a problem. I plan to be wide open. Ive always been that way and I am not going to change. Schuppan-Gerdes also filed to run for county supervisor representing District 3. She is currently a real estate agent with Action Property Management in Grand Island. Schuppan-Gerdes is the daughter of Steve Schuppan and the granddaughter of longtime Hall County supervisor William Schuppan. My father and grandfather have both served as Hall County supervisors, Schuppan-Gerdes said. I want to continue on with the legacy of it. Schuppan-Gerdes said her father has not given her any advice on how to serve as a Hall County supervisor and that she has her own opinions. She said she is a farm girl with an agricultural-based background, but feels she can bring her own newer, fresher ideas to the county board. If elected to the county board, Schuppan-Gerdes said she plans to preserve her father and grandfathers legacy, preserve Republican values on a local level and work to reach her full potential. In reaching my potential, I have done the Leadership Tomorrow program and have served on the Grand Island Board of Realtors, Schuppan-Gerdes said. I learned a lot through that and I am ready to take on that next step. I think that Leadership Tomorrow tool is very valuable. I felt like I have an obligation to myself and to the community to use that tool and continue on and serve at a county level. Schuppan-Gerdes said a huge concern for her as a real estate agent is property rights and that she wants to preserve them if elected. She added some important issues the county board faces is dealing with the turnover in Hall County officials with the number of resignations this year and the challenges of working with a whole new team. From what I can see from my point of view, it looks like there is just a lot of turnover, Schuppan-Gerdes said. There doesnt appear to be a ton of working together. I am hoping to offer some solutions with just being able to get things done and move forward. Schuppan-Gerdes added she plans on attending Hall County Board of Supervisors meetings in the near future to educate herself on what other issues the board faces. She said she also plans to get out in the community to hear the concerns of those living in District 3. They are going to be seeing a lot of me, Schuppan-Gerdes said. I am going to be out in the community to the Cairo Christmas event on Monday. I firmly believe that I am there to represent the people, so I want to hear from them. I want to hear what their concerns are and hear what they have to say about the issues. That way, I can serve them the best that I can. In District 1, incumbent Republican Supervisor Doug Lanfear filed for re-election. He said he is running for a second term because he does not think his work is done. I think there is more work I can do, Lanfear said. I am just learning the system. I am to the point now where I think I can finally maybe get some good things done. The thing is the Hall County Courthouse is not done yet. There are board rooms that still need repaired. We need to get that done. I dont get things half done. When asked about his key accomplishments in his first term in office, Lanfear said he alone did not accomplish things during his first term. He credited the work of the entire county board for the items passed in his first term. We got a new agreement with the (Central Nebraska) Humane Society, he said. We have come a long way on the courthouse and the steps still need repaired. We have plans in the works for other buildings now. Lanfear said the most important issue the county board faces is property taxes and the budget. I think I am a little better prepared to handle the situations that come along, he said. A lot of it is simply getting to know people and their abilities. I feel I am just smarter about the operations of the county. In other Hall County races, Alaina Verplank filed to run as a Republican for Hall County treasurer. Verplank is currently the deputy Hall County treasurer and has worked in the office since 2007. Current Hall County Treasurer Peg Pesek is retiring and has chosen not to seek re-election. I started in the motor vehicle department. I came up to the real estate office in 2010 and worked there, Verplank said. In 2012, I was appointed deputy treasurer when Peg Pesek became treasurer. I just feel like I am ready for the next step in this process. In preparation for potentially being elected Hall County treasurer, Verplank said Pesek has been training her and teaching her the ropes of the position. Peg has really been helping me go through the process, Verplank said. Upstairs in real estate, we have different things we have to do. She has been going through those with me and I have been taking a lot of notes. Verplank added Hall County voters should vote for her as she has worked in all areas of the treasurers office. The filing deadline for incumbents is Feb. 15, 2018, and March 1, 2018, for non-incumbents. The primary election is May 15, 2018. The attitude and stigma toward HIV has changed since the 1980s, but those on a panel Friday afternoon say education about HIV is still needed, Three panelists consisting of Andrew Brackett, prevention and support services supervisor with the Nebraska AIDS Project; Susan Goodman, a registered nurse and a Nebraska HIV Care and Prevention Consortium Committee member; and the Rev. Kelly Karges, senior pastor at Trinity United Methodist Church, all spoke on the HIV panel Thursday. LeEllen Haynes, a member of Trinity United Methodist Church, said the panel was held in recognition of World AIDS Day, which is Dec. 1, and was meant as a way to educate the pubic about HIV. Brackett said there has been a large amount of stigma attached to HIV over the years, which has led individuals affected with it to feel a lot of shame and hesitation to inform others of their HIV status. He added it is important for people to have honest, open conversations about HIV to normalize the topic and to debunk the myths associated with HIV. One of the challenges we run into a lot of times is people think someone is injecting drugs or sexually promiscuous, Brackett said. Ideas like that start coming to the forefront and people automatically start judging somebody who has HIV. He added that because of this, it has become increasingly difficult for people to sit down and talk about what HIV means for someone living with it. Brackett said the six bodily fluids that can transmit HIV are blood, semen, vaginal secretions, breast milk, rectal fluids and pre-seminal fluids. He said, despite the information presented in the 1980s, it is OK for someone to drink out of the same water bottle as someone with HIV, come into contact with their saliva, eat with the same utensils or hug them. I am at no risk of getting HIV from being around them, Brackett said. I think people are afraid because the information that was first given to us in the early 1980s when we first started seeing cases of HIV in this country had a lot of fear about it. They did not know a lot about it at that time and the media constantly blasted information about people who are impacted by HIV and the potential affects of coming into contact with someone who could have HIV. Brackett added that when he started with the Nebraska AIDS Project, he would often tell people they would only live 15 to 20 years. Now, with proper medical care and treatment, he said they can live a completely normal life with HIV. In addition, Brackett said for a person taking their HIV medication on a daily basis, and who have an undetectable load in their body for at least six months, the chances of them transmitting HIV to their partner is impossible. This is a game changer for us in the HIV community, because, for years, we constantly had a conversation that if you have HIV, you should never have unprotected sex with another partner because you could infect them with HIV, he said. We are changing the conversations we are having with people because there have been changes in the field and information we are learning now. Goodman said she, too, feels there have been a significant number of changes over the years in how HIV is looked at. I would go to the schools and recommend that if you were a sexually active teen with more than one partner, you should get tested, she said. I would tell them where to get tested. They would say, I dont need to know that information because I dont feel sick. Even if I did test positive for HIV, I am not ready to deal with that. I am not willing to change my lifestyle. The other thing is I dont want other people to know that I got tested for HIV. Goodman added that today, the support system for those living with HIV is more readily available than it was in the past. Karges talked about the support system his church offers those who are HIV-positive or have a loved one who is HIV-positive. He said the book of resolutions for the United Methodist Church calls on its congregations to be places of openness for people with HIV and their loved ones. Karges added it encourages churches to overcome the negative stigma and attitudes associated with HIV. A part of recognizing World AIDS Day in the United Methodist Church is that the church should have a congregational HIV ministry, Karges said. The basic principle is if they have HIV, or have a loved one affected by HIV, that should be the general message of all United Methodists. Karges said he is trying to get the word out that his office is a safe place for people affected by HIV. He added he tries to be visible as a safe person. I want those folks (affected by HIV) to know that if they need to talk to somebody or find out more about the Nebraska Aids Project, they can come to my office and it is a safe place, Karges said. Brackett said a lot of what his job entails is helping people living with HIV, connecting them with medical providers, getting them appointments with primary care physicians and ensuring their overall health is excellent. All of that starts with people getting tested and knowing their status so they know what to do if they have HIV, he said. Among the people who rave about avocados are two of my co-workers, who are in their 20s. Who doesnt love avocados? If you dont like avocados, youre living life wrong, says Kit Grode. Sarah Mindrup is devoted to avocado ranch dressing. Avocado ranch speaks to my soul, she says. Ive come across a few guys who enjoy avocados. But the biggest admirers of the pear-shaped tropical fruit are clearly women. Co-worker Zach Mayhew shares my suspicion of avocados. It scares me, he says. He cant trust that its going to have a satisfying taste. Hell have sushi made with avocado, but thats about it. I found many avocado fans at the Hall County Courthouse. Definitely two thumbs up, says Hall County Deputy Melissa Kier. Most of the women in the Clerk of the District Court office are avocado enthusiasts. Clerk of the District Court Valorie Bendixen loves avocado with salmon and lettuce. Just asking her about the green fruit gets her mouth watering. Judy Kaminski likes avocado any way I can get it. She likes it in dips or salad, or just cut up. Another employee said she asks her sister, who lives in California, to send her a case. She smashes up an avocado with a fork and enjoys it with salsa and chips. Sometimes, she orders the Pico Guacamole sandwich from McDonalds. Melora Mahan likes avocado cut up in cottage cheese. She also likes it mixed with ranch dressing. When I told Kaminski Im not crazy about avocados, she said, What is wrong with you? Another woman who works in the Clerk of the District Court office is a lot like me. When an order of nachos comes with green goop on top, she removes it. When it comes to the popularity of avocados, she just doesnt get it. To her, guacamole doesnt have any flavor. Avocado is the main ingredient in guacamole. I almost never think about avocados. But when I do, it occurs to me that avocados just showed up, without explanation, in the 1970s. Theyre just one more wacky thing exported from California, where it is the official state fruit. Archaeologists found evidence of the avocado plant in Peru dating back 8,000 to 15,000 years. That was the Mesolithic period. But avocados didnt catch on in this country until the hippie period, or shortly thereafter. In England, the fruit didnt become widely available until the 1960s. Yes, I know, avocados are supposed to be good for you. So are tomatoes. Im not interested in those, either. People on HGTV mock avocado green kitchen appliances. Its just one more way for them to ridicule the 1970s. A hundred years ago, avocados were too expensive for the middle class. In the late 1920s, the California Avocado Society referred to the fruit as the aristocrat of salad fruits. At the time, they were known as Calavos. People cant even decide on the name of this strange, bland food. When given the chance to eat avocado, my response is simple: Why bother? My 30-year-old daughter tells me that millennials love avocado on toast. I also heard of a woman in her 70s who considers that concoction tasty. My wife often eats avocado straight, sprinkled with salt. In restaurants, she loves it when Im served a dish topped with guacamole. She knows Ill give it to her. If she rejected it, Id probably use it as a spackling compound. Or grout. The reasons why I distrust avocados are clear. I have doubts about anything new. To me, anything that arrived in the 1970s is new. I dont eat foods that are bright green. I detest anything with a pit. So if avocados figure prominently in all my irritating categories, why wouldnt they bother me? Jeff Bahr is a reporter for The Independent. He may be reached at (308) 381-9408. Both Nebraska senators voiced approval of the Republican-sponsored tax overhaul bill passed in the Senate early Saturday. Deb Fischer and Ben Sasse, who both voted for the nearly 500-page Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, praised the bill in statements Saturday. "It delivers relief for middle-class families, promotes small-business growth, and makes America's corporations competitive globally," Fischer said in a news release. Sasse cited a proposed increased child tax credit and adoption tax credit, but said in the statement that the bill "isn't as good as it could be." "Congress is still failing to grapple with our entitlement overpromising, and there is far too little being done to upend the D.C. culture of lobbyists over families," Sasse said in a statement. The bill passed on a 51-49 vote, with no Democratic support and one Republican, Sen. Bob Corker of Tennessee, voting no. Senate candidate and Democrat Jane Raybould, who hopes to take Fischer's seat in 2018, criticized the bill, saying it would raise taxes on Nebraskans, cripple Medicare and pass "over $1 trillion" in debt to future generations. "Fischer and (Majority Leader Mitch) McConnell are trying to sell a false bill of goods to the American people," Raybould said in a statement. Democrats in the Senate criticized the Republicans' quick push to pass the bill, introducing handwritten edits just hours before Saturday's early morning vote. A rally protesting the bill was held on the steps of the state Capitol on Saturday afternoon. Organizer Cathy Lohmeier estimates 125 people attended. Raybould and congressional candidate Dennis Crawford told the crowd to continue to speak up against the bill. "This hurts the average Nebraskan," said speaker Susan Martin, president of Nebraska AFL-CIO. "It'll hurt the elderly, the disabled, college students the only ones it won't hurt is the rich and the corporations. In Nebraska, we've got a pioneer spirit, so we're going to band together to make sure this doesn't happen." Is Gov. Pete Ricketts playing Nebraskans? He says the TransCanada pipeline will make the U.S. less dependent on foreign oil that oil sands will be traded on the markets. The TransCanada pipeline will create jobs, cleaning up the oil leaks. Ricketts says the new $5 Choose Life license plate option will go to needy families. Why, with 2.5 percent unemployment, are there still the needy? Why, with 2.5 percent unemployment, is there an approaching $200 million debt? So much for trickle-down economics and more economic growth. How much does the new GOP tax cut plan help the Ricketts family compared to the average working family? State and local taxes will surely go up because of lost revenue from the feds. The GOP tax plan will give a person making $5 million a $200,000 tax cut versus someone making $35,000 gets a 20 cents per day tax cut. President Trump and the Nebraska governor seem to use the same playbook. Corporations are now flush with trillions of dollars but still want permanent tax cuts, whereas the working class will face future tax increases. The GOP tax plan will cut future Medicare and Medicaid, and defund Obammacare,leaving millions without healthcare. Reportedly, 80 percent of people approaching retirement have less than $20,000 in savings and 50 percent of that 80 percent have less than $1,000 in savings. Whats the next step warehouse the less fortunate? Deregulation of lead, asbestos and herbicide/pesticide use and the financial systems will cause the working class misery index to soar. Huge tax cuts and deregulation satisfy the needy big GOP donor class, while the working class gets lead in the fidget spinners. Tax loopholes for the working class will disappear, but not for the GOP big donor class. Ignore ecomomic disparities by getting the feel good license plate, Choose Life. For the past four years, the Edwardsville FFA Alumni And Friends Association has been setting aside part of its profits from their annual dinner/auction in an effort to raise enough funds to purchase a small bus to help transport FFA students to competitions and conventions. Their determination recently paid off. The Edwardsville FFA Alumni and Friends have purchased a 14-seat bus for Edwardsvilles FFA program. Edwardsville FFA touches the lives of over 1,000 middle school and 100 high school students in District 7 each year. These students participate in over 20 Career Development Events (CDEs) throughout the year and represent 25 Supervised Agriculture Experiences (SAEs). John Davin leads the agriculture program at Edwardsville High School. In addition to these contests, students are provided with the opportunity to attend various leadership conferences and conventions including the National FFA Convention in Indianapolis, Ind., the Illinois State FFA Convention in Springfield along with conferences, leadership camps and the Farm Bureau Youth Conference. The Edwardsville FFA Alumni and Friends Association holds just one fundraiser a year a dinner/auction in March. Last year their fundraiser dinner raised over $18,000. Each year they use a part of their profits to present scholarships to deserving FFA seniors, and they donate money to the Edwardsville FFA chapter to help support participation in the various CDEs as well as national and state conventions. Any remaining money was set aside to one day purchase a bus for the program. After four years of saving, the group achieved their goal and have bought the Edwardsville FFA program a 14-passenger small bus. Were so excited about it, Karen Zelechowski, Edwardsville FFA Alumni President said. Before that a lot of times Mr. Davin would have to take the kids to different events or theyd have to charter a bus. (With the new bus) the driver doesnt have to be CDL licensed either which is a big thing for us because other drivers could drive it if they needed to. The bus is a great addition to our FFA program, Davin said. This bus allows us the ability to travel to FFA events around the area and across the state. We are also now able to start an after-school agriculture tour program. Our goal is to travel to different agricultural businesses once a month after school. This will allow my students the ability to see the vast agri-businesses in the Edwardsville School District along with possible career opportunities in our local community, Davin added. With the USDA predicting almost 60,000 agriculture jobs needing to be filled and only 35,000 graduates available to fill the jobs, it is more important than ever to expose students in the Edwardsville school district to possible careers in agriculture. Katie Zelechowski, a 2015 EHS graduate who is majoring in Agricultural Leadership Education at the University of Illinois, credits participating in the EHS FFA program all four years of high school with preparing her for college. Im going to college for agriculture, and I didnt have agriculture in my background necessarily. So getting those experiences at SAE competitions and just learning from professionals in the industry was so instrumental to getting me to where I am today she said. For me this was my number one priority so its really nice to have a bus that can facilitate that, and its really nice that we have this next step in the progression of the program. Karen, Katies mother and alumni president, is also a big proponent of the EHS FFA program and stressed that its more than just farming as most people believe and that you dont need to have a farming background to participate. We have no farm background. So its not like you have to have a farm background. Katie just found that she liked agriculture after she learned about it. Thats her thing. I dont think people realize how much is agriculture. Karen also credited EHS Principal Dennis Cramsey for supporting the program and Davin for his dedication to the students. I think he (Davin) walks on water. I really do, Karen said with a chuckle. Hes always there for the kids and tries to engage them, and he impresses upon them that your reputation is out there with everybody elses. He has accountability. It (the program) has done so much to enrich Katies life, Karen added. When you meet these kids, they are just a lot more confident. They have to learn so many different things. I just think being around adults, making speeches, talking to adults - that just helps kids find their voice. Especially if they are shy. Davin was equally thankful for the alumni organizations support. The alumni group has been a valuable asset to the agriculture program, he said. Since the program was started 13 years ago, this group has been there to support the program financially and with other valuable resources. The alumni annually gives almost every senior FFA member some type of scholarship for college, Davin added. They also support our group when we travel to both the National and State FFA Convention. Most recently they helped sponsor plaques to honor past and current FFA members for receiving their State and American FFA Degrees. Our program cannot thank the Edwardsville FFA Alumni and Friends enough for their continued support of the Agriculture and FFA program. Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Sat, December 2, 2017 16:14 1811 1f87594453bb792833e1ece3a2bc1a92 1 Lifestyle GAP-store,Indonesia,discount Free An outlet of American clothing brand GAP in Grand Indonesia shopping mall, Central Jakarta, is currently offering up to 70 percent discount on all items until February 2018. The offer is part of the plans to close the store next year. One of the cashiers at the store, identified as JM, told tempo.co that GAP in the United States had terminated a contract with GAP in the Asia region. [The discount's] began in the past three to four months, she said. The stores sales target has also been decreasing. Read also: Lotus, Debenhams in Indonesia to close down by year's end The 25-year-old cashier explained that the stores sales target in November was Rp 1.7 billion (US$119,000). Previously it ranged from Rp 2 to Rp 3 billion, she continued. Although the GAP outlet will be shut down soon, the brand, which operates under PT. Kharisma Sentrabuana Asri in Indonesia, will not lay off its employees. They will be moved to other branches [of the company], she said. PT. Kharisma Sentrabuana Asri also manages other brands in Indonesia, such as Guess, La Senza and Superdry. (wir/kes) Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin News Desk (Agence France-Presse) London Sat, December 2, 2017 17:31 1811 1f87594453bb792833e1ece3a2bc5364 2 Lifestyle Prince-George,royals,#royals Free A Scottish priest has caused a stir by expressing hope that four-year-old Prince George, who is third in line to the British throne, turns out to be gay so as to make the Church of England accept gay marriage. Kelvin Holdsworth tweeted that English people could "pray in the privacy of their hearts (or in public if they dare) for the Lord to bless Prince George with a love, when he grows up, of a fine young gentleman". "A royal wedding might sort things out remarkably easily though we might have to wait 25 years for that to happen," said Holdsworth, who is from the Scottish Episcopal Church. Holdsworth, rector of St Mary's Cathedral in Glasgow, is himself gay and a campaigner for gay rights. Read also: Prince William and Kate expecting third child: Palace The Scottish Episcopal Church, a branch of the Anglican Church, voted in June to remove the reference in the wedding ritual to marriage being a union "between a man and a woman". It has since celebrated several same-sex marriages. Anglican leaders in October disciplined the Scottish Episcopal Church in the same way as they did the US Episcopal Church in 2016 for approving gay marriage. Gavin Ashenden, a former chaplain to Queen Elizabeth II, condemned Holdsworth's remarks. "If you're going to pray for Prince George, pray for him to be happy... and pray for him to discharge his duty as prince, to be married and have children," he told The Times. "It is not a kind prayer. It is not a blessing, it's more like a curse from a fairytale. I would say it's profoundly un-Christian," he said. TheJakartaPost Please Update your browser Your browser is out of date, and may not be compatible with our website. A list of the most popular web browsers can be found below. Just click on the icons to get to the download page. Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Gemma Holliani Cahya (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Sat, December 2, 2017 16:34 1811 1f87594453bb792833e1ece3a2bc2e5a 1 National human-rights,tolerance,intolerance,Diversity,Komnas-HAM Free A national conference aimed at promoting tolerance at the regional level is set to be held in Jakarta next week. The conference, titled the "Human Rights Friendly City Conference," is a collaborative event held by the International NGO Forum on Indonesian Development (INFID), the National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM) and the presidential office. The event, held from Dec. 6 to 7 in Manhattan Hotel in Jakarta, will focus on the regional administrations roles in preventing intolerance and extremism. Around 150 people from home and abroad will be invited to the event including regents, mayors, regional administrators, civil society organizations and private groups. The conference is being held to urge local administrations to be responsible in actively promoting tolerance and human rights in their area, said Komnas HAM commissioner Amiruddin Al Rahab. The Human Rights Friendly City program, he said, would open community participation to contribute to development that pays attention to human rights aspects. Recently, intolerance is worrying -- local administrations must be more active in in preventing the spread of the sentiment before it turns into a bigger problem. Regional administrations cannot just sit still and wait for the governments instruction, Amiruddin said on Friday. The executive director of INFID, Sugeng Bahagijo, said the conference will produce a declaration as a symbol of the commitment from the local administration to prevent intolerance and extremism in Indonesia. (rin) Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin (Pesona Indonesia) Jakarta Sat, December 2, 2017 14:09 1811 1f87594453bb792833e1ece3a2bbc7fd 2 News Tourism-Ministry-Pesona-Indonesia,tourism-ministry-wonderful-Indonesia,Mount-Merapi Free Eight Korean bloggers and media companies are currently participating in a familiarization trip to Yogyakarta, Magelang and Solo from Nov. 29 to Dec. 4. The group recently went for an off-road Lava Tour Merapi trip. This is an exciting and unforgettable trip. Its so fun. Theres an amazing feeing that we got when we went up to see the Merapi area that has been destroyed by lava a few years ago, said Korean Youtuber Lee Woorin. The Jeep driver took us to ride across the river and challenging roads; we were shaken inside the off-road Jeep car. What an exciting and fun location, added Woorin. Throughout their trip, the group saw the result of Merapi eruption, from Kinahrejo village that has been destroyed to abandoned houses, volcanic sand, gravel and rock. One of the tourist attractions that can be found there is a huge stone called Alien Rock, which, legend has it, was thrown out seven kilometers from the top of Mount Merapi. On their way home, they traveled past the Kali Kuning river. After this trip, the group will go to the Prambanan Temple, the Borobudur Temple, Kraton (royal palace) Yogyakarta and Kraton Solo. (kes) Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin (Pesona Indonesia) Jakarta Sat, December 2, 2017 21:03 1810 1f87594453bb792833e1ece3a2bc8610 2 News Tourism-Ministry-Pesona-Indonesia,tourism-ministry-wonderful-Indonesia,north-kalimantan,digital-tourism Free As the youngest province in Indonesia, North Kalimantan (Kaltara) has to work harder in order to keep up with other provinces. Realizing this, Kaltara provincial administration is going to develop a Tourism Management Information System (Simpar). The system, which will be developed in 2018 and can be accessed through Android and iOS smartphones, will feature information on tourist attractions, hotels, food and transportation available in Kaltara. Travel agents, hotels, restaurants and travelers will be given an account on Simpar, where they can give the latest update on their own businesses to users. But before that, they have to be trained first. After the Simpar development, the tourism agency will invite bloggers for training. In the future, these bloggers can post their writings on Simpar. Simpar adopts a two-way communication model in which users and operators can communicate with each other. Moreover, Simpar will be connected to two Tourism Information Center (TIC) in Kaltara located in Juwata Airport in Tarakan and Tanah Kuning Beach, Bulungan. The latter TIC is currently being developed and will be available this year. This year Kaltara is targeting to attract 262,000 tourists and next year the number will be increased by four percent. Several tourist attractions that can be found in this province is Tarakan Mangrove and Bekantan Conservation Area (KKMB), Tanah Kuning Beach in Bulungan and Kayan Mentarang National Park in Malinau. (kes) Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin (Pesona Indonesia) Jakarta Sat, December 2, 2017 10:01 1811 1f87594453bb792833e1ece3a2bab9ef 2 News Tourism-Ministry-Pesona-Indonesia,tourism-ministry-wonderful-Indonesia,Sail-Sabang,Arief-Yahya Free Tourism Minister Arief Yahya recently spoke about the three goals of Sail Sabang 2017 event thats currently being held in Aceh until Dec. 5. First [goal] is the birth of Golden Triangle SaPhuLa regatta -- its an abbreviation of Sabang, Phuket and Langkawi. This route will be known worldwide since three countries, three destinations are put into one cruise tour package, he told. Arief said that this route is also sometimes called the diamond triangle or golden triangle. Sabang will be the leading [destination] for marine tourism. Regatta is a series of boat or yacht series that are mostly dominated by foreign tourists. After it has been established in Sabang, it will be the primary and a huge attraction tourism event in Sabang. A lot of people will come and many will preserve it, Arief added. The second goal is the establishment of world-class freediving competition, which is part of Sail Sabang 2017 lineup. Sabang has a beautiful sea thats perfect for diving. International competitions must and will be held in Sabang and we hope [participants] dont just come on the D-day but they will arrive months before the competition for preparation. This will benefit the locals, said Arief. The minister is also going to ask related parties to prepare diving training centers in Sabang while the ministry will prepare the staff who has freediving skills. We would prioritize young people from Sabang and residents of Aceh, he told. And the last goal of Sail Sabang 2017 is related to fisheries. Arief told that 80 percent of fish in the world is from cultivation whilst the rest 20 percent is caught by men. There will be fish cages [keramba] created 30 meters from CT-3 in Sabang using the latest technology. These three goals will eventually bring success for the Aceh, especially Sabang, Arief said. (kes) Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin (Pesona Indonesia) Jakarta Sat, December 2, 2017 15:01 1811 1f87594453bb792833e1ece3a2bbe2cb 2 News Tourism-Ministry-Pesona-Indonesia,tourism-ministry-wonderful-Indonesia,Sail-Sabang,coffee Free One of the most popular items at the Sail Sabang 2017 is coffee as evidenced from coffee houses located in Tugu Garuda area, the heart of Sabang, that has been serving guests for 24 hours. One of the world's most famous coffee producers, the province is known for its two coffee varieties: Ulee Kareng and Gayo. The former is robusta coffee from Ulee Kareng district, whilst Gayo is an arabica coffee. Gayo is considered by the world as a premium coffee drink, while Ulee Kareng coffee is available at almost every coffee shop in Banda Aceh. Acehnese black coffee is the most popular drink in the region. Additionally, Acehnese coffee dominates 40 percent of the domestic market. Other than coffee, Sail Sabang 2017 also helps popularize traditional dishes, such as mie aceh, nasi kari, sate gurita, sayur pliek U and kue karra. We are happy as we welcome so many guests and our income increases. This kedai [eatery] is never empty, said Kedai de Sagoe Kuphie caretaker Hasan. Similar thing was also said by Dian, whom for the past two days had been hired as a tour guide in his hometown. I bring guests from Jakarta to see Sail Sabang; alhamdulillah [thank God] I receive so many orders from Sail Sabang, told Dian. (kes) Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin (Pesona Indonesia) Jakarta Sat, December 2, 2017 18:06 1811 1f87594453bb792833e1ece3a2bc59a8 2 News Tourism-Ministry-Pesona-Indonesia,tourism-ministry-wonderful-Indonesia,East-Nusa-Tenggara Free North Central Timor (TTU) in East Nusa Tenggara is known to host events such as crossborder music concerts or horse racing. However, this regency also has several must-visit tourist attractions such as Tanjung Bastian Beach that is located 67 kilometers north of Kefamenanu City. Around one hour trip using public transportation, the beach regularly hosts regional and international events, including the Crossborder Horse Racing. It is said that the horse racing track here is the most beautiful track in Indonesia. The region also has Wini Beach in North Insana district. It only takes one hour to reach this white-sand beach that is one of the leading destinations in TTU. Apart from beaches, TTU also has Bitauni Cave, a pilgrimage location for Catholics in Atambua. Situated around 34 km from the city, this place is located on a rocky hill, sheltered by tropical forest and hidden under weeping fig trees. (kes) (front page) Militant fights prison censorship in Florida Danger to all who support freedom of speech In an escalation of their violations of the constitutional rights of both theand its subscribers behind bars, Florida prison officials have impounded nine issues of the paper so far this year. Thats nearly as many as the four previous years combined! And unlike most previous attempts by Florida authorities to block the Militant, which singled out one or another article, the latest attempt alleges that the paper itself encourages protesting and group disruption. Almost all the impoundments from 2013 to 2016 were overturned when the Militant challenged them. But so far this year, the Florida prison systems Literature Review Committee has upheld nearly half. David Goldstein, the Militants attorney from the prominent constitutional rights law firm Rabinowitz, Boudin, Standard, Krinsky and Lieberman, informed the committee that the paper is challenging the prisons censorship. Already supporters of freedom of the press and the political rights of prisoners are speaking out in support of the appeal. Workers behind bars have a constitutional right to read material of their choosing, wrote the New York Riverside Church Prison Ministry, calling on Florida officials to reverse the impoundments in a Nov. 27 letter to the Literature Review Committee. To attempt to silence the Militants voice represents a danger to anyone who cares about freedom of thought, inquiry and expression. According to Florida regulations, once one prison bans an issue, all the rest follow suit. The latest impoundment was ordered by officials at Jefferson Correctional Institution in Monticello. They claimed the Militant is dangerously inflammatory in that it advocates or encourages riot, insurrection, and that it encourages activities which may lead to the use of physical violence. The prison censors dont identify which articles they say offend their guidelines, but headlines on the four pages they cite demonstrate the absurdity of the charges: Protest US Economic War Against Cuban Revolution! GIs Come Back From Horrors of Imperialist War to Carnage at Home, Dont Vote for Either the Democrats or Republicans, Working-Class Solidarity Got Many Out of Harms Way in Calif. Wildfire, Walmart, Amazon Bosses Fight for Profits, Make Workers Pay, Brigadistas Learn About Cuba, Organize to Defend Revolution and Oscar Lopez: Cuba Gives Us Best Example of Resistance. These pages also feature ads promoting a Rally and march for silver miners on strike in Coeur dAlene, Idaho, and a Rally to defend Cuban Revolution at the United Nations in New York. What is it here that prison officials consider dangerously inflammatory? Florida officials also impounded the Oct. 30 issue, citing an article that reported on the Militants challenge to other issues of the paper they barred, even though the Literature Review Committee had said previous impoundments on this basis were invalid and ordered those issues delivered to inmate subscribers. Over the last year the Militant has won broad support for its fight against censorship. Among the groups that have spoken out are the American Civil Liberties Union of Florida, PEN America, the National Lawyers Guild, Amnesty International USA and the American Friends Service Committee. In the midst of the deepening capitalist economic crisis, working people need a paper that tells the truth and that explains the need to unite and organize independently of the bosses parties, Militant editor John Studer said. Our fellow workers behind bars are part of this world. They have a right to read news about the deteriorating conditions workers face today and their efforts to change them, to consider different views and to form their own opinions. This is a question of the freedom of the press, Studer said, and also of the basic human rights of prisoners. He called on all supporters of political rights to join the fight against censorship. Front page (for this issue) | Home | Text-version home (front page) SWP expands reach of party, Militant in working class The Socialist Workers Party has completed a successful fallsubscription, book and party fund drive. Members and supporters took the partys newspaper and books by SWP leaders deeper into working-class neighborhoods in cities large and small across the country. SWP and Communist League members and supporters in Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the United Kingdom signed up 1,582 new and renewing readers to the Militant, going over the goal of 1,500. Although we fell 60 books short of the quota we sold 1,440 titles, most of them with subscriptions and a smaller number without. We come out of the drive knowing more people who are interested in working with us. The economic and political crisis of the capitalist rulers bearing down on us today means many more people are looking for a working-class road forward. Some have begun to join in teams to their neighbors and elsewhere. Members and supporters who work in retail and other industries were key to leading the drive forward, taking the paper, the books and the fund effort to co-workers, relatives, friends and neighbors. The heart of the circulation drive was discussions with working people on their doorsteps to introduce the party, its press and books, and its working-class election campaigns against the Democrats and Republicans, the twin parties of the capitalist bosses. Workers are angry at the disgust and disdain the propertied rulers have for us, and their thirst to learn about the underlying reasons for the carnage workers face from joblessness to unending wars to spreading death and destruction from opioid addiction. We found many people who were open to revolutionary working-class politics. Workers want to continue discussion Many of them want to continue the discussion and help to take it broader. John Staggs writes from Philadelphia about one of his co-workers who bought asubscription also got a copy ofHe wants to organize to get it into a book discussion club hes participating in. Many not only wanted to sign up for subscriptions and dig into the party books, but were happy to donate to help fund the ongoing work of the SWP. In total we raised $102,568, exceeding the Fall Fund goal of $100,000. Every area went over the quota in full and on time. Co-workers and workers on their doorsteps kicked in hundreds of dollars. Jacquie Henderson writes from Minneapolis that the fund collection there included more than $200 in new contributions, mostly $5 and $10, as we invited workers to see our party as their party. The final chart is below. Worldwide drive The Communist Leagues in Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the U.K. participated in the circulation effort, meeting scores of new people and expanding the reach of communist literature. From London, Jonathan Silberman writes that a team of party members went door to door in the working-class area of Harlow, Essex. When Hugh Robertson knocked on Peter Bakers door, he explained the Communist League was there to present an independent working-class political outlook. Workers need our own party, Baker agreed, signing up for a subscription. Its good to get a paper that tells workers side of the story. Ive always been suspicious of what I read in the mainstream press. In the final two days of the drive, we visited with several workers who had asked us to come back after payday to get a subscription and/or a book, Edwin Fruit writes from Seattle. We got one subscription from getting back together with someone who lives near a Walmart store south of Seattle, and sold a copy of Are They Rich Because Theyre Smart? in Spanish to another worker wed met in the same neighborhood. Walmart worker Pat Scott signed up a neighbor for a Militant renewal and also sold a copy of Malcolm X, Black Liberation, and the Road to Workers Power to a family friend. Jeanne FitzMaurice visited a long-time co-worker originally from Africa who had expressed interest in several titles. In the end he got the Workers Power book, The Clintons Anti-Working-Class Record and Are They Rich Because Theyre Smart? all by SWP National Secretary Jack Barnes, and Is Socialist Revolution in the US Possible? by party leader Mary-Alice Waters. He said he wants to read them all, and wants his sons to do the same. These four books were among five offered with a special discount together with a subscription. The fifth was Its the Poor Who Face the Savagery of the US Justice System written by the Cuban Five, Cuban revolutionaries who were imprisoned for up to 16 years by Washington and freed through an international defense campaign. The central goal of the drive was to strengthen the ability of the party to keep on doing the same thing 52 weeks a year meeting more workers, expanding the reach of the partys press and books, laying the basis for the party to grow. We succeeded. And you can join in, just contact the party at the office nearest you listed on page 4. Front page (for this issue) | Home | Text-version home (front page) US govt moves to expel immigrants from Haiti, Central America MIAMI In 18 months some 59,000 Haitians will lose their Temporary Protected Status, which allows them to live and work in the United States, Department of Homeland Security Acting Secretary Elaine Duke announced Nov. 20. This comes two weeks after a similar decision to end the program for some 5,300 Nicaraguans. The status of 86,000 Hondurans remains undecided, but they could also face the threat of deportation if their protected status is withdrawn. Over 260,000 refugees from El Salvador are facing a deadline of March. A small number of immigrants from Sudan and South Sudan are also in limbo. The Obama administration extended protected status to immigrants from Haiti after an earthquake there in 2010 killed more than 300,000 people and left 1.5 million homeless. It was renewed three times since, as the Haitian people faced a cholera outbreak that killed 9,000 and sickened more than 800,000, and was hit by Hurricane Matthew in 2016, killing over 1,000 people and devastating much of the country. Duke, who was appointed by President Donald Trump, claimed the situation in Haiti has improved and Haitians living in the U.S. can return to their homeland. Many in the Haitian community in South Florida dispute that. Thousands have established families and lives here and would return to a country they know little about. Theres no way that Haiti is ready to receive 60,000 of us, Joseph Audain told the Militant. He manages a small assisted-living facility and has lived and worked here for 30 years. Haiti had two major hurricanes after the earthquake in 2010, theres no recovery from anything. Theres not one Haitian who wont be affected by this decision if it goes through, he said, because we dont just take, we give. Many Haitians in Florida send substantial amounts of remittances to family members in Haiti. Without this one of the single largest sources of income in the impoverished country greater hardships will come down on working people there. Protests against ending Temporary Protected Status have been building over several months. A demonstration in front of the Citizenship and Immigration Services office here May 13 drew hundreds to protest the threat of deportations if TPS is not renewed. In response to Dukes Nov. 20 announcement, hundreds gathered the following day to protest near Mar-a-Lago, President Trumps private beach club, in Palm Beach. Trump was scheduled to spend Thanksgiving there. The protest included members of the UNITE HERE union from around the state, which organizes hospitality workers, many of whom are Haitian; Service Employees International Union; and the Guatemalan-Maya Center. What do we want? Residence! When do we want it? Now! marchers chanted. Many U.S. Congress members from south Florida both Democrats and Republicans have spoken against the decision to revoke the protected status. Miami Republican Rep. Carlos Curbelo and others have submitted a bill called Extending Status Protection for Eligible Refugees with Established Residence, or Esperer, French for hope, that would allow people admitted under TPS to apply for permanent residence. At the time of a May decision extending TPS for Haitians for only six months, Cynthia Jaquith, then Socialist Workers Party candidate for mayor of Miami, issued a statement protesting the attack on TPS. We stand in solidarity with Haitians in the United States who face the threat of deportation when the TPS extension expires, Jaquith said. The conditions in Haiti today are important, but not our starting point. We in the Socialist Workers Party call for amnesty for all immigrants in the U.S. that everyone here, regardless of the circumstances under which they came, should be able to live and work without fear of deportation, criminal prosecution or denial of social services. The bosses use immigration status as a wedge to heighten divisions among working people here, she added. Thats why all unions should denounce the threat to end TPS. This is what is needed to unite the working class in a common fight against the bosses. Front page (for this issue) | Home | Text-version home (front page) Seeds of more conflict built into new stage of Syria, Iraq wars The six-year civil war in Syria that grew out of the Bashar al-Assad regimes brutal crackdown on mass mobilizations calling for his downfall in 2011 is winding down. At the same time, the reactionary Islamic State outfit is being pushed out of their remaining territory in Syria and Iraq, reduced to a terrorist band. Washington with military bases and tens of thousands of troops and substantial air power in the region is seeking to continue to defend its imperialist interests in these changing circumstances. Millions of Syrian toilers have borne the brunt of the conflict, with over half the population driven from their homes, some 400,000 killed and some still under siege by Assads forces. Moscows intervention and relentless air war against rebel forces, along with substantial forces on the ground from Tehran and its allied Hezbollah militias, has consolidated Assads rule over a half of Syria. One-third of the country was wrested from Islamic State and is now in the hands of Kurdish forces and the Syrian Democratic Forces, a mix of Arab and Kurdish fighters led by the Kurdish Peoples Protection Units (YPG), with the backing of Washington. Anti-Assad rebels still control areas in Idlib and Aleppo provinces and in neighborhoods under siege around Damascus. Moscow, with the collaboration of Ankara and Tehran, and tacit backing from Washington, has taken steps to stabilize this soft partition of Syria for now. Several de-escalation zones have been set up by Ankara, Moscow and Tehran. Tehran the biggest victor in the Syria, Iraq wars so far has moved to consolidate a land route across Syria and Iraq that connects Iran and Hezbollah-controlled areas in Lebanon. They face growing challenges from Saudi Arabias rulers and their backers in Washington and Tel Aviv. Russian President Vladimir Putin is seeking to stabilize this reality, for now. Assad flew to Moscow to meet with Putin Nov. 21, telling Putin that Russian military intervention was saving Syria. The following day Putin hosted a meeting with the Iranian and Turkish presidents, Hassan Rouhani and Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who announced their backing for the Russian presidents proposed Syrian Peoples Congress, to be held in Sochi. No firm date has been set for the gathering. However, conflicting interests between Washington, Moscow, Tehran, Saudi Arabias rulers and other capitalist regimes in the region continue to threaten more conflict. Damascus has said its next target is the Kurds, who have carved out an autonomous region in northeastern Syria, and with their allies in the SDF, control a swath of territory from Raqqa east toward Iraq that contains some of Syrias largest oil fields. Tehran and Ankara both back Assads threats. Turkish media report that President Donald Trump told Erdogan that he plans to stop sending weapons to the Syrian Kurds, and may ask them to return heavy artillery loaned to them earlier. Assad regime bombs Damascus suburb The crisis that led to the civil war in Syria remains unsolved. Assads regime has been bombarding towns and villages in the rebel-held Damascus suburb of Eastern Ghouta one of the de-escalation zones. Some 400,000 people live there. Syrian forces have held these towns under siege since 2013, resulting in famine and devastation. Childrens malnutrition levels there, the U.N. reported Nov. 29, are the highest ever recorded in Syria and one-third are stunted. Weeklong airstrikes and mortar attacks against Eastern Ghouta killed more than 118 civilians as of Nov. 21, Dr. Faiz Orabi, a spokesman for the areas health directorate, told the Wall Street Journal. Three hospitals were also struck. Most residents see no alternative to staying put, regardless how bad things are. Where are all the people going to go? To homes that arent theirs? To tent camps? Anas Al-Khole, a journalist and government opponent in Eastern Ghouta, told the Journal. Most of the people say that death is more merciful than leaving my home. Since 2011, some 75,000 people arrested by the government have been disappeared and at least 26,446 children are recorded as killed, a vast majority by government forces, reported the Syrian Network for Human Rights. Assad regime targets Syrian Kurds The Assad regime is taking aim at the Syrian Kurds, who are seeking to establish an autonomous region in northern Syria. Assad regime officials say they plan to oust the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces occupiers from territory in Raqqa and parts of Deir el-Zour province. I believe what happened in Iraq must become a lesson to the SDF, Syrian presidential adviser Bouthaina Shaaban said Nov. 7, referring to the attacks by Iraqi forces and Iranian-backed Hashd al-Shaabi militia on Kurdistan Regional Government territory following the referendum there for independence. Turkish President Erdogan, who once railed against Assads rule, now says hes for cooperating with Assad in rolling back gains won by the Kurdish YPG in Syria. The Turkish rulers fear the impact that an autonomous Kurdish region along Syrias northern border with Turkey will have on inspiring the fight by some 15 million Kurds in Turkey against national oppression and for their own homeland. There is a concept of a new war against the Kurds in all four parts of Kurdistan that aims to annihilate all the gains Kurdish people have made in recent years, said Feleknas Uca of the Kurdish-based Peoples Democratic Party (HDP) at a rally in Van, Turkey, Nov. 25. More than 30 million Kurdish people the worlds largest nationality without their own state live in Iran, Iraq, Turkey and Syria. The rulers in all these countries oppose any moves toward Kurdish independence or autonomy. Meanwhile, the Pentagon is likely to announce that Washington has about 2,000 troops in Syria, two U.S. officials told Reuters Nov. 24. Before this, Washington had only admitted to having 503 U.S. troops there, as well as 5,262 in Iraq. And they arent going anywhere soon. Front page (for this issue) | Home | Text-version home (special feature) Retail giants competition spurs holiday job speedup The big-business media are full of reports on how Black Friday sales show that things are looking up for retail storeowners and e-commerce operators. Brick-and-mortar store sales didnt drop as much as they expected and online sales were booming, they say. Black Friday Turnout the Best of the Last Few Years headlined the Shoppers spent $5 billion in 24 hours, a 16.9 percent increase from last year, CNN reported, mostly due to online orders. Amazon, which dominates internet sales, said it sold over 200,000 toys in the first five hours on Black Friday. Sales between Thanksgiving and Christmas not counting groceries account for as much as 40 percent of the annual income of retail businesses. A closer look shows that the picture for retail bosses and especially their workers is not so rosy. Walmart, Amazons main competitor, boosted its internet sales, largely by matching Amazon prices or undercutting them. Walmarts profit margins have declined four quarters in a row. A key way the retail giants are trying to cut their costs is by tightening the screws on workers. Retailers report they added some half million temporary workers for this holiday season 120,000 of them at Amazon in 30 states, mostly in their distribution centers. This is the lowest number since at least 2003, with the exception of the two years following the world financial crisis that began in 2007. Grueling conditions for workers Walmart slowed the pace of seasonal hiring this year and has cut many positions, making its employees work longer hours and sometimes six days a week. In another cost-cutting move, Walmart Chief Financial Officer Brett Biggs said that the company hopes to save $20 million a year by using smaller plastic shopping bags. Store cashiers say the bags break more easily, making work harder, at the same time as the bosses press workers to speed up. Amazon refused a request by Jacksonville Action News in Florida to visit their distribution center there, after workers told them the pace was brutal. Workers are constantly monitored by supervisors for speed and accuracy, Action News said. We had a girl get written up for that, for taking too many bathroom breaks, one worker told the TV station. And for breaks, you have to take that 10-15 minute walk down stairs and then clock out, she said. That time is counted as part of their break. Amazon, like other retailers, has automated, computerized and robotized as much of their operation as they can to ramp up output per worker. The Mirror newspaper sent its reporter Alan Selby undercover to work in the Amazon warehouse in Tilbury, England. Selby found workers were required to pack and seal one order every 30 seconds. He was told the quota would be raised to 200 items an hour. Besides squeezing their workers more, Walmart, grocery giant Kroger Co. and other large retail companies are putting it to their suppliers, who in turn come down on their workers. The Wall Street Journal reported Nov. 27 that Kroger is fining suppliers $500 for every order that arrives more than two days late at its 42 warehouses. Walmart is charging suppliers monthly fines of 3 percent for deliveries that dont arrive exactly on time, including if they arrive too early or arent complete. One of the biggest losers has been 130-year-old Sears, the largest retail chain until 1989, when Walmart overtook it. In a bid to stave off bankruptcy, Sears has been selling off its most profitable assets, such as the Craftsman tools brand. Sales still dropped in half from $53 billion in 2006 to just $25.1 billion in 2015, and theyre still falling. But dont worry, rich coupon clippers still hope to make a bundle on retail stores. In November, two new Exchange-Traded Funds were launched Decline of the Retail Stores ETF and the Long Online Short Stores ETF. Well-heeled investors, lacking profitable opportunities to put their cash into increasing production and trade, can bet their bucks that brick-and-mortar stores are going down the tubes and online outfits will keep rising. If they bet right, they make money. As retail bosses push workers to try to maintain profit levels, theyll face a reaction. Some 2,500 workers went on strike at six Amazon distribution centers in Germany and one in Italy on Black Friday, demanding dignified salaries. In Berlin, workers held a banner that read, Make Amazon Pay! We Are Humans Not Robots or Data. Related articles: Govt presses frame-up of rail workers in Canada Calif. Henkel workers continue strike for safety Front page (for this issue) | Home | Text-version home The Nebraska Supreme Court has rejected the post-conviction appeal of a California man serving life in prison for the 2012 fatal shooting of a Sidney man. Jason Custer, formerly of Chico, California, was convicted in 2014 of first-degree murder and other counts for killing 35-year-old Adam McCormick. Prosecutors said Custer shot McCormick at a Sidney house after the two men argued over $160 in drug money. After losing a direct appeal, Custer filed for post-conviction relief, arguing his defense attorney was so ineffective that it violated his right to a fair trial. Custer cited several examples, including his claim that his attorney "failed to object at critical junctures throughout the entirety of the trial." This state's high court said Friday that there was no merit to Custer's claims. Christmas Movie Deja vu Riley Thomas (Abigail Hawk) works for Bullock & Barnes, a huge holding company, and her career is on an upward trajectory with Preston Bullock (Chevy Chase - Christmas Vacation) impressed with her work when it comes to closing down businesses which have become dead weight. It is how Riley finds herself in Chestnut, Vermont in the lead up to Christmas as a clothing company which Bullock's late partner backed has become dead weight and so she is being sent there to close the operation down. The thing is that having hired Nick Harper (Howard Hesseman - Crazy for Christmas), the retired business founder, to help as she doesn't know the town everyone thinks she is there to help save the business. Matters are made all the more complicated not only by the fact that most of the town work for the business but despite having a boyfriend and life in the city she finds herself falling for the small town and the business's youthful CEO, Wyatt (David O'Donnell - Christmas Under Wraps). Ignoring for a moment that "A Christmas in Vermont", which is also known as "The Christmas Apprentice", features some familiar names and faces such as Chevy Chase, Howard Hesseman as well as Morgan Fairchild and what you have left is a clear case of Christmas Movie Deja vu. Here we have that frequently used idea of the big city employee sent to shut down a small town business only to fall in love with the small town and also finding love whilst deciding that maybe she can save the business rather than shutting it. It is so typical that as soon as it is clear what the storyline is you wonder if they will find some fresh ideas to run alongside the typical element of Riley and Wyatt initially getting under each others skins and pushing each others buttons before falling for each other. Now there are some slight subplots to "A Christmas in Vermont" which depending on your mood are either touching or manipulative but truth be told there is little to this Christmas movie which will surprise you. And sadly the acting won't surprise you either with both Abigail Hawk and David O'Donnell doing attractive and playful together but not having that great chemistry or character depth to make it magical. As for the veterans like Chevy Chase and Howard Hesseman they give the movie some comedy and character but them seem to be working with thin writing and at times almost come across as filling in the gaps. What this all boils down to is that "A Christmas in Vermont" is a nice movie, it trots along at a nice pace, delivers humour and romance as well as plenty of Christmas decorations and some heart. But this is a made for TV Christmas movie which recycles an old theme and doesn't manage to escape from it. Tags: TV Christmas Movies, Christmas Movies Two hours away from their hometown of Brighton, Royal Blood descended on the Dorset coastal town of Bournemouth to perform tinnitus-inducing rock and roll for the masses at the BIC (Bournemouth International Centre). Forming in 2013, Royal Blood (Mike Kerr and Ben Thatcher) have gone from support act to the headliners over the course of four years. The release of their debut record Royal Blood in 2014 propelled the duo into the rock conscious, performing at a plethora of festivals in 2014 (Reading and Leeds, Liverpool Sound City and BBC Radio 1s Big Weekend), eventually enabling them to open for Foo Fighters on their UK, US and Canadian tours in 2015. After the release of their second album How Did We Get So Dark? earlier this year, the band announced their first arena tour of the UK and Europe in support of the album, after supporting Queens of the Stone Age on the American leg of their Villains World Tour. Both Queens of the Stone Age and Foo Fighters are a major influence on the duos style and sound, which transfers seamlessly into their live performances. With support from fellow Brighton band Black Honey and legendary Texas-based punk band At the Drive-In, Royal Blood injected pure, chaotic rock into the arena that had been subjected to Steps the night before. The band entered the stage with little to no fanfare; just a good-old, killer playlist to aid the wait. Eventually, the magic hit as the lights went down (that never gets old), and the duo erupted into Lights Out. Putting both studio albums together, the band have twenty songs to play with. That added to the numerous covers the band has performed meant for a gig that allowed both records to be covered with equal measure. Obviously, the hype surrounded How Did We Get So Dark? Hook, Line and Sinker was just as magical and kickass as Id hoped it to be live. Judging by the crowd, however, tracks off their debut sent fans into a frenzy, furiously moshing and literally bouncing off railings Little Monster, Loose Change, Figure it Out and closer Out of the Black seemed the most popular. Even sat in the balcony as I was, the energy flowed throughout the arena with the majority of us headbanging to the distortion and flat out carnage that Kerr and Thatcher are born to do. That distortion got ahead of itself at times; a complaint that Im beginning to have far too often with recent gigs. I like my music loud, dont get me wrong, but the sound mixing seems to rely far too much on the instruments which in turn cause the microphones to become drowned out in feedback. As I wear earplugs to many gigs I go to now, there is so much more clarity to the vocals once theyre in. And the added bonus is that once you walk out of a gig, youre not greeted with the muffled ringing of tinnitus that has become so intertwined with live performances. As much as I love my music loud and Im sure most rock fans do, too it comes to a point where its just too damn loud. At least the stage presence of both Kerr and Thatcher detracted from the pain, riffing with the audience on the regular. Thatcher would appear and disappear from the drum kit, leading to a walk on water moment between Thatcher and the crowd, which had many flinching in pain for both the fans hands holding Thatcher up, and Thatcher had to balance so delicately. Both flitted around the stage with reckless swagger, with Thatcher giving the health and safety officers a heart attack after lighting the striker/mallet on fire to ensure full theatrics amongst the crowd. Many criticize Royal Blood for sticking to the same formula of a fuzzy, guttural riffs that seamlessly merge into each other. But both Kerr and Thatchers passion adds something unique to the mix that makes their sound utterly theirs. They own it, and theyre letting everyone know about it. As the first term of a new year comes to an end, we thought wed discuss an issue affecting almost half of UK students, and offer advice on how to overcome it. According to a global report by Sodexo, almost half of UK students (46 per cent ) admit to loneliness during their time at university. This is compared to 32 per cent globally, with UK students most likely 37 per cent to consider dropping out compared to their worldwide counterparts. The report revealed that of the reasons why, study related problems caused 51 per cent of students to deliberate leaving university, while 42 per cent have considered dropping out because of physical or mental health issues. The worlds largest services company released its first International University Lifestyle Survey earlier this year, which can be downloaded here. The report provides a unique insight into the lives and lifestyles of students across the world, polling over 4,000 students in six markets (the US, China, India, Spain and Italy, as well as the UK). The findings support data from the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) which shows that a record number of 1,180 students left courses early in the 2014-15 academic year due to poor mental health a 210% increase on 380 students in 2009-10. While the study showed UK students are more likely than the global average to believe their university would support them with their studies, employability or their physical or mental health, they are still clearly anxious about their studies. The mounting cost of going to university is a key factor in the rise of student anxieties, with 60 per cent of UK students avoiding going out with friends to save money. Debt at graduation is a major concern for around a third of students, compared with a quarter worldwide. This is unsurprising since more than half of UK students will have debts of between 30,000 and 59,999 by the time they graduate, compared to 11,345 in 2006 and 19,562 in 2010. In comparison, almost 70 per cent of students in China will have no debt on graduation, while in the US, 35 per cent will be debt free. Meanwhile, only 15% of students can say the same in the UK. Additionally, 58 per cent of students worry about getting the degree class they want the highest in all countries and the biggest concern for UK students. They are also more likely than average to be troubled by a heavy workload. With this in mind, wed like to offer our top five ways to overcome loneliness: 1. Never get trapped in a group An unfortunate side effect of university , especially freshers week and halls, is that you can end up stuck with a group of people you dont really connect with, while being too afraid to look elsewhere for friends. After all, no-one wants to be on their own, with no friends and thus no social life. But the fact is, if youre surrounded by people you dont really like or who dont support you, youre no better off. It may be hard to reach out and risk the wrath of those you are already friends with, but life is too short to spend it with people who dont make you happy. Dont fall for it in freshers and dont simply live with it in later years. If you are not happy or do not feel supported, make a choice! Either communicate this to your friends and see if they step up, or look elsewhere for that family away from home. You can have an amazing time at university, filled with people you care about, who also happen to care about you. You just need to be brave enough to go for it! 2. Join new clubs and societies This may be a cliche, but its one for a reason. While it may be hard to put yourself out there and join new clubs, its a great way to meet people. Better yet, since youve joined the same club theres a good chance some of the people you meet will have the same interests as you. The more time you spend alone, the harder it can be to interact with others. Therefore joining a club or society can help with social skills, as well as form new bonds. 3. Attendance is key Turn up to your classes! This may seem like a strange concept to some but attending class isnt just good for your grade, its also good for your mental wellbeing. Lectures and seminars are a chance to meet people, or at the very least take part in human interaction. Seminars are especially good as small classes and group projects give you a chance to get to know each other. Its not always easy to communicate with strangers, especially stressed out students, but be open to interacting with others and see where it gets you. 4. Say yes to a night out or two While we all like to take a night off to relax with Netflix and snacks, sometimes we can be our own worst enemy. After a long week or a busy essay period the last thing you might want is to go out, and yet it is still something you should do. Even the most introverted, anti-social individual should make an effort to go out now and again. This doesnt mean you have to go to a club, but even just going to a pub, to the cinema or out for dinner with a friend can be nice. Money can be tight and it can be tempting to stay in bed and save instead, but nights out are a way to make great memories, re-affirm those bonds with friends and just get out of the house. Its hard to feel lonely when youre out spending some quality time with friends. 5. When in doubt, go out There are times when your studies can creep up on you, and suddenly your balancing four essays and a presentation. Say goodbye to seeing your friends because until that work is done your living in your room and eating take out. This might seem like an effective way to work, but its hell on your mental health. Locking yourself up, even for a good reason, can make you feel extremely lonely. So, while you may not be able to go out or spend time with friends, you can (and should) still find a way to be around people. The easiest way to do this while balancing work is to study outside of your house. Pick a library, a coffee house or a park (if its summer). As long as youre out and getting work done without being totally isolated, youre sure to feel a whole lot better. On Dec. 9 and 10, Travis Mills (Durant's Never Closes) will be doing the first casting call for his 12 Westerns in 12 Months project. Several of these Westerns will be filmed in Arizona, with production starting in 2020. This initial casting call is meant to establish a talent base in the state for this massive project. Actors of any experience, age, gender or race may audition. The casting call will take place at Silver Pony Bar in Phoenix from 8a-noon on Dec. 9 and 10. I was a 23-year-old intern at a now-defunct newspaper publishing company in the Washington area when an older, more established colleague invited me out to lunch. I had just started, so I happily accepted. I assumed he had taken an interest in my career and wanted to mentor me. Instead, while we were sitting at a table inside a darkened restaurant, he suddenly lunged across the table to kiss me, knocking the silverware to the floor, and spilling the water glasses. I was stunned. He went on tell me the usual blah-blah-blah that his wife didnt understand him and that he wanted to date me. I let him know that I wasnt interested. We ate, and I assumed it was over. Silly me. After I got back inside his car, my colleague refused to drive me to the office unless I kissed him first. I refused. He persisted, but eventually gave up and drove me to the newsroom. I buried this incident for many years, even in recent months amid all the sordid sexual abuse allegations against Bill Cosby, President Donald Trump, Harvey Weinstein, Sen. Al Franken, Rep. John Conyers, and Alabamas Roy Moore. As much as I felt for the female accusers, those were their stories not mine. But as I watch powerful men such as Todays Matt Lauer, CBS This Mornings Charlie Rose, MSNBCs Mark Halperin, and Minnesota Public Radios Garrison Keillor of A Prairie Home Companion fame, get accused of similar abuses of power, it really brings the issue home for me. Eight women have claimed that Rose made unwanted sexual advances toward them that included lewd phone calls, groping, and get this walking around naked in front of them. NBC officials havent detailed exactly what sexual improprieties Lauer is accused of, but they had to be bad for him to be fired so quickly. According to Variety, they involved allegations from multiple women, including one to whom he reportedly gave a sex toy as a present. I can relate to why the accusers didnt speak up earlier. They were worried about their careers, as I had been. Then theres the fear of condemnation from people like the actress Angela Lansbury, who had the nerve to tell an interviewer recently that women are responsible to some degree for sexual harassment. There are two sides to this coin, Lansbury, 92, told Radio Times. We have to own up to the fact that women, since time immemorial, have gone out of their way to make themselves attractive. And unfortunately it has backfired on us and this is where we are today. Shame on Lansbury for victim-blaming and for raising the old What were you wearing? argument. Insulting assumptions like that are why too many of us remain quiet. When we report something as humiliating and possibly professionally harmful as sexual harassment, the last thing we should be told is that we are the problem. Looking back, I wish Id had the guts to have cursed out my colleague then and there. But I wasnt that strong or professionally secure. I felt ashamed for having accepted his invitation to lunch, even though it is commonplace for more established journalists to welcome newsroom newbies by taking them out for lunch or drinks. I unwittingly participated in a culture in which female journalists whisper about which men are to be avoided. It doesnt happen to me here. But at industry conventions, women would warn about certain recruiters, especially those who invite aspiring female broadcasters to their hotel rooms to view their tapes. Discussing potential employment over drinks is common, and aspiring journalists knew we paid a price if we refused to play along. It was so commonplace, one of my journalism buddies reminded me on Wednesday. You just knew: 'Here he comes. Run.'" We laugh about it now. Back then, not so much. We were scared. We were vulnerable. We were silent. Thats why I applaud every female accuser who has had the courage to come forward and stand in her own truth. I wish I had been brave enough to have done that back when my colleague tried to kiss me. Unfortunately, The Content Is Not Here You have arrived at this page because the page or post you were looking for no longer exists. 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Equally as important is that the burden of a higher gas tax isnt borne entirely by Nebraskans. Everyone who fuels up in the state contributes their share. Every car, truck and semi traveling across Nebraskas 455 miles of Interstate 80 representing perhaps the countrys most important east-west thoroughfare help fund the states roadwork, regardless of their license plate. Those pennies come from across the American continent and they add up quickly. Last December, Kyle Schneweis, director of what was then called Nebraskas Department of Roads, told a legislative panel that Nebraskas highway system would require an estimated $16.6 billion in needs. But the state is on pace to raise most of that figure needed for improvements on its roughly 10,000-mile network of existing highways. The need to repair roads and bridges is great in this and every state. With its large geographic area and countless rivers and streams stretching from border to border, Nebraska has larger-than-average numbers of both roads and bridges and is dependent on this expansive infrastructure for transportation and commerce. Yet nearly a quarter of the states bridges were deemed structurally deficient or functionally obsolete by the Federal Highway Administration in 2013. Furthermore, 59 percent of its roads were rated then to be in either poor or mediocre condition by the American Society of Civil Engineers. However, a 2016 report by the American Road and Transportation Builders Association indicates Nebraska is making progress. The organization noted the number of deficient and obsolete bridges has declined to 21.6 percent in just three years. Still, Nebraska ranks fifth in the total number and sixth in percentage of deficient bridges. Nebraska has many miles yet to go. But the early results indicate the states gas tax increase, which doesnt fully take effect until 2019, has been successful at its intended purpose of generating more revenue to improve infrastructure statewide. The Journal Star and writer Chris Dunker are to be commended for the article ("Faculty: Politicians using incident to damage university," Nov. 28) that summarizes the history of the current free speech debate surrounding the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. The article reports that, as of Oct. 31, "UNL was taking steps to make all students feel welcome on campus." This means that those steps had not been pursued vigorously before Oct. 31. The statement, viewed in light of the incident of Aug. 25, is a direct admission of the lack of free speech on campus. Case closed. Hoist on their own petard. Victor Lacy, Lincoln RACINE A new art gallery called Little Glass Bird Artful Objects has flown into Downtown. Lori Lund is an artist and owner of Little Glass Bird, 232 Main St. A transplant from downtown Chicago, Lund bought the building earlier this year after she fell in love with the 1888 structure. Lund said she was looking for a change of lifestyle and a place where she and her sister can retire after her sister, a grade school art teacher, stops working. At this point the gallery is only open on weekends because Lund works full time as a corporate account manager for an in-house ad agency. On the side she does lampworking: the shaping of glass into glass beads and jewelry with a torch. In Chicago, Lund said, she rented studio space. Now she has her studio in her own building, behind the 900- to 1,000-square-foot gallery area. Besides selling her own creations, Lund said, Little Glass Birds other featured art is sold on consignment. The theme of the gallery, Lund said, is that she carries the works of full-time artists who are trying to make a living at it. The gallery carries both 2-D and 3-D art. The current art and artists include paintings by Helen Dannelly, Pam Hamilton and John Ames; clay creations by Michael Imes; and jewelry by Sarah Chapman, Gloria Anslow and Diane Sepanski. Little Glass Bird Artful Objects is open from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays. For more information, visit www.littleglassbirdartfulobjects.com or email llund100@yahoo.com. MADISON Taiwanese manufacturer Foxconn has won the political battle for a $3 billion state tax credit, but the campaign to win over the public, including many in the business community, continues. The public relations effort comes as Gov. Scott Walker mounts a campaign for a third term, his Democratic challengers criticize the Foxconn deal as a waste of taxpayer resources and initial public polling shows evidence of public opposition. One of Walkers closest political advisers is also involved in Foxconns communications strategy. Last week the company sent Louis Woo, special assistant to Foxconn founder and CEO Terry Gou, to participate in a panel discussion at a Wisconsin Manufacturers & Commerce event in Madison where he cracked jokes with fellow panelists Wisconsin Economic Development Corp. CEO Mark Hogan and Department of Administration Secretary Scott Neitzel in front of a projected map of Wisconsin with ripples emanating across the state from a star in Racine County. Woo said the companys 10-year vision is to create a Wisconn Valley that will rival Californias Silicon Valley. He added that in order to recruit workers it will be imperative to maintain and even increase the pristine of Wisconsin, the beauty of Wisconsin, the environmental values of Wisconsin even though one of the main criticisms of the deal is that it exempts the company from certain state environmental regulations that other businesses must follow. Why are we attracted to Wisconsin? Mostly its the people, Woo said. Its because of you guys that we are attracted to Wisconsin. Gov. Scott Walker, speaking at the same event, addressed right away a concern that he said has been on the mind of many business owners as the Foxconn facility creates as many as 13,000 direct jobs, 22,000 indirect jobs and 10,000 construction jobs to Racine County. One of our goals is to make sure were not only fulfilling the needs that theyre going to have directly and indirectly there, but that those are a net gain when it comes to jobs in the state and that were not taking employees from other employers across the state, Walker said. In its recent series on the worker shortage, the Wisconsin State Journal reported how some business owners are concerned about where Foxconn will find 13,000 workers when near record-low unemployment has made it difficult to find workers. Speaking with reporters Friday, Walker acknowledged the concerns about Wisconsins worker shortage in relation to Foxconn have been continuous and widespread. Theres usually not a week, sometimes not a day that doesnt go by when I havent heard specifically from employers about concerns they have about filling positions, Walker said. And so as I look ahead knowing that obviously the (Foxconn) building will start next year and the full scale hiring Im going to make sure that were not waiting until weve got an insurmountable problem, that were acting now. Walker said after announcing the Foxconn deal in July, he met with representatives from German candymaker Haribo to reassure the company that it wouldnt be competing with Foxconn for workers. He brought representatives from Milwaukee-based workforce consultant Manpower to share a report that had been prepared regarding the Foxconn deal. We actually involved Manpower to help us make the case about how there are different markets in terms of the type of workers theyre looking for and different ways even though theyre in southeastern Wisconsin, Walker said. It was something that renewed their confidence. Earlier this year Haribo landed a $21 million income tax credit incentive from the Wisconsin Economic Development Corp. at the time the agencys fourth largest tax credit award to create 385 jobs in Pleasant Prairie. Haribo officials didnt respond to a request for comment. Wisconsin Manufacturers & Commerce, the states largest business group, also declined to discuss what they are hearing from businesses about the Foxconn deal and their public relations strategy. Foxconns public relations effort is being overseen by Platform Communications, a company owned by Walker campaign political adviser Keith Gilkes. A Platform spokeswoman declined to discuss any internal polling on public support for Foxconn. State residents skeptical Polls from Marquette Law School and Democratic-leaning Public Policy Polling suggested the deal isnt wildly popular. The Marquette Poll was limited to southeastern Wisconsin but found 38 percent saying it was worth the $3 billion state investment and 48 percent saying it wasnt. The PPP poll found statewide 41 percent opposed the Foxconn deal, 34 percent supported it and 26 percent werent sure. The Walker campaign declined to discuss any internal polling, but noted Walker has talked up Foxconn on the campaign trail after initially not mentioning it in his kickoff speech in Waukesha. At an event in Superior soon after in the opposite corner of the state from Racine County and the location of a failed economic development deal from 2012 involving Kestrel Aircraft Walker said Foxconn is going to have to have construction workers from one end of the state to the other and purchase $1.4 billion from companies in Superior and all over. Not only was Foxconn the right thing to do for hard-working families excitement around this historic investment will continue to grow as shovels enter the ground, suppliers and workers across the state support the project, and tens of thousands of jobs are created, campaign spokesman Nate Craft said. All the major Democratic candidates running for governor have criticized the deal. State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Evers launched an ad in August highlighting how taxpayers wont recoup the lost state revenue for 25 years. Rep. Dana Wachs, D-Eau Claire, who voted against the deal, decried the staggering price tag borne by taxpayers and lack of protections for workers, our water and air. Milwaukee businessman Andy Gronik called it a shell game. Former Democratic Party of Wisconsin chairman Matt Flynn called it a desperate deal. GOP responds The criticism prompted a response last month from the Republican Party of Wisconsin and the GOP leaders of the Legislatures economic development committees, who said Democrats are so desperate to score a few cheap political points that they are willing to put hard working families at risk by creating a chilling effect on investment and job creation. Rep. John Nygren, R-Marinette, also wrote a column recently defending the deal, saying while Foxconn may be located in southeastern Wisconsin, its impact will be felt statewide. Rep. Todd Novak, R-Dodgeville, one of two Assembly Republicans who voted against the deal, said before the vote he heard from business owners concerned about what impact Foxconn would have on their ability to find workers. He said he heard from all across the political spectrum: What are we going to get out of it? Since the vote, Novak said he hasnt heard a lot of people talk about it. He said many of his concerns about the deal were addressed when WEDC signed the Foxconn contract, which spelled out a timeline for when the company would have to create the 13,000 jobs in order to qualify for the $3 billion in tax credit. It may not be considered an enforced negative attitude if the title of the book under review inspires cynicism among critics; after all the relentless research by scholars attached to various Womens Studies Centres as well as the work of independent researchers, the prevailing scepticism borne of the reigning patriarchal attitude to all forms of research related to women has refused to die down. However, Chandramukhi Basu A Pioneering Daughter of India, 1860-1944 will evoke a different flavour even among die-hard cynics; for one, it begins with the hint of a long embedded mystery in the hoary portals of that hallowed institution, the University of Calcutta, the hints of the mystery going back more than a hundred years. Secondly, the episode brought to the fore yet another instance of how patriarchal influences, however wrongly construed, had stringently formulated rules of procedure/of recognition in the field of womens education in the country. It has long been an accepted belief that there were two ladies who graduated simultaneously from the University of Calcutta in 1883, Kadambini Bose and Chandramukhi Basu, yet the former was accredited with the title of the female who first passed the Entrance examination of the University in 1879! Herein lay the riddle, then how could both graduate the same year? Did the University suppress some facts to favour one over the other, or was there some other complication involved, constructed or involuntary? An academic of contemporary times , Dr Sunanda Ghosh (retired) of Bethune College, (Chandramukhi Basus graduation was from there as well) was sufficiently intrigued to take upon herself the task of unravelling the saga surrounding these two illustrious ladies , both of considerable mettle, exhibited more than hundred years ago. The latter went on to become the Principal of Bethune College, the first to offer educational facilities for women whereas her contemporary Kadambini Bose graduated to become the first female medical doctor. The book, the result of meticulous research by Sunanda becomes a comprehensive narrative not only on the life and times of Chandramukhi Basu but offers some important comments on womens education; a glimpse into the aristocratic families of Bengal, who displayed intrepid characteristics to venture into the dicey realm of womens education, is also offered. North Kolkata has seen considerable Bengali Christian academic activities, for instance by Krishnamohan Banerjee, Brahmabandhab Upadhyay, to name just a few. Chandramukhis father similarly came under missionary influence and eventually converted at the age of 16, since then he was involved in Church work. Chandramukhi Basu was born in her home town, Mahanad in Chinsura; they moved to Dehradun subsequently as her father took up teaching responsibilities there. Though not much is mentioned about their denomination it can be presumed they were Protestants since she was enrolled at the Free Church Normal School (now Scottish Church School, a protestant school) from where she passed her First Entrance. Chandramukhis enrolment at this institution perhaps was the onset of the series of events that have been referred to as a mystery. At 16, Sunanda Ghoshs research finds Chandramukhi seeking admission for the entrance examination of Calcutta University, this application was done under the influence of a missionary David Heron, while at Dehradun. The application created quite a stir within Calcuttas elite society. Calcutta University Syndicate records indicate the Registrar read the application in detail at its meeting held on 25 November 1876. Unfortunately for Chandramukhi, the expressed statement was (A)ccording to the received interpretation of the Regulations for that examination , he was unable to entertain the girls application. Yet empathising with the girls desires for higher education he had arranged for her being examined privately under the supervision of the Head Master of the Mussourie school, on the understanding that she was not to be considered a registered candidate. The meeting went on to conclude that in the eventuality of her passing the said examination, her name should not appear in the list of passed candidates (42-43). A very unfortunate decree for a bright young female eager to enter the higher world of academics! Why was this attitude adopted and what were the unhappy repercussions of that pronouncement? The syndicate announced on 27 January 1877 that the candidate had passed in all subjects, not a mean achievement for a girl in those days, but since Chandramukhi was an unregistered candidate her result was not announced. The entire imbroglio rested on the interpretation of the rules governing who could appear for Calcutta University examination. Apparently the words were any person (with the requisite qualifications) could appear for the examination, were inclusive enough, but one must remember the time period and the background of the gentlemen involved in the interpretation. Despite a surfeit of learned opinion, the august body, the Syndicate of Calcutta University could not extricate itself from the prevailing notions that person in the visible public space could mean one gender only. Rules for women were unwritten, orally transmitted and were applicable as per prevailing community norms. The women simply had no legitimate space in the public sphere, and the interpreters of the rules had no wish to clarify in any other way and break protocol. The fiasco created by the university was however, rectified the very next year; on 27 April 1878 the new rules were declared by the Syndicate from now on female candidates are allowed to appear for all University examinations. This decision affected the Chandramukhi legacy to the extent that she lost out to Kadambini Bose, who sat for the University exams under the amended rules in December 1878, approximately 15 months after Chandramukhi, her results were declared in 1879, and she was bestowed with the honour of being the first female to have passed the entrance examination! The fiasco of Chandramukhis misplaced honour was chanced upon by the researcher and she resolved to set it right. It eventually became partly a combined search by some of the faculty members of Bethune College, where Chandramukhi Basu had functioned as the principal. The resolution was to request the current vice-chancellor of Calcutta University to declare Chandramukhi as having cleared her entrance examination in 1876 (p 30) itself. The university authorities took note of the lapse committed by the Syndicate more than a hundred years ago and in the Convocation of 2013, the fault was rectified and posthumously the long due pass certificate was issued. Such research is invariably commendable, apart from the necessary unearthing and sieving through archives that it involves; it highlights the role of the usually dim figure hovering in the background, the researcher herself and the intentions behind her work. The research seems to be one of love combined with resolute will power. It is definitely not easy to scour hill and dale to unearth records, memorabilia, artifacts, books, even the grave of a lady long since departed, not once but through repeated travels. But that is exactly what the team from Bethune College did, they travelled to Dehradun where Chandramukhi had eventually retired; married, and settled down to productive domesticity combined with appreciable social activities, after her continuing ill-health prevented administrative functions at her college. Their efforts were further augmented by Ghosh who searched innumerable archives to finally compile this slim yet immensely useful volume. A little more attention to the grammar and typos would have been more praiseworthy. Innumerable myths dot our historical landscape and it is immensely desirable that diligent researchers engage in unearthing the truth from the hoary past to rectify such purposive wrongs. The reviewer is formerly professor of political science, University of Calcutta Not since Rohinton Mistrys A Fine Balance have I read a book as moving as Stoner. Written by John Williams, it was published in 1965 and sank without attracting much critical notice at the time. Only in recent years has it surged in popularity thanks to fervent advocacy by the French writer Anna Gavalda and the news that it is being turned into a film starring Casey Affleck. Since then, the novel has sold phenomenally well all over the world, riding on a wave of fulsome endorsements from a slew of famous writers. What can explain its sudden bestseller status? Let me begin by saying that Stoner is literally unputdownable, if I allow myself liberal use of a cliche. The book is in the tradition of university or academic stories, popularly known as campus novels, similar to works by Malcolm Bradbury and David Lodge, or Mary McCarthys The Groves of Academe, Phillip Roths The Human Stain and The Dying Animal and JM Coetzees Disgrace. However, unlike Bradburys and Lodges books that focus on academic exchanges and tend to satirise academic life, Stoner is deeply serious. The story centres on the life and times of William Stoner, a peasant boy who joins the University of Missouri as a student in 1910 and dies as an assistant professor of English literature shortly after being forced to resign in 1956 on grounds of poor health. His life is distinctly unremarkable and large parts of it are barely known to his students, as the novels opening makes it affectingly plain. In between studentship and professorship, William marries badly, lives a miserable domestic life with much whining and whingeing, suffers professional reverses arising from departmental rivalries, forms a few deep friendships and has a brief, yet life-expanding love affair with a young lecturer. William meets Edith, a bankers daughter, at a party and immediately proposes. Their marriage, however, is loveless and passionless. A one-time consummation results in the birth of his daughter; the remainder of his domestic life is desolate, moving up and down with the moods of his wife. This life does light up, briefly, when William falls in love with a much younger colleague at his university, but the relationship comes to an end when the head of Williams department, Professor Lomax, threatens to expose the affair. The long-standing feud between William and Lomax creates more complications in the protagonists life and resurrects at key moments in his career to knock him back to his miserable situation, denying him any possibility of happiness. This is the story in broad brushstrokes. However, beyond these outlines, the relentless focus is on the anatomy of Williams character formation and his navigation through his chosen academic path with a phlegmatic temperament. His life is a series of misfortunes. As for the helpless characters in A Fine Balance, one secretly prays Williams endless misfortunes will end somehow, somewhere. The question is, are his troubles of his own making or is he helpless against forces greater than him? Unlike the characters in A Fine Balance who cannot fend for themselves in the face of hostile and larger forces, William is comparatively better placed and considerably empowered to change the course of events. It seems he chooses not to. His phlegmatic reaction to the hard blows shows a fatalist streak in him, similar to the characters in works by Thomas Hardy. Many reviewers have called Stoner sad and bleak, but from the viewpoint of the main character, sadness and a phlegmatic temperament is inscribed deeply in the biography of his family. The clue to this lies in Williams early years at the farm looked after by his hardscrabble mother and father. His father is a taciturn man, deeply wedded to his land and its daily routine, and Williams early years are marked by backbreaking farm-work endured in silence. This unvoiced acceptance of whatever comes his way, while keeping his emotions in check, stays with him throughout his life and shapes his reactions to all the rough and the smooth mostly rough that comes his way. What struck me most in Stoner was the theme of silence. It reminded me of Colm Toibins recent book, Nora Webster, where silence and grief are major themes. The searing effects of silence and grief following the death of Noras husband are painted with heartbreaking honesty. Silence also becomes a defining feature of Williams life, and this prevents us from breaking through to his inner person. The turnaround in his fortunes occurs when his father arranges to send him to an agricultural college to learn modern farming methods with a view to improving his family farm. Midway through his course, William suddenly shifts to studying English literature. He is encouraged by Sloane Archer, a lecturer at the university. William excels at his new subject and ends up joining the faculty after finishing his PhD. At the university, his only close friendships are with Fisher and Dave, two young academics on an early career path like himself. This is the only occasion in the novel when we get somewhat closer to the protagonists inner thoughts. However, when the short-lived fraternity fractures with Daves death in World War I, from thence onwards Williams life again becomes a riddle shrouded in mystery. The only reference to historical times is mention of the two World Wars, with the addition of a nod to the Great Depression, which has caused the fortunes of Williams father-in-law to sink. As for the wars, the effect on William is that in the first he loses his close friend, in the second he loses his son-in-law. Beyond personal effects, the university-wide effects are the haemorrhage of the staff to war efforts and an increased workload on those who choose to stay back instead of joining the ranks. Williams emotional and psychological universe can be fully discerned through his key relationships. The one with his parents is emotionally detached. Nothing happens, verbally or non-verbally, between the family. There is a grim sense of some duty to be performed, lands to be tilled and the vagaries of nature to be obeyed uncomplainingly. This shapes him psychologically, making him pliable, emotionally closed and self-contained, developing traits that feed into his marital and professional relations with unpleasant consequences. In the relationship with his wife, he fails to connect. Edith is a straitlaced girl with no wide exposure of the world to lead her own life. In his effort to compensate for his emotional detachment, William showers attention on his daughter and Edith reacts by estranging him from his child. Stoner is a novel that endures because of its universality. The themes of academia as a life-altering event for a peasant boy destined for rural life, the silence and emotional restraint, an obsessive concern with career and the constant struggle to be or not be in human relationships make William an oddly loveable character in the wider world of factional politics and chaotic domestic life. Through it all he holds fast to his academic position as the most meaningful way to live. In the process, normality is exiled to the suburbs of his personal priorities. William is a classic study in character formation that pans out as being single-minded rather than well-rounded. The micro-effects of being single-minded are universally illustrated in loveless marriages and broken families, and that will ensure the longevity of the book. The writer is a journalist and essayist whose work has appeared in national and international publications Dawn/ ANN Tibetan spiritual leader Dalai Lama has been an inspiration for many people across the globe. He has been the Dalai Lama for 77 years, working as a harbinger of peace. Peace and love may well be inextricably bound together but the world is torn apart by hostility. Yet, he is of the view that all seven billion human beings are capable of giving love to others. He says, Man is a social animal but what separates us from other animals is our marvellous brain. Speaking at an event organised by the Indian Chamber of Commerce in Kolkata, he spoke on a variety of topics which was essentially a talk on The Revival of Ancient Indian Knowledge. President of ICC Shashwat Goenka, ICC Director-General Dr. Rajeev Singh and Chairman of OBEETEE Rudra Chatterjee were present on the occasion. The Dalai Lama began with how this planet is capable of living in harmony but millions of people are in agony citing the example of children suffering from starvation in Yemen. He is of the view that this evil is mans own creation and man has the ability to overcome these hindrances. We are surrounded by divisive politics of religion and region. According to him, religion creates division but strongly states, We need every effort to promote sense of oneness of seven billion human beings, which can, in turn, stop division on the basis of religion. Certainly, India is home to a number of religious traditions, starting from Jain and Buddhist philosophy to Judaism and then Islam. He pointed out how India has become home to all major world religions remaining true to its secular nature but sometimes politicians manipulate religion. This may have been a dig at the current religious scenario governing the country.Ironically enough, he says modern India is base out of sound historical culture. Moving on to Tibet, he clearly made his duty toward preserving Tibetan culture discernible and emphasised on the importance of the Tibetan plateau in this regard. He claimed that the rivers flowing through Tibet are conducive to people living not only in Tibet but also China, Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, India and Bangladesh. His unwavering dedication toward promoting Tibetan culture was not too much of a daunting task to comprehend. On The Revival of Ancient Indian Knowledge, the Dalai Lama mentioned how Indians were the gurus of Tibetans and discussed about the contribution of major ancient scholars such as Asanga, Buddhapalita, Nagarjuna, Dharmakirti and others. The Dalai Lama eulogised the University of Nalanda and stressed on the importance of quantum physics and psychology in reviving ancient Indian knowledge by acknowledging ancient Indian psychology is highly developed. A UNESCO World Heritage site, Mahavira and Gautam Buddha are said to have delivered lectures in Nalanda such is the history of education related to Nalanda. The re-establishment of these ancient learning centres especially in southern India has given shelter to over ten thousand monks. Defining his aim to revive ancient knowledge through education he said, Education alone should take both responsibilities development of intelligence and development of warm-heartedness. India should combine modern education, modern technology and modern economy with inner values is what he believed in. He opines that the world is in an emotional crisis and in this field India can make a significant contribution. Till my last day I will try to promote ancient Indian knowledge in modern India through education. When asked about the role of ancient Indian compassion playing a role to facilitate the co-existence of humans and robots, he argued machines cannot be compared to humans due to the uniqueness of the human brain and that machines are not capable of doing everything. He also said that while he himself prefers technology, there is certainly a limit to it. Modern man has come a long way by the early part of the 21st century after experiencing the horrors that man has engaged in the past century. In this very context, the Dalai Lama advocated the use of dialogue and not the use of force to resolve issues. Violence, he said, is a 20th century phenomenon. According to him, the world can become peaceful only problems are handled in a non-violent way, through ahimsa. The generation of 21st century should achieve a world without armament. Most problems stem from secondary level differences, different religion, different nationality or different political map, which he thinks is the reason for which the 21st century cannot attain a peaceful atmosphere. He shunned the concept of one religion, one truth saying it is outdated due to the emergence of various religious teachings. He said Buddhism and Hinduism are like twin brothers and they bear many similarities with the exception of anaatma in Buddhism and aatma in Jainism. The Dalai Lama kept reiterating about the role of internal beauty which can become a key to inner peace. The spiritual leader considers anger to be a characteristic that hinders ones ability to analyse which he otherwise described as analytical meditation or vipasana the peace of mind and intelligence. When asked about the possibility of loving without attachment, he immediately responded it was possible through genuine compassion, which can be extended even to our enemies. He concluded by pointing out Indias essential role in forming a Union of Asian countries, somewhat similar to the European Union, to usher in peace in countries namely Afghanistan, Sri Lanka, Pakistan and Bangladesh. But the primary stumbling blocks India needs to overcome are the inherent traits of laziness and lack of hard work among the Indian people and the level of corruption prevalent in the country. A total of 1,828 candidates are going to contest for 182 seats in the Gujarat Assembly elections scheduled in December 2017, according to data released by the Election Commission of India (ECI). The state assembly elections will conducted over two phases on 9 and 14 December. This year Assembly elections will see the highest number of candidates from Mehsana seat, 34 candidates are contesting from one seat. Of the 34 candidates who will contest from Mehsana seat, Deputy Chief Minister of Gujarat, Nitin Patel, is one of the candidates for the Mehsana seat. Amongst the 1,828 candidates, 977 will contest in the first phase and 851 candidates will contest for the second phase. Out of 977, 89 are from BJP and 87 are from Congress. For Mehsana, Jamnagar Rural, Jamnagar North, Botad, Viramgam, 22-34 candidates will be contesting from each seat. Botad seat has 25 candidates who will contest from the same seat. Former Gujarat Finance Minister Saurabh Patel will also contest from Botad. Statistically in 1995, there were 2,545 candidates, while 1990 just saw 1,889 candidates for assembly elections, and 2,545 candidates had contested in 1995 polls. 1,666 candidates had contested in 2012, and 1,180 candidates in 2007 . The seat that has the lowest number of candidates is an ST seat from Bhiloda. It only has 2 candidates contesting from the same seat. Similarly, Anand, Morva Hadaf, Zaghadia has 3 candidates each contesting from the same seat. Viramgam has 22 candidates, and Jamnagar North has 24 candidates. Besides, the candidate from major political parties- BJP and Congress, there are 441 independent candidates who will contest in the first phase. The yearly breakup of the number of candidates who contested the Gujarat Assembly elections shows a steady and continuously increasing trend in number of applicants: The data of overall status of the candidates in the fray for Gujarat Assembly elections, compiled by two NGOs Gujarat Election Watch and the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) was recently published. Of the total 977 candidates, there are 198 millionaires trying their luck in the upcoming elections, which is about 21 per cent of the total number. The millionaire candidates are evenly spread over all political parties and are also contesting in elections as independents. Among the 198 millionaires, 65 have assets worth Rs. 5 crores while 60 have assets between Rs. 2 Rs. 5 crores. Congress candidate Indranil Rajyaguru, who is pitted against the incumbent Chief Minister Vijay Rupani from Rajkot (West) seat, has declared assets worth Rs. 141.22 crore. RACINE Those at the Racine Salvation Army got a surprise when counting red kettle donations on Thursday night. Inside one of the kettles was a diamond engagement ring and wedding band, with a blue ribbon tying them together. The white gold matching wedding set, found in the kettle that was posted outside of Piggly Wiggly, 5201 Washington Ave., Mount Pleasant, is estimated to be worth between $800 to $1,000. The finding of the rings continues what has been a very good start to the Kettle Campaign season, said Major Ken Nicolai, corps officer of the Racine Salvation Army in a press statement. We are grateful for this generous gift. The local Salvation Army received a diamond ring donation in a kettle around three years ago, but Nicolai said that longtime members of the organization dont recall receiving any similar donations prior to that. Its not very common at all, Nicolai said during a phone interview on Friday. After collections end for the day, the Salvation Armys counters sit in a room together, and sift through donations. They have a sort of internal competition to see who will find the largest or most unusual donation, Nicolai said. The man who discovered the rings let everyone else know about his find. He yelled out, Nicolai said. He was pretty excited. Nicolai said he hoped the donation was not due to the end of a relationship. You never know the reason behind why someone would give a wedding set, he said. But we want them to know that its going to help a lot of people. The Racine Salvation Army will continue to collect red kettle donations at 21 locations throughout greater Racine until Dec. 23. Invoking the memories of those who died in queues due to demonetisation, former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Saturday reiterated that November 8, 2016 was a black day for the countrys economy and democracy. I invoke memories of more than 100 people who lost their lives while standing in queues as a result of demonetisation, he said in his address to professionals and businessmen of Surat in poll-bound Gujarat. I say with immense pain and a sense of deep responsibility that the 8th of November was a black day for our economy and democracy, he added. Earlier in the day, Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Saturday said the previous UPA government under Prime Minister Manmohan Singh was the most corrupt and leaderless. In a press conference in Surat, ahead of the first phase of Gujarat polls on December 9, Jaitley said during the ten years of Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) at the Centre, it was said that the PM is a PM in office but not in power. The 10 years of governance before Modi Jis 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, Jaitley said. Noting that while BJP had maintained its credibility, and Congress was slowly becoming extinct, the senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader said unlike previous regime, the present government was undertaking reforms by conviction. The assembly polls in Gujarat will be held on December 9 and 14. The results for the 182-member assembly will be declared on December 18. 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 Presidents daughter and senior advisor, Ivanka Trump, and included representatives from 38 states. Her participation in the summit was announced during Modis 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. BJP chief Amit Shah on Friday said 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 today. 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 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 yesterday. 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. The word happiness has been so overused in popular culture that it seems to have lost its edge. Despite the fact that it has become such a trite word, it still fascinates many of us to figure out what makes us happy. The fact that happiness can mean so many things for so many people and the fact that it cant be grasped any more than air or water certainly adds to its elusive quality. Understanding the nature of happiness is further complicated by the fact that it varies from culture to culture, individual to individual and from one phase of life to another. It is this elusive, relative and subjective nature of happiness, which renders it almost impossible to create a formula for being happy that works for everybody. Due to the elusive and random quality of happiness, the various etymologies of the word signify luck or favourable destiny. For example, in the English language, the word happiness comes from the Icelandic root happ, which implies luck or chance. This is probably why we consider someone who is happy to be blessed with good luck. Although happiness is often tied to pure luck or chance, Western perspective points out that we can use our mind to decide whether we want to be happy or not. It also indicates that although we are all conditioned, we are certainly not influenced by a host of factors that decide for us whether we can be happy or less happy. The Western school of thought informs us that happiness may be out of our control and yet it depends on us. By utilising our reason and willpower, we can increase the likelihood of being happy. This is probably why one finds so many philosophers in the Western world who have written extensively on matters that deal with what kind of life one should pursue to find happiness. Aristotle wrote one of the most influential works on the question of happiness, Nicomachean Ethics, which informs us that happiness is always pursued for its own sake and never with some other end in view. For Aristotle, happiness constituted the supreme good. While we can pursue money for the security and comfort it provides or we can seek fame in order to be popular, happiness is an end in itself. According to Aristotle, pleasures of the senses are important but they do not constitute what he perceived to be a happy life. A happy life is more than the pleasures of the body. It is based on love and friendship, knowledge, contemplation, being just and compassionate and so on. Aristotle acknowledged the fact that happiness always constitutes a pursuit of pleasure but it is always the pleasures of the soul that contribute most to happiness. Aristotle believed that a virtuous life where one follows a golden mean between two extremes was the primary source of happiness. For him, a virtuous life can be acquired by application of reason and by deliberate action in the cultivation of virtues such as courage, moderation, liberality, generosity, gentleness, justice, and integrity, among others. Aristotle summed up the nature of happiness thus: Happiness is an activity of the soul in accordance with perfect virtue. Just a few decades later, another Athenian philosopher, Epicurus, came up with his formula on the ethics of happiness, which was based on pleasure. This philosophy of happiness was quite radical in 306 BC, when Epicurus founded his school. He exhorted his students to get rid of two major fears ~ fear of gods and fear of death. While Epicurus did not deny the existence of gods, he tried to keep them at a distance, believing that gods didnt have much of an impact on human life. So, he saw no need to pray to them or make offerings to appease them. Unlike his contemporaries, Epicurus didnt believe in the souls immortality since it induced fear of punishment after death. According to Epicurus, our fear of dying has to do with our imagination because when we are alive we have no direct experience of death. For Epicurus, once these two mortal fears were eliminated we could experience happiness. He observed that our unhappiness was mostly due to our permanent dissatisfaction with life. In his efforts to find a way to happiness, Epicurus made a distinction between three kinds of desires ~ natural and necessary desires (e.g. eating, dressing, having a home, etc.); natural and non-necessary desires (gourmet cooking, fancy clothes, luxury home, etc.); non-natural and non-necessary desires (power, popularity, indulgence in luxuries, etc.). Epicurus believed that if we could satisfy the first group of desires, we would find happiness. One could pursue the second group but its better if we eschewed these desires. As for the third group, they need to be avoided at all cost. Epicurus philosophy of happiness was based on moderation. The supreme virtue for Epicurus is prudence, which enables us to discriminate between healthy pleasures and unhealthy ones. His notion of happiness ultimately was in having absolute tranquility of the soul, which could be achieved by overcoming irrational fears and finding happiness in small things in life such as friendship, love for family, having good health and so on. The German Enlightenment philosopher, Immanuel Kant, believed that happiness depended on following a moral code ~ a person should do what made her/ him worthy of being happy, which meant engaging in acts that were deemed morally and ethically just. However, for Kant, ultimate happiness did not exist in our mundane world. We could attain it only after death. It was a sort of a reward given by God to someone who had led a moral and ethical life on earth, which happens to be the doctrine of most religions. The other great German philosopher, Arthur Schopenhauer, believed that happiness ultimately depended on our temperament ~ whether we are positive or negative by nature. According to Schopenhauer, our happiness depends on what we are on our individuality, while in general we take account only of our fate and what we have. He believed that we simply cannot change our nature ~ an angry person will always be angry, a fearful person will always be a coward, and an optimist is always an optimist and so on. Schopenhauer made an important distinction between what we are (strong, brave, intelligent, compassionate), what we possess (our belongings and possessions), and what we represent (our status, image, glory). While for most individuals the two last points are most important because they believe happiness is based on what we possess and how others perceive us, however, for Schopenhauer, this perspective is totally wrong. He believed that vagaries of fate, rivalry, permanent dissatisfaction, competition and so on will inevitably make us miserable if we build our happiness solely on what we possess and what we represent to others. For Schopenhauer, happiness came from our inner spirit ~ something nobody can give to us or take away from us: What someone possesses for himself, what accompanies him in solitude and that nobody can give to him or take from him, is much more essential than all that he possesses and all that he is in the eyes of others. Although Schopenhauer gave great importance to our natural inclinations and believed that the natural sensibilities that we possess were what determined whether we could find happiness, modern scientific research proves otherwise. According to scientific findings, we are all capable of changing our outlook and our inner spirit if we engage in spiritual and psychological endeavours. Modern scientific research also indicates that there is a strong connection between happiness and altruism, which was also noted by many in the past. For example, Jean-Jacques Rousseau stated: I know and feel that to do good is the truest happiness the human heart can savour. In our own day, Matthew Richard informed us about the Buddhist teachings of true happiness being inseparable from altruism since it forms the essential goodness that is accompanied by the deep desire that everyone may flourish in their lives. In The Art of Loving, renowned social psychologist and philosopher, Erich Fromm, reminded us: Giving is the highest expression of potency. Giving is more joyous than receiving, not because it is a deprivation, but because in the act of giving lies the expression of my aliveness. It is clear that many of the great Western philosophers emphasised a virtuous life, possessing qualities such as honour, compassion, integrity, courage and so on while eschewing a life of material possessions and promoting ones image. They encouraged us to focus on our inner spirit because that is the real source of our happiness. It is only when we decide to opt out of having a purely materialistic existence that is marked by avarice, selfishness, and self-aggrandizement and, instead, cultivate the much more rich, fulfilling and uplifting life of the inner spirit and engage in acts of altruism that we have the potential to experience happiness in our daily life. The incoming train-wreck that is the Republican tax plan has a bizarre solution for a very real problem, and the oddest thing is, they might get away with it. The problem is simple. All the benefits of the much-ballyhooed globalisation in recent years have accrued to the very few at the top, while vast swathes of the US population are seething as manufacturing jobs have disappeared. This pain is acute for the most devoted demographic cohort of President Donald Trumpnamely, the people described by pollsters here as non-college educated white. The Republican Party is reeling. After a year of having control of both houses of Congress as well as the presidency, they have failed to get any significant legislation passed. So, they figured they need to get some legislative achievement when they face voters next year. So far so good. However, they seriously err if they think theyll get away with passing any legislation. This is a point to which I will return. Earlier, Republicans stumbled when it came to passing a law to repeal healthcare. After all their grandstanding during the Obama years of repealing and replacing President Barack Obamas landmark healthcare law, when push came to shove, they lost their nerve. For good reason, too, because despite all the political posturing, most Republican lawmakers realised that robbing tens of millions of people of health insurance would come back to bite them come election time. So, what to do? Republicans decided to do something even more complicated take on tax reform. Their modus operandi remained the same as their ill-fated attack on Obamacare stealth and speed. Add to this a monstrous dollop of mendacity. Whats so striking about this is the sheer irresponsibility of the exercise. Tax reform is complicated and devilishly hard because it inevitably results in vicious infighting as powerful interests try to protect their favourite loopholes. Real tax reform is a completely different beast. It last happened in the US in 1986, the result of much hearing, discussions, debate and horse-trading between Republicans led by President Ronald Reagan and Democrats led by, among others, House Speaker Tip ONeill. What a far cry from today. The Republican tax bill, over 500-pages, has been put together without a single hearing, and is being rushed through Congress. The New York Times editorial headline says it all: The Senate Is Rushing to Pass Its Tax Bill Because It Stinks. And how. According to the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office, households earning more than USD 1 million a year stand to gain, on average, nearly USD 60,000 in 2019 from the tax plan meanwhile, those making under USD 30,000 will actually pay higher taxes. By 2027, all households earning less than USD 75,000 will (on average) be paying more of their income than they do currently. The upshot of all this is that the Republicans have managed to create a tax bill where a lot of the middle class will see their taxes go up after a few years and yet the plan leaves a trillion-dollar hole, according to CBO. The big question is why? Heres where Republican mendacity comes in. Why do corporate coffers, already swimming with cash, need a fresh infusion? Apparentlyaccording to the altered reality of Republican la-la landthis will induce corporations to invest and unleash a torrent of new jobs. This appears to be news to Americas CEOs. Major companies including Cisco Systems Inc., Pfizer Inc. and Coca-Cola Co. say theyll turn over most gains from proposed corporate tax cuts to their shareholders, undercutting President Donald Trumps promise that his plan will create jobs and boost wages for the middle class, Bloomberg reported. John Shin, a foreign-exchange strategist at Bank of America Merrill Lynch, who conducted a survey of more than 300 companies asking their plans for a tax overhaul, told Bloomberg: Companies are sitting on large amounts of cash. Theyre not really financially constrained. As for that wonderful economic boom that will help the tax bill pay for itself? The University of Chicagos Booth School of Business runs an ongoing survey of top economists spanning a wide number of specialties and political outlooks. The panel includes multiple Nobel Prize winners, White House veterans, and former presidents of the American Economic Association. Recently, they were asked about the Republican tax reform bills. Out of 42 top economists, only 1 believed the GOP tax bills would help the economy. All of them thought it would increase the debt. The only glimmer of hope is that for all their stealth and speed, the Republicans havent been able to fool the public. Polls show the public think the bill stinks. Since 1980, a plurality of voters has approved of every major tax cut that Congress has considered. Yet, according to Gallup, Americans currently view the GOP plan more negatively than they did the tax hikes passed under Bill Clinton and George H W Bush. So, Republicans might yet get their just desserts in elections come November. They will richly deserve it. The Daily Star/ANN. On my trip to the divine Himachal Pradesh this year, I came across the chimerical land of obliviona hamlet called, Mudh. Located 14,500 feet in the Pin valley with a population of around 200, Mudh is occasionally interspersed with spurts of pink blossoms called Sia Mentok. Animals outnumber people there. Horses neigh and cows moo from stone-walled pens. From the town of Kaza or Kaja, the sub-divisional headquarters of the remote Spiti Valley in the Lahaul and Spiti district of the state of Himachal Pradesh in the Western Himalayas of India, Mudh is approximately 30 kilometres away. Generally, one has to hire a cab from Kaza and after covering 13 kms, there is a bridge and from there, one has to take the right turn and travel another 15 kms. Mudh village is also the gateway to several trekking routes such as Pin Parvati Pass Trek, Pin Bhaba Pass Trek, Pin Valley National Park, Parang La Trek, Pin to Lingti Valley and a Village Trek. There are several home stays available in Mudh. Tara Home Stay is a delightful option which provides necessary facilities such as Internet, laundry and services for trekking to Baba Pass and Pin Parvati Pass. Other home stays are namely Delek Home Stay and Dikit Home Stay among a few others. However, there is a dearth of electricity in Mudh. People are entirely dependent on solar energy. One has to charge up their phone, camera or any other electrical device from the preceding destination. The cynosure of Mudh is the Pin Valley consisting of the Pin River. From there, in order to trek to Baba Pass, it has to be crossed before 15 September to avert snowfall and other related risks. Ideally people should visit the place before the first week of October. Geographically, Mudh is the last district of Himachal Pradesh. The main occupations of the people are predominantly farming and running home stays. The dwellers lie much below the poverty line. There is also no educational institute to eradicate illiteracy. Yet the people of Mudh are full of warmth and their hearts brim with the milk of human kindness. Therein lies the essence of Mudh. There is neither any bank nor post office or hospital anywhere. In short, there are no amenities of the so-called modern world. Only BSNL sim cards work there but the frequency level is very low. The food available is momo, masala tea, Tibetan Pizza and so on. The Tibetan Pizza nevertheless, is an innovative, scrumptious and appetising native dish prepared with several mouthwatering ingredients and one of its secret ones is love thats what makes it delectable and instantly brings a smile on ones face! The village of Mudh is wholly surrounded by the Pin River. The condition of its roads is good as most are metal albeit narrow. Hence, one gets to watch mesmerising sceneries, snow-peaked mountains, in short a palpable picturesque view without a glitch. From Mudh, people can visit Dhankar monastery, a phenomenal site of Himachal Pradesh. As per old beliefs, Dhankar village geographically, is situated in the form of a lotus flower whose petals are formed by eight mountains, which surround it from different sides. These mountain ranges are believed to be abodes of various local Gods or devtas. The first ruler of Spiti, King Nimagon and his son, Dichok Gon, laid the foundation of the Dhankar fort and monastery and consequently built them simultaneously. All religious activities were conducted from the monastery. The monastery follows the Gelukpa order main where the presiding deity is Khando Chokyong. After Kye Monastery or Kye Gompa, Dhankar is the biggest monastery of Spiti Valley and a religious training centre for Lamas, which reportedly had 100 monks in 1855. The monastery built in the seventh century, is the second highest in the world. Perhaps the cynosure of Dhankar Monastery is the ancient, immortal Buddhist paintings which have fortunately survived the ravages of time. Mudh, particularly struck my fancy due to the sublime innocence and unsullied purity, noticeable amid nature and in the countenances of the otherwise marginalised, segregated, poverty-stricken dwellers. Albeit often involved in hard labour, there is an effortless smile glued on their faces with absolutely no hint of fatigue or languor, which is remarkable! As I flew back to Kolkata, I carried in my heart, a host of enchanting memories a melange of scenic beauty and serene divinity. At times I crave to revisit Mudh, the hamlet providentially known to a handful and unarguably, the elixir of everlasting, pristine innocence. 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 governments 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. In a move that has raised the hackles of the Indian establishment, China has proposed building an economic corridor with Myanmar on the lines of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC). New Delhi has openly opposed CPEC as it passes through the Indian territory in Kashmir illegally occupied by Pakistan. We always keep a close eye on every development which can have a bearing on our national interests, an Indian source said when his attention was drawn to the proposal for a China-Myanmar Economic Corridor (CMEC) mooted by Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi during his recent visit to Myanmar. China has been a long-standing friend of Myanmar and had shielded it from isolation by the West. Lately, Beijing has intensified efforts to increase its footprints in Myanmar and solidly backed the country during the Rohingya refugee crisis. It even expressed its readiness to play the role of mediator between Myanmar and Bangladesh to resolve the refugee issue. The CMEC proposal has come as a surprise to New Delhi since it runs parallel to the Bangladesh-China-India-Myanmar (BCIM) Corridor, even though this project is progressing at a snails pace thanks to the complex relationship between India and China. The proposed new corridor between China and Myanmar will begin from Chinas Yunnan Province, go south to the central Myanmar city of Mandalay and further extend east to Yangon and west to the Kyaakpyu especial economic zone. Beijing claims the design would boost connectivity among large projects and ensure balanced development across Myanmar. A former US 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 May 8. 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 Applebees 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. Hawaii - medical marijuana, no guns By Jacob Sullum. November 29th, 2017 Hawaii is one of 29 states that allow medical use of marijuana, but it is the only state that requires registration of all firearms. If you are familiar with the criteria that bar people from owning guns under federal law, you can probably surmise what the conjunction of these two facts means for patients who use cannabis as a medicine, which Hawaii allows them to do only if they register with the state. Some of them recently received a letter from Honolulu Police Chief Susan Ballard, instructing them to turn in their guns. "Your medical marijuana use disqualifies you from ownership of firearms and ammunition," Ballard says in the November 13 letter, which Leafly obtained this week after Russ Belville noted it in his Marijuana Agenda podcast. "If you currently own or have any firearms, you have 30 days upon receipt of this letter to voluntarily surrender your firearms, permit, and ammunition to the Honolulu Police Department (HPD) or otherwise transfer ownership. A medical doctor's clearance letter is required for any future firearms applications or return of firearms from HPD evidence." Although medical marijuana states typically register patients and/or issue them ID cards, Hawaii is unusual in making its registry both mandatory and accessible for purposes other than confirming eligibility, which is how Ballard knew where to send her warning. ....... Any excuse for more restrictions it seems. Our Pacific state has long been very anti Second Amendment anyways but now is really laying it on with this approach. What is so absurd is that from a Federal point of view, opioids (pain killers) are in a similar prohibition category as marijuana and yet those can be legally prescribed to patients with no threat of taking their guns. So, why cannot a legally prescribed medical marijuana be also treated the same - a needed therapy for often very intractable conditions. Rights are being abused in all directions. "You don't have to be Jewish to fight by our side." You just have to love freedom. 2017 JPFO All rights reserved. jpfo@jpfo.org 1-800-869-1884 Jews for the Preservation of Firearms Ownership 12500 NE 10th Pl. Bellevue, WA 98005 USA "America's most aggressive defender of civil rights" We make the NRA look like moderates Join JPFO Back to Top remaining of Thank you for reading! On your next view you will be asked to log in to your subscriber account or create an account and subscribepurchase a subscription to continue reading. Patnaik's close aides say that to understand him, one has to understand his empathy By Pratul Sharma/Photos Sanjay Ahlawat All government apps have two to three layers of security to ensure that there will be no cyber security breaches. Several applications including the BHIM application go through a testing process and we ensure that they are fully secured. Given the volume of financial transactions online, the total number of cyber security breaches are minimal, said V. Raghunandan, of the Department of Telecommunication (DoT) on the sidelines of Financial Inclusion Global Initiative (FIGI) symposium held in Bengaluru. Experts from the DoT pointed out that the BharatNet scheme would enable broadband connectivity in the rural areas of the country and would ensure that there is good internet connectivity across the country. India with close to 1.2 billion mobile connections and nearly half of them being in the rural areas will give a boost to the Jan-Dhan Yojana. We can see robust expansion of financial systems and financial inclusion across the country in the next couple of years. We are also trying to address socio-economic issues, so that it becomes easier for even rural people across the country to come under the fold of financial inclusion, explained Padma Iyer Kaul, from the DoT. Interestingly, Bilel Jamoussi, Chief of the Study Groups Department, ITU Standardization Bureau, observed the fact that an estimated 2 billion adults worldwide are still without a bank account but 1.6 billion of them have a mobile phone. India's experience will make a valuable contribution to the body of knowledge being developed by FIGI. Mobile money (M-Pesa) started in Kenya just ten 10 years ago and digital channels have since come to form a cornerstone of financial inclusion strategies worldwide, explained Jamoussi. The FIGI is led by the World Bank, International Telecommunication Union (ITU) and Committee on Payments and Market Infrastructures (CPMI) with support from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. FIGI aims at enabling different authorities in developing and emerging markets to harness the potential of digital technologies for financial inclusion and to manage associated risks. FIGI aims at hosting three annual symposiums to share insights into the progress of FIGI's work streams as well as to provide a platform for developing countries to highlight their innovations supporting financial inclusions. At its first symposium in Bengaluru, India got an opportunity to showcase its innovations aimed at financial inclusion such as Jan-Dhan, Aadhaar and Mobile (JAM). Union minister Jayant Sinha on Friday clarified that there was no formal expression of interest from the Tatas as regards the stake sale of Air India. The comment of the Union minister of state for civil aviation sought to clear the air after he told a television news channel yesterday that there were indications of interest from the Tatas for Air India. "No, there is no formal expression of interest from the Tatas on Air India," he said. Sinha said his words as regards the Tatas' indication of interest were in reference to comments made by N. Chandrasekharan, the executive chairman of the Tata Sons Ltd, on television about the company exploring the possibilities of participating in the stake sale of Air India. "We have, of course, received from both IndiGo as well as the Tatas indications of interest for the airline (Air India), and then we have received formal indications of interest for the other aspects of the Air India group. Those are the formal indications we have received so far," said Sinha. The minister clarified that so far, IndiGo was the only airline which had formally written to the Ministry of Civil Aviation, showing an interest in Air India. "We will definitely look at it," Chandrasekharan had told the media and added, "We still do not have all the details. Every business proposal will be very seriously looked at and we will definitely look at that (Air India). But currently, we do not have the data." Ground services providers such as the Bird Group and Turkish company Celebi have also shown interest in acquiring the ground handling arm of Air India, the Air India Air Transport Services Limited (AIATSL). On June 28, the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) had given its in-principle nod for the strategic disinvestment of Air India and five of its subsidiaries. Subsequently, an Air India-specific alternative mechanism was set up to guide the process. The ministerial group is looking into the treatment of Air India's unsustainable debt, hiving off of certain assets to a shell company, demerger and strategic disinvestment of three of its profit-making subsidiaries among other aspects. Acharya of Kantipur wins Sejon Award Kantipur journalist Krishna Acharya has been honoured with the Sejon Award presented by the Society of Economic Journalists, Nepal (Sejon) annually. The jury had selected Acharyas news story on noted Indian yoga guru Swami Ramdev conducting business in Nepal without approval. Industry experts expressed optimism over the appointment of Salil S. Parekh as the Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director of IT major Infosys with effect from January 2. "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," said Nandan Nilekani, Chairman, Infosys. The software major's full-time CEO post has been vacant since Vishal Sikka resigned on August 18, stating that he could not continue to work amid "malicious personal attacks." Parekh will be joining Infosys from Capgemini, where he was a member of the Group Executive Board. Most of the experts share the opinion that Parekh, an alumnus of IIT Bombay, can fit into the culture of Infosys easily unlike Sikka since Parekh has spent a vast amount of time in India, building and scaling up the Capgemini operations. Moreover, Parekh comes from an IT services background and should be able to handle the challenges associated with Infosys which concentrates more on IT services. Parekh has been instrumental in handling different acquisitions that Capgemini did such as IGATE and has vast experience in the IT services field. Parekh has also lived in India for long and understands the Indian culture, as he was also instrumental in scaling up Capgemini's Indian operations from a few hundred employees to say around a lakh people. Had Parekh stayed on in Capgemini he would have become the next CEO of the French giant. I have met him at a couple of Nasscom events and I feel that he is a perfect fit for Infosys unlike Sikka, who had very less Indian experience and came from a software product background. Parekh was also in charge of Capgemini's North America business from where more than 45 per cent of its revenue comes. Thus, he has good marketing experience as well, Kris Lakshmikanth, the founder of the recruiting firm Head Hunters India Limited told THE WEEK. Alok Shende of Ascentius Consulting, also expressed his optimism over Parekh's appointment and reiterated that he will have a very strong advantage over his predecessor Sikka. Sikka came from a product background and was bent more on innovation and research whereas, Parekh has vast experience of running a business and was at the helm of the leadership team at Capgemini. I feel that he will be a perfect fit at Infosys and should be able to perfectly steer the Indian IT giant through challenging times, said Shende. Even as BJP president Amit Shah is fully invested in prepping up his party for the upcoming assembly elections, he knows that his mission to make the BJP a pan India party is far from over. The party chief was in West Bengal in May and September this year to evaluate the party's presence and activities in the state. Shah will be back in West Bengal on a four-day whirlwind visit in January, once the dust settles over Gujarat assembly elections. The purpose of his visit would be to check the progress made by the party in West Bengal in last four months. He had given us homework during his last visit. He would see in January what progress we have made so far. Its all about progress of the party, said Biswapriya Roychowdhury, West Bengal BJP General Secretary. Shah had visited in May this year before coming to Kolkata in September. He had then lambasted the state unit for the slow progress of the party in the state, which would face Panchayat elections in 2018 and has to prepare to face the 2019 general election. Going back to Delhi after his visit in September this year, Shah took a bold decision by drafting Mukul Roy into the party despite objection from the state unit. May, September and now, in January. Is the plan to visit the state every quarter till general election? I have no idea. But may be that could be his plan as well, replies Roychowdhury. Apart from drafting Roy into the party, Shah has also taken a bold decision by making an Odisha leader the co-observer of the state. Even when Kailash Vijayvargiya, national general secretary of the BJP, is the state in-charge, the placing of Suresh Pujari as the state observer is another master stroke by Shah. The Sambalpur MP is known to be an organisation man who has built the party in Odisha from the scratch. In the upcoming Sabang by-election in West Midnapore, Pujari would look into the campaign and machinery of the party. Interestingly, Sabang borders Odisha. In a recent party meeting, Roychowdhury said, it has been decided that the party would go all out to snatch the seat from the Trinamool Congress, which has fielded Geeta Bhunia, wife of former Congress MLA from Sabang Manas Bhunia, who recently joined the Trinamool Congress and became a Rajya Sabha MP. We will do everything to win the seat. Whatever needs to be done, we will do. We will go to any extent to win the seat, said Roychowdhury hinting that if Trinamool Congress resorts to violence, his party would also pay back in the same coins. Shah demanded that the party should have a leader at every booth who would go door-to-door and convince the voters to vote for the BJP. If we create a leader in every booth who would choose polling agents as well as at least would be able to convince around 500 people to vote for us, we will come to power in West Bengal, said a state leader. Sources have confirmed that Pujari has decided to bring some senior leaders from all over India to Sabang for campaign and give the first jerk to the Trinamool Congress. Talks are on to finalise who will be coming, said the leader. Sabang is the seat that neither the Left nor the Trinamool Congress had been able to win despite being in power. It has been a Congress belt. For the first time, it could go out of the Congress hands as the CPI(M) has also fielded a candidate. With barely one week for the Gujarat Assembly elections, the voters in the state are keenly awaiting the election manifestos of the ruling BJP and the opposition Congress, which are expected to come out in a couple of days. The manifestos are crucial for both the parties. The Congress has to make clear to the Patel community the blueprint for Patel reservation while the BJP has to announce measures to mollify the prolonged Patel agitation. The BJPs strategy is to publish its manifesto only after the Congress comes out with their manifesto, so that the saffron party can counter the opposition stand effectively. In the meantime, without bothering to wait for the partys official manifesto, the Congress candidate in Surat (East) has announced his 'own' manifesto. Congress The biggest challenge before the Congress in preparing their manifesto is the ultimatum given by Patel reservation agitation leader Hardik Patel that the party should explain the details of the reservation it had promised. The Congress will have to include the reservation details in their manifesto to turn the increasing popularity of Hardik and the rising crowd at his meetings as votes against the BJP. This is the reason why the party's manifesto is getting delayed. The Congress is likely to announce formation of a commission to study the Patel community as a prelude to implementing the reservation. One of the sharpest political weapons that the Congress uses against the BJP is the unemployment among the youth. Other promises expected in the Congress manifesto include job opportunities, unemployment allowance, smartphone for youths and laptop for students. Targeting woman voters, the Congress is likely to announce home loans at reduced rates of interest, low-cost houses, and houses for the poor at no cost. BJP The BJPs poll manifesto will mainly focus on preventing the Patel community's votes from going to the Congress or to Hardik. The manifesto may seek to shower great hopes among the Patel community that they will have 'Achche Din' under a Patel chief minister. However, the BJP has not yet revealed anything in this regard. The BJP had earlier announced formation of a commission to assess the possibilities of reservation for the Patel community. The BJPs strategy is to quiet down all negative factors that have generated anti-incumbency sentiments. The ace in party's hand will be nothing but a campaign focussing on mega-development. 'Own' manifesto Nithin Barucha, the Congress candidate in Surat (East), has come out with his 'own' promises without bothering to wait for the party's official manifesto. His promises include monorail in Surat city, more drinking water, modern facilities in the civil hospital, and allotting permanent government land for the Saturday market. This article was originally published in the Malayala Manorama on December 2, 2017 A day after the civic poll results were announced and the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) claimed yet another 'saffron tsunami' in its favour, questions were being asked on Saturday whether all this muscle flexing, chest thumping and drum beating was justified? The party should, at least, hold the laddoos for a while! While there was no doubt that the BJP had fared very well in the 16 municipal corporations and had succeeded in getting 14 of its mayoral candidates elected, a closer look at the Nagar Palika Parishad and Nagar Panchayat polls paints a picture that is not too comfortable for the ruling dispensation. While in most places, the BJP may have won, the margins, as compared with the February-March 2017 state Assembly polls, have dwindled. Crucially, the BJP is not the number one seat winnerthe independents were. 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 was 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 1,300 councillor, for which elections were held in the three-phased urban body polls in November, the BJP managed to win 596, while the SP, which is not an urban voterbased party, 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 chose to spare, also got 110 seats. Of the 198 chairmen of the Nagar Palika Parishads, the BJP won 69 (or 34%), while 45 have been won by the SP, 29 by the BSP and nine by the Congress. In the polls for the 5,261 seats for the members of the Nagar Palika Parishad, the BJP 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, the BJP won 100 (or 22.8%), while the SP got 83 seats, BSP won 45 and 17 were won by the Congress. This is a victory of sorts for the BJP, but not something to tom-tom about. The independents have fared very well, but this was largely ignored by the regional and national media. Forty-three Nagar Palika chairmen, 182 Nagar Panchayat heads, and 222 councillors were independents and so were 7,229 ward members. Even the first-time entrant to the civic polls, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), 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 managed to win three councillor seats in the urban body polls as well. The Nagar Panchayat heads of AAP were elected in Tendwari (Banda) and Sahaspur (Bijnore). In the Nagar Palika Parishad polls, AAP won two seats in Jhansi and one in Moradabad. AAP's Vibhu Tripathi won as a councillor in Ward 6 in Lalganj. Haseen Jehan became the councillor from Ward 51 in Moradabad. Vaibhav Maheshwari, state spokesman of the AAP, told mediapersons 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 were claiming. What could also worry the BJP was the fact that these results have come after a 50-rally campaign by Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath; on the other side, no one equal to his stature, like Mayawati or Akhilesh Yadav, campaigned. The victory was rendered bitter by serious allegations of bungling in voter lists and manipulation of EVMs. At many placeslike Meerut, Kanpur and Lucknowthere were reports of 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 the traditional ballot papers. She went on to say that if this happened, the BJP would never return to power ever. Political observers also felt that at many places, the BJP scraped through by default, as there was no opposition candidate worth his/her salt. Another point that the BJP needed to take note of was the fact that it had lost in Ward number 68 in Gorakhpur, the ward where the Gorakhnath Peeth, is located. Adityanath is the priest of the Gorakhnath Temple and was said to have considerable clout there. Nadira Khatoon, an independent candidate, defeated BJP's Maya Tripathi by 483 votes. Overall, in Gorakhpur, BJP won 27 wards, SP 18 and the BSP and Congress won two each. Independents won in 18 seats. The BJP's embarrassment did not end here. The party candidate Prashant Kesari also lost in the Panchayat of Sirathu, the home town of deputy chief minister Keshav Prasad Maurya. It's not a clean sweep for the BJP, as the party spokespersons may have liked others to think. What came as a relief for the BJP was that the opposition was in disarray. If the divided opposition parties could get their act together, the BJP leaders would be forced to spend sleepless nights ahead of the next polls. -IANS Strongly opposing the Centre's proposed legislation banning triple talaq, All India Majlis-e-Ittehad-ul Muslimeen (AIMIM) leader Asaduddin Owaisi on Saturday exhorted Indian Muslims to learn from Hindu communities such as the Rajputs who came together to protest against the release of the contentious movie Padmavati. Owaisi was addressing a public meeting at Darussalam, the AIMIM's headquarters in Hyderabad, on the occasion of Milad-un-Nabi. Owaisi demanded unity among Indian Muslims to protect the 'shariah.' He argued that the Supreme Court verdict on the issue was confusing and nobody could say if uttering talaq thrice in one sitting annuls marriage or it was considered only one talaq. In such a situation, how could the government bring a bill to Parliament, he wondered. 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. 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 Parivar was showing 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 shariah?" Owaisi asked. The AIMIM president said Muslims should learn a lesson from the Rajput community, which despite being less in number, came together to protest against the release of the film. "If Muslims can unite to strengthen the country and save shariah, we can definitely do something," he added. The MP said the community should also learn lessons from Patels, Gujjars, Jats and Marathas, which came together to fight for their rights and for reservation. On Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath's statement that the Taj Mahal was not part of Indian culture and the BJP describing the monument as symbol of slavery, Owaisi asked why Modi hosted a dinner at the Taj Falaknuma Palace in Hyderabad for Ivanka Trump, the daughter of US President Donald Trump, and others. "You have to see the symbols of our forefathers," he remarked, while also referring to another dinner hosted at Golconda Fort for delegates of the Global Entrepreneurship Summit (GES) earlier this week. Referring to the Gujarat elections, the AIMIM chief said the leaders of both BJP and Congress were vying with each other in visiting temples and every leader was claiming to be a 'bigger Hindu than the other.' He alleged that both parties were competing with each other in offering reservation for various communities but were united in opposing a 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 the media only because a former US president had 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. Targeting the Congress, he said it blamed the AIMIM 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 the Congress got only 19 seats and could not win a single seat in Amethi," he added. The People's Democratic Party (PDP) on Saturday re-elected Mehbooba Mufti as party president for the sixth consecutive time. Mehbooba's name was proposed by Jammu and Kashmir Finance Minister Haseen Drabu, which was seconded by Falail Singh from Jammu. In all, 270 PDP members of the party's electoral college, including top leadership to the zonal presidents, participated in the elections at Mehbooba's residence at Gupkar Road. Since nobody contested her, Mehbooba was elected unopposed. The PDP electoral college unanimously elected Mehbooba as the president for the sixth time in succession, said senior PDP leader and Mehbooba's uncle Sartaj Madni. He said the party reposed faith in her because only she can steer it out of the difficult situation it is facing in the state currently. 'We have faith in her leadership qualities, Madni said. She has done it in the past and she can do it again.'' Mehbooba thanked her colleagues for re-electing her as president for the sixth time. ''I am thankful to all of you for giving me another chance to serve the party,'' she said. ''Today, we are missing Mufti Sahab, Moulvi Ifthikar Hussian Ansari and Zargar sahab.'' Several PDP leaders came to congratulate her. Former chief minister and National Conference leader Omar Abdullah also congratulated her in a tweet. Mehbooba replied: Thank you. The PDP was headed and founded by Mehbooba's father late Mufti Mohammed Sayeed in 1999. Mehbooba won her first elections to the assembly from Bijebehara in 1996 as a Congress candidate. But after the formation of the PDP, she took up the cause of alleged human rights abuses by the security forces and struck a chord with the people. In 2002 elections, the PDP won 17 seats largely because of her efforts and formed the first non-NC government with Congress after 30 years. In 2003, Mehbooba was elected president of the PDP for the first time and since then she has faced no competition or opposition from anybody in the party. After Mufti's death in January 2016, Mehbooba didn't take oath as chief minister due to rising anger against the PDP for allying with the BJP deemed anti Muslim in Kashmir. Mehbooba felt compelled to take oath as new chief minister of the state on April 4, 2016, after it became clear that some PDP leaders were ready to form the government with the BJP by sidelining her. Mehbooba is the first woman chief minister in Muslim majority Jammu and Kashmir. Her tenure at the highest political office in the state, however, has not been smooth. Four months after she took over as chief minister, Kashmir was in the throes of an unprecedented uprising after the popular young commander of Hizbul Mujahideen, Burhan Wani and two of his associates were killed on July 8, 2016. More than a 100 civilians were killed and thousands were injured while hundreds of people were blinded by pellets mostly in the PDP bastion of south Kashmir from where the party has won more than 50 per cent of the total number of seats (28) it bagged in 2014 elections. To strengthen the family's grip on the party after her father's death, she brought her brother, Tassaduq Mufti, an award-wining cinematographer to the PDP. Cutting across party lines, politicians in Arunachal Pradesh have strongly condemned last months 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. National 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 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. ANI On November 22, the police filed a charge-sheet against actor Dileep in the case of the abduction and rape of the female actor. Dileep is the eighth accused, though earlier reports had suggested that he would be made the first accused. Legal experts say the decision to make him accused No 8 was based on a technicality. The police had made Sunil Kumar, the alleged rapist, the first accused in an earlier charge-sheet filed on April 18. The charge-sheet against Dileep was filed as a supplementary, as making him the first accused would require considerable changes in the original document. It does not matter whether he is the prime accused or not, says an officer. What matters is the gravity of the charges against him. The gravest of the charges against Dileep are section 120(B)criminal conspiracyof the Indian Penal Code and 376(D) relating to gang rape. The charge-sheet names 12 accused and more than 300 witnesses. A star witness for the prosecution is the top actor Manju Warrier, the former wife of Dileep. Her testimony could help the prosecution prove that Dileep had a motivethat he was thirsting to take revenge upon the victim, who allegedly had given Manju an audio clip of a conversation between Dileep and actor Kavya Madhavan in 2013. The clip apparently was conclusive proof that Dileep was having an extramarital affair. Manju obtained divorce and Dileep married Kavya last year. The charge-sheet says Dileep promised Sunil Rs 1.5 crore to waylay the victim and record obscene images of her. The contract for the job was allegedly given in 2013. The charge-sheet says the four-year delay in execution of it was due to Sunil becoming embroiled in other cases. He went into hiding in 2013 and 2014, and was briefly imprisoned in 2015. On November 1, 2015, says the charge-sheet, Dileep met Sunil and gave him an advance of Rs 10,000. The following day, Sunil received Rs 1,00,000, which he transferred to his mothers account, and an additional 130,000 in September last year. The charge-sheet says Dileep met Sunil at various locations in November last year and urged him to hurry up as the victim was about to get married. There was a failed attempt to abduct her in January 2017, when she was shooting for Honey Bee 2: Celebrations. The next attempt was planned for February, when she was scheduled to shoot a promotional song in Kochi for the movie. According to the charge-sheet, Martin Antony, the victims driver and accused No 2, picked her up from her house in Thrissur around 7:45pm on February 17. Sunil, accompanied by accused No 3 and 4 (Manikandan and Vijish Ramakrishnan), started tailing her from Karukutty, about 45km from Kochi. Around 9:15pm, they rammed the car in a stage-managed accident, and Antony stopped the car as if to deal with them. Within no time, Manikandan and Ramakrishnan entered her car and restrained her. Manikandan drove while the crime was committed. After the news broke, the three alleged assailants fled to Coimbatore, where the seventh accused, Charlie Thomas, gave them shelter. A missing piece of evidence is the memory card containing the video of the rape. In August, the police arrested lawyer Pratheesh Chacko (accused No 11), who confessed to hiding and later destroying the memory card with the help of his colleague Raju Joseph (accused No 12). The fifth and sixth accused were part of Sunils gang. The ninth and tenth accused are Sunils fellow prisoners who helped him reach out to Dileep while he was in jail. Barriers make life difficult for ginger exporters Nepali traders are still finding it difficult to export ginger to India despite claims by the southern neighbour that entry requirements have been eased. Auto-enrolment has been one of the few measures introduced by government over the past 20 years to improve the pensions landscape. While reductions in lifetime and annual allowances and the ostracising of additional rate taxpayers have all damaged the pension savings habit, auto-enrolment has stimulated it. As a result, nearly nine million workers are now saving for the first time into a work based pension, building wealth for a future when they can work no more. Wealth being funded by a mix of contributions from the Government (by way of tax relief), employer and employee. A step forward: Nearly nine million workers are now saving for the first time into a work based pension Yet, auto-enrolment, for all the plaudits it has received, remains unfinished business. This week we should learn whether the Government acknowledges this when it publishes its recommendations for reform of this policy initiative. The review could go either of two ways. Distracted by Brexit issues, the Government may argue with some justification that auto-enrolment should stay as it is. It is a regime that prompts people to save for the long term while not overburdening businesses with costs they can ill afford, especially at a time of economic uncertainty. Alternatively, the Government could be bold and build on the policy success. What could it do? For a start, the Government should honour its manifesto commitment to include the self-employed within auto-enrolment. It should also extend the regime to automatically encompass low earners (with annual salaries below 10,000) and do away with age limits which mean those aged under 22 or above state pension age are excluded unless they specifically demand to be opted in. According to the Association of Consulting Actuaries (a trade body for pension gurus), some 12 million workers are expected to be excluded from auto-enrolment if the rules stay as they are. These people are likely to face a retirement reliant on state pension and benefits. I would also like the contribution system to be less restrictive. Currently, only a slice of annual earnings (between 5,876 and 45,000) is used to determine the amount of contribution that ends up in someones works pension fund. At the very least, the upper band should be scrapped. As things stand, the savings habit in this country remains woefully undernourished One other welcome change would be the right for workers to determine which pension provider manages their contributions. Currently, the employer decides. As for pension contributions, they will rise to a minimum eight per cent from April 2019 when all businesses big and small will have embraced auto-enrolment. But any half decent consulting actuary will tell you that eight per cent will not secure you a financially stress-free retirement. The contribution should be in the region of 15 per cent. I doubt whether the Government will have the guts to make such a recommendation. It will no doubt save that one for another day or a Labour Government. If so, it will be a crying shame. As things stand, and for all the goodness that auto-enrolment has brought to the table, the savings habit in this country remains woefully undernourished a statement given credence by new research from Fairstone, one of the countrys largest chartered financial planning companies. The results are frightening. According to Fairstone, more than half of adults (52 per cent) have no retirement plans in place whatsoever. Of those that do, few (48 per cent) have cast an eye over their progress in the past year. When a similar survey was conducted seven years ago, the respective figures were 37 per cent and 53 per cent. In other words, things have got worse. The Government should be putting more pressure on RBS management to mould the bank into a bank that puts customers first, says Jeff Prestridge It sticks in my craw that everything Royal Bank of Scotland does to return itself to profitability is at the expense of loyal customers. The bank currently pays some of the worst savings rates in the market. Now, controversially, it has decided to axe 259 branches one in four of its network. Although it justifies the cull on declining usage grounds, this is not the only reason. Cost savings are being made to atone for the banks appalling behaviour in the run-up to the 2008 financial crisis. To remind you, this is a bank which we as taxpayers have a 72 per cent interest in. Surely the Government, as our representative, should be putting more pressure on its management to mould RBS into a bank that puts customers first and delivers a level of service par excellence. One of the worlds largest fund managers has revealed a revolutionary price structure that will cut savers costs when its funds do badly but hike them when they perform well. Fidelity revealed this week that it will add or subtract up to 0.2 percentage points from its fees on a range of funds depending on how they perform. By opting into the system, your fees will fall from 0.75 per cent to 0.65 per cent. But this will vary between 0.45 per cent if the fund underperforms the market by 2 per cent, and 0.85 per cent if it outperforms the market by 2 per cent or more. Growth rates: How your 1,000 in savings will have grown from 2008 to 2017 It means you wont have to fork out eye-watering fees if your investment performs badly but only if you opt in to the new system. If you dont switch, your charges will stay the same, at 0.75 per cent. But will Fidelitys new pricing structure really give your savings a boost? Adrian Lowcock, of investment firm Architas, says: It will give more motivation for fund managers especially ones who try to hug the index to perform well because, if they dont, then they will get less in fees. Another benefit is that if the fund has a bad period, which nearly all of them do, then at least as an investor you wont pay as much. Research by Money Mail found that the difference would be tiny on a 10,000 pot, but the potential benefits get bigger the larger the investment made. The pricing system is being rolled out to ten funds initially, including the popular Fidelity Special Situations and Fidelity European. While the standard fee is 0.65 per cent, it works on a sliding scale depending on how the fund performs. It can fall as low as 0.45 per cent if the fund is 2 per cent down on the market over a rolling three-year period and rise to 0.85pc if it beats the market by 2 per cent or more. So if the fund is up just 0.7 per cent on the market a year over three years after fees, then your fee will rise from 0.65 per cent to 0.72 per cent 0.07 percentage points. It would fall to 0.58 per cent if the fund was down 0.7 per cent on the market over the same period. To give a real-life example, Fidelity European has returned 14.2 per cent a year after fees over the past three years. By contrast, the MSCI Europe Excluding UK index, which it is measured against, has returned 13 per cent 1.2 percentage points less than Fidelity European. So to work out the fee you add 0.12 percentage points to the standard 0.65 per cent annual charge, meaning you would pay 0.77 per cent. Return: MSCI Europe Excluding UK index, which it is measured against, has returned 13 per cent If you had invested 10,000 in Fidelity Special Situations ten years ago, you would be sitting on 22,543 under the old pricing structure. Under the new system you would be left with 22,511 32 less. This is because it has performed strongly over the past decade and so you would have had to pay higher fees under the new system. A 10,000 investment in Fidelity European would leave you with 17,908 under the old charges, whereas you would be left with 18,073 under the new charging system 165 more. This is because the fund has performed less consistently than the Special Situations fund and so you would have had periods where you paid less in fees. Laith Khalaf, of stock broker Hargreaves Lansdown, says that the idea is good in theory but argues that it makes comparing funds difficult. He adds: When you look at the numbers, clearly it makes little difference. But what it does is add a lot of complexity, which is not what you want as an investor. People wont stick with a fund just because it has a smaller fee when it doesnt perform well. They will get out of it. If youre an investor who feels they cant pick an outstanding fund, then get a cheap tracker fund. However, others believe it could weed out so-called closet tracker fund managers who hide their inabilities by mimicking the market. Pete Horrell of Fidelity says: We firmly believe this is a fairer way to structure fees. Because of this we will be punished for hugging the benchmark compared to where the fees stand today. Most people invest in the United States so that they can share in the success of the globes most iconic brands the Apples, Facebooks and Microsofts of this world. But an increasing number of investors are also viewing the market across the pond as an alternative source of dividend income, a complement to the dividends they reap from UK companies. Income is not commonly associated with the United States but a number of its longstanding companies the likes of Coca-Cola, Colgate-Palmolive, Johnson & Johnson and Procter & Gamble have annual dividend growth records going back more than 50 years. It is a healthy dividend backdrop which has resulted in the setting up of a number of US trusts and funds with an income bent. Among them is JP Morgan US Equity Income, a 3.7 billion fund that has been managed by Clare Hart from New York since launch nearly nine years ago. Under Harts command, the fund has enjoyed relative success, outperforming the S&P 500 Index over its lifetime which is no mean achievement. Hart has stuck to her guns, employing a few basic rules to ensure the fund does not go off the proverbial rails. Conservatism is her watchword. She is no gung-ho investor. The fund is diversified, comprising more than 90 holdings spread across most not all of the markets key sectors. Although nearly a third of the portfolio is in financial companies, the stocks in this sector are also sufficiently different not to keep Hart awake at night. She says: As a manager, you are looking at how stocks will perform in different scenarios. What you do not want is all of them responding the same way to one piece of negative news. Yes, you want to build a portfolio with upside potential but you have to look at the downside as well. That means constructing a diversified portfolio. Reinforcing this message, no stock is allowed to represent more than five per cent of the portfolio which means the biggest holding is Bank of America at just 3.4 per cent. Hart calls it risk mitigation. Conservative: Clare Hart is building a diversified fund In terms of income, Hart will not buy a company unless it has a dividend yield of at least two per cent. If the yield falls below this level she will not sell immediately although if it is indicative of a stock being overvalued she will take the profits and look for other opportunities. Her investment style is such that she tends to hold stocks rather than trade them in order to deliver returns. I am looking for quality companies which have the ability to pay a stream of growing dividends. I do not fly in and out of companies. Although some experts believe the US market is overvalued, Hart does not agree. Yes, the US equity market is not cheap, but it is not the most expensive I have seen it either. Earnings growth can support the market at its current level, she says. Harts search for income-friendly companies means she holds some of the companies with longstanding records of dividend growth (Johnson & Johnson is a top ten holding). It also results in exposure to cash generative companies such as Apple and Microsoft and some businesses she describes as unsung heroes the likes of Texas Instruments and Analogue Devices. Hart is assisted by colleague Jonathan Simon, but she does all the trades within the fund. Jonathan would only step in if I got run over or abducted by aliens, she adds. Ten-pin bowling has a lot going for it. It appeals to all ages, is fun and pretty cheap. Yet many companies in the sector have had a chequered past overexpanding, overborrowing and ending up in trouble. Hollywood Bowl hopes to avoid these mistakes. The UKs largest ten-pin bowling operator, it listed on the stock market in September 2016 at 160p. The shares are now 188p. They are likely to increase as the business expands and dividends are tipped to be generous too. The group owns 58 centres across the country and prides itself on running bright, modern sites in or near places that people like to visit, such as shopping malls or cinemas. On a roll: Hollywood Bowl spent 3.5 million improving sites It is run by Stephen Burns, who joined in 2011 as business development director and moved up to become chief executive in 2014. Burns spent several years at Cannons Health and Fitness, a gym chain where he had considerable success before it was acquired in 2009. Finance director Laurence Keen was formerly at Paddy Power, as well as Debenhams, Pizza Hut and Tesco, so the duo are highly experienced at operating consumer-related businesses. Both are keen to differentiate Hollywood Bowl centres from rivals in both how they look and what they offer. So in the first year as a listed company the group spent 3.5 million refurbishing older sites. Almost 40 have now been renovated, attracting more customers, who in turn tend to spend more while they are bowling. The group has also upgraded the food on offer. Prices are kept low so customers can enjoy a game of bowls, a burger and a drink for less than the price of a cinema ticket. There are VIP lanes too, which cost about 1 more than ordinary lanes but have proved popular. With large VIP signs above the lanes, different balls, coloured pins and mobile phone chargers, they make customers feel special and should encourage return visits. Overall, the objective is to ensure that Hollywood Bowl centres appeal to as wide a range of customers as possible, from league players to families and groups of young adults out for the evening. Burns and Keen are big fans of using digital marketing to achieve this objective taking customers email addresses and messaging them with news, updates and offers. While this can be annoying, it also works. The company has built a database of 1.6 million names and the larger that becomes, the more customers it is likely to attract. Flexible pricing helps, too. A recent introduction, it means that customers pay less if they book in advance or come at less busy times, while prices rise at peak periods, such as Friday and Saturday evenings. Prices vary across the country as well, to take account of spending patterns in different regions but games tend to cost no more than 7 in any part of the UK. At present, the average customer visits Hollywood Bowl 1.3 times a year so the company is keen both to increase visits and attract new customers. Refurbishing sites and building new ones helps on both scores. Keen, however, is determined not to fall into the trap of other bowling groups expanding too fast and paying too much rent. The company drives a hard bargain on the rent that it pays and expansion will be slow and steady over the next few years. Shopping mall landlords tend to like Hollywood too as bowling increases evening footfall. Over the past year, the group has opened four new sites and there is a strong pipeline of further openings, as Keen is in advanced discussions on ten more and expects to open around two a year. Hollywoods financial year runs to September 30 and a trading update in October signalled that all was going well. Results will be published on December 11, marking the first annual figures from the group as a public company. Brokers expect pre-tax profits of 20.7 million and a dividend of 5.4p. Encouragingly too, the group has hinted that a special dividend might be on the cards so there should be more cash coming shareholders way. Midas verdict: There are 319 bowling centres in the UK but many of them are old-fashioned, gloomy and located in sub-optimal areas. Hollywood Bowl is not only the largest player in the industry; it also has some of the best sites. The business is well managed, profitable and growing at a steady clip. Dividend payouts are attractive too. Buy. Traded on: Main Market Ticker: BOWL Contact: hollywoodbowlgroup.com Billabong has been handed a lifeline by a US rival that has made a 110million bid for the Australian surfing brand. The firms finances crashed earlier this year when it revealed its losses had tripled to 43million in just 12 months. Quiksilver, which was also founded in Australia but is based in California, has proposed a bid of 74p per share to buy all of Billabongs stock. Lifeline: Billabong has been handed a lifeline by US rival Quicksilver Billabong sells clothes under eight brands, including Element and RVCA, and sponsors surfing events around the world. Quiksilver, which trades as Boardriders, also owns Roxy, a clothing line aimed at women, as well as skateboarding and snowboarding footwear company DC Shoes. A number of surf-wear companies have struggled in recent years, with Quiksilver filing for bankruptcy in 2015 only to recover the following year. Private equity business Oaktree Capital, which helped Quiksilver out of its troubles, already owns 19 per cent of Billabong. Billabong has appointed investment bank Goldman Sachs and law firm Allens to assist with financial and legal advice on the deal. Blast in Capital hours after security meet Hours after a meeting of the High-Level Election Security Committee concluded that there are security threats for the second phase of federal parliament and provincial assembly elections, an improvised explosive device went off in the heart of the Capital. Four fraudsters have been found guilty of tricking hundreds of mainly elderly and vulnerable savers into handing over 1.4million in a fake investment scheme. Some 300 investors were cheated after receiving cold calls encouraging them to put their money into the expansion of a fake healthcare company called Symbiosis. Samrat Bhandari, 44, of Bedford, and Dr Muhammad Aleem Mirza, 51, of Walthamstow, London, were found guilty following a trial at Southwark Crown Court. Scammers: Four fraudsters have been found guilty of tricking hundreds of mainly elderly and vulnerable savers into handing over 1.4million Brothers Michael Moore, 35, previously of Maidstone, Kent, and Paul Moore, 38, formerly of Woodford Green, Essex, were also found guilty at an earlier hearing. Another defendant, Albene Mendy, was found not guilty. Between 2009 and 2014, Bhandari posed as a director of William Albert Securities, which sold the shares on behalf of Symbiosis, which was set up by Mirza. Michael and Paul Moore acted as brokers selling the fake shares to investors. The scammers misled investors by mocking up written statements and promotional material. They will be sentenced later this month. Britain's biggest drugs firm will re-enter the fight against cancer at a major US conference this week as part of new chief executive Emma Walmsleys overhaul of the company. GlaxoSmithKline sold its oncology drugs two years ago under her predecessor, Sir Andrew Witty. Walmsley, who took over the reins in March, has decided to reinstate cancer treatments at the centre of her strategy to restore the companys fortunes. Strategy: Glaxo chief Emma Walmsley is focusing on blockbuster drugs At the American Society of Hematologys annual meeting in Atlanta next weekend, Glaxo will unveil data for an early-stage cancer drug in its pipeline for the first time since she took charge. The drug, which is targeting multiple myeloma a type of bone marrow cancer for which there is currently no cure was granted breakthrough status by the US Food & Drug Administration last month, which will speed up trials. It follows a similar endorsement by the European Medicines Agency in October. The decision to fast-track the drug candidate was based on an early stage study which will be presented at the US conference. Glaxo is still in the early stages of developing its pipeline of 11 cancer drugs and it will be years before patients receive the treatments. A spokesman said: We have some exciting, innovative early stage assets which have the potential to bring real value to GSK. Witty was criticised for selling Glaxos oncology drugs for 10 billion to Novartis as part of a swap deal under which the British company formed a consumer healthcare venture with its Swiss rival. Critics described it as trading in cancer treatments for toothpaste. Walmsley believes the best way forward for Glaxo is to move back to its scientific roots and to search for the blockbuster drugs of the future. She has dropped around 30 pharmaceutical development programmes to focus on backing what she believes will be the real winners. Established treatments for respiratory diseases and HIV will also remain a core focus. Walmsley has also been on a hiring spree. Australian Luke Miels has been poached from rival AstraZeneca, which has been spending big on cancer drug development, to become head of pharma. And veteran American Hal Barron, who oversaw the development of blockbuster cancer drugs at rival Roche, has been appointed chief scientific officer at Glaxo. MATSAPHA Their Majesties have sent strict messages to the army commander, his subordinates and Border Restoration Committee on being truthful. Their Majesties delivered this message through a team that was led by Bishop Samson Hlatjwako during the memorial service of the late Brigadier General Fonono Dube, which was held at Jesus Calls (JC) Worship Centre in Matsapha yesterday afternoon. You have learnt from Dube and you should utilise the knowledge you have attained from him. Most importantly, like him, you should be truthful, they said. Finish To the Border Restoration Committee, Their Majesties said they should finish the job which Dube started; that of bringing back Swazi land that was lost to neighbouring countries. The job is almost done, you have to finalise it, they said. On another note, Their Majesties sent condolences to the Dube family, the army and all people who were close to him, including those who had worked with the late brigadier general. They said Dube worked for the country and served royalty with honesty and diligence. They advised his family to put God first and never allow Satan to destabilise them. The former army commander, who was a teacher by profession, died peacefully at the age of 89 on Saturday morning while surrounded by family members at his home at Zombodze. MBABANE Do not be trapped by doctrine. This was a fatherly advice given by the Minister of Education and Training, Phineas Magagula, to graduating students of the Swaziland College of Technology (SCOT) yesterday. The minister explained that doctrine or dogma was living with the results of other peoples thinking. Do not let the noise of other peoples opinions drown out your own inner voice, he added. Speaking during the 18th graduation ceremony that was held at the colleges premises, Magagula advised the students to take leaf from Steve Jobs who once said: Have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. Everything else is secondary. Limited He also told them that their time was limited, meaning that they should not waste it by emulating other peoples lives. This statement was received with applause from the approximately 2 000 people made up of friends, relatives and graduates. The minister, who is also a pastor, further warned the graduating learners that they were now going to face activities that would test the foundations of their grooming from SCOT. Yes, your academic intelligence will be put to test by various situations at work, he said. Magagula said within the confines of this compound, bound by friendships of colleagues and under the watchful eyes of the principal and lecturers, the students did not have much choice other than to conform to the honour code. He made comparison that in the real world, most of the students would be alone and may fall prey to widely practised norms of society, most of which would violate their honour. The Flagstaff Pulliam Airport will begin offering a nonstop flight to and from Los Angeles International Airport May 5, 2018. The route will only fly Saturdays and will be a seasonal addition for American Airlines to determine if the Flagstaff market can support the additional flight, city spokeswoman Jessica Drum said in a press release. The flight will utilize American Airlines 70-seat plane which includes a first-class section. The flight will depart from LAX on Saturday at 2 p.m. and arrive in Flagstaff at 3:30 p.m. It will then depart Flagstaff at 4 p.m. and arrive in Los Angeles at 5:43 p.m., Drum said. For more, see Saturday's edition of the Arizona Daily Sun. Bomb blast in candidate's house The house of Dinesh Jayaswal, candidate to the State Assembly (1) in constituency 1 of Kapilvastu was hit by a bomb blast last night. Jayaswal belongs to the Federal Democratic National Forum (Tharuhat) party. MBABANE Can an uncle be trusted with regards to female children in a family? This question emanates from the statistics released by Swaziland Action Group against Abuse (SWAGAA) where 27 females reported sexual violation by their uncles while one male was sexually molested by an uncle. These statistics were sourced by the organisation when computing the relationship between the survivor and the perpetrator. Communications Officer of the organisation, Silindile Nkosi, said in most instances the next-of-kin were reported to be the abusers. Domestic She said what was saddening was the diddle shown by local parliamentarians when it came to the Sexual Offences and Domestic Violence (SODV) Bill that was yet to be passed. Having said that, Nkosi, expressed hope following the stiff sentences pronounced by local courts to perpetrators of sexual violence. She said the SODV Bill when enacted into law could be used as a guideline to be adhered to by all within the courts. Furthermore, she said the office of the Chief Justice could come in handy by drawing up guidelines for judges and magistrates. She said long-term sentences meted out against those who had violated fellow human beings showed recognition from the courts of the long-term complex and damaging psychological harm the act potentially has on the victim. violate Furthermore, the former scribe noted in most instances the people who violate females in most instances were people they trusted. She reflected this on the fact that since the beginning of the year 15 fathers have violated their daughters. Nkosi added that incest cases were not heard in court nor reported to the police due to the lack of proper instruments which deal with such cases. Currently, such cases were handled as rape and indecent assault. MATSAMO Heartless, degrading and atrocious! These words fall short of describing the reprehensible conduct of a soldier who allegedly assaulted and raped a pupil believed to be in an intimate relationship with another pupil. According to the rape survivor, *Samu, 16, the soldier allegedly found them walking hand in hand with her high school sweetheart when he scorned at their actions as they had just kissed. She said the soldier rebuked their act of passion and slapped them and further hit them with fists before he ordered them to strip and emulate sexual intercourse. While they were emulating the intercourse, Samu said the soldier was taking their pictures in the compromising positions. Furthermore, he is alleged to have also ordered the male pupil to walk around naked into the forest while he proceeded to rape Samu. This incident is said to have occurred at Mlumati, which is a community sandwiched by Matsamo and Ndlalambi, in the Northern Hhohho Region. According to the survivors of the sexual violation and humiliation, their nightmare occurred on a Saturday, after their school scheduled study time. Samu and *Mandla, both Form III pupils, were headed to a bus stop from school when they were brutally violated. We usually have extra lessons on Saturdays. However, on this particular day we did not find the teachers at school as anticipated. On the Friday, we had had aptitude tests and some of us did not get hold of information that there would be no classes the next day, Samu said, explaining why they were at school on the Saturday. Mandla concurred with her on this saying during one of their stops, while they kissed, they were interrupted by footsteps approaching from behind. We realised that an adult male was walking towards us and stepped aside to let him pass as a sign of respect, he said. He said instead of passing, the man, who she later learnt was a soldier, slapped Samu with an open hand across the chest before pushing her to the ground. The man is said to have demanded to know why they were wasting their parents money. He said our parents believed we were at school studying, yet we were busy fooling around, Samu recounted. Seeing that the situation was becoming tense, Mandla tried to flee from the scene, but was stopped before he could get anywhere. The couples apologies and pleas fell on deaf ears as the soldier did not let them go but instead ordered them to shut up because. With tears swelling in her eyes, Samu said the member of the Umbutfo Swaziland Defence Force (USDF) led them to a secluded spot, saying he wanted to discipline them. He said he did not want to be disturbed by people when meting out the discipline. He then made me to remove my shoes and panties (underwear). He then hiked my dress before ordering the boy to lie on top of me as if we were having sex. He then took pictures. While taking the pictures, he said he wanted to make sure that if we tried to play smart...he would post them on social media and also show them to our head teacher. He added that he would also take the pictures to the Times, Samu narrated. This was also confirmed by Mandla in a separate interview on a different day. The soldier allegedly told the duo that he would go around spreading rumours that he had caught them having sex in the forest. Samu said after taking the pictures, the man instructed Mandla, who was still naked, to get five sticks to be used for disciplining them. Facing up in the sky, with her eyes shut tight as if trying to hold back tears, Samu further recounted that when Mandla came back with the sticks, he was ordered to go take a bath in a river which was a few a metres away. Wiping her right eye, the teenager alleged that the soldier threatened to give her a hundred strokes on the buttocks. She pleaded with him not to beat her. For a moment, Samu thought her pleas had touched the mans heart because he released his foot from the chest. However, worse was yet to come. The interview had to be stopped for a few minutes as the pupil broke down and wept hysterical while trying to speak in between sobs. After regaining her composure, Samu continued to narrate that the soldier took off his pants then ordered her to undress. He then raped me without using protection, she alleged. After the ordeal, Samu was allegedly instructed to call out for Mandla from the river. Mandla said when he rejoined Samu and the soldier he realised that the sticks he had brought earlier on were broken into pieces. I assumed that he had beaten Samu as part of the punishment. I was also ordered to lie on the ground and he beat me on the buttocks, once, Mandla added. After the ordeal the soldier is said to have demanded to know the boys surname and more details about his family, including contact details. I reluctantly gave him. After that he warned us not to try to be smart by telling anyone about the punishment. Adding, Mandla said the soldier told them that some community members did not like him so they should not be made aware of the incident. Mandla alleged that the army officer then walked them to the bus station, but turned back before they reached the destination. I then walked my girlfriend to the station. We did not say much along the way since we were both traumatised. Samu eventually told Mandla about the rape ordeal. I did not believe the story. But I rushed home to change. Before I returned to the bus station, I told a friend about my conversation with Samu and the encounter with the soldier. Mandla said they reported the matter to Ngonini police after consulting with more friends and some of their teachers about three days later. Chief Police Information and Communication Officer Superintendent Khulani Mamba confirmed that police were aware of the matter and it was still being investigated. He added that an inquiry had been opened. Asked why it was taking long to make any arrest, Mamba responded that some cases rape were complicated. Mlumati High School Head teacher, identified as Mr Ngwenya, confirmed that the matter was reported to him by some teachers who had spoken to the pupils. We took them for counselling. However, only the girl seems to be responding well to the counselling, the educator noted. He added that they were now worried about the male pupil because he did not get much counselling. Im told the children were beaten. And this instilled fear in them. The man also threatened to expose them in the media that he caught them in the act, the head teacher pointed out. *Not their real names. Bombings won't stop election: Oli CPN-UML chair KP Sharma Oli has said the second phase of the elections to the House of Representatives and State Assemblies scheduled for December 7 would not be halted despite attempts to terrorise the election atmosphere by bomb blasts in some parts of the country. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate WASHINGTON Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer Friday worked feverishly to derail Republican momentum toward passage of the GOP's long-awaited tax bill, but it appeared to be a losing effort as Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., confidently predicted: "We have the votes. As the hours and minutes ticked down to a possible vote late Friday or early Saturday, Schumer, D-N.Y., appeared to cede victory to Republicans while shifting his focus to possible blowback. "Today may be the first day of a new Republican Party one that raises taxes on the middle class, Schumer said on the Senate floor. "The Republican Party is abandoning its long held principles to please its political paymasters. That is a bad move for Republicans, as well as a bad move for America. Sen. Bob Corker, Tenn., appeared to be the lone Republican "no vote, giving Republicans who control the Senate 52-48 a comfortable margin for passage. A vote could come late Friday or early Saturday, or it could be delayed once again as it was late Thursday. Schumers press office seized on a non-partisan congressional Joint Committee on Taxation report that punctured the Republican mantra that tax cuts would not blow a hole in the deficit, paying for themselves through expanded economic growth and greater tax revenues. The report concluded that notwithstanding such growth, the Senate bill would add $1 trillion to the deficit. The Schumer release cited nearly three dozen quotes from GOP congressional leaders during the Obama era that condemned deficit spending, including one from McConnell calling the deficit and the debt "the transcendent issue of our era. "Until we fix that problem, we cant fix America, McConnell said in 2013. Other New York opponents offered up last-minute appeals on what the consequences would be for the state. Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli questioned whether Republicans fully understood the impact of the tax bill. "Both houses of Congress are fighting to enact sweeping tax changes that would eliminate important deductions for millions of New Yorkers and threaten higher costs for essential public infrastructure projects, he said in a statement. "Frantically trying to push a flawed piece of legislation over the finish line is not a legislative victory for taxpayers. Similarly, health advocates in New York warned of wide disruption in health-care services for vulnerable populations if the Senate bill is adopted. The Senate bill ends the Obamacare "individual mandate, which requires all to have health insurance or pay a tax penalty. Eliminating the requirement in current law to purchase health coverage without a replacement leaves cancer patients, survivors and all those with serious illnesses at risk of being priced out of the individual health insurance market, said Julie Hart, New York government relations director of the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network. "Cancer patients in New York State who need access to affordable coverage could pay more and have fewer choices. The House version of the bill approved Nov. 16 does not address the Obamacare mandate. If it passes the Senate, the bill would be the most far-reaching tax measure to win congressional approval in three decades. The Senate bill initially included total elimination of the state-and-local tax (SALT) deduction, a key calculation for those in high-cost, high-tax states like New York. But one of the last GOP holdouts, Sen. Susan Collins of Maine, tweeted on Friday she was "delighted that her proposal to allow up to $10,000 in property-tax deductions would be in the Senate bill. The House has a $10,000 property-tax deduction in its bill. Neither Senate nor House bills would continue current-law deductions for state income-tax payments. President Trump and GOP congressional leaders long promoted the bill as badly needed tax relief for the middle class. But a Congressional Budget Office analysis earlier this week concluded that since the corporate tax cuts are permanent and the personal tax cuts expire after 2025, those earning above $75,000 annually will owe less in tax in 2027 while those earning less will pay more. The Senate bill lowers the top tax bracket from 39.6 percent to 38.5 percent, doubles the estate-tax threshold to $11.2 million and, similar to the House bill, reduces the corporate rate from 35 percent to 20 percent. But unlike the House bill, it does not cap new mortgage-interest loans at $500,000, or end itemized medical deductions or phase out the estate tax altogether. In fact, unless Congress agrees to maintain the higher estate-tax level, it reverts back after 2025 to its current level of $5.6 million. Neither Senate nor House bills touch carried interest, the management fees collected by private equity executives and others in the financial-services industry that are taxed at the lower capital-gains rate instead of the higher one for regular income. Trump himself had expressed approval of the change, but it never materialized in the pro-business GOP tax measures. Both bills seek to lower rates on "pass-through income that small-business owners pay on their personal income-tax forms. Rates would be as low as 25 percent in the House bill and 31.8 percent in the Senate bill. But many small-business owners already are paying taxes at comparable rates, and questions arose among some Republicans on whether small-business taxes really would be cut. Two Republican senators, Ron Johnson of Wisconsin and Steve Daines of Montana, had threatened to vote against the bill because of the "pass-through language. But both ultimately expressed willingness to vote in favor of it, with Johnson saying hed gotten assurances he would "be at the table when House and Senate negotiators hash out the final language. Schumer derided the pass-through fix as a sop to wealthier business owners. "Hedge funds, big fancy law firms, lobbyist firms, would all get a lower rate than the average American because of the pass-through, Schumer said. "The average American who makes $100,000, $200,000 is already paying in the 30- percent range. The Senate bill also fulfills a cherished dream of Republicans: Ending the Obamacare "individual mandate requiring all to have health insurance or pay a tax penalty. But the non-partisan Congressional Budget Estimate reported that while elimination of the mandate would save the government $338 billion, 13 million would no longer have insurance and premiums would rise 10 percent annually for those that do. dan@hearstdc.com Hector Abreu, convicted in this fall of killing a man over three years ago the culmination of a history of fighting between the two will go to prison for a combined 40 years, Schenectady County prosecutors said Friday. Abreu was arrested for shooting and killing Angel Carrion, 28, on the front porch of Carrion's Main Street home on June 27, 2014. Abreu was convicted of second-degree murder and related charges on Sept. 28 after a 2 1/2 week trial presided over by County Judge Mathew J. Sypniewski. According to a statement from the District Attorney's office, witnesses described an ongoing feud between Abreu and Carrion origination with their affiliation with the Latin Kings street gang. Trial evidence showed that on the night of the shooting Abreu sought the victim's address and cycled there with a friend. His movements, from his home in the Vale neighborhood across the city to the area of the shooting, were caught on surveillance cameras. Prosecutors say Abreu found Carrion on Main Street and tried to shoot him, but the 9mm handgun he had with him failed to fire. Abreu got a second gun, returned and ambushed Carrion on the porch, officials said. He was convicted of attempted assault as well as murder. District Attorney Robert Carney said Abreu is "a particularly dangerous man who was determined to kill Mr. Carrion for the most trivial of reasons and hunted him down until he succeeded." Both convictions are to run consecutively to a 12 1/2 year sentence Abreu is serving for first-degree assault. In that case Abreu admitted he had shot a man in the legs in the area of Albany and Martin Streets on Oct. 29, 2014, four months after he had shot and killed Carrion, prosecutors said. Abreu was originally arrested on that charge Dec. 19, 2014 after the U.S. Marshal's Fugitive Task Force found him at a home in the city of Amsterdam. Homicide Bureau Chief Peter Willis prosecuted the case as lead counsel, with assistance from Assistant District Attorney Nicholas McDonald. The defendant was represented by Attorney Fred Rench. Carney credited his prosecutorial team and city police for their work. Shortly after former National Security Adviser Gen. Michael Flynn entered a guilty plea to a single charge stemming from Special Counsel Robert Mueller's investigation into the Trump campaign, former FBI director James Comey appears to have made his Instagram debut. "But let justice roll down like waters and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream," Comey wrote, quoting the Old Testament's Book of Amos, along with a photograph to be Great Falls National Park on the Potomac River in McClean, Virginia. Washington Retired Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn's guilty plea Friday signals that he already has provided federal prosecutors with incriminating information about President Donald Trump or senior members of his inner circle, marking an explosive turn in the investigation into whether Trump's 2016 campaign collaborated in Russia's election meddling, legal experts said. The former national security adviser's plea to a single count of lying to FBI agents, and the disclosure that he is cooperating with investigators, means Justice Department Special Counsel Robert Mueller has secured the inside witness he has sought for months in his inquiry. Flynn, a former three-star Army general, admitted that he lied about multiple contacts he had with Russia's U.S. ambassador in the weeks before Trump was sworn in as president. The disclosure provided concrete evidence that Trump's transition team twice sought secretly to undermine U.S. foreign policy decisions of President Barack Obama, even influencing Russia's decision not to immediately strike back after Obama imposed sanctions in retaliation for the Kremlin's attempt to tilt the election to Trump. Flynn's misrepresentations about his phone conversations with Kislyak to Vice President Mike Pence, the White House has said, led to Flynn's firing after just 24 days in office. A frequent companion of Trump on his campaign plane and a fiery speaker at his rallies, Flynn could now be a key witness against the president if Mueller concludes he has legal grounds to prosecute him. A key aspect of the investigation focuses on whether Trump sought to obstruct justice when he fired FBI Director James Comey, who led the Russia investigation until he was ousted May 9. Comey testified to Congress last June that Trump had demanded his loyalty and urged him to drop the bureau's investigation of Flynn. Legal experts said Flynn's fall from grace to a new role as a government witness also could heighten the legal jeopardy of a number of current and former Trump aides, including Jared Kushner, the president's son-in-law, and Attorney General Jeff Sessions, a key adviser during the campaign. During a packed hearing Friday morning in U.S. District Court in Washington, prosecutors made clear that at least two senior participants in Trump's transition were aware of Flynn's conversations with Kislyak. Flynn's guilty plea indicated that Mueller is successfully so far employing one of the most effective tools available to a prosecutor: flipping witnesses by charging them with relatively light offenses in exchange for their cooperation against the most important individuals in the investigation. Michael Zeldin, a former senior U.S. Justice Department official, said Flynn has been caught in numerous lies and that four false statements were documented in the charges to which he pled. "This is all he gets charged with?" Zeldin asked. "For a prosecutor to give someone this big a break, assuming there's no other indictment that's been sealed then he's got something important to say." It's standard practice, in negotiating a plea deal in exchange for cooperation, for prosecutors to interview the defendant "in a one-day, queen-for-a-day where what he says will not be used against him," Zeldin said. Zeldin said Flynn's attempt to dissuade Russia from supporting a United Nations resolution condemning Israel's approval of settlements on occupied Palestinian lands "at a minimum implicates Kushner," whom Trump has assigned to try to broker a Middle East peace agreement. It was Kushner who directed Flynn to contact Kislyak about the U.N. resolution, a source familiar with the inquiry told McClatchy. The New York Times reported that Mueller's investigators also have learned that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu asked the Trump transition team to lobby other countries on Israel's behalf; the investigators have evidence that Flynn and Kushner led that effort. Kushner also was a key advocate urging Trump to fire Comey, according to sources close to the White House. Responding to Friday's developments and ongoing controversies about Kushner's roles during the transition and in the administration, one former Trump aide said it's time for Kushner to go. "Jared should put the country and the White House over himself for once and resign now," said Sam Nunberg, a top aide during early stages of Trump's campaign. "Just get it over with. It's going to happen one way or the other regardless." Jaimie Nawaday, a former federal prosecutor in New York, also said Flynn's plea "indicates that he has provided substantial assistance to the Mueller investigation. But Ty Cobb, a lawyer for Trump, minimized the development and referred to Flynn as a "former Obama administration official." Flynn headed the Defense Intelligence Agency in the Obama administration; he was fired from that post, however, and Obama urged Trump not to include Flynn in his national security team. "The false statements involved mirror the false statements to White House officials which resulted in his resignation in February of this year," Cobb said in a statement. "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." This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate TROY The three-count indictment of Rensselaer County District Attorney Joel Abelove Friday has county political leaders looking at potential candidates for the office, which is up for election in 2018. Abelove has discussed running for a second term, according to county Republican and Democrats who've been weighing who their party's candidate will be. Abelove didn't answer when asked Friday if he would seek re-election. Four Democratic and four Republican attorneys have emerged as possible candidates for the job as the county's chief law enforcement office. Abelove would still be under consideration as a candidate for a second term depending on what happens with his indictment for two counts of official misconduct and one count of first-degree perjury for his handling of a fatal April 2016 Troy police shooting On the Republican side, Joseph Ahearn, Gregory Cholakis, Craig Crist and John Turi have been cited as potential candidates. Among the Democrats are William Comiskey, Shane Hug, Carmelo Laquidara and Ian Silverman. Ahearn is in private practice and works as a part-time assistant in the county conflict defenders office and had worked previously as a county assistant district attorney. Ahearn was lobbied by county Republican activists to run for district attorney during the last two elections. Cholakis narrowly lost the 2007 district attorneys election by 225 votes to Democrat Richard McNally. Cholakis is an assistant public defender. He comes from a prominent legal family in the county. His late father was federal judge Con. G. Cholakis and his sister, Kiki Cholakis, is a county Family Court judge. Crist is a former county Legislature attorney and has worked for different municipalities. His brother, Richard Crist, is the best known GOP operative in the county and played an instrumental role in Assemblyman Steven McLaughlins successful campaign to be the next county executive. Turi is the county public defender. His administrative and legal skills are viewed as an asset for running the district attorneys office. Comiskey is a former assistant district attorney in Rensselaer and New York counties. He worked in the criminal division for the state Attorney Generals Office in a leadership role. He currently works for the Hodgson Russ law firm in Albany as a senior counsel. Hug is a former assistant district attorney. He's now in private practice. Laquidara lost the 2014 election to Abelove by 339 votes. Currently a part-time Rensselaer City Court judge, he is the favorite among many Democrats based on experience and personality. Silverman is a former county assistant district attorney. He also served for four years as Troys corporation counsel. He works for the state Health Department. Abelove fell short in his first attempt running for district attorney when McNally defeated him by 2,126 votes. When McNally was elected a state Supreme Court justice, Abelove won the 2014 election. Commodity prices fall after Dudh Koshi bridge opens Prices of daily essential commodities have started to drop after a bridge connecting Khotang and Okhaldhunga opened last week. Two months past its deadline, Congress has yet to fund the Childrens Health Insurance Progr [December 01, 2017] Winsight Grocery Business Delivers On Content Promise CHICAGO, Dec. 1, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Following its long-anticipated November 2017 debut, Winsight Grocery Business is well on its way to setting a new standard of excellence in the B2B trade media sector. With a completely rebranded and redesigned monthly print magazine and a new modernized website, Winsight Grocery Business takes a major point of departure from its predecessor. Employing more inventive design and a more robust content strategy while focusing on research-based insights, provocative profiles and inspiring category features, WGB aims to better address the evolving habits and heightened expectations retail professionals have for need-to-know content. "In every issueand every day on our new websitereaders will be able to count on gaining meaningful value with timely content, quality storytelling, perceptive interviews and expanded insights," says VP of Content for Grocery, Meg Major. "Our design aesthetic presents business intelligence and in-depth profiles via simplified narratives and analysis, visually appealing graphics and concise data points to impart a page-turning feel. Many of our standing features and departments are instantly recognizable to grocery trading partners, who can now quickly remain informed and prepared for the continuing wave of changes on the horizon." Launch Issue Highlights The upstart brand's premier issue cover story explores the Most Trusted U.S. Food Retailers study, a first-of-its-kind market study that seeks to understand which retailers are earning high marks with American food shoppers and how their overall performance stacks up. Winsight Grocery Businss enlisted consumer research firm BrandSpark International to conduct the study, which captured the opinions of nearly 2,500 grocery shoppers in September 2017. Wal-Mart Stores Inc. and The Kroger Co. emerged as the top two contenders on the Most Trusted U.S. Food Retailers' leaderboard. The BrandSpark study analysis is accompanied by several content highlights, including: Major's Endcap profile with Anthony Hucker , president and CEO of Jacksonville, Fla. -based Southeastern Grocers , president and CEO of -based Southeastern Grocers The top 10 fresh produce trends Exclusive Technomic retail foodservice research Creative ways to court adult beverage shoppers How private label is positioned for a new era Specialty and gourmet insights The "uberization" of healthcare The Winsight Grocery Business team, led by EVP of Grocery Jeff Friedman, will deliver impactful solutions for all pockets of the dynamic retail food industry. "We're extremely gratified by the tremendous response and momentum we are building for the retail food media ecosystem," says Freidman. "We are committed to engaging and connecting with category leaders across all sections of not only traditional grocery, but also in the expanding universe of mass, drug, club and e-commerce formats as well." The November issue of Winsight Grocery Business magazine is available to view online here. To request a subscription, sign up here. For more information on Winsight and its brands, go to winsightmedia.com or technomic.com. CONTACT Jeff Friedman EVP, Grocery Winsight, LLC 312-506-3907 [email protected] View original content with multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/winsight-grocery-business-delivers-on-content-promise-300565290.html SOURCE Winsight LLC [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [December 01, 2017] Athene Signs Pension Buyout Agreement with MillerCoors Athene Holding Ltd. ("Athene") (NYSE: ATH) announced today that Athene Annuity and Life Company ("AAIA"), Athene's wholly-owned Iowa-domiciled life insurance subsidiary, has entered into a pension buyout agreement with Molson Coors Brewing Company (NYSE: TAP; TSX: TPX) and its wholly-owned subsidiary MillerCoors LLC ("MillerCoors"). The transaction is structured as a buyout arrangement in which AAIA agrees to provide annuity benefits to more than 6,000 retirees and beneficiaries who are receiving benefits from the MillerCoors LLC Pension Plan (the "Plan"). Under this deal, MillerCoors is transferring over $900 million in pension obligations to Athene. Starting May 1, 2018, Athene will begin making benefit payments to the affected individuals along with providing ongoing administrative services. Retirees and beneficiaries will receive the same monthly benefit they were previously receiving from the Plan. "We are proud MillerCoors has entrusted Athene to provide retirement security to more than 6,000 of the company's retirees and beneficiaries," said William Wheeler, president of Athene Holding. "As a disciplined financial institution with expertise in retirement savings, Athene has established itself as a trusted pension buyout counterparty. This transaction enables MillerCoors to reduce the size and cost of its plan, while maintaining excellent benefit security for its retirees and beneficiaries." Under the agreement, AAIA will issue a group annuity contract to MillerCoors and individual annuity certificates to applicable retirees and beneficiaries. AAIA will have direct payment responsibility for all the liabilities covered in this transaction. This is Athene's fourth pension risk transfer deal in 2017. Athene now has writtenover $2.25 billion of business in this channel serving over 46,000 retirees and beneficiaries. About Athene Holding Ltd. Athene, through its subsidiaries, is a leading retirement services company that issues, reinsures and acquires retirement savings products designed for the increasing number of individuals and institutions seeking to fund retirement needs. The products offered by Athene include: Retail fixed and fixed indexed annuity products; Reinsurance arrangements with third-party annuity providers; and Institutional products, such as funding agreements and group annuity contracts related to pension risk transfers. Athene Holding Ltd. is a New York Stock Exchange listed company (NYSE: ATH). Athene's principal subsidiaries include Athene Annuity & Life Assurance Company, a Delaware-domiciled insurance company, Athene Annuity and Life Company, an Iowa-domiciled insurance company, Athene Annuity & Life Assurance Company of New York, a New York-domiciled insurance company, Athene Life Re Ltd., a Bermuda-domiciled reinsurer and Athene Lebensversicherung AG, a German-based life insurance company. 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 subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results, events and developments to differ materially from those set forth in, or implied by, such statements. These statements are based on the beliefs and assumptions of Athene's management and the management of Athene's subsidiaries. Generally, forward-looking statements include actions, events, results, strategies and expectations and are often identifiable by use of the words "believes," "expects," "intends," "anticipates," "plans," "seeks," "estimates," "projects," "may," "will," "could," "might," or "continues" or similar expressions. Factors that could cause actual results, events and developments to differ from those set forth in, or implied by, the statements set forth herein are discussed from time to time in Athene's filings with the SEC (News - Alert), including Athene's annual report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2016, as supplemented and amended by Athene's quarterly report on Form 10-Q for the three months ended September 30, 2017, all of which can be found at the SEC's website www.sec.gov. All forward-looking statements described herein are qualified by these cautionary statements and there can be no assurance that the actual results, events or developments referenced herein will occur or be realized. Athene does not undertake any obligation to update or revise forward-looking statements to reflect changed assumptions, the occurrence of unanticipated events or changes to future operating results. View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20171201005771/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [December 01, 2017] RE/MAX INVESTIGATION INITIATED by Former Louisiana Attorney General: Kahn Swick & Foti, LLC Investigates the Officers and Directors of RE/MAX Holdings, Inc. - RMAX Former Attorney General of Louisiana, Charles C. Foti, Jr., Esq., a partner at the law firm of Kahn Swick & Foti, LLC ("KSF"), announces that KSF has commenced an investigation into RE/MAX Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: RMAX). On November 2, 2017, the Company revealed an ongoing investigation by a special committee formed by its board of directors for the purpose of conducting an internal investigation into "allegations concerning actions of certain members of the Company's senior management including a previously undisclosed loan of personal funds from David L. Liniger, the Company's Co-Chief Executive Officer and Chairman, to Adam M. Contos, the Company's Co-Chief Executive Officer, and allegations of wrongdoing in employment practices and conduct." Further, as a result of the investigation, the Company would be delaying its Q3 2017 earnings release KSF's investigation is focusing on whether RE/MAX's officers and/or directors breached their fiduciary duties to RE/MAX's shareholders or otherwise violated state or federal laws. If you have information that would assist KSF in its investigation, or have been a long-term holder of RE/MAX shares and would like to discuss your legal rights, you may, without obligation or cost to you, call toll-free at 1-877-515-1850 or email KSF Managing Partner Lewis Kahn ([email protected]). About Kahn Swick & Foti, LLC KSF, whose partners include the Former Louisiana Attorney General Charles C. Foti, Jr., is a law firm focused on securities, antitrust and consumer class actions, along with merger & acquisition and breach of fiduciary litigation against publicly traded companies on behalf of shareholders. The firm has offices in New York, California and Louisiana. To learn more about KSF, you may visit www.ksfcounsel.com. View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20171201005693/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] Defunct Likhu 4 hydro revived after 7 years The Likhu 4 Hydropower Project, which was abandoned by an Indian developer seven years ago, has been revived. The project languished in limbo due to an unresolved issue regarding the wheeling charge, or the energy export fee. Hi. Recommend me good tv, brand, or brands. Don't care about newest technologies, well known names in market as samsung, sony, lg, panasonic, etc.(well I haved one sony bravia who was HIGHLY RECOMMENDED AND HAVE NICE REVIEWS, but when warranty ends it fails at days, and repair cost more than new tv). My parents have cheap telefunken, and denver tvs. Works well long time, cheap repair. No worries, and no waste of money and time. I live in East Europe, so recommend brands from that region. Sorry for english and thanks. From Bigger Restrooms To More Parking, Residents Weigh In On New KCI Airport Design Bigger restrooms. Convenient parking. More Outlets. Better food options. Residents in Kansas City's Northland weighed in on what they'd like to see included in the design for a new, single terminal at Kansas City International airport. Thankfully, these dweebs are mostly consultants bulking up their billable hours as they attempt to convenience locals that the new airport isn't going to be a pricey disaster made of glass and plastic. Read more: The Sound Of Classy Kansas City A Kansas City Ensemble Eager To Play New Music Has Premiered 80 Compositions ... And Counting For 25 years, Kansas City's newEar contemporary chamber music ensemble has been performing brand new music - some of it by composers who live here - in what has become a long and productive conversation between area musicians and composers. Meth Town Gunfire Overnight Police investigate after shots are fired in Independence near 40 Highway, Noland Road Shots were fired on Friday evening outside an Independence lumberyard, causing police officers from two cities to converge on the area. The incident happened in the area of 40 Highway and Noland Road. Luckily, no one was injured. Police from Independence and Kansas City are still trying to find out what went wrong as those shots were fired. Kansas City Traffic Trouble Neighbors want a change at dangerous, busy Kansas City intersection KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- A busy, dangerous intersection in Kansas City has some nearby neighbors calling for a change. "It's really scary for a lot of drivers," Joshua Jackson said of the busy intersection at East 35th Street and Euclid Avenue. "Somebody needs to do something about it." KC On Track For Holiday Cheer Kansas City Southern brings the 17th annual Holiday Express Fundraising Campaign to Shreveport (SHREVEPORT, LA) - The Kansas City Southern Holiday Express has arrived in Shreveport. You can see it this afternoon at the KCS Yard, 4500 North Lakeshore Drive, Gate 5 beginning at 4 p.m. The train will distribute a total of $172,500 in gift cards to The Salvation Army at stops all along the express route. Kansas City Survivor Story 'Big Sonia,' film about local Holocaust survivor, premieres to sold-out crowd in Overland Park OVERLAND PARK, Kan. -- A long line nearly extended out the door Friday night at the Glenwood Arts Theatre in Overland Park for the world premiere of "Big Sonia," a documentary about 92-year-old Holocaust survivor Sonia Warshawski. Sporting Kansas City Breaks Ground Sporting KC appoints Meghan Cameron as Assistant Director of Player Personnel Sporting Kansas City announced on Friday that Meghan Cameron has joined the club's technical staff as Assistant Director of Player Personnel. Cameron will work directly with Sporting KC Director of Player Personnel Brian Bliss, specializing in roster and budget management while also holding a Kansas City Chiefs QB Crisis Alex Smith's up-and-down past, uncertain future, and what's next for the KC Chiefs 8:06 AM ET Elizabeth MerrillESPN Senior Writer Close Elizabeth Merrill is a senior writer for ESPN.com and ESPN The Magazine. She previously wrote for The Kansas City Star and The Omaha World-Herald. He danced awkwardly as he ran down the field, and no one could believe what they just saw. We start the morning with Leanne hotness getting us in the holiday spirit and then move forward from there . . .Take a peek:is the song of the day and this is thefor right now . . . Jackson County Executive accepts resignation of Department of Corrections Director NEWS LINK UPDATE AFTER TKC . . . KCUR: Pressure from the county legislature was not a factor, White said. No, that didnt put any pressure on me. I said in the Legislative meeting that I had full confidence in Joe and his staff and that carried through until we had a conversation and he just thought that was the best thing to do, to go with new leadership and move forward, White said. KANSAS CITY, Mo. Jackson County Executive Frank White, Jr. announced today that Joe Piccinini has resigned as Director of the Department of Corrections.I am grateful for Joes service to Jackson County and the Department of Corrections. He accepted responsibility of our operations in the midst of an ongoing FBI investigation, with staff making a starting wage 38% below the market rate and what we would later learn, a facility in need of $150 million in repairs, White said. But, at this point, Joe does not want to be a distraction because his priority is to fix the problem and ensure our corrections facility reaches the level of excellence our staff, inmates and community deserve. I respect his judgement and regretfully accept his resignation.Piccinini was appointed to serve as the director of corrections by former County Executive Mike Sanders in December 2015. Prior to that, he served as the Chief of Police for the Lees Summit Police Department, where he spent more than 30 years cultivating a career of public service by working up the departmental ranks.Following the County Executives appointment, Mr. Piccinini stayed on and helped oversee significant improvements to the facility and operations of the Jackson County Detention Center. Improvements include significant infrastructure repairs, improved training for corrections officers and increasing corrections officers wages.Ive been honored to serve Jackson County during a critical time of change for one of its most essential functions, Piccinini said. I commend the County Executive for his steadfast leadership to get things done. I couldnt be more proud to work with men and women who have made great sacrifices in the name of progress for the betterment of our community.Effective immediately, Diana Turner will serve as the acting director of corrections.She became the deputy director two months ago, but has devoted her life to a career to public safety that has spanned the municipal, state and federal levels. She most recently served as Director of Residential Services for the Jackson County Family Court. During her tenure, the two juvenile detention facilities for which she was responsible achieved reaccreditation. Both are positioned to successfully pass an American Correctional Association (ACA) audit in 2018.Captain Isaac Johnston will step in as the acting deputy director of corrections. His public safety career includes serving as the warden of two facilities, including the Leavenworth Detention Center, which houses maximum security inmates. The other was a Correctional Treatment Facility in Washington, D.C.Diana and Isaac, combined, have more than 50 years of experience in corrections, White said. Both work hard to form relationships with staff and inmates to establish a culture of respect. I have complete confidence in their ability to be effective leaders, while we conduct a nationwide search for a new director.###Developing . . . Congressman Cleaver Releases Statement Regarding Michael Flynns Admission of Guilt The fact that General Michael Flynn admitted to lying to the FBI about his talks with Russian agents further proves that Americans cannot fully trust this administration. This ends the no collusion mantra that we have heard daily out of Washington. Weve seen indictment after indictment among President Trumps top aides and now two guilty pleas. Former Trump Campaign Aide, George Papadopoulos, admitted that he too lied to federal investigators about meetings with Russia. We do not know where this investigation will lead but it troubles me that the very person in charge of protecting our national security would lie to the FBI. This is beyond outrageous, and it begs the question, what else is the Trump administration hiding? The Hill: Flynn plea brings Mueller closer to the White House The so-called "nothingburger" could the beginning of the end for the current administration as the deep state seems to be ready to take him down like a crime boss. Here's a local perspective from the highest ranking Kansas City elected official on the topic.Take a peek:(Washington, D.C.) Congressman Emanuel Cleaver, II released the following statement regarding former National Security Advisor, Michael Flynns, guilty plea.###########Check the links:You decide . . . EU ban on Nepali airlines continues The European Commission (EC) has decided to continue its ban on Nepali airlines through an updated EU air safety list, the list of non-European airlines that do not meet the international safety standards and are therefore subject to an operating ban or operational restrictions within the European Union. CHECK THE WORK OF STRIDENT KANSAS CITY ACTIVISTS TARGETING UMKC BIZ SCHOOL WITH PROTEST AND MORE!!! UMKC administration once again failed to take concrete action against sexual assault at the last town hall. They talked about meetings, and committees and procedures but when have those accomplished anything? Their mouths made the same motions they did during last semesters sexual assaults, while their actions are still absent. In face of such incompetence, PYO has taken a stand! We pasted fliers with the names and faces of two known rapists on campus, in order to warn the student body, while letting rapists know that they are not welcome here . . . In the midst of #MeToo allegations sweeping the nation, the city college confronts problems of its own and increasing demands for action after the latest report of a student assault. To wit . . .Here at TKC we believe in the Constitution andso we're not going to feature the document in question. Still, the tactics deserve attention as push back from NEXTGEN #MeToo activists has now moved beyond MSM testimony.Checkit:Quote:Developing . . . Greece's steady and harmonious relations with its creditors are very critical for the recovery of its crisis stricken economy as well as the further promotion of its booming tourist industry Clementini Diakomanoli was appointed on Friday appointed as the new head of the European Commission's Representation to Greece, an announcement noted. Diakomanoli had been head of the Representation's press department since 2015. Diakomanoli had previously served as head of the press office of the European Commission's Representation in Cyprus, since the country joined the EU in 2009. She has also served in the General Directorates of Communications, Environment, and Research and Technology in Brussels. She studied Law at the Kapodistrian University of Athens, with post-graduate studies in penal law in France. Read more here. RELATED TOPICS: Greece, Greek tourism news, Tourism in Greece, Greek islands, Hotels in Greece, Travel to Greece, Greek destinations , Greek travel market, Greek tourism statistics, Greek tourism report Source: ANA-MPA The 7th grade students of The Cathedral School wrote the exhibition Daily Bread, Photographs of the Rural Greece at the Consulate General of Greece in NYC NEW YORK The 7th grade students of The Cathedral School, accompanied by teacher Panagiota Lilikaki, attended the exhibition Daily Bread, Photographs of the Rural Greece at the Consulate General of Greece in New York City on November 17. The students inspired by the photographs of the homeland wrote the following creative pieces as part of their field trip experience. The Morning Sea Waves crash into the boat, twisting and turning, as men pull the fishing net. They can almost taste the salty sea water. The water is like a mirror and reflects the sky. Two men by the shore are washing fish under the cats watchful eye. A man sits on the sidewalk with a dog at his side enjoying the afternoon sun. This reminds me of my dad. He glances at the sea and asks, Having a lot of water and catching your food isnt that bad, what do you think? The dog is taking a nap; the dog is finally resting. The Mountain at Noon The sun is scorching in the mountains. At times, the extensive white fog keeps us cool; or so we think. We are getting closer and closer, but cars trying to pass by us is making our job harder. The dog between us, unmotivated, keeps on walking. Dont spill the milk, Yorgi, I call. This is not an easy job, Kosti, he yells. No job is easy, Yorgi. None. The 7th grade students of The Cathedral School with teacher Panagiota Lilikaki attended the exhibition Daily Bread, Photographs of the Rural Greece at the Consulate General of Greece in NYC. Photo: Courtesy of the Cathedral School An Afternoon in the Xorio In a nearby church, a boy is getting baptized. He is replenished in the name of Greece. His new name is now freedom, unity, love, and strength. Guests seek to be a part of his blessing. The candle stays lit against the wind. Now it is time to celebrate. The family gathers in the backyard, playing music, dancing, and eating. The grandmother embraces her daughter as she admires her husband dancing with the blessed baby. The smell of the flowers fills the air; the spanakopita is still in the oven. I run downstairs and ask Yaya for loukoumades with honey. Patience, she says, you still did not have food. There is no patience when it comes to dessert. Late Night at the Square Everyone is dancing-everyone except the kids, who are hiding behind the trees playing hide-and-go-seek at night. The old world and the new one unite in a drunken bliss. Glossary: Loukoumades: honey dumplings Yaya: grandmother Spanakopita: spinach pie Xorio: village Read more here. RELATED TOPICS: Greece, Greek tourism news, Tourism in Greece, Greek islands, Hotels in Greece, Travel to Greece, Greek destinations , Greek travel market, Greek tourism statistics, Greek tourism report Photo Source: Courtesy of the Cathedral School Source: thenationalherald.com French state-controlled utility EDF aims to take part in a tender for the construction of two nuclear reactors in Saudi Arabia, said a report, citing senior sources. Saudi Arabia, which wants to reduce domestic oil consumption, is considering building 17.6 gigawatts of nuclear-fuelled power generation capacity by 2032 and has sent a request for information to international suppliers to build two reactors, reported Reuters. With answers to the request due by the end 2017 or early 2018, a formal tender could be launched by mid-2018, but more likely toward the end of 2018 or early 2019, it stated. EDF has held talks with Saudi Arabia on selling Areva-designed European Pressurized Reactors (EPR) - the world's largest reactor model with a capacity of 1,600 MW - but has not publicly confirmed it will bid, said the report, citing the source. Saudi Arabia's nuclear plans are some of the largest in an industry struggling with weaker demand following Japan's Fukushima disaster in 2011. Last month, a Saudi nuclear official told a conference in Abu Dhabi that for the first two reactors the kingdom is considering reactor models in the 1,000-1,600 megawatt (MW) range, said the Reuters report. EDF hopes that by late 2018-early 2019 at least two should be operational, it added. Salini Impregilo, a specialist in the construction and civil engineering business, has won with a consortium a 186-million contract to design and execute the expansion of the 38-km-long Bicocca and Catenanuova section of a railway line that runs between Palermo and Catania in Sicily, Italy. The contract was awarded by Rete Ferroviaria Italiana to the consortium Raggruppamento Temporaneo di Imprese (RTI) that includes Salini Impregilo, Astaldi, SIFEL and CLF. The first results of the project are expected to appear in 2020 with the opening of a line that will allow trains to travel faster than they have previously done, said the company in a statement. The new section will allow trains to go at speeds of up to 200 km per hour. All of the work is scheduled to be completed by 2022. Once other projects are finished, it will be possible to travel between Catania and Palermo in less than two hours by 2025, said the statement. The contract includes a new railway headquarters, the installation of signaling and communication systems, electrical substations to power the trains, the renovation of the Bicocca station and the construction of a new station at Motta SantAnastasia, it added. Earlier this year, Salini Impregilo and its partners won a contract to design and build a section of the Naples-Bari high-speed railway line.-TradeArabia News Service Fresh exam on Dec 2 under tight security The Institute of Medicine (IoM) has said the MBBS entrance exam on December 2 will be held under tight security. Home but not dry Despite repeated obstructions by the Communist Party of Nepal (CPN) led by Netra Bikram Chand, the first phase of election for the House of Representatives (HoR) and the Provincial Assemblies (PA) have concluded in 32 districts with a 65 percent turnout. Divya Sharma Tribune News Service Amritsar, December 2 As the world is all set to observe International Day of Persons with Disabilities on December 3, residents feel that there is a need to provide better infrastructure to people with disabilities in every sector. The International Day of Persons with Disabilities, which is recognised by the UN, is aimed at creating awareness about the rights and well-being of persons with disabilities. Dawinder Singh, a paraplegic and vice-president of the Spinal Cord Association, said, It is not about ability or disability, but about having proper infrastructure. Unfortunately, there are limited facilities for these people in our area. People with disabilities also need to start taking rehabilitation seriously. Swaraj Grover, a social worker, said, We need to discuss the issues of people with disabilities. It is important to create an environment where these people do not suffer from any inferiority complex. Efforts should be made to ensure their overall development. Meanwhile, member of the DAV Red Cross School for Special Children and DAV International School principal Anjana Gupta said, In the education sector, it is imperative that sufficient number of special educators are there. The education imparted is need-based. Apart from this, DAV Public School, Amritsar, and the Global Institute for Childhood Disability organised a seminar on Inclusive Education for Special Children to commemorate the day at Urvi Auditorium. It was attended by principals of various schools, teachers, parents and students, Rajya Sabha MP Shwait Malik, GNDU Vice-Chancellor Jaspal Singh Sandhu and others. DAV Public School principal Neera Sharma, special educator at Spring Dale School Prerna Khanna and faculty member of DAV Public School Nisha Tuteja highlighted various aspects and benefits of inclusive education. They emphasised that such children demand more of time and patience. They require specialised instructional strategies in a structured environment that support and enhance their learning potential. The speakers stressed that inclusive education aimed at empowering special children, irrespective of their strength and weaknesses. Rajinder Nagarkoti Tribune News Service Panchkula, December 2 Amid the local civic bodys failure to carry out developmental activities, Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar said the matter to dissolve the Panchkula Municipal Corporation would be discussed by the Cabinet before a decision was taken on it. The CM stated this while talking to mediapersons after inaugurating a multi-level parking here today. Recently, Gian Chand Gupta and Latika Sharma, Panchkula and Kalka MLAs, respectively, had asked the CM to dissolve the MC and restore the old system of municipal council for Panchkula and municipal committees for Kalka and Pinjore. The Panchkula MC was set up in March 2010 by merging the municipal council of Panchkula and the municipal committees of Pinjore and Kalka. Sources revealed that the decision to dissolve the Panchkula MC was likely to be taken next month. The sources added that discussions were taking place at higher levels to dissolve not only the Panchkula MC but also some other municipal corporations in the state. The CM further said soon, a logistic hub would be developed in the area across Ghaggar river in the Panchkula extension to ensure financial development of the residents there and the area, which was considered the gateway to Himachal Pradesh. This will also generate direct and indirect employment opportunities, he added. Besides, a survey is being conducted to construct an alternative road from Panchkula to the international airport. The CM said in a joint meeting of the Chief Secretaries of Haryana and Punjab recently, it was agreed to conduct a technical survey to find out a direct route from Panchkula to the airport. Tribune News Service New Delhi, December 2 In the case of a premature baby who was wrongly declared dead by Max Super Speciality Hospital, Health Minister Satyendra Jain today said if the hospital is found guilty of negligence its licence can be cancelled. The Delhi Government had yesterday ordered an inquiry into the criminal negligence by the private hospital in Shalimar Bagh after the matter came to light when parents reported to the police that one of the twins, whom doctors had declared dead, was found alive. The report will come out in two days. Strictest action will be taken. If the hospital is found guilty of medical negligence then its licence can also be cancelled, Jain told reporters. Jain said the matter later will be sent to the Medical Council of India and then based on the response, any action will be taken. The newborn was one of the prematurely born twins (other baby was stillborn) delivered on the morning of November 30 at Max Hospital where the mother was brought from a nursing home in Paschim Vihar. The hospital had handed over the premature twins in a polythene bag declaring them dead. However, later the family found one of them alive before the last rites. A case under Section 308 of the IPC (attempt to commit culpable homicide) has been registered by the police and two doctors from the hospital are learnt to have been named in the case. The Health Minister said the same hospital was issued a show cause notice on November 22 for not following the norms related to providing treatment to patients of economically weaker section category. During a probe it was also found that in the OPD only 10 per cent of the patients were being attended to instead of the mandated 25 per cent, Jain added. Washington, December 2 An Indian Amercian 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 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 Democrat stronghold. In a statement, Jhingan said it is her years of community service and experience working with business and government that 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 the United States and got an opportunity to live the American Dreamnow I am looking to fight for you to bring back the same, she said. In addition to Krishnamoorthi, the House of Representatives currently has three other Indian Americansthe 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. PTI Washington, December 2 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 Friday, Purinton pleaded not guilty. He waived his preliminary hearing and the not guilty plea was entered on his behalf. (Follow The Tribune on Facebook; and Twitter @thetribunechd) 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. PTI Sunit Dhawan Tribune News Service Rohtak, December 2 DGP Baljit Singh Sandhu today said the state police force was facing a staff crunch and 12,000 personnel were likely to be recruited in near future. The process for the recruitment of 5,500 constables and sub-inspectors would commence in January next year, he added. The department would soon get 600 new vehicles. He was addressing a gathering during the inauguration of a Mitr kaksh here. He said that even 70 years after the nations independence, common people were still afraid of going to a police station. They faced various problems in getting their complaints lodged with the police. The DGP exhorted police officials to improve their communication skills, behaviour and style of functioning. Police officials should befriend residents, not criminals. They should listen to the grievances of common people and put in their best efforts to redress these. This is the underlying objective behind the opening of the Mitra kaksh, he added. Sandhu said that the Mitr kaksh was the brainchild of Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar and 16 services would be provided to residents in a time-bound manner. Police personnel manning the Mitr kaksh had undergone special training and have a unique dress code. The DGP said at present 10 per cent of the police force are policewomen and the departments target was to enhance this figure to 30 per cent. More women police stations would be established in the state, he added. Rohtak range IGP Navdeep Singh Virk, Rohtak Deputy Commissioner Yash Garg, SPs of Rohtak, Sonepat, Bhiwani and Dadri and senior officials of the Haryana Police Housing Corporation were present. Sandhu felicitated Head Constable Kuldeep Singh of the CIA-2 wing of the Rohtak police, who was critically injured during an encounter with criminals in Narnaul. Kuldeep had nabbed a criminal even though a bullet pierced his jaw during the encounter. The DGP presented him a cash reward of Rs 2 lakh. Asked about the chargesheet regarding the Panchkula violence case mentioning Honeypreet as the main conspirator but having a lenient view about Dera Sacha Sauda head Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh, the DGP said that the investigation in the case was going on and more arrests and interrogation were likely. Panipat to get three new police stations Panipat: DGP BS Sandhu said three new police stations would be set up in the city soon. Interacting with mediapersons at Israna gurdwara here on Saturday, the DGP said the new police stations would be set up in Model Town, Sector 29 and Sector 13. He said the department was going to establish Special Task Force to curb crime with the support of the local police and it would be started from Gurugram soon. On increase in crime rate as per the data of the National Crime Records Bureau, the DGP said that FIR on every complaint had been registered in the state. Besides, nearly 30 per cent cases of rape were found fake during investigation, he added. TNS Music is a state of mind My first memory of music is listening to Like a Virgin by Madonna. I would play it on the cassette over and over again. It was on loop for a long time. Tribune News Service Hisar, December 2 Leader of the Opposition Abhay Singh Chautala today said that illegal mining was going on unabated in Bhiwani and Yamunanagar districts and this could turn out to be a multi-crore scam. He demanded an inquiry by a retired judge into the allegations of illegal mining. Abhay Chautala, state INLD president Ashok Arora and Hisar MP Dushyant Singh Chautala adopted a resolution at the state executive meeting of the party in Bhiwani town to corner the state government on the issues of illegal mining, inclusion of tractor in the category of commercial vehicles and action against farmers for straw burning. Abhay alleged that the government was harassing farmers by including tractor in the category of commercial vehicles. Farmers have to pay toll to transport their produce to mandis and also for travelling for other purposes. The decision to declare tractors as a commercial vehicle is bound to take a heavy toll on farmers, he added. He said Abhay also raised the issue of the reported Central governments refusal to implement the Swaminathan commission report and pay the minimum support price (MSP) to farmers, according to the formula recommended in it. He flayed the state government for the deteriorating law and order situation. This charge cannot be dismissed as the National Crimes Record Bureau (NCRB) has exposed the utter failure of the BJP government to establish even a semblance of law and order. The crime statistics reveal that while the government has been busy celebrating jayantis and utsavs, common people, particularly women, Dalits and other vulnerable sections of society, fell victim to heinous crimes, he said. The INLD also demanded that all cases filed against farmers for stubble burning be withdrawn as the government could not offer an effective alternative or equipment to them. Karnal, December 2 The body of Ajay (20), who went missing on November 20, was found hanging from a tree behind Vivekanand Park on the Kachwa road today. Ajays relatives and residents of Ram Nagar alleged that he was murdered and blocked the Karnal-Kachwa road for around half-an-hour. Ajay was working at a salon. However, the protesters lifted the blockade after the police assured them of a fair inquiry into the incident. Satpal, Ajays father, said that his son had left his job a few days ago and started working at another salon. But the owner of the previous salon was pressuring him to work for him again. Someone called Ajay on November 20 evening and since then he had been missing, said Satpal. He alleged that his son was murdered. TNS Dharamsala, December 2 Two years after the murder of a Tibetan youth in McLeodganj, a local court today sentenced three local youths to life imprisonment. Justice Sharad Kumar Lagwal pronounced the judgment to sentence Kailash Kumar, Mahesh Kumar and Rinku Kumar to life imprisonment. A fine of Rs 50,000 each was imposed on them under Sections 302 and 34 of the IPC. On the night of October 30, 2015, a Tibetan youth, Tsultrim Chokden (29), was murdered on a street following a brawl over eve-teasing. The youth was stabbed multiple times and died on the spot. He had arrived in India from Tibet in 2003. The accused were sent to 14-day judicial custody nine times before the matter actually got enlisted before the District and Sessions Court. There were 34 court hearings and two bail pleas were rejected. TNS Arteev Sharma Tribune News Service Jammu, December 2 Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti was today unanimously re-elected as the president of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) for the sixth term in a row. The returning officer for the elections, Abdul Rehman Veeri, made the announcement after Mehboobas name was proposed by senior party leader and Finance Minister Haseeb Drabu and seconded by another senior party leader Trilok Singh Bajwa. The partys electoral college, which includes Members of Parliament, legislators (both MLAs and MLCs), general secretaries, secretaries and district and zonal presidents, met at the CMs official residence and re-elected her as the party chief for the next three years. Mehboobas re-election assumes significance as it is for the first time any election was held at the party level after the death of her father and PDP founder Mufti Mohammad Sayeed last year. Mehbooba, a 57-year-old law graduate, joined the mainstream politics of the state in 1996 when she became part of the Congress along with her father. She was elected the party president for the first time in 2003 after her father Mufti Mohammad Sayeed took over as Chief Minister of the state while heading the PDP-Congress coalition government in 2002. After her election as the party president, Mehbooba thanked the electoral college members for reposing trust in her leadership. She assured the members of carrying forward the partys basic declaration with renewed enthusiasm and vigour. Mehbooba received congratulatory messages both from her political partners and opponents. Congratulations to @MehboobaMufti on being re-elected as President of @jkpdp. We may not agree on much these days but I wish you well, Omar Abdullah wrote on Twitter. Congrats to Mehbooba Mufti for election unopposed to PDP presidentship for 6th time, BJP leader Ram Madhav tweeted. Meanwhile, Mehbooba, in her address, directed the party ministers to regularly interact with the party workers and public to address their grievances. A chart of every party minister needs to be prepared on a weekly basis where they should hold public interactions to address their genuine issues, Mehbooba said. She also directed the party ministers to not confine their visits only to their respective constituencies, but also visit other constituencies, held by MLAs of the ruling as well as opposition parties, to broaden the partys base in all three regions of the state. Party insiders said it was unanimously decided to restructure the party and give senior party leaders important positions so as to make optimum use of their experience for strengthening the PDP at the grass-roots level. The restructuring is being done to strengthen the party in all three regions. The process is to be completed in the next 10 days, party insiders said. Address grievances of people: CM to ministers Tribune News Service Srinagar, December 2 National Conference president Farooq Abdullah has urged New Delhi and Islamabad to initiate dialogue on all outstanding issues, especially on Kashmir, in a sincere effort to usher an era of stability, mutual cooperation and harmony on the subcontinent. Addressing a public meeting in the Khan Sahib area of Budgam district today, Farooq said the nuclear powers, India and Pakistan, should acknowledge the fact that a nuclear war was out of the question. Hence, engagement and innovative conflict resolution were the only options, he added. Farooq said the claims of normalcy in the Valley made by the Central and the state governments were contrary to the ground situation in Kashmir and the growing sense of alienation, especially among the youth. Those who are claiming things have improved in Kashmir after the mayhem, bloodshed and misery of 2016 are contradicting the reality in an effort to escape their own culpability and responsibility...Our youth today are more isolated and alienated than ever before and feel hopeless and dismayed, Farooq said. 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, Farooq said. Arteev Sharma Tribune News Service Jammu, December 2 Discontent against the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) ministers became evident today when a senior party leader expressed his displeasure over the failure of the ministers to connect with masses and put up a united face. Party sources said former Deputy Chief Minister and Member of Parliament Muzaffar Hussain Beig strongly criticised the working style of the PDPministers, saying that it had been denting the party at the grass-roots level. Our ministers are making loud claims but they have failed to work as a unit which is affecting the party at the grass-roots level. The public perception about our ministers is not up to the mark and you people (ministers) will have to work unitedly so as to connect with masses and deliver effectively, the sources quoting Beig as saying while addressing party workers and leaders at Chief Ministers official residence during the election of Mehbooba Mufti as the new party chief. You (ministers) will have to settle your personal score, if any, at your own level without affecting the delivery system. This kind of behaviour has been affecting the party at grassroots and creating a bad image, he said, adding, come out of your constituencies and visit others as well as it will help us in broadening our base in all three regions. Amarjot Kaur Apart from the disability tag, what the two Chandigarh-based women, Priyanka Saini and Shruti Hora, share in common is a National Award for the Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities they will receive today, December 3the International Day of People with Disability. Priyanka and Shruti will receive the award by the President of India, Ram Nath Kovind, in the category of Best Employees/Self Employed with Disabilities, at Delhis Vigyan Bhawan. As The Tribune Life+Style explores the course of their success, heres what makes them stand among 67 other disabled persons, from across the country. Heres the story of their resilience that gave a limitless flight to their dreams, despite their limitations. Heart of the matter Priyanka The youngest of five siblings born to a couple in village Jogiara, Darbhangar district of Bihar, 34-year-old Priyanka is hearing and speech impaired since birth. She works as a facilitator at the Tech Mahindra Smart+ Training Centre for Persons with Disabilities, located on the premises of National Institute of Technical Teachers Training and Research (NITTTR), Sector 26. At NITTTR, Priyankas father-in-law, JS Saini, professor and head of Entrepreneurship Development and Industrial Coordination Department and at the Centre for Physically Challenged Persons and NSQF Facilitation Unit of NITTTR, becomes an interpreter for his daughter-in-law. I have actively been engaged with issues concerning disabilities. It was in 2014, when NITTTR collaborated with the Delhi-headquartered NGO Sarthak Educational Trust to establish the Tech Mahindra Smart+ Training Centre. Priyanka had done her masters in Fine Arts, so I suggested her name to the Sarthak Trust. They interviewed her and she was selected to train hearing and speech impaired people, he says. Besides basic computer programs, Priyanka teaches sign language, soft skills, English grammar, hospitality and retail training to the students at the Centre. Since 2014, 783 disabled students have studied here, out of which 309 were hearing impaired. Most students I taught are now working at Elante, Gillard, Cafe Coffee Day, and KFC too, she smiles. While interpreting Priyankas sign language and muffled words, uttered from a stiff jaw, Saini tells us that Priyankas parents abandoned her soon after they realised that she was deaf. I was brought up by my maternal uncle and aunt, but the biggest challenge for me was that of attaining quality education as there arent enough schools for us. Studying in an inclusive school can be a little tough, but it builds our confidence to interact with people who arent deaf, she opines. To the headstrong hedonist Shruti Hora Ten years Priyankas senior in the teaching line, 44-year-old Shruti Hora, who was born and raised in Ludhiana, holds a PhD degree in music and is an associate professor at the Post Graduate Government College for Girls, Sector 11. Hora is visually impaired. I studied music at Ludhianas Pracheen Kala Kendra as I was always fond of music. The Punjab Board made a provision for me when I was appearing for my Class X exams; they let me study music instead of science and maths, she says. Raised in a joint family, with a brother who is now a doctor, Hora, like Priyanka, did not give way to exclusive education either. I would record my lessons and my mother would read from the books to me. I give her all the credit for where I stand today, she adds. In the college where she teaches, Hora likes to conduct group discussions to engage her students. Trained in sitar instrumental, she also credits her success to the proverbial wisdompractice makes perfect. My gurus helped me; they knew I had a sharp ear, but I never underestimated the worth of riyaaz. When people made fun of my blindness, which was very rare, it would only make my resolve to become something in life even stronger, she says. A mother, and a wife, Hora extends her vote of gratitude to her husband too. She remembers the words that had melted her heart: I asked him why hed marry a blind woman like me and he replied, You could have gone blind even after marriage, would that mean I would have left you? Never... Well, love itself is blind, they say! But to Hora, it was an eye-opener. amarjot@tribunemail.com The biggest highlight of Tiger Zinda Hais upcoming love tack Dil Diyan Gallan is that Bollywoods superstar Salman Khan drew a portrait for his former girlfriend and co-star Katrina Kaif on a frozen lake in Austria for the song! The director Ali Abbas Zafar shared, We have filmed Dil Diyan Gallan in an old school, a vintage way to bring alive the romance between two mature people. The biggest highlight is the unique Katrina portrait that Salman has drawn on a frozen lake. ANI Rape is theft, I was stolen Rape is theft. I was stolen. My life was stolen. It is a crime. For years, I became a passenger in my own body. And I am not the only one because after every #MeToo out there, there is a #IDidIt. Rose McGowan Ali to felicitate Judi Actor Ali Fazal will felicitate his Victoria & Abdul co-actor Judi Dench at the Santa Barbara Film Festival. Dench will be honoured with the annual Kirk Douglas Award for Excellence in Films. Ali will be joining three of her co-stars for a special tribute presentation. IANS Tribune News Service Ludhiana, December 1 Elena Igorevna Sarapultseva, Professor, Department of Biotechnology, Obninsk Institute of Nuclear Power Engineering, National Research Nuclear University (Russia), was at the Punjab Agricultural University (PAU) to deliver a lecture on, Non Energy Application of Atomic Power in Agriculture, under the aegis of NAAS Ludhiana Chapter. While addressing a huge gathering of faculty and students at Pal Auditorium, Dr Sarapultseva, discussed at length about radioactivity and the impact of various sources of radiation around. She also explained the application of nuclear sources in agriculture and food industry, growth and development of seeds, delay in fruit and vegetable ripening and shelf life extension as well as its uses in pest control. Various applications of nuclear power in health care especially in diagnosis and treatment were also revealed by the scientist. Dr Sarapultseva was accompanied by Yuriy Lysenko, Diplomat at Russian Embassy, New Delhi. Earlier, during the day, the delegates were accorded a cordial welcome by the PAU Vice Chancellor, Dr B.S. Dhillon. Senior University officers, Dr RS Sidhu, Registrar, Dr NS Bains, Director Research, Dr Ashok Kumar, Director Extension, Deans and Heads of Departments shared their personal experiences vis a vis Indias historical relationship with the erstwhile Soviet Union starting right from the cold war till the present time. Discussions to have a formal MoU for mutual exchange of students and faculty were also held. The guests also paid a visit to the Uppal Museum, Soil Museum, Crofp Museum, School of Biotechnology, Soil Powered Drip Irrigation, Mushroom Production, Bee Farm and Museum of Social History. Tribune News Service Ludhiana, December 2 With the increase in steel price during the last six months the local industry is facing a tough time. Steel ingot prices have gone up to Rs 31,500 from Rs 24,000 per tonne, which is proving a major setback for the micro small and medium enterprises (MSME) sector. On December 1, the ingot prices rose to Rs 4,000 per tonne. The price of CR strip has increased to Rs 53,000 from Rs 44,000, which is a sharp increase of Rs 11,000 per tonne. The small scale industry (SSI) will face closer as it will become incompetent. Exporters will lose their orders, which in turn will affect the economy as foreign exchange will not come. The SSI with limited capital will face cash crunch, which is also fatal for the industry, said FICO president Gurmeet Kular. Meanwhile, FICO has strongly opposed the increase and asked the government to intervene for saving finished goods manufacturing industry. Minimise the import duty and abolish the anti-dumping duty with immediate effect so that the industry can get raw material at international prices enabling them to be competent in global market, said Manjinder Singh Sachdeva, general secretary, FICO. Iron ore is cheaper in India than in the international market, but steel ingot is expensive in the country than other nations including Taiwan, Korea, China and others. FICO has requested the government to review steel prices quarterly in comparison to the international market, he said. Freight subsidy should be introduced as Punjab is a land locked state and away from port. International Price Reimbursement Scheme (IPRS) should be implemented to save the small scale industry, he suggested. NA defuses bomb in Bhaktapur A bomb disposal squad of the Nepal Army defused an improvised explosive device (IED) found near Sinai English School in Madhyapur Thimi Municipality-4, Bhaktapur, on Saturday morning. Rameswaram (TN), December 2 Twenty fishermen from Tamil Nadu were arrested by the Sri Lankan Navy on Saturday for allegedly fishing near Neduntheevu, close to the island nations coast. The fishermen from Nagapattinam district were fishing in the Sri Lankan waters when they were arrested, Assistant Director of Fisheries Department, Nagapattinam, Gangadhar, said. Two boats used by them were also seized and taken to Paruthithurai in Sri Lanka, he said. Eight fishermen belonging to Rameswaram and Mandapam were arrested on November 19 by the Lankan Navy for allegedly fishing in the Palk Strait off Katchatheevu. PTI Thiruvananthapuram/Chennai, December 2 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 km near Amini Divi in the Lakshadweep Islands. (Follow The Tribune on Facebook; and Twitter @thetribunechd) 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. 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 Ockhi 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. Twenty-nine 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. 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. PTI Smita Sharma Tribune News Service New Delhi, December 1 The India-Pakistan mutual bitterness was palpable at the first meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation since its expansion this June to include the two neighbours as full members. At the 16th meeting of the council of heads of government of SCO in Sochi in Russia, Chinas Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) emerged as a key area of difference between the two sides with Chinese Premier Li Keqiang in the room. (Follow The Tribune on Facebook; and Twitter @thetribunechd) External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj in a veiled reference to BRI, linking it to the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) passing through illegal Pak Occupied Kashmir, said, Connectivity with SCO countries is Indias priority. We want connectivity to pave the way for cooperation and trust between our societies. For this, respect for sovereignty is essential. Inclusivity, transparency and sustainability are imperative. But Pakistan Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi flaunted CPEC as the pioneering project of BRI that complements the SCOs vision of connectivity and economic integration. In his address Abbasi said, We would like to see the CPEC connected to the six main trade corridors of the SCO. This will help fulfil the long cherished aspiration for land and maritime connectivity between Europe, Central Asia, China and South Asia. Earlier on Thursday, Abbasi held a meeting with the Chinese premier along the SCO sidelines. China holds high political sincerity in exploring the building of a free trade zone with Pakistan to promote balanced trade between the two sides and help companies in both countries to cooperate, Li said, reported the Chinese state media. India mild on Terror, Pak plays victim card Talking about the objective of the SCO Regional Anti-Terror Structure to build a strong regional security architecture, Swaraj in a mild statement said, At the very outset, India strongly condemns terrorism in all its forms and manifestations. There can be no justification whatsoever for any acts of terrorism. We are determined to consistently strengthen cooperation within the SCO framework, and to work together, to seek comprehensive, cooperative, and sustainable security. Pakistani PM Abbasi painted his country as the victim of terrorism saying, We have lost thousands of lives, including 6,500 military and law enforcement personnel, to terrorism. We support the SCO consensus that as we engage in the fight against terrorism, we must respect the norms and principles of international law and shun double standards, he added. Australia recently unveiled a White Paper on its foreign policy, a first in nearly 14 years. Smita Sharma speaks to Harinder Sidhu, Australian High Commissioner to India, on a host of issues, including the quadrilateral dialogue, Chinas One Belt, One Road (OBOR) project, North Korean situation, temporary work visa reforms and protests against the Adani coal mine project in Queensland. Excerpts from the interview: (Follow The Tribune on Facebook; and Twitter @thetribunechd) How confident are you of the US investment in Indo-Pacific, given the unpredictability of the Donald Trump Administration? The Indo-Pacific is where the largest part of future economic growth is going to go. The US has significant interests in that region. So it is a fair conclusion to say that the US will remain engaged as a matter of their national interest What is the most significant aspect of Australias White Paper on its foreign policy? Times are changing. There are clear and open levels of recognition about the uncertainties in the region and it is a clear statement of where Australias interests lie. In terms of strategic implications, is China a threat for the region? Things are not that black and white. Australia has benefited enormously from its economic relationship with China. Besides trade, a large number of Chinese students come to Australia. Chinese-Australians have made immense contribution to Australia, our society and our economy. So China has been a valuable partner, and I expect it will continue to be so. The White Paper highlights an increased role for India. What are the expectations? The White Paper is about Australias approach to various countries. It is possibly for the first time in a major policy document like that India has been placed in such a prominent position. This is so because of the much clearer strategic alignment we now see between Australia and India. India can have profound influence in the region. We can work with India to move towards promoting the kinds of values we care about to ensure prosperity, stability and security in the world. There were differences in the statements put out by the four partners after the recently revived the quadrilateral dialogue. How was the first round of meeting of Joint Secretaries? Good. You may read a lot into the joint statements but bottom line is that there is significant alignment in all sorts of things we talked about, the way we look at the world and things we care about. Barring India, all three players are allies. Will there be any expectation of India being a part of a military alliance in days to come? Australia has is no such expectation. This is a dialogue among four like-minded countries and not more than that. It is not a road to a (military) alliance. Key objectives of the quad seem to be to find alternative financing mechanisms and to contain Chinas aggressive behaviour in the region. Will it provoke China more? There is a risk that you can read more into this than there is. Many people have ideas about what the grouping should do. We should leave it to four Joint Secretaries to chart a path forward. I would quote Alice Wells, acting Assistant Secretary of State, that four officials meeting in a room can hardly contain China. There is an India-Japan-Australia trilateral coming up at the level of Foreign Secretaries. What is on the agenda? This is fourth trilateral among the Foreign Secretaries. We share our perspectives on current issues. North Korea will definitely be on the agenda. Our Foreign Secretary will talk to her counterparts about our foreign policy White Paper. How does Australia view OBOR and Indias objections to China-Pakistan corridor? It is about having a balanced perspective. Australia has not signed the OBOR programme. We did not sign the declaration. We would definitely favour investment that retains the sovereignty and support of recipient countries. Does the Adani coal mine project in Australia have the federal governments full backing? The project has the complete support of the Australian federal government. We see this as a very good investment that brings jobs and opportunities to Australia.The project has met all environmental and other revaluations required of it and has received licensing approvals. It is true that it has become a largely politicised investment. We are a democracy and the people have a right to express their views. I am genuinely hopeful that the project will proceed. Indias interests taken care of in visa reforms The 457 Temporary Work Visa will be replaced by March next year with the Temporary Skills Shortage Visa. There is obviously a visa path in place for Indians who wish to go to Australia to work on a temporary basis up to four years, which is what has always been. The important thing is that a majority of occupations that the Indians go for under 457 will be retained under the new system. Do not expect a dramatic change. On what do Indians need to be careful about, the High Commissioner says the English language and skills requirements are much sharper than before. There has been some tightening up to ensure there is no abuse of the visa. At the moment, 25 per cent of all 457 visas are held by Indians and nearly all of them are still eligible under the new skills and occupation list. New Delhi, December 2 The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has arrested a member of a Manipur-based terrorist organisation, Kangleipak Communist Party (KCP), from Delhi. Sanabam Inaobi Singh, who hails from Manipur, is a hardcore member of KCP and is accused of raising terror funds, supply of arms, ammunition and explosives for the cadres, reads a statement by the NIA. It said Delhi Police had arrested Khoirom Ranjit Singh, the Commander-in-Chief of KCP, and his woman associate Irungbam Sanatombi Devi from Mayur Vihar along with a third associate P Prem Kumar Meitei from Manipur in January this year. The case was later handed over to the NIA in March. The NIA had filed a chargesheet against the three arrested accused in July this year under Section 120B of Indian Penal Code for alleged involvement in terror activities, added the statement. An investigation into the case is on and Sanabam was arrested as part of NIAs probe into the case. ANI Surat, December 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. IANS Shahira Naim Tribune News Service Lucknow, December 2 The Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) and Samajwadi Party (SP) on Saturday alleged that irregularities in electronic voting machines (EVM) were the reason for the BJPs victory in the urban bodies election. BSP national president Mayawati dared the BJP to hold polling through ballot paper in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, claiming that the saffron party would never return to power if it does so. If the BJP is honest and believes in democracy, then it should discard EVMs and conduct voting during the 2019 elections through ballot paper, said Mayawati. Interestingly, Mayawatis party won two of the 16 mayoral seats and gave impressive performances at other places as well. Similarly, the Samajwadi Party national president hinted at a possible tampering of EVMs. Akhilesh Yadav tweeted: BJP has only won 15 per cent seats in ballot paper areas and 46 per cent in EVM areas. The SP drew a blank in the poll, but its performance was better where ballot paper was used. In Mathura, Congress leader Pradeep Mathur said the BJP win is a clear case of EVM tampering. Deputy CM Dinesh Sharma hit out at the Opposition parties saying there was nothing wrong in the EVMs, but definitely something wrong in the mindset of the BSP, SP and Congress that were covering up their defeat by calling the EVMs faulty. (With PTI inputs) Muzaffarnagar, December 2 A 27-year-old property dealer was allegedly shot dead by miscreants in a village here, police said on Saturday. Vinod Kumar was killed on Friday evening at Buada Khurd village. Kumars 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 is 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 on Friday. The police were investigating the matter. PTI Surat, December 2 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. (Follow The Tribune on Facebook; and Twitter @thetribunechd) 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. 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, Indias 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 Indias 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. 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. Modi was denigrating the country when claiming that the Congress did nothing in 70 years, the former PM said. ...While denigrating the past, the Prime Minister also tends to exaggerate what he will do in the 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 10 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 slowdown 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. PTI Pradhan: Rebuke just sycophancy Ahmedabad: Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan has said former Prime Minister Manmohan Singhs rebuke on demonetisation had risen out of the latters compulsion to show allegiance to the Gandhi family. This is Manmohan Singhs helplessness. Just to show allegiance to that family, he has to say wrong things. GDP figures have just come out and all his questions have been answered, Pradhan said. ANI New Delhi, December 2 External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj on Saturday 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 meet 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. PTI One arrested with over 10 kg of illegal gold from Balaju Police arrested a person with over 10 kilogram of illegal gold from Balaju being smuggled into Kathmandu from Kerung on Saturday. Ajay Banerjee Tribune News Service New Delhi, December 1 The armed forces, former Army Chief General VK Singh and Punjab Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh have separately sought that the Ministry of Defence (MoD) should not cap educational expenses paid to children of martyrs, or those disabled in action. Some 3,200 students studying in schools, colleges and professional colleges are beneficiaries under the scheme. The facility is from the lowest class like nursery till the child acquires the first degree (like BA, MBA, B.Com, B.SC, engineering or MBBS, among others). A letter dated September 13 this year, issued by the department of ex-servicemen, capped the fee for tuition and hostel at Rs 10,000 per month. With children of martyrs or disabled soldiers studying professional courses like MBBS, MBA, or engineers in private institutes, this fee cap may trouble several of them. The fee in private colleges in such courses runs into a couple of lakh each year, besides the hostel fee. The Tribune had first reported this matter on December 1. The scheme is applicable to the Army, Navy and the Indian Air Force. It never had a cap. The three armed forces have collectively written to the Defence Minister, seeking lifting of the cap, sources have confirmed. Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh has written to Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman asking the ministry to review its decision to restrict its educational expenses paid to children of martyrs. In the letter, the CM has called the decision to cap educational expenses paid to martyrs children at Rs 10,000 immoral and unprincipled. He added: The fee being paid to the children of martyrs and disabled soldiers was a small price in exchange for what they had given, and continued to give, to the nation. Former Army Chief and Minister of State for External Affairs General VK Singh tweeted: Have written on the issue to RM (Raksha Mantri). Am sure Babus of the MoD will rectify this as early as possible. The scheme for government bearing the cost of education of martyrs children was announced on December 18, 1971 two days after Pakistani forces surrendered at Dacca (now known as Dhaka) in the India- Pakistan war to liberate Bangladesh. In stages, children of officers and jawans killed or disabled in operations were added in the scheme. "Decision to cap educational expenses paid to martyrs children at Rs 10,000 is immoral and unprincipled. The fee was a small price in exchange for what martyrs had given to the nation." Capt Amarinder Singh, Punjab Chief Minister "I have written on the issue to RM (Raksha Mantri). I am sure babus of the Ministry of Defence will rectify this as early as possible. " General VK Singh, Union Minister of State Tribune News Service Jalandhar, December 2 Apprehending dissent due to a high number of aspirants, ruling Congress party leaders have chosen to come up with its list of candidates on December 5, the second last day for filing nomination papers for the Municipal Corporation elections. Congress minister and Observer for Jalandhar MC polls Aruna Chaudhary, who was here for a meeting with candidates and party MLAs, said, We will send our panel but the final nod will come after a meeting in Delhi on this, which is likely only by December 5. I know that December 6 is the last day of filing papers but we will ensure that all nominations are filed well in time. Earlier in the day, the minister during a meeting with ticket aspirants asked them to remain loyal to the party even if the candidature is announced for another party leader from their ward. She asked them all to raise both their hands over the issue. Over as many as six couples from Jalandhar are seeking tickets from neighbouring wards after the recent delimitation and enhancement of 20 wards in the city. The minister said, We will consider giving tickets to couples too, provided both the applicants are winnable. Regarding the possibility of any woman Mayor coming up in any of the three Municipal Corporations of Jalandhar, Amritsar and Patiala, she said, This decision is still pending and will be taken at an appropriate level. No nomination papers were filed on the first day today. Chandigarh, December 2 Leader of Opposition in Punjab Assembly Sukhpal Singh Khaira, on Saturday expressed "remorse" over the swear words used against Chief Minister Amarinder Singh after the resolution was passed. "I express remorse and I withdraw those remarks (made against the CM)," Khaira said. Lashing out at the Chief Minister and the Akali Dal, Khaira alleged that they were hand in glove and wanted to "eliminate him politically". "I was victimised and wrongly targeted by the chief minister and the Akalis," Khaira alleged. He was referring to a resolution passed by the Punjab Assembly on November 29, criticising the "irresponsible" behaviour of Lok Insaf Party (LIP) MLAs Simarjit Singh Bains and Balwinder Singh Bains in connection with an alleged "audio recording" which they released pertaining to the drug case in which Khaira was summoned. The resolution condemned the Bains brothers for "casting aspersions on the judiciary". Khaira had described it as "well thought conspiracy" against him allegedly by the government. Khaira, who was granted relief by the Supreme Court in a trans-border drug smuggling case, said he had the "full support" of AAP's national convenor Arvind Kejriwal. The AAP leader trashed reports that Kejriwal had not spoken in his support after he was summoned by the court and said he was in constant touch with the Delhi chief minister and Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia. "In fact, there were many things, which they suggested like this is the way things should move legally... filing of the Special Leave Petition (SLP). It is only a myth, I have his (Kejriwal's) full support," he told reporters here. Khaira, an MLA from Bholath, said Kejriwal was the first person he called after the Supreme Court granted him relief in a 2015 drugs smuggling case. "He congratulated me," he said, adding that he would meet Delhi chief minister within a week. The Supreme Court had yesterday granted relief to Khaira by staying the proceedings before a trial court in the case. A court in Punjab's Fazilka had issued fresh summons on November 30 to Khaira to appear before it on December 21 in the case. He had then moved the high court on November 3 against the Fazilka court's order. PTI Vishav Bharti Tribune News Service Chandigarh, December 2 Three farmers commit suicide in a day in six Malwa districts -- Sangrur, Bathinda, Mansa, Barnala, Ludhiana and Moga. This is the average of the last 15 years. A door-to-door survey in these districts has found that a total of 14,667 agricultural labourers and farmers committed suicide between 2000 and 2015. The matter was brought forth by PAU experts, who gave a presentation to the Vidhan Sabha Committee on Agrarian Suicides on November 22. While the government is yet to decide on debt relief to farmers, the study finds that at least 83 per cent of the suicides took place due to debt. Most of the victims were cotton growers. The study notes that marginal farmers (owning less than 2.47 acres) are highly vulnerable. They make 45.61 per cent of the total suicides, while small farmers (owning land between 2.47 acres and 5 acres) account for 30.53 per cent cases. Bathinda, Mansa and Sangrur districts where cotton is grown are the worst-hit. This pattern can be noticed all over India, said Prof Sukhpal Singh, who led the survey. The other authors of the survey are Dr Manjeet Kaur and Dr HS Kingra. The worst-hit district is Sangrur which recorded 3,818 suicides, followed by Mansa 3,388, Bathinda 3,094, Barnala 1,706, Moga 1,423 and Ludhiana 1,238. The state government had commissioned a survey on farm suicides to Punjabi University, Patiala, Guru Nanak Dev University, Amritsar, and PAU, Ludhiana. Earlier, Punjabi University had submitted its report on seven districts in which it had found that 1,674 suicides (781 farmers and 893 labourers) took place during 2000-16. Guru Nanak Dev University had submitted a report of 2000-10 and found a total of 433 suicides. Looking at the dismal scenario, the immediate steps the government should take is to announce loan moratorium for a period of one year for marginal and small farmers. The loan repayment period should be extended. The government should also start providing interest-free debt. Besides land and machinery, the defaulters house should not be auctioned to recover debt, said Prof Sukhpal. 72% victims in 15-35 age group The study has noticed that most of the victims were in the prime of their youth. It finds that 72 per cent of the victims were in the age group of 15- 35 years. Whats leading to desperation Indebtedness Rising input costs and declining profitability Falling farm employment Expensive healthcare and education High rate of interests Lowers margin and subsidies for small farmers Failure of social support system What can be done Enhance farm profitability Employment generation Cooperative farming Fix MSP keeping in view input costs, land rent Free education and healthcare facilities Farm subsidies and rationalisation Amritsar, December 2 External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj today gave promised to look into the matter of an 11-year-old Pakistani boy with hearing and speech disability, who is allegedly lodged in Amritsar jail. She has posted on Twitter in response to a Pakistani journalists news about the boys arrest. According the media reports in Pakistan, the boy was arrested in May 17 this year. He only recognises currency and national flag of his country. The Pakistan High commission in India had asked its interior ministry to locate his parents. The Amritsar jail authorities, however, denied that the boy was arrested. Hemant Sharma, DSP, said the boy was in an observation home in Faridkot. He was counselled here a few days ago and he returned the same day, he added. Tribune News Service Sangrur, December 2 Accusing the PSPCL staff of misbehaving with the villagers, residents of Benra village, under the banner of the BKU Ugraha, today gheraoed the power corporation team in their village and kept them in confinement for more than an hour. Later, the police got them freed. The team had gone to check power theft. The PSPCL team from Dhuri was led by Sub-Divisional Officer (SDO) Pardeep Garg. The team caught two cases of power theft, but when they reached near the village bus stand, villagers led by BKU (Ugraha) president Harbans Singh Ladda gheraoed the official vehicle of the staff and kept them in illegal confinement for more than an hour. They entered the houses of villagers without showing any identity card. Besides, no prominent person from the village accompanied them. The PSPCL staff misbehaved with locals. We gheraoed them for more than an hour and will do the same in future if they do not mend their ways, said Ladda. Failing to convince the villagers to let them go, SDO Garg called the Dhuri Sadar police station. We caught two cases of power theft and we did not misbehave with anyone. We have informed our seniors and will take legal action as per the order of our seniors, said the SDO. Kanika Kalia Blessed with the picture perfect fishermens villages, tall mountains and alluring landscapes, Lofoten will make you use the superlatives of word wow more than you are used to. Located north of Norway, it is an archipelago of several islands, the most notable being Hinnoya (southwestern part), Austvagoy (southern part), Gimsoy, Vestvagoy, Flakstadoy, Moskenesoya and Vroy. Planning a trip to Lofoten is no joke, especially if you have limited time and money. Lofoten is a hikers haven. From intermediate to super challenging ones, there are endless hikes you can enjoy for days. However, exploring the islands at your own pace will make you fall in love with Lofoten Islands. There is no end to the places you can visit at Lofoten. However, following are the main towns/villages which can make your itinerary: A: Pronounced Aw, A is the southernmost tip of Lofoten Islands where the highway E10 ends and is definitely worth spending an evening. From the port of Moskenes, this village is about 10 km south and the charm of the village lies in the beautiful sunset. The place offers picturesque fishing huts and beautiful landscape. Reine: If you have Lofoten as your next travel destination, it is most likely that you saw the photo of Reine. Yes, it is this cute little village that is located on multiple small islands connected by arched bridges top this with red dots in the form of rorbuers, and you got yourself a typical Lofoten keepsake photo. One of the most famous hikes of this area is to the top of Reinebringen. Sakrisoy: Nestled between Reine and Hamnoy, this place is called village of yellow huts. The village is famous for fish drying racks and stunning mountain cliffs in the background. Hamnoy: Next to Sakrisoy is the town of Hamnoy. The photo of Hamnoy bridge is in almost every article concerning Lofoten Islands. Just after crossing the Hamnoy bridge, take a detour (road Fv808) to village of Fredvang. You will pass by two iconic bridges, which truly mark the charm of the Atlantic highway and will take you to the Yttersand beach. This white sand beach will offer you different hues of blue water and has couple of hikes in the nearby mountains offering even better panoramas of the area. Ramberg: Nearly 20 km north of Hamnoy is the village of Ramberg. Ramberg Beach is one of the best surfing beaches of Lofoten, and one of few beaches that allow camping. The hike to Nubben is short but rewarding. Leknes: The administrative hub of Lofoten, Leknes is one of the biggest towns where you should fuel up. It has some amazing restaurants and a big supermarket in case you want to stock up on food. Haukland & Uttakleiveien Beach: Barely 15 minute drive from Leknes are two white sand, picture-perfect beaches Haukland and Uttakleiveien. The two beaches are separated by a mountain. Haukland beach is also a popular camping area for hikers. You have two amazing options to either do a three kilometre hike to Uttakleiveien Beach from Haukland or hike up to Mount Mannen. It will take you nearly 1.5 hours to reach to the top but the views are stunning. The hike to Mannen can be a little challenging if it has rained because trail gets slippery. So take a check on the weather. Nusfjord: Nusfjord is a cute little fishing village that has museum, old-fashioned village store, a hike to a lighthouse and a workshop of making cod liver oil. This village is situated perfectly by the sea with cliffs on the backdrop and colourful huts that make you click hundreds of photos. You can definitely spend couple of hours exploring this village. Henningsvr: Henningsvr is a small , charming fishing village located on several small islands off the southern coast of Austvagoya. The drive to this charming port town is as beautiful as the town itself. Take some time and stroll through the village. It has some amazing restaurants and cafes. To get an aerial view of two bridges connecting the small dots of lands, hike up Mount Festvagtind. Svolvaer: From historical sites to cultural attractions, Svolvaer has a lot to offer. Explore this place at your own pace as it is one of the closest cities to the mainland. You will find the most economical accommodations in this area. It has plenty of supermarkets, restaurants and cafes. If you plan to explore Lofoten from North to South Svolvaer will make for a great base to stock up all essentials. For adventure seekers, try hiking up Svolvaergeita one of the most popular hikes of the area. Lofoten has this energy that brings you close to nature. You can enjoy Lofoten for both midnight sun and northern lights. Both sights are spectacular. If you are planning a visit to Lofoten, plan to go in summer July-August, the days will be long and you will get more time to explore. Ishfaq Tantry Witness to Kashmirs history 14th century onwards, Srinagars central mosque, Jamia Masjid, continues to live to tell the tale of the times gone by. It has braved hazardous fires. It has braved historic wars. It has braved decades of bloodshed. What the architectural marvel may not be able to brave is neglect from the government, ironically at a time when it is looking to promote heritage tourism in the state. The grand mosque is located in Nowhatta area of Old Srinagar. Its wooden structure prone to hazards, the mosque has witnessed three devastating fires. However, despite these setbacks, it has survived as the principal architectural monument of Kashmir, particularly the capital Srinagar. Its beauty draws a large number of visitors as well as devotees from across the Kashmir and abroad to itself every year. Jamia is the first centralised mosque of Kashmir, which has been at the centre of all the major happenings in Kashmir, says Saleem Beigh, state convener of Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH), which has also carried out the structural analysis of the historical mosque. Mohammad Shafi Zahid, director, Archives, Archaeology & Museums department, says it is an iconic building with an overwhelming archaeological, historical, architectural and religious significance for Kashmir and the Kashmiri people. When atrocities by governors appointed by the Mughals in Kashmir peaked between the reigns of Jahangir and Shah Jahan, it was Jamia Mosque where people assembled and requested Shah Jahan, through the then Governor Zaffar Ahsan Khan, to bring down increased taxation and beggary. The shahi farmaan (royal decree) by Shah Jahan, asking the successive governors to not inflict atrocities towards Kashmiris, was inscribed on stone and still remains installed at the southern entrance of the mosque, which underlines the political significance of Jamia in Kashmir. The mosque was built by Sultan Sikandar Shah Kashmiri Shahmiri in 1394 AD and is the only major mosque in Kashmir region to have followed the Central Asian Arabic pattern of mosque construction, peculiar for its central courtyard. Its architect, Sadruddin Khorasani, had no idea or knowledge of Kashmir or its climate. Therefore, the Kashmiris did not repeat or adopt the design of the mosque anywhere as the courtyard did not suit the cold climate, Beigh says. But despite this, the sanctity of the place and layout of the mosque was retained by the Kashmiris over the years, he says, adding that INTACH has already prepared a roadmap for the preservation of the mosque and renovation of the area around it. If the government wants to renovate downtown Srinagar to promote heritage tourism, Jamia Mosque has to be at its centre, he says. Its 370 wooden pillars carved out of lofty deodars are one of the key architectural features of the mosque. They add to the grandness of the structure. However, of late, moisture, dampness and seepage have been posing a threat to the wooden structure, particularly the pillars. Recently, a group of scientists and entomologists from Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences & Technology, Srinagar, in their recent inspection report, has pointed out that at least 36 deodar pillars, on which the structure of the mosque rests, have been damaged by the dampness. The current custodian of the mosque and Hurriyat chairman Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, who is also the lead preacher at the mosque, believes that Jamia has been ignored by successive governments on the basis of ideology as the place has been under the control of the separatists. Jamia has its own centrality as far as the Muslims of Kashmir are concerned, but because I belong to a different political thought, the successive government have not paid much attention at preserving this heritage site, Mirwaiz says, adding that the Auqaf Committee, which manages the affairs of the mosque, has been consulting the experts and even approached the Archaeological Survey of India for preservation and restoration of Jamia. Points of intrigue Geetu Vaid In a world where brands sell and even authors and writers work tirelessly to establish their own brand of writing, Rakhshanda Jalil gets uncomfortable with labels of any sort, be it of gender or religion. However, with almost 80 per cent of her literary work constituting translations, the tag of being one of the most prolific writers in this domain is the one that she is happy to be associated with. Eight of her already published works involve translations of Urdu and Hindi writers right from Prem Chand to Asghar Wajahat, Saadat Hasan Manto to Intizar Husain and Shahryar to Phanishwarnath Renu. Traversing the colourful landscape of Urdu and Hindi literature be it short stories, poetry, satirical writings, novels, Rakhshanda has effectively bridged the gap and made the best of regional language literature accessible to an English-speaking audience. On the sidelines of Chandigarh Lit Fest Literati, she talks about her journey as a writer and the growing influence of translated works among a younger audience. Some excerpts: You have translated the works of several stalwarts of the Progressive Writers Movement. Has this impacted your evolution as a writer? Translations feed the work that I do. But over the years my journey in this field has moved from text to context as now when I translate I am interested in giving a long introduction rather than the three or four page intros that my initial works had. The text alone is not sufficient for me and by giving a long introduction I try to add value to the original and make the contemporary reader at home with the original in a wholistic manner. A long introduction adds an extra layer where the writer's intent fuses with a more contemporary perception. I am interested in how the original was written, why it was written and what else was being written at that time by other writers. Do you feel you are connecting with a younger and diverse audience through your work? Absolutely. Translations serve as a bridge to connect with diverse audience. For example, there are talks and sessions on Urdu poetry and writers in places like Bengaluru and Mumbai. This would not have been possible if these non-Urdu speakers did not have access to translations in English. University curricula are also changing and here, too, translations have led to this change to a large extent. Students are reading translations as well as critical writings. Critical writings of Urdu writers in English are being published by mainstream English publishers and these are selling. You have written about bold writers like Rashid Jahan and Ismat Chughtai. Your thoughts on feminism as a writer. I am attracted to independent female role models and am drawn towards writers who point out the unevenness of male-female relationships. I consider Rashid Jahan to be a path breaking writer, but for me feminism is not the domain of women only, even men can take up this cause as effectively. Several progressives whom I admire were sensitive to gender justice. Manto has done it, and so have Krishan Chander and Rajinder Singh Bedi. It is very healthy for literature to have men writing about women characters and not in a phony female voice. They are not pretending to say that they are writing from a woman's heart, they are projecting unevenness, abuse, inequality and exploitation. That is feminism too. Delhi has emerged as an important character in your books. What is it about the city that fascinates you? I feel a deep connection with the city. I have seen the demographics of the city, its urban landscape and the character change in the past four decades as I have witnessed the birth and evolution of this mega polis first hand. Its landmarks, images, monuments ... all fascinate me. Currently, I am working on an interesting collection of short stories and memoirs in which images of Delhi play an important role. The collection will feature works from four languages that are spoken in Delhi. The social narrative is getting a communal tinge. What is your take on it as most of your work deals with Urdu and writers in that language? As a person sensitive to the bitter realities of a fractured world and of a world where binaries between "us" and "them" are getting sharp, I feel it is important to go beyond just drawing attention to these. That something more involves highlighting a world where these binaries are continuously being broken. I have written a series of articles on writings in Urdu on Krishna, Rama, Guru Nanak and on festivals like Diwali and Janamashtami. These have pointed out how Muslim writers like Iqbal have written on Hindu deities, Guru Nanak and others. Iqbal not only wrote about Rama but also called him Imam-e-Hind. As it is I don't see Urdu as the language of a particular religion. There is no established theological link between Islam and Urdu. In fact, Urdu has had a strong link with Punjab and it is sad to see that it is no longer owned by Punjab in a way it should have been. Writers should not fall in this trap of radicalisation of a language. What changes as well as similarities do you see in Urdu literature before the Partition, after it and in the 21st century? The concern over communal violence has been a constant factor for writers down the ages as communal violence has not gone out of our lives even now. An overwhelming concern with violence before the Partition reflected in the writings of Manto. It continues to haunt Urdu writers even today as reflected in the collection of short stories called Pigeons of the Dome: Stories on Communalism However, nationalism, a major concern before Independence, is not that visible now. The modernist writers have also veered the narratives from a social concern of the Progressives to a more individualistic and personal images. Sudha Mahalingam Cartography may be a science, but planning your trek using only maps certainly is not, not when the destination is the high Himalayas, not when you are 60 plus. Originally, our plan was to trek to Annapurna Base Camp, at 13,000 feet, over six or seven days from Pokhara, that picturesque lakeside town in Nepal. But poring over the map spread on the dining table, I had a brainwave. Nepals legendary Mustang province, home to Khampas, those irresistibly roguish Tibetan bandits who valiantly tried to repulse the Chinese advancing into their beloved land, and Lhobas, also of Tibetan origin, seemed to be in the same Annapurna Conservation Area. So why not extend our trek to Lo Manthang, the capital of Upper Mustang fabled for its Buddhist art treasures? On the map, it seemed doable. Parvathi, my friend from Bangalore, jumped at the idea. Her father had trekked all the way from Kathmandu to Mustang in hold your breath 1956. He had taken along elaborate camping gear and an entourage of porters, cooks and guides. This exotic destination was a family legend of sorts among her kith and kin. How exciting it would be to retrace his footsteps, long after he himself was gone! Suhasini was indifferent after all, sitting in San Diego, she had not bothered to look up the map. All she did was to grumble about the length of the trip 24 days. For all three of us in our sixties (two of us past the midway mark), the prospect of a continuous 24-day trek should have been daunting, to say the least. But a delightful recklessness had overtaken us and Mustang became part of our itinerary. So, here we were, huffing and puffing up the heaps of rocks that make up the trekking trail to Annapurna Base Camp (ABC). Starting our trek at Nayapul, 80 km from Pokhara, we failed to notice that most trekkers rattled past us in SUVs, to start climbing from further up the trail, beyond the vehicle track from a village called Siwai. It took us the better part of the day to reach Siwai itself, after which we had another five hours of climb to Jinu Dhanda, our first pitstop. It was getting dark and we were stumbling through bramble and bush with an unseen river Kali Gandaki roaring in the adjacent precipitous gorge. After a couple of hours, we reached an unimaginatively (and repetitively) named village called New Bridge where we flopped in a heap and called it a day. We were at least three hours from Jinu. When you trip up on the very first day, there is little hope of catching up. Suman, our agent in Kathmandu, and Dinesh, our guide, seem to have some imaginative notions of trekking distances which, in these parts, are not measured in kilometres or miles, but by the number of hours. Accordingly, our night halts had been planned according to the speed and prowess of habitual trekkers of Sherpa calibre, certainly not suitable for hobbling sexagenarians with wheezing lungs and crackling knees. Trekking at senior pace would not have been that much of a problem had we not combined the Mustang leg to our initial plan. Part of the Mustang trip from Pokhara to Jomsom could have been done by plane or rickety buses for which tickets would have to be booked from Kathmandu. Suman was unsure of our pace and the date on which we would make this journey. He had, therefore, taken the easy way out (for himself) and designed a trek that would take us straight from ABC to Jomsom through some of the steepest ranges of the Himalaya, without touching Pokhara. We would be cruising if you can call it that above 12,000 feet throughout the trek on a route guaranteed to wreck anyones knee-joints, including those of Tenzing Norgay himself. With Dinesh reminding us of our tight schedule and cracking the whip mercilessly, we had no option but to plod on gamely through the treacherous trekking trail to Annapurna Base Camp. Besides, failure to reach the next hamlet on any day would mean freezing under a starry sky at minus temperatures. At every bend and turn, we were straining our rheumy eyes to catch a glimpse of that tell-tale fluttering prayer flag, which marks the entrance to a hamlet. After all, spotting it literally signified the difference between life and death. Each hamlet on the ABC trail most of them have just five or six households has a few rooms that go by the honorific teahouses where trekkers lodge and board, unless they carry their own tents and stoves. There is no advance booking in the teahouses, you just arrive and grab a bed. At times when there are more trekkers than rooms, you might even be asked to share a room with perfect strangers. In some hamlets, even the dining halls were packed with weary trekkers, their sleeping bags rolled out over every inch of covered space. Fortunately, for us, our porters had skipped ahead and grabbed rooms for us in the teahouses all along the way. By far, the most daunting challenge of the trek for us was the prospect of accomplishing our daily ablutions. Teahouses invariably have just a single squat toilet used by every passing trekker, trader, porter, guide and the villagers themselves. Flexible knees apart, you need strong bladder and bowels to withstand the inevitable wait that entails. From day four, as we gained height, the air became thin and so did our wallets. Charging phones, cameras, iPads or taking a hot shower costs you a bomb as the altitude increases. The rarified air may not give you a heart attack, but the price of wi-fi certainly will. But then, families back home have to be reassured, and more importantly, friends on Facebook have to be made envious. And when you finally reach the base of the mighty Annapurna and have taken your regulation photographs, smugness comes to you effortlessly. Smirking at those poor souls plodding up the steep slopes, you patronise them cheerfully. Just a little bit more, youre almost there, a blatant lie when they have at least three to four more hours of this excruciating uphill trudge. The far more challenging trek to Upper Mustang still awaited us, but for the moment, we could savour our small triumph of having reached ABC. Beacon Unitarian Universalist Congregation: 510 N. Leroux. Sunday's message is "Growing a Culture of Hope." beaconuu.com. Calvary Bible Church: 6555 Townsend-Winona Road. Sunday teaching by Pastor Aaron Hulbert on "The Advent." Adult Bible study Sunday followed by worship service. Evening service. Christmas caroling Friday, Dec. 8. calvarybiblechurchflagstaff.com. Center for Spiritual Living: Ponderosa HS, 2384 N. Steves Blvd. Guest speaker Steve Dohse; guest musician Dorris Muramatsu; meditation facilitated by Ned Wolf. 522-9103. Christ's Church of Flagstaff: 3475 E. Soliere Ave. Each weekend this month we will answer "Why Christmas?" and find the hope and joy for all of us during this hectic season. Help The Gift of Warmth Coat drive to benefits our Northern Az community and drop off a new or gently used warm winter coat (all sizes welcomed) at any weekend service. ccof.church. Christian Science Society of Flagstaff: 619 W. Birch Ave. The subject of Sunday's sermon is "God the Only Cause and Creator." Wednesday testimony meetings. Our Christian Science Reading Room, a quiet place for prayer and study, is open from 4-5:30 on Wednesdays and 10-noon on Saturdays or by appointment. 556-0510. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormon): Sunday services held at four Flagstaff locations: 4165 S. Lake Mary Road, 625 E. Cherry Ave., 2401 E. Linda Vista Dr. and, for young single adults, 239 E. Saunders Dr. Meetings are also held in Williams at 1111 Stockmens Road and at the Shrine of the Ages on the South Rim of the Grand Canyon. Check azdailysun.com or "Locations and Schedules" at LDS.org for meeting times by ward/branch. Sunday services consist of Sacrament Meeting, Sunday School and special instruction for various age and interest groups (Priesthood Meeting for men, Relief Society for women, Young Men/Young Women for youth and Primary for children). Church of the Resurrection: 740 W. University Heights Drive South. It's Communion Sunday and the first Advent of the Christmas season. Pastor Bob Norton preaches on "Arise, Shine, for Your Light Has Come" based on Isaiah 60:1 and Galatians 4:4-7. We welcome back our beloved Patty Gross as worship leader this weekend. Gifts are needed from our Angel Tree to benefit kids who have an incarcerated parent. We are also hosting the homeless this week. Contribute and bring an evening snack or cook a morning breakfast or bring warm clothes and socks for our homeless guests. DivorceCare starting Monday, Dec. 4 at 5:30 p.m. This is a non judgemental, supportive program that helps folks navigate through the dark waters of despair and find hope. 699-2715. cor-pca.org. Congregation Lev Shalom: 2609 N. Patterson Blvd. Rabbi Mindie Snyder will lead Shabbat morning services today and Erev Shabbat Services on Friday. 527-8747 levshalomaz.org. Eckankar: Who You Are and Why You're Here-Spiritual Chat: Sunday, 11:15 a.m.-12:15 p.m. Flagstaff Public Library-Jan Romero Stevens Room, 300 W. Aspen. Discuss out-of-body adventures, dreams, deja vu, near-death experiences, seeing an inner light, hearing an inner sound, or having a sense that you have lived before. All paths and walks of life are welcome. eckankarblog.org. 814-8569. eck-arizona.org. Episcopal Church of the Epiphany: 423 N. Beaver St. Deacon Scott Deasy preaches and Priest Marianna Gronek celebrates at all services this weekend. Our Adult Forum begins a 3-week series based on the book All Earth is Waiting, connecting scripture to our responsibility to protect the Earth. This Sunday, Roger Clark, Program Director of the Grand Canyon Trust, speaks about "Environmental Hazards on the Colorado Plateau." This weekend we will also pray for the 33 Million persons currently living with HIV/AIDS, as well as their families, and those who are researching treatments and possible cures. 774-2911. epiphanyaz.org. Flagstaff Christian Fellowship: 123 S. Beaver St. This week Pastor Steve Cole's message will be "Raising Godly Generations" fromDeuteronomy 6:1-25 followed by communion. Nursery is available for both services. 774-3603. fcfonline.org. Flagstaff Federated Community Church: 400 W. Aspen Ave. This Sunday we will gather for World Communion services as Pastor Jessica also begins a new worship series called, "Love Does." Pastor Jessica draws inspiration from Matthew 1:18-23 for today's worship called, "I'm With You." The Wired Word class will continue to examine current events while the Christian Living Class will begin studying, "Love Does" by Bob Goff. Children's Church does not meet the first Sunday of the month. Childcare is available for both services. 774-7383. flagstafffederatedchurch.org. Flagstaff Unity Church: 417 W. Santa Fe Ave. Rev. Gwen Ethelbah is our speaker. Her message is titled "The Challenge of Being a Child of God." Children's church is available. Fellowship follows the service. 526-8893. unityofflagstaff.org. First Congregational Church of Flagstaff, United Church of Christ: 740 N. Turquoise Dr. This is the First Sunday of Advent. The Rev. Dr. George Ault, interim pastor, will preach on "Timing is Everything" based on I Corinthians 1:3-9 and Mark 13:24-37. Church Prayer Circle will meet on Tuesday at noon. 774-0890, fccflagstaff.org. Greenlaw Baptist Church: 3400 E. Lockett Road. Sunday School classes for all ages. Pastor Manny Martinez will bring the message:"Qualities of God's Great Salvation" John 6:35-44 at our morning service. Our monthly potluck will follow the morning service. Thursday worship service is followed by dinner and breakout groups, including our Celebrate Recovery program. If you have an addiction, we can help you in this program. This is a non-judgmental, caring approach to your problem. 526-4939. Holy Cross Orthodox Church: 6134 Black Bill Road. '9th Hour Morning prayer' and Divine Liturgy with Father Basil. 480-991-3009. holycrossflagstaff.org/. Living Christ Lutheran Church: 6401 N. US Highway 89. Worship through music, teaching, prayer and sacraments. Service time: 9:30 a.m. Fellowship time after service. Pastor Kurt Fangmeier will be leading worship. 526-8595. livingchristflagstaff.org. Peace Lutheran Church: 3430 N. Fourth St. "The Call of Christmas" series Sunday topic is "Zechariah: A Call To Prepare." Pastor Pape will be teaching on these subjects during the worship services in Advent. Christmas Eve we will have a combined service in the morning at 10 a.m., and a candlelight service at 7 p.m. 526-9578. peacelutheranchurch.org. Refuge: A Flagstaff Community Church: 4000 Cummings St. God's word, fellowship and worship. Sunday school available for children. 607-5728. facebook.com/refugeinflagstaff/. The Religious Society of Friends (Quaker): Flagstaff Friends Meeting House, 402 S. Beaver St. At our unprogrammed Quaker Meeting we meet in silence of expectant listening. A meeting may be completely silent, or, as more often happens, someone will feel moved to speak, to share something which may be of help or guidance to others. 779-3517. flagstaffquakers.org/. Shepherd of the Hills Lutheran Church: 1601 N. San Francisco St. Coming to the Manger Advent 1 Service is tonight and Sunday morning. Worship through music, teaching, prayer. Pastor Adam Barnhart will be leading our worship. Readings for service: Isaiah 64:1-9 with Psalm 80:17-18, 1 Corintahians 1:3-9, Gospel: Mark 13:24-37. Fellowship time follows Sunday service. Trinity Heights United Methodist Church: 3600 N. Fourth St. Traditional worship service with a choir or casual communion worship service. The morning message is "While we wait..." with scriptures coming from Matthew 24:36-44. Wednesday at 1 p.m. is our Prayer Shawl Christmas Party. Bring a friend and some cookies to share. On Saturday, Dec. 9, we will be having our Second Saturday Retreat beginning at 9 a.m. in the Music Room. The retreat will help set a better pace this this Advent Season. 526-1397. thumc.com. Western Navajo Bible Fellowship: Navajo Nation. WNBF released its church camp meeting/fellowships/conferences schedule. WNBF works with Flagstaff Mission to the Navajos at times. For speaker specifics or times, call WNBF at 928-209-3800 or FMN at 928-774-7332. Jan. 13 - Tuba City First Baptist Church, WNFBF annual meeting. Online listing of VAW cases from Dec 11 Come December 11, incidents of any form of violence against women can be registered online. Manu Moudgil A pencil box, a woolen jumper suit, a war medal, a stethoscope, these are just a few static things that gain life when voices start telling their stories. As you pick the wall-mounted receivers next to them, things become belongings. So we have Savitri bai remembering her son Vinod who used that pencil box, Sajids mother can still feel him in the jumper suit, the war medal once decorated the chest of Aneesa Banos father and that stethoscope helped Dr HH Trivedi diagnose many who were condemned to live a slow death. At Remember Bhopal, the first community-led museum of India, voices of survivors lead you through the biggest industrial disaster of the world that killed over 5,000 people, maimed hundreds of thousands and continues to contaminate land and water even after 33 years. The leakage of methyl isocyanate gas on December 3, 1984, from the chemical plant of Union Carbide India Limited in Bhopal made it to the history textbooks, but its here that one confronts the enormity of this man-made tragedy. The place, managed by the Remember Bhopal Trust, came as a response to the Madhya Pradesh governments announcement to build a museum on the factory site. We feel that the government is complicit in this crime and hence its narrative would always be faulty. At the same time, we wanted a place to commemorate those who perished and also preserve the individual memories of loss and struggle, says survivor activist Rasheeda Bi. These feelings resonated with museologist Rama Lakshmi who, having already worked on similar projects in the United States, offered her expertise. Keeping the memory of trauma and lingering injustice is very important to the community of survivors. I am a vocal advocate of using oral histories and wanted to introduce a new museum template in India one that chronicles difficult contemporary stories, and social justice struggles, Lakshmi says. This collaboration transformed four rooms and one hall way of a rented duplex flat into a lived experience. Immersive design Dark walls convey feeling of the night while overhead pipes depict the factory. Voices start talking about the wee hours of December 3, 1984, when birds started dropping from the sky and infants died sucking on milk bottles. The Black Room has belongings of the dead and personal accounts of those who endured life. The earliest black-and-white photographs portray people with bandaged eyes and children sharing shrouds. A hallway next to the room is called the Anderson Room. Here journalists and activists talk about how the tragedy was waiting to happen and the ease with which company owner Warren Anderson flew back to America within 24 hours of his arrest. We did not want to follow a timeline chronology in the layout. Immediately after the Black Room of the gas disaster, the logical curiosity of the visitor would be to see if people were punished. That is why the Anderson Room is the next. The layout follows a cognitive pattern, she adds. The Medicine Room has tales of survivors and their next generations who inherited the contamination and live with mental and physical diseases. They are joined by new families affected by the contaminated water as the factory site is yet to be cleaned of toxic dump. Empty medicine bottles and assistive devices form the exhibits and photographs form the backdrop. Ruby Parvez talks about her son who was born with deformed limbs: We, the victims, alone know our mental condition. We will obviously support the other victims. Thats why I married one victim. Even with paralysed children we still support each other. We give hope to each other that in near future our children will be cured of all the ailments. We still have hope! From the pits of tragedy and despair, a flight of stairs takes you to skies of hope and determination. The upper level of the building has walls decked with torches, loudspeakers, banners, brooms and various other art forms used by protesters over the years to jolt the society out of its business-as-usual approach. Women activists have been the core strength of this struggle which is why they also get greater representation here, informs Rasheeda Bi. Songs of protest can be heard from the receivers, as also the strong voices of those who are willing to give a fitting reply. One song has a girl complaining to her mother about difficulty in climbing steps of the palace because her eyes are burning and throat gone hoarse with cough. Another one has a woman speaking for all residents of Bhopal willing to triumph over darkness. Activists, both from the affected and unaffected communities, become part of the narrative. On one wall hang painter Ganga Rams rollers and paint bottles, which he used while working with Dutch sculptor Ruth Waterman to make the iconic mother-child statue that symbolises the gas tragedy. A lawyers handbook comes with voice of advocate Santosh Kumar who used it to fight cases of compensation for survivors. To bridge the class divide There are not many places in India that commemorate a tragedy and subsequent fight back. Unlike the Holocaust memorials in many countries or the museums about atomic bombings in Japan, theres little effort made to remember here as is evident from the 70 years it took us to have a museum about 1947 Partition. Bhopal has also become just another chapter in history textbooks with little bearing on industrial safety, as is evident from recent blast at NTPC power plant in Uttar Pradesh and collapse of a plastic manufacturing unit in Ludhiana. At both individual and societal levels, we struggle against memory. The museum is here so that we dont commit the same mistakes of ignoring safety procedures, of laxity in dealing with corporate crime as also weak healthcare and ecological response, says Suresh Joseph, a member of the Remember Bhopal Trust. The initiative is also trying to bridge the class divide in Bhopal. The gas leak affected old city area, inhabited mostly by poor. New Bhopal with its middle class families often see the gas affected as those who are always asking for compensation. The museum is changing that perception as more and more people, especially students, from newer part of the city are visiting us and getting informed about the inadequate relief measures, Joseph informs. The contributors want to keep the museums narrative fluid as the tragedy is still unfolding through contamination of land and water. There was a plan to mount the items on a bus which would travel across the country for a year and collect stories from other industrial disaster sites, but there was not enough funding. A lot more is required to be done. The second and third generation of the gas affected who are born with disabilities need greater representation. We should also run a documentary film on the tragedy, says Rasheeda Bi. Despite the limitations, however, Remember Bhopal Museum can be an inspiration for other peoples movements on how to persist and preserve. Harish Khare IT will be 25 years this Wednesday (December 6) when India changed. And changed for the worse. On that day, a successful assault was made on the Babri Masjid. Brick by brick, stone by stone, the medieval mosque was brought down, vandalised and desecrated. That was the day managers of the Indian State failed its citizens and defaulted on their oath to uphold the Constitution of India. Chicanery, cynicism and timidity dictated Prime Minister Narasimha Raos strategy of profound inertia. The last of the Nehruvian elite was tested for its commitment to the ideals of secularism and, was found wanting. A Chief Justice of India (M. Venkatachaliah) found himself two-timed by a muffasil Chief Minister (Kalyan Singh). The judiciary lost its lustre and respect. More than its image, the judiciary lost its institutional reputation as the protector of fundamental rights of all citizens. It fell to a brave judge, Justice JS Verma, to retrieve the judiciary's lost prestige a few years later, and to firewall the apex court from the scheming politicians. December 6, 1992, was the culmination of LK Advanis misconceived political mischief. His so-called Rath Yatra, from Somnath to Ayodhya, had been designed to excite and incite the Hindu masses and mobilise them in the service of the BJPs narrow power games. This Advani-led journey to the December 6 demolition uncorked a process. New rougher forces and tougher politicians got an entree into the political arena and they have since refused to leave the ring. For a while, they needed the respectability of an Atal Bihari Vajpayee, behind whom they could hide their claws; but there was no rolling back of what December 6, 1992 had rolled out. The 2002 Gujarat was the next natural pit-stop. Politics is not without its capacity for meting poetic justice, even if in rough proportions. LK Advani finds himself reduced to a dispensable family elder. The people he promoted and protected in Gujarat had no qualms in unsentimentally shafting him. There is a certain naturalness to the progression from 1992 to 2002 to 2014. And, the battle is far from over. ******************** DR Justice Adarsh Sein Anand passed away a few days ago. Not much has been written about the firm leadership he provided in the defence of the Constitution at a very critical time in the life of our republic. He was the Chief Justice at a time when the Vajpayee government, flush with the 1999 Lok Sabha victory, sought to put in play the Sangh Parivars oldest game: of junking the Constitution. The BJP hardliners insisted on constituting a National Commission to review the Constitution. Since the Jan Sangh days, the saffron party has not been very comfortable with the liberal, federal, and parliamentary features of the Ambedkar-Nehru Constitution. After the 1999 victory, the BJP leadership thought it had the mandate to rewrite the Constitution. Fortuitously, the President of India was KR Narayanan and Justice Anand was the Chief Justice. Both thought otherwise. The Constitution worked fine for them. And, that was that. While President Narayanan used the public platform to warn against any tinkering with the Constitution, Chief Justice Anand let it be known that the only authorised platform where the Constitution could be reviewed was the apex court. I remember meeting Chief Justice Anand at a banquet in Rashtrapati Bhavan in January, 2000. With Prime Minister Vajpayee and a few central ministers standing just a few feet away, he whispered to me, indicating towards the ministerial cluster, These guys do not know what they are getting into. He saw to it that the government renamed the panel as the National Commission to Review the Working of the Constitution. His behind-the-scene pressure also encouraged Attorney-General Soli Sorabjee to slow down things a bit. He counselled that the panel be composed of respected legal luminaries rather than BJP party hacks; in the event, it came to be headed by a former chief justice, Justice MN Venkatachaliah. Even though a few second-rate BJP spear-carriers sneaked in, the legal luminaries on the commission saw to it that the entire exercise added up to nothing. A very serious mischief was nipped in the bud. All this because of the stern and steady leadership that Justice Anand as Chief Justice provided, that too without seeking any limelight for himself. ******************** DR Kumar Panipati of Panipat is an old-fashioned man of letters. Indeed, he signs off his communications as Yours in the service of education & literature. He is one of our seniormost readers. That makes him a man of reason, moderation and sensitivity. Like all reasonable men, Dr Kumar Panipati is unable to understand the logic and motive behind changing the name of Dyal Singh College. He thinks it is like committing a murder, pure and simple. He is so unhappy that he penned a poem, trying to gauge the anguished spirit of Sardar Dyal Singh Majithia. He has very kindly provided the English translation as well: Maine toh sada qaum ko seenei se lagaya! Is desh ke kan-kan ko aqeedat se sajaya! Har shakhs ki har siski ko aawaz banaya! Ik mo'jaza us daur mein bhi kar ke dikhaya! Maine jo galat kuchh bhi kiya ho toh bata do! Kyon meri aqidat ko bhulate ho azeezo? Kiyon aaj nishan mera mitatei ho azeezo? Kis saaz ki kis taan peh gaate ho azeezo? Kyon aap meri arthi uthate ho azeezo? Kis jurm ki detei ho saza, yeh toh bata do? English translation: I always under all circumstances stood for my nation; I adored with devotion every particle of my motherland; I gave voice to every sigh of every countryman; I worked wonders even in those highly critical times; Pray, tell me, then, if I had done anything wrong? Why do you push, dear countrymen, my whole-hearted devotion under the carpet? Why do you intend, dear country men, to root me out like this? To which tune of which musical instrument are you out to set your song? Why are you, dear countrymen, bent upon writing my name off? For what crime of mine is the punishment being inflicted upon me, pray tell me this at least? Thanks are due to Dr Panipati for voicing the dismay of the people of Punjab over grave disservice to the public memory of a great son of Punjab and that, too, in the noble name of Vande Mataram. ******************** ON impulse, I decided to stop by at the Book Fair organised by Rupa Publications in Lajpat Rai Bhavan in Chandigarh. It was the first day of a five-day show and it was very pleasing to see very many people, including young men and women, browsing and purchasing books. There is something superior, noble about books. It was a compact arrangement, inviting visitors to browse at leisure. And there was an incentive a 10 per cent discount, not much, but it is better than nothing. I ended up purchasing 13 books, worth more than Rs 5,000. Some of them, like Wendy Donigers On Hinduism, of course, would not be read immediately but should be in ones library; others like HM Patels Rites of Passage, Durga Das India From Curzon to Nehru and After have been read on loan and since returned to their rightful owners. I could not ignore Hillary Clintons What Happened, her take on the last US presidential election. Nor could I pass up P Chidambarams Fearless in Opposition. And, then, there was Saeed Naqvis Being the Other. It simply could not be ignored. I guess the advantage of an exhibition of this kind is that a publishing house can showcase most of its books at one go, offering the prospective reader a complete view. The experience is different, forcing a reader to make a choice from among a large number of books. It is certainly different from browsing in a bookshop, where the constraints of marketing and space force a bookseller to stock only the very latest tomes. And a book fair is certainly very different from online shopping or buying books in a hurry at an airport. I wish the exhibition was displayed in a less cramped space. It is worth a visit, even though the organisers had not thought of offering a cup of coffee to the visitors. Well, coffee is not everyones cup of tea. Join me. kaffeeklatsch@tribuneindia.com Saba Naqvi I have to confess my mind is in a tizzy between what's fact and what is fiction because in our great land it seems both are interchangeable. My first question is this: between Rani Padmavati and Rahul Gandhi, who is real and who is fictional? I am told with some authority by my brave and trustworthy friends in the Karni Sena and some valiant members of the BJP that Rani Padmavati is for real and is, therefore, a symbol of Rajput pride (and such symbols, most importantly, never dance). Never mind that the Rani actually appears as a character in the epic poem Padmavat written in 1540 by Sufi poet Malik Mohammad Jaisi in Awadhi. Imagine that, a character created by a Muslim poet is now a symbol of honour for some Rajputs! I do, however, wonder why this lot never got offended by the constant depiction of the evil Thakur in Hindi cinema who twirled his moustache and surrounded by henchmen often kidnapped the heroine? Maybe because no one gave them the time of day back in the old days. Now, of course we live in more enlightened times where every donkey has his day in the TV limelight and thereby his honour to protect. There is an even more serious question I need to ask: Is Rahul Gandhi a Hindu, Christian or Martian? (God forbid he turns out to be a Muslim.) Let me admit that till Rahul began to quote Gabbar Singh jokes and visit temples in Gujarat, I partly believed he was a mythical character in the Congress; here today, gone tomorrow. But now that he's turned out to be for real, I, like many good nation-loving fellow Indians, am troubled to discover that he may be a Catholic. It would not be good for national pride in the future if an Indian leader kissed the ring of the Pope (although dare I say that an Indian PM hugging world leaders who look rather reserved only elevates our status as a nation of warm and loving people). I began to take the matter of Rahul's religion seriously after I switched on my TV and found an honourable member of the BJP (who is rumoured to have wed outside the Hindu community and whose offspring has apparently done likewise) reveal to the nation that there is a church inside the premises of 10 Janpath. One can only imagine how much praying, proselytising and conversion goes on and I am so glad that the BJP has brought this pressing matter before the people. Along with some famous anchors, they have demanded to know if Rahul is a Catholic or a Hindu. Imagine that: we a nation of proud Hindus (never mind those on the lower end of the caste scale who are treated like dirt) have been duped by Catholics into believing they were Hindus. Shame on us. I understand that the future of the Gujarat elections hinges on this and a few other important questions and I am grateful to the BJP for bringing them to public attention. These include: Can Hardik Patel have sex, can a Muslim man marry a Hindu woman, is Rahul a Catholic and did Jawaharlal Nehru oppose the construction of the Somnath Temple? For every GST the BJP produces a Padmavati, so hats off to it. For every Hardik, a CD awaits so the election quite sizzles. Equally fascinating is the manner in which late Congress man Sardar Patel continues to be valourised by the BJP, as if he was a member of the party and not the individual who banned the RSS. Then there is always Ahmed Patel, political secretary to Sonia Gandhi, who was born in Bharuch in Gujarat, educated in a South Gujarat University and there was an age when he was not seen as a Muslim first but known as Babubhai Patel and he did win three Lok Sabha elections from Bharuch. But in time, his Muslim identity was uncovered and he now enters Parliament through the Rajya Sabha route as the nation discovered earlier this year. Rahul's Catholic identity is harder to prove as he is the great grandson of Jawaharlal Nehru who was from a Kashmiri Pandit family of Allahabad (although we have it on good authority from high-level RSS intellectuals that he was a Muslim-loving atheist and communist). The Brahmin bloodline, however, gets diluted when Rahul's grandmother Indira married a Parsi, Feroz Gandhi. Amazing why no one asked Rajiv Gandhi if he was a Parsi? To add to the chaos, Sonia is definitely born a Catholic and it's possible she has been quietly subverting this Brahmin household from within. The Nehru-Gandhis should have understood that national interest is best served by checking caste, community and gotra before any coupling. So is Rahul a Hindu will continue to be asked. Does it matter? Should it matter? Do pigs have wings? Frankly, I would be delighted if he turned out to be a member of some secret cult as opposed to all organised religion but then I don't count. M Aamir Khan in Srinagar The winter is here, and the Kashmir valley has become a bird watchers paradise. Over three lakh winged guests of different varieties have arrived from Europe, Central and North Asian countries, and their number is expected to witness a three-fold rise by February, when the water level in the wetlands rises. Their rush from as far as Siberia begins from November: the winged guests flock to the wetlands of the Valley and make Kashmir their temporary home. This is despite the wetlands getting shrunk over the years. We receive at least eight lakh migratory birds annually. This winter there are sixty-eight varieties of them, says wildlife warden (wetlands) Abdul Rauf Zargar. So, you have Kingfisher, Brahminy Duck, Garganey, Greylag Goose, Mallard, Common Merganser, Northern Pintail, Common Pochard, Ferruginous Pochard, Tufted Duck, Gadwall, Eurasian Wigeon, Northern Shoveler, Common Teal, Red-Crested Pochard and Ruddy Shelduck and so many others. The Hokersar, near city outskirts, is known as the queen of wetlands, and is most popular among bird watchers. These winged guests have become fewer mainly due to encroachments on the wetlands. As per official data, Hokersars over 208 acres have been taken over by encroachers in the last 27 years. Zargar says the wildlife department has taken several steps to restore the natural habitat of these birds. The J&K High Court last month gave the state government three months to complete the demarcation of the wetlands with the help of Geographical Information System (GIS) technology. The birds also face threats from poachers, unscientific waste disposal and noise pollution. The devastating floods of 2014 too had affected the wetlands as its beds had been raised by several feet following heavy influx of silt. There are around 1,200 water bodies in Kashmir. Nine wetlands and nature reserves managed by the Wildlife Department were notified in 1945. Their demarcation has not been carried out. The High Court in October last directed that the demarcation exercise should be completed in all respects within three month, beyond which no extension of time would be sought. The court has also directed revenue authorities to fully cooperate in carrying out the exercise. The nine wetlands and nature reserves that are managed by the department of wildlife and are to be demarcated using GIS include three conservation reserves of Khrew, Khimber and Kilsar/Dara/Sharazbal. The six wetland reserves in Kashmir currently being managed by the wildlife department include Hokersar (Srinagar/ Budgam), Mirgund (Baramulla), Shalbugh (Ganderbal), Hygam (Baramulla), Malgam (Bandipora) and Pampore (Pulwama). Vijay C Roy in Chandigarh A few days back Ivanka Trump, adviser and daughter of US President Donald Trump, was in Hyderabad for a three-day Global Entrepreneurship Summit. The theme Women First, Prosperity for All carried an air of superficiality about it as 1,500 entrepreneurs, investors and eco-system supporters from over 159 countries were supposed to be in attendance. There was pomp, no whys and wherefores as such. Yet, for India, three key indications emerged: * India is the worlds seventh-largest economy at market exchange rates, according to International Monetary Fund data. The country has over 260 million living in extreme poverty, according to World Bank data. * In 2013, the International Labour Organization presented a strange finding: Even in a period of economic growth and rising wages, Indian women were dropping out of the workforce, from around 37% in 2004-05 down to 29% in 2009-10. * PC maker Dell and Washington-based consulting firm Global Entrepreneurship and Development Institute conducted a gender-focused global survey. Of the 17 countries surveyed, India ranks 16th, just above Uganda. Countries such as Turkey, Morocco and Egypt have outperformed India. Kanchan Khatana, a legal & HR professional with over two decades of experience in the service industry, compiled his research work with Hitesh Kumar Gulati, another HR consultant. Poor financial freedom, no direct ownership of property, a paradox of entrepreneurial skill & finance, a lack of interaction with successful entrepreneurs are some of the problems plaguing women entrepreneurship in India, says Khatana. Yet, there are success stories from northern India. Here are some of them: Pick a team After completing MCA, Chhavi Firani started off as a programmer. In 2012 she decided to become an entrepreneur. She incorporated Dikonia, an IT company providing business process automation software. Initially, she worked from home for about 10 months. Then she shifted to an office space in Mohali. Its been over five years since I started Dikonia, and it has been a wonderful journey. The company has plans for overseas offices. Her husband and brother, who is also her business partner, have helped her. I have been a peoples person, so I want to do something where I can interact with a lot of people. Initially, I worked with an IT company for 9 years, and I was managing a fairly large team. Then I wanted to switch to managing a smaller team. That is how the idea of Dikonia emerged. She has a 25-member team serving the overseas market. Her message: Be ready for hard work. Do not get bogged down by the feeling of guilt of neglecting your family. It all works out fine at the end. Ecotourism: Think differently Conserving nature is a passion for Pooja Chopra. She pursued her Ph.D. in Ecotourism from Faculty of Management Studies (FMS), Delhi University. She worked on community-based ecotourism projects for gathering research data, which inspired her to go in-depth into environmental studies. She did another post-graduation from Yale University. In 2015 she came up with Orlina Ventures Pvt. Ltd, a consulting enterprise working towards business, social and environment sustainability. It provides research-based services in conceptualizing & developing nature-based projects and environment conservation initiatives at national parks, zoos, eco-theme parks, wetlands, nature camping sites and the like with an emphasis on uplifting the local community. We plan, execute and control every aspect of the project life cycle. We integrate information technology through interactive gears like websites, mobile applications and online advertising for increasing the effectiveness of our offerings, says Pooja. About funding, she says initially she invested all her savings into the new venture. Within a year, Orlina became self-sustainable. Her message: The toughest challenge is when people get insecure over a woman entrepreneurs success. Knowledge is the key. Keep upgrading yourself. Be honest to yourself. Stick to your roots Monika Choudhary is daughter of an architect-mother and a financial consultant father. Entrepreneurial skills were a part of her upbringing. Besides being an entrepreneur, I am also wife of architect Zafar Choudhary, she says. Choudhary is director at Habitat Architects and MonaZafar Design Pvt Ltd. Based in Ludhiana, Monika is originally from Chandigarh. She is a postgraduate in sociology and a NIFT Delhi product. She also received additional education from Ecole De La Chambre Sydicale De La Couture (Paris). She has been working in fashion and interior designing for two decades. Monika has created her unique signature style that subtly draws from her Indian roots. She has numerous interior design projects and fashion ramps to her credit. I have learnt the value of building a wall brick by brick. I have upgraded my understanding of start-up funds and entrepreneurial schemes through government programmes. Her message: Always think of the bigger picture. Persistence, continuous upgrading your skills and planning your immediate next step can be your success mantra. The fabric of change After three years as a brand and product manager for a fashion line, Tanvi Malik decided to start her own venture with co-founder Shivani Poddar who worked as an investment banker. Their FabAlley, an end-to-end online fashion brand for young, fashion-forward women, is incorporated. The products sold online and offline are designed and manufactured in-house. I may never have pursued fashion per se, but the nuances of design, the play of silhouettes and minute details of fabrics inspired me, says Tanvi. We started in 2012. There were only a few fashion brands in India selling globally trendy western wear for women at affordable prices. So we saw a golden opportunity to launch a fashion brand for women like us who have discerning tastes but live on tight monthly budgets, says Tanvi. We have seen a remarkable growth in five years: from 50 orders a day in 2012 to over 2,000 now. The company provides direct and indirect employment to over 500 people. Challenges & a message: When we started working on FabAlley, it was just the two of us, in a small office, working on everything from website design, supply chain, the back-end and logistics. One huge challenge was building a vendor base. The bigger challenge was hiring. We soon realized that people think that they need to have it all figured out before starting up. This is not true. As long as you have a clear idea of what you want to do, you should take the plunge. Sushil Manav in Chandigarh The khula darbar culture is not new for chief ministers, ministers and bureaucrats at district level in Haryana. The trend goes back to three decades when Chaudhary Devi Lal, who became chief minister in 1987, started it. Later, his son Om Prakash Chautala who remained chief minister for three brief terms since 1989 to 2005 used the darbar culture to the hilt. From July 24, 1999, to March 4, 2005, Chautala organized more than 400 khula darbars and visited each of the 90 assembly segments of the state at least four times in these nearly six years. During these darbars, Chautala made nearly 80,000 announcements about development activities, including those at the village level such as construction of streets, drains or boundary walls of cremation grounds, said an officer who was associated with these darbars. A retired officer of the development and panchayat department says most of the announcements were routine small village level development works which should best have been decided by panchayats themselves. In a way, all the powers of the panchayats were usurped and the decisions which should have been taken at the village chaupal were announced by the CM office, he said. Former CMs Bansi Lal and Bhupinder Singh Hooda never believed in these darbars, while Bhajan Lal held informal meetings, especially in his own Adampur assembly segment. Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar started it off from his home constituency within a month of taking over in 2014 and covered all the districts of the state before launching the CM Window, a digital platform through which people can approach him by handing their complaints at windows set up in the districts. Khula darbars hardly serve any purpose. For days before the darbars, the deputy commissioners keep us busy in preparations much to the annoyance of regular visitors to the secretariat. During darbars, too, only a few grievances are actually resolved as most of the complainants are sponsored ones. Their appearance before the CM is merely stage-managed for the feel-good factor, says a district-level officer who refused to be identified. The officer cites the case of Mewat where Khattar recently suspended civil surgeon Shriram Siwach while the grievance of the complainant was against another doctor posted in the district. Even as Siwach was explaining his position, some BJP leaders who had been nursing a grouse against the officer misguided Khattar who announced the medical officers suspension from the dais. With barely one month left for his retirement, Siwach will now have to face the ignominy as well as the hardships for no fault. Similarly, in November 2015, then Fatehabad SP Sangeeta Kalia had a tiff with health minister Anil Vij after the latter asked her to get out of the meeting hall. Later, it was known that some local BJP leaders unhappy with the officer had misguided the minister. The utility of khula darbars depends on the attitude of the political leader holding it. Before acting against an officer, an opportunity must be given to her/him to offer his point of view. Though suspension is not considered a punishment under the service rules, it has its implication on the officer as well as his family members, says Yudhbir Singh Khyalia, a retired IAS officer. He says during his tenure as SDM and DC, he ensured that mutations of land records which were left pending by revenue officials for vested interests were entered on the spot during open darbars. If the intentions of the leader are good, the khula darbars can prove to be a boon for the common people, says Khyalia. Fateh Singh Dagar, another retired IAS officer from Haryana, says he was the one who persuaded Chaudhary Devi Lal to introduce such darbars. He says khula darbars ensure accessibility of the officers to the common people. This in turns reduces corruption in the system. Dehradun, December 2 The end of term Indoor Club Exhibition-cum-Competition at the Indian Military Academy today showcased talents of Gentlemen Cadets(GCs). Inaugurating the exhibition Anita Jha, the first lady of the Academy, wife of Indian Military Academys Commandant Lt Gen SK Jha lauded the Gentlemen Cadets for their works. She spent considerable time looking at the exhibits and interacting with GCs. Corridors of the historic Chetwode building were adorned with the most exquisite and beautiful exhibits of the Arts Club, Photography and Wildlife and Computer Club. The Arts Club exhibition showcased acrylic, oil and charcoal paintings along with pencil sketches. TNS Beirut, December 2 Israeli missiles struck a military position near Damascus and Syrias 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 Lebanons Hezbollah nearly 100 times during more than six years of the Syrian war. Israel has grown deeply alarmed by Irans 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-Assads military in fighting Syrian rebels and Islamic State militants. Iran-backed Shiite militias, including Hezbollah, have helped Damascus regain control of swathes of the country. On a visit to Damascus in October, Irans military chief warned Israel against breaching Syrian airspace or territory. Reuters San Francisco, December 2 Shervin Pishevar, one of Silicon Valley's most powerful venture capitalists, has denied claims by several women of sexual harassment, saying he is the victim of an "organised smear campaign". Five women told the Bloomberg News agency that Pishevar sexually assaulted or harassed them while meeting them in a professional context. Some of the alleged events took place as early as 2013. Pishevar allegedly groped a sixth woman, Austin Geidt, an executive at the Uber ride-sharing company. The other women requested anonymity, citing Pishevar's proclivity toward filing lawsuits and worries he would use his position of power to ruin their careers. "Shervin Pishevar is the victim of an organised smear campaign... We are confident that these anecdotes will be shown to be untrue," Mark Fabiani, a crisis management expert, said in a statement sent on Pishevar's behalf on Friday. Pishevar, co-founder and managing director of Sherpa Capital, is considered one of the most powerful investors in Silicon Valley. He was an early investor in Uber as well as the vacation rental firm Airbnb. Silicon Valley and many of its venture capitalists have long faced accusations of sexism and of turning a blind eye to sexual harassment. But after a former Uber employee revealed she had been sexually harassed at the company, more women in the technology industries came forward with similar claims. The revelations are part of a watershed moment in the United States that has seen powerful figures in Hollywood, journalism and politics felled over sexual misconduct claims. AFP Tika R Pradhan is a senior political correspondent for the Post, covering politics, parliament, judiciary and social affairs. Pradhan joined the Post in 2016 after working at The Himalayan Times for more than a decade. Could an actual piece of infrastructure legislation soon appear on the horizon in Washington, DC? The last we heard anything definitive about even just the extreme possibility that the Trump Administration and the GOP Powers That Be on Capitol Hill might be inching toward at least introducing infrastructure legislation was back in late October. That was thanks to Secretary of Transportation Elaine Chao, who offered a succinct update on where things then stood with that trillion dollar all-things-infrastructure package of public and private investment first floated as a priority by President Trump on the day after his election victory. In her October address to the American Trucking Associations annual meeting in Orlando, Chao stated that You wont see an infrastructure funding proposal until after Congress reforms the tax code. Then she admitted that she had at one point hoped to roll out the administrations infrastructure plan in detail by late fall of this year. But the disaster that was the attempt to roll back Obamacare erased that timeline. Chao told the ATA audience that Congress was now focused on pushing through a rewrite of the outmoded federal tax code before the year is out. As of this writing, late in the afternoon of Dec. 1, the House has passed its tax-reform bill and the Senate is reportedly about to pass its version. Once that happens, the differences between the bills will have to be ironed out in committee before final legislation is sent to President Trump to sign. The hell-for-leather and completely partisan path that has brought tax reform this far this fast may well deliver it by years end, as GOP leaders on Capitol Hill have promised their supporters and donors. Once tax reform is passed or shelved, although the latter result is far beyond unlikely, then perhaps the attention of Congress -- and even that of the mercurial POTUS -- might be shifted to fixing the abysmal state of the nations infrastructure. And there is some good news on that front, emanating from the House of Representatives, courtesy of a little-known group of moderate Congressmen. They hail from both sides of the aisle and in 2013 formed the Problem Solvers Caucus. Its aim is simple: To push for bipartisan solutions to legislative and policy issues. A letter sent by the Problem Solvers Caucus to President Trump earlier this year listed 35 members, 18 Republicans and 17 Democrats. The co-chairs of the group are Reps. Tom Reed (R-NY) and Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ). The caucus is readying a bipartisan report in the hope that it will serve as a blueprint for advancing President Trumps infrastructure proposal on Capitol Hill, caucus members said on Nov. 30. Just over the past two months, the caucus has held five meetings on infrastructure, including one with administration officials, to collect information on how best to forge a bipartisan path to rebuilding infrastructure. According to a Dec. 1 Politico.com post, the Problem Solvers Caucus wants to "drive the agenda" on infrastructure, in the words of Rep. John Katko (R-N.Y.), co-chair of the caucus's infrastructure task force. He said the caucus aims to issue a report outlining its infrastructure approach "in the next week or two" so it will be ready for when tax reform is out of the way. "We're going to be loud about this," Katko said after the caucuss Nov. 30 meeting. We're going to be ready to roll." At their most recent meeting, the caucus heard from former Gov. Ed Rendell (D-PA) and former Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood, (R-IL ), who co-chair the advocacy group Building Americas Future, on potential funding mechanisms. What I said in there [was] this year has been a missed opportunity for infrastructure," LaHood told reporters after the meeting. "If this Congress, the White House, and the [GOP] leadership [on Capitol Hill] had started out with infrastructure and a way to pay for it, that bill would have been passed and hundreds of people would have been working on bridges and roads." LaHood also remarked that he's spoken multiple times with White House infrastructure adviser DJ Gribbin and Secretary Chao, but said "they need a signal to do something, and that signal has been dark all year long." It may just be that a wonky report soon to be issued by an obscure bipartisan band of lawmakers will strike the match needed to shed some very long overdue light on improving our nations road and bridges and all the rest of its infrastructure. There was a time when deaf and hard-of-hearing children felt left out of the joy of Christmas. They could watch as other children got to let Santa know what they wanted for Christmas. But they didnt have a way to tell Santa what they wanted, said Diana Higgins. This party changed that. Total Source for Hearing-loss and Access (then known as the Tulsa Speech and Hearing Association) saw the need and started a Tulsa Christmas tradition about 40 years ago. This years Christmas party for deaf and hearing-impaired children will be Saturday. More than a dozen organizations that deal with hearing-impaired and deaf individuals sponsor the event, which draws upwards of 200 children from the Tulsa area. It is different because Christmas joy is spread without a word being spoken. Santa, his elves and Mrs. Claus all use sign language to communicate with the children. Communicating with Santa is why this party was started, said Higgins, the community relations manager for TSHA. Deaf kids were being left out of the Christmas parties. They couldnt talk with the Santa at the mall. So this party is an opportunity for all the deaf children to tell Santa what they want for Christmas. They can communicate with Santa and the elves and Mrs. Claus. It is really thrilling to see how excited the kids are to be able to communicate. This is a day where the deaf and hard of hearing kids can be totally normal. Higgins has spent 29 years at TSHA, where the Christmas party is one of the highlights of each year. TSHA was established in 1954 and is the oldest and largest agency in Oklahoma providing information and support programs for those who are deaf, hard of hearing or affected by hearing loss. It is a Tulsa Area United Way nonprofit agency that also relies on funding from numerous individuals and groups. More than a dozen Tulsa-area organizations participate in the party that is organized by TSHA. Every group sponsors a different craft or game for the party, said Higgins. As a result, it becomes sort of a Christmas carnival for the kids with different activities. The kids get a lot of different experiences during the party. In addition, many local companies donate items to give to the children. Dozens of volunteers gathered on Thursday to load up Christmas gift baskets for all the children. They are filled with all sorts of childrens items. It is amazing how generous people are around Tulsa, said Higgins. Thanks to that generosity, every child that comes to the party gets to go home with a basket full of gifts. Every year the baskets change. We get different gifts. So, just like on Christmas, the gifts are always a surprise. The party has become one of the citys most cherished traditions. Some parents who grew up deaf and came to the party are now bringing their children. They want to show their children the kindness of others, said Higgins. They come and bring their children to help us put on the party because they know how much it meant to them. So you have people who are now parents giving back, helping us bring some joy to children at Christmas. The party also helps get information to parents. Many of our calls are from parents who dont know where to turn for help, said Higgins. One of our main missions is to be a clearinghouse for all of the services out there available for parents of deaf or hard of hearing children. Through this party, we are able to reach out to some of those families and make sure they know where to look for help. We can provide a road map for parents on how to deal with the issues. The party brings together not only the children but the families, too. Oftentimes we hear parents tell us they felt isolated, said Higgins. Well, at this party there is an entire room full of kids and families in the same situation. They realize they are not alone. The Christmas party is a way for these families to connect to a family tradition and celebration. Everybody fits in at this party. It is fun. Authorities have identified the Tulsa woman who was killed Friday when a pickup and a tractor-trailer rig collided on the Turner Turnpike near Bristow. Shoun L. Scott, 51, was pronounced dead at the scene by Creek County EMS from massive internal injuries, according to the Oklahoma Highway Patrol. Scott was sitting between the driver and passenger of a 2000 Chevrolet pickup that was traveling west on the turnpike. The truck pulled onto the outside shoulder, at which time a westbound tractor-trailer rig moved to the inside lane. The pickup made a left turn across the lanes in an attempt to make a U-turn through a cut in the center barrier wall, according to OHP. The tractor-trailer rig struck the pickups side as it turned, authorities said. The pickups driver, Walter H. Moore, 61, of Tulsa, and the passenger, Derrick K. Wilson, 57, of Broken Arrow, both were taken by Life Flight to Saint Francis Hospital with head, arm, leg and internal and external trunk injuries. Both were admitted in critical condition. Scott and Moore were pinned for about 40 minutes, according to OHP. The driver of the 2016 Peterbilt tractor-trailer rig, Tommie J. Roberds, 43 of Meta, Missouri, was not injured. Neither passenger in the pickup was wearing a seatbelt; the drivers of both vehicles were, troopers reported. OHP said the pickups turn was improper. Cut-throughs in the center barrier, spaced about every two miles, are intended for use only by emergency responders. Seven years and almost $7 trillion in new debt ago, we released a bipartisan package of tax and spending reforms as co-chairs of the National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform. At the time, we declared that the era of deficit denial was over. Sadly, the debate on tax reform in the House and Senate suggests deficit denial is not only back but also stronger than ever. Yet the fundamental fiscal challenges we identified in 2010 remain. We said then and believe now that Congress and the president should come together on a balanced plan that reduces deficits and promotes growth. We called for fundamental tax reform that would cut tax breaks to reduce tax rates and rather than add to the debt generate new revenue. We called for a more internationally competitive corporate tax code but also pressed for continued investment in education, infrastructure and high value-added research so that the United States can compete effectively in the knowledge-based global economy. We also said tax reform should raise $1 trillion in revenue for debt reduction and be paired with spending cuts and reforms of entitlement programs to bring spending growth under control. Unfortunately, the tax plan under discussion in Congress ignores nearly all the hard choices we proposed incorporating only the goodies. It reads as if it were developed for a country whose debt problems have been solved, when in reality debt is the highest it has ever been other than around World War II. When this tax reform discussion started, House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., called for revenue-neutral tax reform. While ultimately more revenue is needed, deficit neutrality is likely the best that can be expected in the current political environment. Yet Congress abandoned even this minimum standard of fiscal responsibility and decided to proceed with a $1.5 trillion tax cut instead. With debt already twice as high as its historical average, financing tax cuts with even more borrowing is reckless. And the actual bills in the House and Senate are even worse than the $1.5 trillion sticker price because both include about a half-trillion dollars in phony savings from artificial sunsets and other gimmicks. With interest, that means these tax cuts could add $2.2 trillion to the debt. When we released our fiscal commission report, we were worried about keeping deficits below $500 billion per year and debt below 70 percent of gross domestic product. But if the tax cuts in the current bill are adopted, deficits would exceed $1 trillion by 2020 and debt would exceed 99 percent of GDP by 2027. Economic growth isnt going to wash away this debt. Real tax reform can provide a boost to the economy, but higher debt works in the opposite direction. According to the dynamic models from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania, the House and Senate tax bills will increase the growth rate by only 0.03 to 0.09 percentage points per year and that growth will cut their costs by only one-eighth or less. This country cannot afford another debt-busting tax cut. Luckily, there is another way. The current tax code will give away roughly $18 trillion of tax breaks over the next decade. Our commission called for repealing most of them to pay for lower rates and reduce deficits, adding back only the most-needed ones and only in the most efficient way. By comparison, the latest Senate bill cuts only $3.7 trillion of tax breaks. Most of the largest tax expenditures including the tax-free treatment of employer-sponsored health care, the mortgage-interest deduction and tax-free bonds are virtually untouched. This country critically needs tax reform to improve economic growth. But higher levels of debt will crowd out productive investment, slow wage growth and ultimately undo any gains from reform. Bringing our debt under control will require reforming and slowing the growth of health and retirement entitlements. Enacting debt-financed tax cuts will make that harder, both substantively and politically. Substantively, because by worsening the debt situation, it will entail more painful changes; politically, because Democrats will be less likely to agree to entitlement reforms if Republicans wont allow for sufficient revenue. Many members of Congress have privately told us they would be willing to make the tough votes for ambitious tax and spending reforms as part of a substantive fiscal plan but only if members on the other side jump in the canoe at the same time. This is the moment of truth for lawmakers who share our concern about our nations fiscal future. They can return to the era of deficit denial, or they can stand up for future generations. Alan Simpson is a former Republican senator from Wyoming. Erskine Bowles served as chief of staff to President Bill Clinton from 1997 to 1998. They co-chaired the National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform. Re-election sees lower voter turnout There was no encouraging participation of voters in two re-polling centres of West Rukum on Friday. This Page Is Under Construction - Coming Soon! Why am I seeing this 'Under Construction' page? Thousands of refugee students in Kenya have taken part in the countrys national primary school exams, known as the Kenya Certificate of Primary Education (KCPE). The exams were held at the end of October, nationwide, and in refugee camps across the country. In Kakuma Refugee camp and the nearby Kalobeyei settlement students from 24 schools took part. They included 14-year-old Magot Thuch Ayii, a refugee from South Sudan who lives in Kakuma. Magot gained the countrys top result among refugee students in Kakuma getting 413 out of 500 marks. Magots mother, teachers and fellow students at the Cush Primary School celebrated his results when they were announced by the Ministry of Education. I had no idea that I was the best student in Kakuma camp. Magot says, I felt very happy when my headmaster called me and told me that I had scored 413 marks. I had no idea that I was the best student in Kakuma camp. Magot, a soft-spoken, hardworking and shy pupil, his teachers and friend say, was among nearly 5,000 refugee students in Kakuma and Kalobeyei who were tested. Coming from a humble background, Magot, 1 of 7 children admits that he had to overcome numerous challenges to do well. Magot proudly walks us to his classroom and shows us his seat at the front row desk of the classroom. My classroom was overcrowded. I had to wake up very early to get to school as early 6.00am or 5.00am so that I could reserve my seat. Those who arrived at school late had to attend lesson from outside the classroom, says Magot. I felt very happy when my headmaster called me and told me that I had scored 413 marks. I had no idea that I was the best student in Kakuma camp. 14-year-old Magot Thuch Ayii, a refugee from South Sudan who lives in Kakuma. UNHCR/S.Otieno Magot I lost my father in 2015 back in South Sudan. Since then, my mother has had to toil hard to ensure we had food on the table. I am happy for the support that I got from her before and during the exams, my teachers especially the head teacher, and the agencies. He adds. Magots aunt says, We are happy with the work the teachers and the humanitarian agencies have done for our children. Magot is very young and through hard work and encouragement from teachers, he has done very well. UNHCR provides education to nearly 75,000 students in 24 primary schools in Kakuma. Providing education for refugee children is a fundamental pillar of UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agencys work in Kenya. UNHCR provides education to nearly 75,000 students in 24 primary schools in Kakuma camp and Kalobeyei settlement with the support of the Lutheran World Federation (LWF). But the demand for education among refugees outstrips supply. More than 40% of primary age refugees in Kakuma who need access to education do not have it. UNHCR Education Officer, Mohamud Hure says, Despite the numerous gaps such as insufficient teaching and learning materials, untrained teachers and overcrowded classrooms, refugee learners like Magot perform exceptionally well. More than 40% percentage of primary age refugees in Kakuma who need access to education do not have it. Refugee learners have the potential to excel if they are provided with the right school environment and adequate resources. He adds. Magot says he wants to qualify as a doctor after completing his studies. I want to be a doctor because I have seen so many people dying of so many diseases which have no cure. I want to help treat these diseases so that the people of my country could have a healthy life. Access to Kenyan secondary schools and limited scholarship opportunities continue to pose a challenge to best-performing refugees like Magot. The inclusion of refugee students in the national selection for secondary education is an area that needs advocacy since the cost of secondary education remains prohibitively high for refugee families. Mohamed Hure says With only 5 Secondary schools for refugees in Kakuma, educational opportunities are thin. This means many of the students who sat the exam, may not have access secondary education. Share on Facebook Share on Twitter A tourist poses in front of Mount Agung at Amed beach in Karangasem on Indonesia's resort island of Bali on Nov 30, 2017. (Photo: AFP/Juni Kriswanto) The 24-year-old and her fiance Justin saw their plans go up in smoke when Mount Agung rumbled to life, spewing ash and fumes that forced hundreds of flights to and from the island to be cancelled. "It's funny how a volcano can just turn our plans and our whole lives sort of upside down, just like that," said Thompson from her home near Brisbane. The couple, who had planned to get hitched in the picturesque tropical paradise this week have hurriedly switched their nuptials to Thailand. "It had the last 50 years to do its thing and it waits until our wedding day," she joked, referring to Agung's last major eruption in 1963, which killed about 1,600 people. The volcano's rumblings in the past week have pounded Bali's lucrative tourism industry and its wider economy, squeezing everyone from wedding planners and dive shops to hotels and even some farmers duped into selling livestock at cut-rate prices. Indonesia's tourism minister Arief Yahya warned this week that Bali could lose up to nine trillion rupiah (US$665 million) in visitor-related revenue if Agung's activity doesn't die down before the end of the year. Millions visit the Hindu-dominated tropical hotspot annually, with couples there to tie the knot at beach and cliffside retreats that offer sweeping views of the ocean. Others want to get even closer to waters teeming with colourful fish and coral. "There has definitely been a huge effect because of the volcano," said Ni Komang Astiti, who works at dive operator Dune Atlantis in the southeast of the island. "We've had many cancelations because the guests can't fly to Bali." "WHAT SHOULD WE DO?" Bali's main international airport was shut for almost three days from Monday as towering columns of volcanic ash and smoke made flying dangerous, sparking travel chaos and leaving around 120,000 tourists stranded. It re-opened late Wednesday, but mostly for tourists departing the island, not arriving. "If we usually have 20 guests a day, this time around it's only two people," Astiti said. "We're worried. If there are no guests, what should we do? We depend on the tourism industry." Thompson's wedding planner Ni Made Rismawati said Agung has also taken a bite out of her business, with another couple also cancelling their wedding. "I feel bad for the clients," Rismawati said. "They have to cancel their wedding even though they have prepared everything." Volcano experts warn that the mountain, which has had a series of mini eruptions, could still produce a major blast, even as much of the smoke and ash appeared to dissipate. Another volcano, Mount Sinabung on Sumatra island, has been active and at the highest alert level since 2013. "There's nothing we can do - we can only wait for the mountain to stop erupting," said I Ketut Ardana, the head of a Bali tourism association, who estimated that just three days of airport closures had cost the island some one trillion rupiah. "It's a natural disaster so we can't ask it to stop." But it's not just the tourism sector suffering. Tens of thousands of Balinese villagers living in small communities that ring Agung have fled to evacuation centres. Many complain about lost work and some are sneaking back into the danger zone to take care of precious livestock that, for many, are their only source of income. Local media said some unscrupulous buyers have supplied misinformation about Agung's activity so unsuspecting farmers will sell off livestock at cut-rate prices. Officials have been trying to convince villagers not to return to their homes, as they also push back foreign thrill-seekers keen for a close-up look at the volcano. But Indonesia's disaster agency said desperate times are forcing a re-think, suggesting the possibility of turning Agung into a disaster tour venue. It cited Iceland's Mount Eyjafjallajokull as an example, though it acknowledged there were pros and cons. "Disaster tours need to be managed well," said agency spokesman Sutopo Purwo Nugroho. "Tourists would need to be fully informed before they arrive, and signs showing the danger zones would need to be properly in place." The attack on the Bataclan theatre in Paris left 90 people dead in November 2015. (Photo: AFP/Christophe Archambault) The court in Versailles, south of Paris, sentenced Cedric Rey, 29, to two years in jail with 18 months suspended for attempted fraud against a state fund for the victims of terrorism. Rey's account of the Nov 13, 2015, attack was used by several French media, including AFP. The ambulance driver claimed he was having a drink with two friends outside the Bataclan when three Islamic State jihadists stormed the venue during a concert, launching a three-hour bomb and gun attack that left 90 people dead. Rey claimed that one of the gunmen aimed his rifle at him and fired but that a pregnant woman, who was walking past, "took the bullets meant for me". After the attack he sought compensation from the government fund for the victims of terrorism but his application was turned down after he failed to supply documents proving his claim. He also joined the Life for Paris survivors' group and, like several of those who escaped death, got a tattoo commemorating the attack - in his case of Marianne, symbol of the French Republic, with the Bataclan in the background. At least seven people have been found guilty of fraud or attempted fraud over the Paris attacks, which also targeted the Stade de France stadium and several bars and restaurants in eastern Paris, killing 230 people in total. DISCREPANCIES IN HIS STORY Police became suspicious about Rey's story after noting several discrepancies, including the fact that no pregnant woman was killed in the Bataclan assault. They then traced his whereabouts that night using his mobile phone data and discovered he was about 30 kilometres (20 miles) from the Bataclan when the attack began and showed up outside the theatre around midnight, after it had ended. Rey, who now lives in the French territory of New Caledonia in the South Pacific, has admitted to fabricating the story. During a return visit to mainland France in October he handed himself in to police. He was remanded in custody pending his trial and ordered to undergo psychological tests. Rey's lawyer earlier refused to comment on the case and said his client no longer wanted to speak to the media. At the working session, Tran Van Vinh, vice chairman of Dong Nai Peoples Committee said some 1,300 foreign invested businesses, including many European and German companies, have poured more than US$30 billion in the province. Mr.Vinh said that the province has intensified administrative reforms to facilitate businesses operations, adding that the locality wants to call on local and foreign businesses to invest in the field of environmental treatment, especially in industrial and domestic waste treatment. Mr.Forg Wagener from Germanys Unione company said several German businesses have been operating in the fields of mechanical engineering and environmental treatment for several years. He emphasized that German businesses want to seek opportunities for cooperation with Vietnamese partners on building a waste treatment system in the country. According to representatives from German enterprises, the German business community is stepping up cooperation with local businesses and Dong Nai Young Entrepreneur Association in promoting the advantageous qualities and products of their respective nation. Provincial officials said at a press conference on December 1 that the event will take place from December 23 to 27 in Bao Loc City, where most of the provincial silk products are produced. It will feature activities honouring tea and silk makers, and a silk fashion show. Le Hoang Phung, Secretary of the Bao Loc Party Committee, said silk production in Lam Dong is thriving again after years in oblivion. During 1997 1996, the entire province turned out 500 tonnes of silk threads and 1.8 million metres of silk. Now it produces 1,600 tonnes of silk threads on annual basis and expects to make about 6 million metres of silk in 2017. The sector has thus far created some 12,000 jobs for locals. Bao Loc city plans to build the Bao Loc silk brand, with ten firms earmarked to receive brand certification for their silk products during the upcoming festival. Barack Obama took aim at US President Donald Trump in a New Delhi speech over his successor's threat to leave the 2015 Paris climate accord. (Photo: AFP/Money Sharma) Since leaving office in January, Obama has been relatively restrained in his comments about Trump, who frequently fires broadsides at his predecessor's policies. But he took aim at the Republican president in a New Delhi speech over Trump's threat to leave the 2015 Paris climate accord on slashing global carbon emissions. "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," Obama told a symposium organised by the Hindustan Times newspaper. "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 that agreements that we made in the Paris accords," he added. 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. Obama would not be drawn into other questions about the US administration during his appearance in New Delhi, but the former president did attack "destructive populism from the left or the right" that he called a threat to modern democracy. "The thing I love about America and I suspect the thing you love about India is just this cacophony of life and it throws up all kinds of variety," Obama said in response to one attempt to force a comment on Trump. "There are political trends in American that I don't agree with and abide by but I recognise as part of a running thread in American life." The two-term leader said he has become "obsessed" with the way news is handled and consumed, particularly by the young. "We are more connected than ever before but ... more and more we are fitting facts to suit our opinions rather than formulating our opinions based on facts," said Obama, who was in China before visiting India, and next goes to Paris. "This poses a great danger because democracies can't function if we can't agree on a basic baseline of what is true and what is false." US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson will meet Union foreign ministers in Brussels,PHOTO: AFP Foreign affairs ministers will have an informal meeting with the US Secretary of State, Rex Tillerson in Brussels on 5 December, the European Council said Friday. Tillerson is also expected to attend a NATO meeting on the same day. With ties between Brussels and Washington strained by US President Donald Trumps America First policy, Tillerson, EU diplomatic chief Federica Mogherini and the ministers will discuss how to strengthen transatlantic cooperation on major global challenges. Since Trumps election the EU and US have disagreed on issues ranging from the Iran nuclear deal, climate change and trade. Mogherini said in a letter to the EU ministers that she was convinced that the meeting will be an excellent opportunity to address topical foreign policy issues and discuss how we can strengthen transatlantic cooperation. News of the visit comes as Trump refused to rule out Tillersons imminent departure amid reports of a plan to replace the former oil man with CIA director Mike Pompeo, seen as more amenable to the presidents hardline views. Asked if he wants Tillerson to remain in his post, Trump said only that Rex is here at the White House, a break from the usual expression of confidence in such a circumstances. The State Department said that Tillerson enjoys this job, adding that he also had meetings planned in Vienna and Paris. Big shot Hanoi buyers are looking to spread the wealth to the provinces A range of real estate projects have been introduced to Hanois market from Ho Chi Minh City, Binh Duong, Danang and Nha Trang. The projects include The Charm, Sunrise City, Ocean Villas, Hyatt Regency, Olalani, Fusion Alya, Azura and Blooming Park. Talking with VIR at a recent road show to introduce Sunrise City, located in Ho Chi Minh, in Hanoi, Novaland Joint Stock Company marketing deputy director Huynh Du An said many units were sold to Hanoians and those from northern provinces. Meanwhile, a range of other central and southern projects have been rushing into Hanoi. Setia Becamex launched Binh Duong provinces Ecolakes My Phuoc in the capital late last week, a week before TD Group introduced the Costa Nha Trang to Hanoians. This week Singapores Guoco Lands Canary, located at the Vietnam-Singapore Industrial Park in Binh Duong province, will be unveiled to northern customers. Bringing Ecolakes My Phuoc to Hanois market is one of our key marketing strategies. Hanoians are paying more attention to higher standards of living and are interested in ecological housing, said Khoo Teck Chong, general director of Setia Becamex. VIR was told that for many projects in the central and southern parts, roughly 70 per cent of customers were from Hanoi and other northern provinces. Matthew Koziora, sales director of VinaCapital - developer of the Azura in Danang, said the first 60 units, out of 225, were launched in Hanoi recently. Out of the 40 units sold, 90 per cent of the buyers had come from Hanoi. Hanoi has, according to Koziora, proven itself to be a key market for most new projects in Vietnam, given the demographics of these immediate catchments. While condominium offerings will always be available in Hanoi due to previous pent-up demands, we can see that not all projects will enjoy a healthy sell-through, as was seen 12 months ago. We do see, however, given the price differentials between house and land packages in Hanoi versus Ho Chi Minh City, that this market will be better received in the current marketplace and over the next six months as opposed to condominium project offerings at this time, Koziora said Ngo Huu Truong, managing director of a real estate agency in Ho Chi Minh City, said many customers from Hanoi and Haiphong had come to Ho Chi Minh City to find out information about new projects there. Demand is real and many projects investors have realised this trend and they are coming to Hanoi to promote their projects, Truong said. He also said the jury was still out on how effective the promotions were. I think that these developers [who bring their projects to Hanoi] have at least seen their target to raise their image and brand names in northern customers, Truong said. Britains Prince Harry and his fiancee Meghan Markle arrive at the Terrence Higgins Trust World AIDS Day charity fair, in Nottingham, England, Friday. The extraordinary staging of Hermes vitrines and storefronts reveal the artistry and fantasy of their creator, designer Leila Menchari Designer Leila Menchari's career at Hermes is celebrated in a new exhibition at the Grand Palais in Paris, where dramatic sets include a giant model of the house symbol: the winged feet of the ancient Greek god Hermes @SuzyMenkesVogue Looking at her work, reconstructed in an exhibition at the Grand Palais in Paris, Leila Menchari can see her life unfold. Here are the trellis arcades; the intense fretwork; and the mimosa, jasmine and eucalyptus of her childhood in Tunisia. Here, too, the majestic stonework carving mythical creatures into elbow rests for stone benches suggests places of sun and shade. From grotto to sandy shore, the designer weaves an ethereal web of wonder, and all to create a backdrop for the Hermes Paris boutique. Leila Menchari's design for an Hermes window, recreated at the Grand Palais, featuring architectural motifs from her Tunisian childhood Courtesy of Hermes Leila Menchari, the Queen of Enchantment (Hermes A Tire-dAile Les Mondes de Leila Menchari), which runs until the 3rd December, is a tribute to the creative stage-maker of the famed French house, which galloped from making horse saddles to creating handbags. A fixture at Hermes since she joined as a junior in the art department in 1961, the designer became essential to the business under the late chairman, Jean-Louis Dumas, until she created her final fantasy in 2013. Leila Menchari, whose designs for Hermes windows have captured the imagination of generations of customers and fellow artists Benoit Teillet. Courtesy of Hermes It was Axel Dumas, who lived with what he calls the designers flamboyant window displays long before he took over Hermes from his uncle Jean-Louis, who decided to pay this public homage to the woman who became part of the family as she offered her magic from the corner window on the rue du Faubourg Saint-Honore. When designing a scene, there must always be some mystery, because mystery is a springboard to dreams; an invitation to fill the gaps left by the imagination, the executive said, escorting Leila Menchari around the exhibition opening as though she were the mother of the family. The colours and patterns of North Africa are recreated in this Leila Menchari-designed window display for Hermes Courtesy of Hermes For me, Hermes represents family: I felt I had been adopted, brought in from the cold, said the designer, who, after an upbringing with a feisty, feminist mother in Tunisia, had felt alone in Paris while studying at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts. Calling a window display a way of telling a story and describing the big window as a theatre, she used her knowledge of set design to make every display, however complex or minimalist, a tableau. A Leila Mencharidesigned set for Hermes, rue du Faubourg Saint-Honore, recalling Champollion, the father of Egyptology Courtesy of Hermes An accompanying book by award-winning French writer Michele Gazier, tells the Leila Menchari story in poetic detail. Whatever surprises and memories are in store for visitors to the exhibition, they should know from the start that none of the incredible handbag creations that feature in the displays were ever sold. Instead, they acted as props in the life history that the Tunisian artist wove through her work for Hermes. Yet, at the same time, these flights of fantasy, shown as museum pieces, are peopled by handbags that had their roots in Leilas life and then flowered in Paris. A Raj-inspired fantasia by Leila Menchari for Hermes Courtesy of Hermes Leila remembers the reaction of Theres nothing there! when she showed Jean-Louis Dumas the now-iconic window of a solitary sandy beach; a reef sculpted from white marble in the shape of a wave, with just a pair of sunglasses and a swimsuit. But a tart orange-scented fragrance sprayed into the street lured in the clients. The museums recreated window displays are rarely minimalist, and much is woven into those Maghreb references to palm trees and brimming bowls of spices. They are served up on wooden platters with a painted panther-skin handbag on top. Behind it are more bags, slippers and even a saddle in the animal pattern, set against a sun-gold floor. The designers artistic mind never moves far from Tunisia, where a heavy, carved silver chair is replicated in the surface of a Kelly bag, or the famous, classic handbag rests on sunshine-yellow fur below purple crystals and a winged horse. It is easy to grasp the delicacy of handwork that creates a link between a bag marked with the pattern of the trellis behind it, but other inspirations are almost too airy to accept, such as a spiders web of threads from which tiny pastel-coloured purses appear to dangle. And then there is the horse: the symbol of how it all began at Hermes, originally a supplier of saddles. But Leilas animal is made as if from its own hide, from flat pieces of orange or black leather riveted together and shown with a silver sandal and bags in a similar texture. Are these Hermes displays art? Or craft? I would say both with a brush of exuberant and inventive magic. City officials are looking to carve a new main entrance into the basement of Waco City Hall. The Waco City Council this week discussed spending up to $265,000 for a new entrance that will be wheelchair-accessible from the Franklin Avenue parking lot. At a retreat, the council looked at two options for the accessibility project. One is to cut an 8-foot-wide ramp through a flower bed on the Franklin Avenue side into what is now a basement window. The other is to sink a ramp from the parking lot to an existing basement door on the front side of the building, at a cost of $210,000. City Manager Dale Fisseler said the 87-year-old building is already compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act, thanks to a basement entrance on the Washington Avenue side. But the Washington Avenue parking lot is sometimes restricted for events, and parking can be scarce, he said. Fisseler said most people use the Franklin Avenue side, with its twin staircases leading to the first floor. This is where most people come into City Hall, because its closest to where most people park, he told the council. I do see people struggling to get up those stairs. Metal detector The project could also lay the groundwork for making City Hall a more secure facility with a single entrance. A rendering presented to the council shows the new basement entrance with a metal detector and a receptionist area with bullet-proof glass. Balancing access, security Fisseler said he is not sure a metal detector and the glass are necessary right now. He said he likes the grand front entry and lobby area, where school groups this time of year gather to carol. I really like the fact that its a public building, he said. Were trying to balance that with safety improvements. We just need to be prepared. If you wait until theres an incident where you have to secure the building, you ended up doing it in a rushed fashion. The council appeared to agree with the need for the new entry, though no one expressed a strong opinion about which option would be preferable. The Historic Landmark Preservation Commission this fall indicated a preference for the front entrance, though members said either entry would be acceptable. Putting an entry on the Franklin Avenue side would cut the existing housing and economic development department office in half, but city officials said that department is likely to relocate soon anyway. A federal death row inmate is asking that his death sentence be set aside because he alleges former U.S. District Judge Walter S. Smith Jr. was not functional because of his drinking and unfit to preside over his trial and subsequent appeal process. Attorneys for Brandon Bernard, who has been on federal death row for 17 years, say in a 32-page motion filed Thursday that exceptional circumstances require that Bernards death sentence be reviewed and vacated. Bernard, who was 19 at the time, and Christopher Vialva, who was 20, were convicted in Wacos federal court in June 2000 and sentenced to death in the murders of Todd and Stacie Bagley, of Ottumwa, Iowa. Bernard was sentenced to death only in Stacie Bagleys death, while Vialva was sentenced to death in the murder of both the Bagleys, who were church youth ministers in Iowa. The motion asks U.S. District Judge Lee Yeakel to vacate the death sentence or to order a hearing so that evidence may be presented concerning former Judge Smiths unfitness, and how it affected all his decisions respecting Mr. Bernard. Smith, who ended his 32-year tenure as Wacos federal judge with his retirement in September 2016, did not return a phone message left with him Friday through a former staff member. The Judicial Council of the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals formally reprimanded Smith in 2015 after finding he made inappropriate and unwanted physical and nonphysical advances toward a female courthouse staff member in his court chambers in 1998 and lied to investigators about the incident. While the council issued sanctions, including requiring counseling, it said the incident did not warrant impeachment. In a sworn statement given to investigators, the former clerk said Smith smelled of alcohol and had the appearance of someone who had been drinking. Smith, former chief judge of the Western District of Texas, also was suspended for one year from hearing any new criminal or civil cases filed after Dec. 3, 2015. The judicial council renewed its investigation into Smith after complaints surfaced that at least two more women had been mistreated by Smith in his chambers. His retirement ended the investigation. The motion was filed on Bernards behalf by Robert C. Owen of the Northwestern Pritzker School of Law in Chicago, Illinois, and John R. Carpenter, an assistant federal public defender from Tacoma, Washington. The motion states that Smith had a reputation for drinking during the time of Bernards trial, was reported to be not functional due to his drinking, and therefore, was unfit to preside over his trial. Former Judge Smiths lack of functionality in a proceeding where Mr. Bernards life hung in the balance is an additional extraordinary circumstance that gives this court jurisdiction to hear this motion, the motion states. The motion also claims that Smith allowed Bernards application for writ of habeas corpus to languish in his court for more than seven years before he finally acted on it and then misapplied the law. The former clerk who was groped by Smith testified that Smiths law clerk called her during this time frame, complaining that Smith was not functioning, was falling apart and was unable even to get himself to the courthouse, adding that his condition had forced him to cancel court obligations, the motion alleges. Given the Judicial Councils findings and the other allegations of serious impropriety, Walters Smiths hurried departure from the bench is no surprise, the motion states. But this story cannot end with Smiths eviction from the courthouse. This court has a vital role to play in repairing the damage for which Smith was responsible... Bernard, Vialva and four Killeen teenagers were charged in the June 1999 carjacking of the Bagleys outside a Killeen convenience store. Two of the teens testified against Bernard and Vialva that they plotted to kidnap the couple and drove them around in the trunk of their car while trying to use their ATM cards. Trial testimony showed that Stacie Bagley read the Bible to her captors as she and her husband pleaded for their lives. Vialva shot them both and set the car on fire while Stacie Bagley was still alive, according to trial testimony. Former Texas attorney Ty Clevenger, who filed the federal complaint against Smith with the Judicial Council, also filed a complaint against former U.S. District Judge Harry Hudspeth, the chief judge at the time Smith groped the court clerk. The clerk testified in her statement that she informed Hudspeth about the abuse and he asked her what she wanted him to do about it and took no action. Hudspeth also has since retired. The issues raised by Brandon Bernard go far beyond him or his co-defendants, Clevenger said Friday. When judges cover up for one another, the impact can be enormous. You have to wonder how many other criminal defendants and civil parties were affected by Judge Smiths alcohol problems. More than 3,300 McLennan County children will soon lose coverage for immunizations, cancer treatments, routine doctor visits and more if Congress does not reauthorize the Childrens Health Insurance Program funding it let expire in September. Some 450,000 Texans who rely on the federal program, which covers children whose family incomes exceed the limits for Medicaid but amount to less than 200 percent of the federal poverty level, could receive letters around Christmas saying their coverage will expire Jan. 31. Carrie Williams, a spokeswoman for the Texas Health and Human Services Commission, said she is confident a $90 million boost from the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services will keep CHIP active through February in Texas. That funding must be finalized in the next week. Still, policy experts are anxious for Congress to secure a five-year extension of the program established in 1997 that serves about 9 million Americans. Affected families would be referred to the Affordable Care Act marketplace, but some could fall through the cracks, said Adriana Kohler, senior health policy associate for the nonpartisan group Texans Care for Children. At first, people expected Congress to renew the funding, Kohler said. But the longer they wait, the closer Texas gets to cutting off health care for kids. We really need Congress to get the job done quickly. We cant rely on a, Itll probably work out, strategy. Roland Goertz, president of the Waco Family Health Center, said failure to renew the program with longstanding bipartisan support shows the deepest politicization of health care he has seen in almost 35 years of practice. Its as if any discussion of health care is off-limits from the current leadership, other than repealing Obamacare, Goertz said. Theyre very willing to talk about that. But it seems that because theres been some anti sentiment about that, that has actually convinced a lot of America that its not important or that we shouldnt talk about it, that its not being dealt with at all. Some of these are incredibly important programs. Goertz, a former president of the American Academy of Family Physicians, said 4,000 children who visit the Family Health Centers 16 locations would lose CHIP coverage without congressional action. The center sees about 55,000 low-income patients each year who receive medical, dental and behavioral services. CHIP also covers pregnant women, and private physicians also see patients covered by CHIP, Goertz said. In August, 209 McLennan County women used the program for prenatal care, delivery and postpartum care. Those kids dont have any say about this, Goertz said. Theyre dependent upon everything except themselves. That, to me, is whats sad also. The U.S. House of Representatives passed a CHIP funding bill on Nov. 3, a month after funding expired, with 227 Republican votes and 15 Democrat votes. Most House Democrats opposed the bill, partly because it would raise Medicare premiums for wealthy seniors and narrow the grace period for Affordable Care Act customers to pay premiums from three months to one. But U.S. Rep. Bill Flores, R-Bryan, said Democrats on the House Energy and Commerce Committee he serves on played political games that led to CHIP funding expiring Sept. 30. I hope that the Senate will hurry up and get this passed because we know the president will sign it, Flores said. That way we take 450,000 Texas families out of this uncertain state of limbo that theyre in today. The Senate has not voted on legislation reauthorizing CHIP. A deputy press secretary for U.S. Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, said Cornyn expressed support for the program during a Senate Finance Committee markup in October. This is a unique piece of legislation because it does enjoy such broad, bipartisan support, Cornyn said at the time. And its a good example of how providing states with flexibility and resources in the form of block grants can be successful in improving health coverage and outcomes. U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, did not respond to a request for comment. The Family Health Center faces another obstacle, Goertz said. Much of a $3.4 million base grant for uninsured patients could disappear unless Congress reaches agreements on appropriations. I dont know if this is games playing or political playing or what. But thats not encouraging, he said. The House bill, known as the Championing Healthy Kids Act, would continue the program for five years. Everyone gets elected saying that theyre going to work together, and all that really ever happens is they only work with their own party, Goertz said. And thats not how youre going to help health care because health care impacts everybody, no matter what party youre part of. No matter what race, ethnicity or background you have, at some point of your life, youre going to need health care. Frank Brown, Sr. December 3, 1920 - November 27, 2017 Frank Brown, Sr. passed away on November 27, 2017. Services will be held at 11:00 a.m., Monday, December 4, at Pleasant Olive B.C.; viewing before services is from 9:00 to 10:45 a.m. Burial will follow at Waco Memorial Park. Visitation will be held from 5:00 to 7:00 p.m., Sunday, December 3, at the funeral home. Frank was born to Lee Andrew Brown and Pearl Nellum, on December 3, 1920, in Madisonville, Texas. He was a loving, caring, and very active child who professed his love for Christ at an early age. Young Frank was baptized as a child at Little Rock Baptist Church in Madisonville. In 1939, while Frank was participating in a track meet, he saw a beautiful 17-year-old girl. He took one look at her, then turned to his friend, and said, "that's the girl I'm going to marry." And he was right! He met the former Juanita McGrue in April 1939 and they married on Nov 19 of that same year, in Madisonville, Texas. They have lived in Waco for the past 72 years. Frank and Juanita celebrated their 78th wedding anniversary just a few days ago on Sunday, November 19, 2017.In 1950, General Tire and Rubber Company had the good fortune and good sense to hire Frank into their maintenance department. e worked for them for 31 years. During his years at General Tire, he was respected by all who worked with him. He could be relied on to contribute to the betterment of the working conditions, and the company, in many ways, such as: he was on a supervisory committee for the Genco (General Tire Co.) Credit Union, and he was the first member of his race to integrate the cafeteria at General Tire. Frank retired from General Tire and Rubber Co in 1981. Just as in his work life, Frank was respected, admired, and loved in his personal life. He was always trying to help others. He assisted his community as a school bus driver. He organized the River Oaks Neighborhood Watch for the protection and safety of his neighborhood. He was an Ordained Deacon; first at Good Samaritan Baptist Church of Waco, and subsequently at Pleasant Olive Baptist Church of Waco for over 60 years. He also served as a Trustee at Pleasant Olive. As a Mason, Frank also contributed to the well-being of his communities at local, city, and state levels. He was the sixth of nine children; seven of whom preceded him in death, as did one grandchild, D'Aun Brown. He is survived by his sisters Laura Mack of Waco, TX; and Erma B. Josie of Galveston, TX. He leaves, to remember him in love, his wife, Juanita, of Waco, TX; and his eight children, Thomas Brown, of Waco, TX; Margaret Gilkey of Richmond, TX; Mattie Scott, of El Dorado Hills, CA; Thelma Bickham, of Hutto, TX; Ruby Sneed, of Rosharon, TX; Frank Brown of Arlington, TX; James Brown of Xenia, OH; and, Cynthia Young of Houston, TX. WAHOO Area high school juniors and seniors were given a hands-on learning experience in Wahoo on Nov. 21. The American Legion hosted its annual Saunders County Government Day for approximately 40 students. After sitting in a meeting with the Board of Supervisors, the students broke off into groups to shadow elected and appointed county officials. For some students, attending the day helped fulfill school requirements. Its a graduation requirement for us, this or a town meeting, Mine Nacke, a senior at Raymond Central, said. For other students, going to the event was voluntary. We signed up if we were interested in going, Britney Tilson, a senior at Ashland-Greenwood, said. For a number of students, attending the event was an eye-opening learning experience. Logan Reiss, a senior at Cedar Bluffs and a member of the Army National Guard, spent time with Saunders County Veterans Service Officer Mary Pace. Theres a lot of services out there for veterans, Reiss said. I didnt realize how broad it was from the nursing home to hearing aids. He also said the visit was helpful for him to understand military benefits and to share what he learned with family and friends who are in the military. Raymond Central Senior Maiya Miller said what she found interesting was the Saunders County Board of Supervisors. It shocked me how diverse of a group they are, she said. The hands-on county government experience was worthwhile for the students. I think learning about this stuff is important because it affects all of us more than we realize, Tilson said. Its not just an idea, now that you see them and talk to them. Nacke agreed. Its important for us to understand what goes on in county government and just not being oblivious to it, she said. Area high school government teachers attended as well. Dale Rasmussen, government teacher at Raymond Central High School, said he attended a county government day in Lincoln during his high school years and knows what its like from both teacher and student perspectives. Rasmussen added that because of Raymond Central covering Saunders and Lancaster counties, the school can alternate between going to Lincoln or Wahoo every other year. You can see both sides of a large structure, he said. Rasmussen also said he wanted his students to understand how crucial it was for them to see local government in action. These people youd have contact with, and theyre going to respond, he said. To help reinforce that lesson, Rasmussen said he always has his government students do an activity in which they will pick a few things they want to change, such as requesting a new stoplight. In the process, they must consider which county officials they will work with. Theres proper channels to go do stuff, he said. You dont just whine and complain about it, you go do it. After office visits, students attended a presentation and lunch at the Veterans Memorial Building in Wahoo. Capt. Matthew Wolfe of the Army National Guard was invited as this years guest speaker, tying together his military service with local government and citizen involvement. 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. Randi Zuckerberg posted she felt "disgusted and degraded" after her on-flight experience. Credit:AP The survey of about 2,000 attendants also found that 20 per cent 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 per cent of the time. 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 US Senator Robert Casey, from Pennsylvania, to introduce the "Stopping Assault while Flying Enforcement Act of 2017," which was referred to committee in July, she said. 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." Then-National Security Adviser Michael Flynn, joined by K.T. McFarland, deputy national security adviser at daily news briefing at the White House in February. Credit:AP Flynn's decision to cooperate with Mueller's 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 Trump, and the White House said Flynn's 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. Flynn, a retired army lieutenant general, only served as Trump's 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 Kislyak. But Flynn had been an enthusiastic supporter of Trump's election campaign and the president continued to praise him even after he left the administration, saying Flynn had been treated "very, very unfairly" by the news media. A small group of protesters yelled "Lock him up!" as Flynn left the courthouse on Friday, echoing the "Lock her up!" chant that Flynn himself led against Trump's Democratic rival, Hillary Clinton, in vitriolic appearances on the campaign trail. Prosecutors said that Flynn and Kislyak last December discussed economic sanctions that Obama's administration had imposed on Moscow for allegedly interfering in the election. Flynn admitted later falsely telling FBI officials that he did not ask Kislyak to refrain from escalating a diplomatic dispute with Washington over the sanctions. Prosecutors said Flynn consulted with a senior member of Trump's presidential transition team about what to communicate to the Russian ambassador. "Flynn called the Russian ambassador and requested that Russia not escalate the situation and only respond to the U.S. sanctions in a reciprocal manner," prosecutors said in court documents. It did not name the senior official in the Trump team but US media reports identified former adviser K.T. McFarland as the person. Reuters was unable to verify the reports. On December 28, 2016, the day before prosecutors say the call between the Trump aides took place, Trump had publicly played down the need to sanction Russia for allegedly hacking US Democratic operatives. "I think we ought to get on with our lives. I think that computers have complicated lives very greatly," Trump told reporters at his Mar-a-Lago Florida resort. Ryan Goodman, a professor at New York University Law School, said Flynn's plea deal shows Mueller is scrutinising the truthfulness of testimony given to his investigators. Kushner is potentially liable for making false statements if his testimony is contradicted by Flynn, Goodman said. Earlier on Friday, ABC News cited a Flynn confidant as saying Flynn was ready to testify that Trump directed him to make contact with Russians before he became president, initially as a way to work together to fight the Islamic State group in Syria. Reuters could not immediately verify the ABC News report. U.S. stocks, the dollar and Treasury yields fell sharply after the ABC report, although they partially rebounded on optimism that a Republican bill to cut taxes will be approved in the U.S. Senate. If Trump directed Flynn to contact Russian officials, that might not necessarily amount to a crime. It would be a crime if it were proven that Trump directed Flynn to lie to the FBI. Moscow has denied what U.S. intelligence agencies say was meddling in the election campaign to try to sway the vote in Trump's favour. Trump has called Mueller's probe a witch hunt. In May, the president fired FBI Director James Comey, who later accused Trump of trying to hinder his investigation into the Russia allegations. Comey also said he believed Trump had asked him to drop the FBI's probe into Flynn. Comey on Friday tweeted a cryptic message about justice. "But let justice roll down like waters and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream, 'Amos 5:24???," he wrote, quoting the Biblical book of Amos. Paul Manafort, who ran Trump's presidential campaign for several months last year, was charged in October with conspiring to launder money, conspiracy against the United States and failing to register as a foreign agent of Ukraine's former pro-Russian government. Manafort, who did not join Trump's administration, and a business associate who was charged with him both pleaded not guilty. Washington: Backers of a US-Russian plan to build nuclear reactors across the Middle East bragged after the US election they had backing from Donald Trump's 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. Michael Flynn, US national security advisor, right, exits a vehicle outside the US Courthouse in Washington, DC. Credit:Andrew Harrer 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 Trump's election as president is a game changer because Trump's highest foreign policy priority is to stabilise US relations with Russia which are now at a historical low-point," ACU's managing director, Alex Copson, wrote in a November 16, 2016 email to potential business partners, eight days after the election. San Francisco: Twitter said it allowed anti-Muslim videos that were retweeted by President Donald Trump because they didn't break rules on forbidden content, backtracking from its earlier rationale that the posts were newsworthy. On Thursday, a Twitter spokesperson said "there may be the rare occasion when we allow controversial content or behaviour which may otherwise violate our rules to remain on our service because we believe there is a legitimate public interest in its availability." President Donald Trump Credit:AP The response was criticsed by people who said Trump's retweets violated Twitter policies since the video incited violence. On Friday, Twitter backtracked on its initial explanation. "We mistakenly pointed to the wrong reason we didn't take action on the videos from earlier this week," Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey posted Friday. "We're still looking critically at all of our current policies, and appreciate all the feedback." Christmas comes to the Homeplace 1850s Saturday after Thanksgiving Email To : Multiple e-mail addresses must be separated with a comma character(maximum 200 characters) Email To is required. Your Full Name: (optional) Your Email Address: Your Email Address is required. 1. Yes. The ordinance goes against state law and is not in the best interest of the cities. 2. Yes. At the very least, it should be amended to give police officers some discretion. 3. No. Voters approved the ordinance by large majorities; the councils cant ignore that fact. 4. No. The petition process has to be given a chance to work. Leave the ordinance alone. 5. Unsure. Its hard to say how the cities should move forward regarding the ordinance. Vote View Results Winonas Merchants Bank is kicking off the holiday season with its annual 10-day fundraising spree for the citys Volunteer Services. Now in its 29th year, the event has continued to grow, reaching more than 200,000 pounds of food and $95,000 in cash donations during last years event, up from around 15,000 pounds in its first year. Merchants Bank president Andrew Guzzo said the events continued success was testimony to the communitys dedication to improving the lives of their neighbors. So many people in this community are so kind, Guzzo said at the commencement event Friday morning. The event this year was kicked off, like last year, with an anonymous $10,000 gift. Over the past 28 years, there has been 3,045,465 pounds of food collected from the community during the 10 days. Winona Volunteer Services director Sandra Burke said that over the years, cash donations have become equally important, allowing them to leverage the money for deals in ways the normal community cant. Burke said the organization can use $14 to buy around $50 worth of food. Were able to stretch that dollar a lot further than what youre able to buy at the grocery store, Burke said. Theyve also been increasing a concentration on fresh produce and education about nutrition and cooking to increase the efficiency of the food use and its healthfulness. And really trying to reach individuals where theyre at, Burke said. She called the event a community-wide holiday tradition. Merchants Bank kicked off the celebration with the first donations placed into a green collection barrel in its lobby Thursday morning. Similar collection barrels are in place for the next 10 days at more than 200 schools and businesses throughout the county. Through the end of last year, 1,173 households were registered for the food shelf at Volunteer Services and more than 3,324 individuals were served. Another 1,603 people were helped at the emergency food shelf and last year the organization distributed 480,145 pounds of food. In addition to families, individuals and older adults on fixed income, the food shelf also supplies backpacks full of food to children who need them each weekend, giving out 264 in the 2015-16 school year. At the commencement, Winona Mayor Mark Peterson called 29 years of the event a huge achievement and also emphasized the continued need to address hunger in the area. We do have hungry people in this community, Peterson said. Cash donations have become equally important. The organization can use $14 to buy around $50 worth of food. During this season of gratitude, we are reminded of the many reasons we can be thankful for the freedom and opportunity to travel. On the brink of winter, Beaver Dam Lake is at its peak of pristine appearance. The water is crisp and blue as the sky, just a couple of freezing days from being ice. It is quite a contrast from the smelly green coating on the lakes surface in summer. From April to October of this year, graduate students of the University of Wisconsin-Madison Water Resource Management Project sought to get to the bottom of that algae bloom. Literally. In order to assess the health of not only Beaver Dam Lake but the entire watershed, the project, sponsored by the Beaver Dam Lake Improvement Association and the DNR, spent months researching and monitoring not only the water but the sediments below, and they presented their findings Nov. 29 on the UW-Madison campus. If we look at the problem we are hoping to address, said Alex Jeffers, it brings us to the algae blooms. So algae has become a common sight on Beaver Dam Lake as with a lot of other lakes in our region and one of the primary reasons for this is phosphorous. Beaver Dam Lake is classified as impaired due to phosphorus levels and Jeffers explained that besides its high levels of the plant nutrient, the lake is also shallow, warm, and full of bottom-stirring carp, all of which make it vulnerable to algae. Theres a lot of phosphorous thats already in the lake after years and years of phosphorus buildup, Haley Briel said. She explained that high ph levels and stratification release and reactivate sedimentary phosphorous, but so do the carp. Carp, as weve mentioned previously, are a huge problem, which suggests their feces alone create a lot of phosphorus as well as their feeding habits which kind of root up the sediment, Briel said. According to the projects findings there are 330 pounds of carp per acre (more than 2 million pounds total) in Beaver Dam Lake and they account for almost three-quarters of the internal phosphorus in the lake. But there are external sources of phosphorous as well. The major one is Beaver Creek, which was found to account for 86 percent of the external phosphorus in the lake. The group monitored water levels and sampled creek sediment at five research points from Paradise Marsh to Beaver Dam Lake, in all types of weather. Beaver Creek is a pretty flashy watershed, which means it responds very quickly to all the rain coming across the watershed, and this is important because really intense rainfalls are able to move a lot of sediments, Catherine Schumak said. And what protects the creek from that run-off is a riparian buffer, which, according to Jack Cotrone, is the vegetation immediately adjacent to the stream bank. And that vegetation is kind of our last line of defense against sediments, nutrients, runoffs coming from the watershed into the creek. Cotrone warned that exposed banks lead to undercutting and erosion as sediment is carried off the banks into the creek. Phosphorus clings to that sediment and theres enough of it in Beaver Creek to classify it as impaired. At some of these sites, we were sampling we were sinking up to our waists in fine sediment, Cotrone said. In order to help prevent erosion, the project recommended upland stakeholders and land producers take part in quality land and water management. No-till practices help minimize erosion runoff, conserve soil moisture, retain nutrients of pesticides on the field of which they were applied to and improve the overall soil health, Sarah Fanning said. Cover crops in the off season to help improve soil retention and improve infiltration of runoff. Beyond prevention, theres the prevailing problem of phosphorus already in the lake, and since carp are the culprits, that sort of fight needs fishing. According to YiYi Hu, commercial fishing has removed millions of pounds of carp out of Beaver Dam Lake since 2014, but even huge catches like that struggle to control future population. Carp have a very, very high reproduction rate. A mature female carp can carry 2 to 3 million eggs each year, Hu said. Hu also noted that beyond nets, nature is going to be needed to keep carp numbers down. While commercial fishing takes care of the large and mature carp, if we can restock predators of carp such as bluegill in the spawning area of carp, then the young carp population can be effectively managed, she said. With so many challenges on such a large area, the Water Resource Project researchers encouraged a team effort from citizens, farmers, Beaver Dam Lake Improvement Association and local science students to engage in continued monitoring, management workshops and healthy upland practices. With the algae bloom so visible, researchers found through questionnaires and interviews that most people were aware of watershed problems and, as Thor Jeppson said, It was also clear that the community really values the lake as a resource. Last April, community members accepted an invitation to attend something new called a Walking Moai with Blue Zones Project. Moai is a term from Okinawa, Japan, one of the original Blue Zones areas, that roughly means meeting for a common purpose. Those who came left that chilly spring morning as a new walking group that committed to meeting for 10 weeks. In Juneau, a group of six individuals came together and aptly called their new Moai, Walking for 10. The group committed to meeting twice a week in the early morning to walk for one hour on an out-and-back trail. The Moai grew from six to nine to 11 as members told others about the group and invited them to join. Their commitment to one another extended a second set of 10 weeks, then a third set, and so it continued. Some from the Walking Moai decided to start a Potluck Moai, enjoying plant-based meals together and inviting more people to join them as well. The Walking for 10 Moai became a community of like-minded people who wanted to support one another in making healthy choices, easier. They became a community and through that community, they were inspired to give back during this holiday season. Marianne Zastrow, one of the original Walking for 10 Moai members, regularly volunteers at Clearview Nursing & Rehabilitation Facility in Juneau. With the annual Clearview Holiday Bazaar approaching, Zastrow was looking for a way to give back during the holiday season. She decided to help not only the residents of Clearview, but the entire community that attended the Holiday Bazaar by offering healthy snack options for purchase. The money earned through sales, Zastrow decided, should be donated to Project Merry Christmas, which ensures that all residents of Clearview Nursing & Rehabilitation home receive a gift at Christmas. Zastorws Moai did what Moais do: They supported her healthy and charitable choice and contributed healthy snacks to sell at the bazaar. The healthy snacks included peanut butter energy bites, fresh fruit, homemade dried pineapple, kiwi, apples and bananas, homemade fruit leather, muffins and popcorn. All items were priced competitively compared to the holiday treats sold at other booths. Members of the Walking for 10 Moai also volunteered to work the booth during the day-and-a-half event. Together, the group made the healthy choice available to holiday shoppers and event attendees. Through sales and donations, they raised nearly $100 to contribute to Project Merry Christmas, which will use the funds to purchase gifts for at least four Clearview residents. Its a good thing that no one is forgotten, Zastrow said. Some of them dont have family left anymore. In Okinawa, Moais have helped to create strong, healthy and committed social networks for thousands of years. In Dodge County, Blue Zones Project is helping people find their own social group of people committed to seeking better health. The Walking for 10 Moai, through their commitment to one another, have improved not only their own health, but also the well-being of the community. To learn more about Blue Zones Project visit dodgecounty.bluezonesproject.com. If interested in joining a Moai, call 920-212 or email bluezonesprojectdodgecounty@sharecare.com. Its not just about the cake. If there is one point on which the parties in the Masterpiece Bakeshop appeal can agree, it is that baker Jack C. Phillips refusal to take a wedding cake order from Charlie Craig and David Mullins engendered concerns far beyond the culinary. The baker made clear his religious objection to same-sex unions; in fact, he had once declined to sell cupcakes to a lesbian couple for a commitment ceremony. Craig and Mullins filed a complaint with the state civil rights commission under its public accommodations law, the Colorado Anti-Discrimination Act. The act prohibits businesses such as the Masterpiece Bakeshop from discriminating against their customers on the basis of multiple categories: disability, race, creed, color, sex, sexual orientation, marital status, national origin, or ancestry. The act aims to protect the full and equal enjoyment of the goods, services, facilities, privileges, advantages, or accommodations of a place of public accommodation. The Colorado Civil Rights Commission ruled that Phillipss denial of the couples request was discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation. Phillips and the Masterpiece Bakeshop appealed unsuccessfully to the Colorado Supreme Court, arguing that his rights to freedom of speech and religion should require an exemption from the acts reach. On Dec. 5, the U.S. Supreme Court will hear arguments in this high-profile case. Here are a few thoughts about why the free speech and religion claims fail to persuade based on these facts. First, it is helpful to take a close look at the language above from the Colorado law, for it is structured in a way quite similar to public accommodations laws on both the federal and state levels. The concept of public accommodations laws emerged over a half-century ago to address pervasive and degrading exclusion on the basis of race and ethnicity; their purpose is to require fair treatment by entities that hold themselves out to the public for business. These laws are not identical in their protections; for example, many states omit disability, age and sexual orientation from specific coverage. However, when a state law such as Colorados specifies that businesses may not discriminate on the basis of sexual orientation, that law is underscoring the compelling nature of the governments interest in forbidding biased conduct. The Colorado commission and state Supreme Court held that refusing to provide a wedding cake to a couple based on their same-sex marital choice is indeed biased conduct prohibited by state law. Second, while it is true that Phillips is as entitled to freedom of speech and religion as any of us, he fails to explain why this conduct-based civil rights law should allow individuals to create an exception for themselves in providing goods, services, facilities on an equal basis to their customers. Phillips is still free to speak his mind and exercise his religious beliefs; the state is not coercing him to change his beliefs or his expression. Moreover, this is not a case in which Phillips was compelled or even asked to provide a message or endorsement of same-sex marriage. Commercially sold wedding cakes, however artistically designed or expressively baked, are not generally assumed to convey religious or other approval of a couple. If that were the case, the wedding cake industry might drop precipitously. Finally, to those who are wondering, Its just a cake. Why would you want someone who is against same-sex marriage to make an LGBT couples wedding cake? -- I reiterate the point on which both sides agree: Its not just about the cake. JUNEAU A 29-year-old Mayville man faces multiple charges related to molesting his two sons after his wife found evidence on his Google Photos account on the computer they share. The man, who is not being identified by the Daily Citizen to protect the identity of the victims, is charged with felony counts of first-degree sexual assault of a child under 12, incest with a child, child sexual exploitation and possession of child pornography. He could be sentenced to 165 years in prison and a $300,000 fine. The man appeared before Dodge County Court Commissioner Steven Seim and was ordered held on a $500,000 cash bond. He may not have any direct or indirect contact with the victims or their residence. He may not have contact with any minor children. He may not have possession of firearms and may not use the internet. According to the criminal complaint, the mother of the children called 911 on Oct. 15 and told police that her husband admitted that he had molested their two small children. The mother was having a panic attack while talking on the phone. She said that he admitted it while saying he was going to kill himself and had a gun to his head. She said Mayville Police had possession of the laptop that contained images depicting the alleged molestation. The woman talked with police over the next few days and she told them that she and her husband had separate Google accounts on the same computer. She said she went to the Google Photos page and her husbands account was logged in, revealing photos of sexual activity. The woman confronted her husband and asked who was in the photos. Eventually, the man talked with his wife and allegedly told her that he was molested when he was 8, and he didnt know what was wrong with him. She said he admitted to molesting their two boys, both under age 10. The woman said she ran away then because she didnt want to hear anything else. Police gained possession of his electronic equipment through warrants. Police talked to the man on Nov. 1 at a residence in Fond du Lac. Police had recovered erased images through the assistance of the Department of Justice Division of Criminal Investigation. The man told the police that he felt he needed an attorney, while being shown some of the photos that had been retrieved. Police next talked to the man on Nov. 30 when he was working at Mayville Engineering Company in Mayville. He was brought into the office area and the police said they were able to retrieve more images from the computer and from Google. The officer told the man that he knew what he deleted, and the day he deleted it. He also told him that there was a video recovered, and he asked the man if he knew what was on the video, and he said no. The officer told him the video was of him having sex with his son. He was then placed under arrest. The man, who is listed in custody of the Dodge County Jail, has a preliminary hearing scheduled Dec. 7. JUNEAU A 21-year-old Menomonee Falls man was given a nearly 5-year prison sentence Friday for charges related to backing his car into a Wisconsin State Patrol vehicle during a traffic stop in Dodge County. Zachary T. Jach appeared before Dodge County Circuit Court Judge Steven Bauer and entered a no-contest plea to a felony charge of resisting an officer causing a soft tissue injury to the officer. Several other felonies were dismissed but read into the record. Jach must serve 20 months of initial incarceration and a 36-month extended sentence. In addition he must pay $4,507 in restitution to the Wisconsin Department of Transportation. He also must pay fines and court costs. According to the criminal complaint, a state trooper attempted to stop a car driven by Jach on Highway 33 east of Horicon in the town of Hubbard at 3:14 p.m. June 27 after his vehicle was traveling 86 mph in a 55 mph zone. Jach stopped his car in the traffic lane on Highway S near Highway TW, put the vehicle in reverse and crashed into the State Patrol vehicle at least twice. Jach exited his car and was aggressive to the trooper, refusing to comply with commands. Two people passing by stopped to help the trooper control the man until deputies from the sheriffs office and officers from the Horicon Police Department arrived. The State Patrol took the man into custody. The suspect received minor injuries and was transported to Beaver Dam Community Hospital for evaluation. The trooper received minor injuries, was evaluated at the scene by medical personnel and was not transported. There were no other injuries. With the U.S. Senate poised to pass a once-in-a-generation bill remaking the federal tax code, U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson has dismissed as a joke the projection by Congress nonpartisan tax scorekeeper that it will swell the federal debt by $1 trillion. Johnson, R-Oshkosh, spoke to Wisconsin reporters Friday in a conference call from Washington, D.C. A Senate vote on the tax bill was possible later Friday. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., announced Friday morning that, after a flurry of late negotiations, he has secured the votes needed to pass it. Johnson was one of the holdouts on the bill who announced Friday that he will support it, based on changes making its treatment of pass-through businesses more favorable. Congress Joint Committee on Taxation, its official scorekeeper for tax legislation, announced Thursday that it projects the Senate tax bill would increase the federal debt by $1 trillion over a decade. That accounts for projected economic growth from the bills tax cuts, which the committee found would trigger economic growth resulting in additional federal tax revenues but not nearly enough to offset the more than $1.4 trillion in revenue lost in the next decade as a direct result of the tax cuts. Johnson dismissed the committees experts as living in a fantasy world. He asserted the bill will actually reduce federal deficits by boosting economic growth by far more than the Joint Committee on Taxation predicts. Asked what was the basis for that assertion, Johnson did not cite a study or model to support it. Johnson also dismissed questions about what Congress should do if the bill is made law and increases the debt, calling them a hypothetical. Johnson was elected in 2010 after emphasizing, in his campaign, his opposition to the growing federal debt, which under former President Barack Obama he called the single greatest threat currently facing America. In September, Johnson told a group in Madison he would support a tax overhaul bill as long as its pro-growth and doesnt increase the national debt. The bill, which would be the biggest tax-code overhaul in three decades, focuses most of its tax reductions on businesses and wealthy people, while giving more modest breaks to middle-income earners. Johnson announced Friday a deal had been struck to win his support that included an increase in the deduction for pass-through businesses. Johnsons objection had centered on its treatment of large corporations. WESTFIELD Marquette County-based chicken processor Brakebush Brothers celebrated the opening of a new production line Friday and now faces the challenge of filling 120 new positions. Company Chairman Carl Brakebush welcomed visitors made up of representatives from all levels of government, partner contractors and Brakebush family as the company unveiled Line 9. This has been in the works for over a year and we just started production about two weeks ago, Brakebush Marketing Manager Steve Ross said prior to the event. We have been working one shift to begin with and well be able to kick out about 25 million pounds (per year) with the one shift and then hopefully with time well be able to do a second shift. In the main conference room of the companys Westfield headquarters, Brakebush started at the beginning, with family photos dating back to 1925. According to Brakebush lore, founder Otto Brakebush said, We only wanted to give people some work and it turned out we could make some money doing this. The company evolved from a transportation business, Carl Brakebush said, flipping from a picture of Otto and the horses to the Sugar Shack. Brakebush explained that it was important to ship loads in each direction; the company used to haul sugar from the South to the high-demand territory of Wisconsin, where during Prohibition, sugar was needed to distill alcohol. Although he did not confirm any illicit associations, Brakebush said it might stand to reason given the time and the rural backwoods of Marquette County. More recently, Brakebush Transportation delivered Christmas trees from Silent Night Evergreens in Endeavor to the White House, where they were received by Melania and Barron Trump. Brakebush President Scott Sanders described the building project. The plant looks modest from the front, Sanders said. But it is substantial. The company invested about $45 million in the development of a new production line that, viewed from above, appeared to more than double the area of the current headquarters. The food service industry is growing an average of 3 percent, but weve been growing faster than that over the last three years, Ross said of the companys market, in which it delivers chicken products largely to restaurants, catering services, schools and the military. So this is just giving us more opportunities to grow our business with food service accounts like restaurants, colleges, health care, convenience stores and supermarkets. Among the companys clients are all five military academies, the University of Wisconsin and KFC. Five years ago, the company opened another plant in Irving, Texas, and a year ago, a facility in Wells, Minnesota. I didnt think we would have 1,000 (employees) and now we have more than that, Brakebush said. Now that nearly 50,000 square feet have been added, total production space has reached almost 600,000 square feet, he said. Right now, were looking for employees and Marquette County is tough. Its tough to keep them in this area. Were working with the schools and tech centers to get so people know were here, Brakebush said. The company has added a wellness center, with a part-time trainer and a staff doctor, which Brakebush said he hoped to see extended to family care. Were trying to make it comprehensive to take care of those kinds of needs so were trying to make it a family and keep it a family with those benefits, Brakebush said. Its a great feeling. You saw all the contractors 35 businesses were involved and I didnt even think about that before, but look at what they brought. Theyre bringing their people in and have to buy things to do what they need and hopefully theyre getting that from Wisconsin, so thats good stuff. Its 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. Denmans 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 Ukraines sovereignty and territorial integrity are fully restored, Denmans proposed amendment read. We also support providing lethal defensive weapons to Ukraines 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. Denmans 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. At the behest of the Trump campaign, the platform committee took out the throat-clearing introduction and changed Denmans reference to lethal defensive weapons for Ukraine to a pledge to provide appropriate assistance to the armed forces of Ukraine. They left in Denmans language on NATO. The final, Trump-approved passage read: We support maintaining and, if warranted, increasing sanctions, together with our allies, against Russia unless and until Ukraines 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 Denmans reference to NATO defense planning, which had not been in the original draft. Finally, Denmans lethal aid suggestion was changed to appropriate assistance to the armed forces a change that put the specific promise of U.S. aid to Ukraines 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 campaigns entirely defensible change of Denmans 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 GOPs anti-Russia stance on Ukraine a blatantly false description of events. 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 Ukraines 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 wont change until people begin to look at what actually happened at that Republican platform meeting in Cleveland. If a manual to successful bank robbery existed somewhere, one of the first rules might be "Don't leave the keys to your getaway car in the bank." A heavily-tattooed man who was arrested in September, a day after police said he robbed a bank in Sun Prairie, hitched a ride from a stranger after the robbery because he had left his car keys at the teller window during the robbery, according to a criminal complaint filed Friday. Alex Melton, 30, of Wisconsin Dells, appeared to be readily identifiable from the tattoos on his face, but police nailed down his identification after finding the keys to the car he had been driving and spoke with the friend who owned the car, who identified Melton as the man police were looking for, according to the complaint. Melton was jailed on $20,000 bail after appearing in Dane County Circuit Court on Friday. In addition to a charge of theft from a financial institution, Melton faces five counts of felony bail jumping, all related to five felony cases he currently faces for prior alleged offenses in Sauk County. According to the complaint: Police were called to the Bank of Sun Prairie, 695 S. Grand Ave., about 4:30 p.m. on Sept. 27 for a strong-arm robbery at the bank. A teller told police she was helping a customer at another teller's window when the customer said there was a "shady guy" pacing in the parking lot. The man, later identified as Melton, came into the bank and gave a teller a flier with the words, "I'm robbing you," written on it. She handed money to him, and he left. Both of the tellers noticed the tattoos on Melton's face and neck. No weapon was seen during the robbery. But Melton left behind a set of car keys at the teller's window, which police matched to a car parked nearby. Police found the man to whom the car was registered, who had no visible tattoos, and he said he had been with Melton just before the robbery. The man, a friend of Melton, said that Melton had dropped him off at a nearby store, and told him that he was going to rob a bank. Another man, who was not identified by name in the complaint, told police he had just gotten off work from a job near the bank when a man with "a lot of facial tattoos" approached and asked for a ride to the Lake Delton area. The man said he was going in that direction, so he gave Melton a ride. As they were driving, Melton told the man that he had just robbed a bank in Sun Prairie by passing a note to a teller. Melton was also identified by a surveillance video taken in the bank. After his arrest in Lake Delton on Sept. 28, Melton admitted to police that he robbed the bank. Mount Everest is the highest mountain in the world with the highest point being 29,029 feet above sea level. The mountain is located in the Himalayas and was officially given its English name in 1865 by the Royal Geographical Society. The mountain draws many climbers every year, and most of them are experienced. There are two common routes used by climbers, first is the standard route in Nepal which approaches the peak from the south-east, and the other route in Tibet that approaches the peak from the northern side. The mountain presents dangers such as harsh weather and wind conditions, acute mountain sickness, and several dangers from avalanches. By 2016 there were more 200 corpses on the mountain. The Tragedy The tragedy that happened on Mount Everest in 1996 occurred from May 10 to 11. It happened when eight people who were caught up in a blizzard while attempting to climb down the mountain peak lost their lives. 12 people lost their lives trying to reach the peak over the entire season, making it the worst fatal year on the mountain at the time. More recently there has been the Mount Everest Avalanche of 2014 which saw 16 dying, and in April 2015, 18 people perished from several avalanches caused by the Nepal earthquake. Climbers from both the South and the North route perished during the 1996 tragedy, but the South events were reported widely. Climbers The list of climbers headed to the peak on May 10, 1996 via the South Col and Southeast Ridge comprised of two groups. The Adventure Consultants was led by Robb Hall and consisted of eight clients, two guides, and several Sherpas. Jon Krakauer, a journalist with the Outsider magazine, was part of the team. The team lost four members in the tragedy. The second team, the Mountain Madness expedition, was led by Scott Fisher and included three guides, eight clients, and several sherpas. They lost only one member. The Taiwanese expedition made up of five members, and a part of the Indo-Tibetan border police team, was climbing the North route. Cause of the Tragedy In 2004, researchers from the University of Toronto mentioned that a scrutiny of weather conditions on May 11th indicated that the severe weather caused oxygen levels to decline by approximately 6% causing a 14% reduction of oxygen intake by the body. The reduction in oxygen is as a result of reduction in pressure and not the composition of the air gases. The tragedy has been reviewed, and several chain of events has been noted to have caused the tragedy. The events include an unexpected storm which surprised the Mountaineers, and the team leaders decision to proceed to the peak after 2 pm even though the cut-off time is 2 pm. Several climbers ran out of oxygen and guides had to carry up bottled oxygen to stranded climbers in the storm. In addition, delays in securing fixed ropes in turn led to delay in reaching the peak. Lastly, two climbers became ill near the summit at 3 pm. The tragedy was widely published and scrutinized. Publications About the Event The survivors of the disaster have published several books on their experiences. Jon Krakauer published Into Thin Air in 1997, which became be a bestseller. One of the guides in Fischer's group named Anatoli Boukreev co-authored The Climb: Tragic Ambitions on Everest in 1997. Mike Trueman published the book titled The Storms: Adventure and Tragedy on Everest in 2015. Clwyd South MP visits local entrepreneur ahead of Small Business Saturday This article is old - Published: Saturday, Dec 2nd, 2017 An independent, family run business has been praised for its unique offering and significant impact it has on the world stage. Clwyd South MP, Susan Elan Jones visited local business, Tea Drop, to catch up with its entrepreneurial owner, Arjun Singh, in the run up to Small Business Saturday on the 2nd December. The business, launched in June 2016 and based in Cefn Mawr, sources an array of organic teas from across the globe; selling them online through their website and to high end hotels, cafes and restaurants. Explaining Tea Drops offering, Arjun said: We pride ourselves on being a boutique, artisan brand. Our tea leaves are handpicked before being heat sealed at source to keep them as fresh as possible; you wouldnt open a bottle of wine, leaving it for a few days before replacing the cork, then expect the wine to be as good. Following the visit, Susan Elan Jones MP said: I am delighted to have had the opportunity to visit Tea Drop today. It is an excellent example of a local, family run business, which is what Small Business Saturday is all about. It is particularly pleasing to see how Arjun strives to make the business as socially responsible as possible. From being an almost paper free office to supporting health and education programmes for plantation workers and their families, Tea Drop is an outstanding example of how a small, conscientiously run business can have a significant impact on the world stage. For more information, please visit the Tea Drop website or email Tea Drop at sales@teadrop.co.uk. Police Christmas campaign targeting drink and drug drivers begins This article is old - Published: Saturday, Dec 2nd, 2017 A month-long police operation targeting those who risk their own lives and the lives of others by driving under the influence, has begun. The all Wales Christmas Anti Drink and Drug Drive Campaign, which launched on December 1st, will see officers across the country use intelligence-led tactics and local knowledge of hotspots to detect people who are driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol over the festive period. North Wales Police will lead the all Wales campaign and will be using social media to drive home the message the impact of drink and drug driving. For the first time officers from the North Wales Police Roads Policing Unit have given their own accounts of what it is like to deal with the aftermath of a collision involving a drink or drug driver and these will be used via social media every day throughout the campaign using the hashtags #ChooseWisely and #Fatal5. Superintendent Jane Banham from North Wales Police Roads Policing Unit said: Once again our campaign will be heavily focussed around preventing drink or drug driving to stop those who are risking their lives and the lives of innocent road users. Officers from the Roads Policing Unit, Safer Neighbourhood Teams and the Special Constabulary will be working and anyone who is considering driving whilst under the influence of drink or drugs should know that we will be out and about waiting for them -please dont think the rural nature of the region affords you protection because it doesnt. Anyone caught faces a minimum 12-18 month ban and I would urge people to take a moment and think seriously about how that would affect your life; driving to work or college, childcare arrangements or school runs, socialising and visiting family. The impact of losing your licence is enormous. Worst still, you could injure or kill yourself or someone else. Drink driving isnt worth the risk. All four Welsh forces are fully committed to help make the roads safer for all and will continue to target those who endanger their own lives and the lives of others. Dont drive under the influence of drink or drugs even a very small amount of drugs or alcohol can affect your ability to drive safelyDont let your friends and family pay the price. Economy and Transport Secretary Ken Skates said: Every time anyone gets behind the wheel having had a drink, even one, the chances of an accident increase. The coming weeks will see people from across Wales celebrate Christmas and Id like to reiterate how imperative it is that everything possible is done to keep us all safe on our roads. Whilst Id like to thank our heroic Police, Fire and Rescue and Ambulance service who so often have to deal first hand with the preventable consequences of drink driving, I hope to see the Welsh public planning ahead and acting responsibly this Christmas to ensure that they do not put themselves, and others, in unnecessary danger. During the 2016 campaign North Wales Police administered 9,448 breath tests of which 95 were positive, failed or refused and there were 60 drug drive arrests. So far this year (1st January up to 20th November) North Wales Police have made 782 drink drive arrests and 526 drug drive arrests. Supt Banham added: Officers are on heightened alert all year round but especially at this time of year they will spot you, they will catch you and you will face the consequences. Drivers need to be aware that regardless of the time of day they are caught, whether they are going to work or taking children to school, they will face the same penalties as someone who has chosen to drink heavily in a pub and driven at night. If you suspect someone is driving while unfit to do so, please report it immediately to police on 101 (or 999 if they are posing imminent danger) or phone it through anonymously to Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111. Opening statements are expected to be heard today in the first round of trials for the 194 protesters who face state reprisal for their participation in an alleged riot that took place on January 20 during demonstrations to protest the inauguration of President Donald Trump. The incident which sparked the police crackdown occurred when a small group of individuals smashed a series of windows and set a limousine on fire. Prosecutors allege a group called Disrupt J20 organized the protest and carried out the vandalism, describing rioters who used black bloc tactics such as wearing all black and masking their faces. Soon after the disruption, the police surrounded and kettled a group of hundreds of protesters in the area, eventually arresting 230 people. A report from the Washington, D.C. Office of Police Complaints detailed indiscriminate mass arrests and the use of nonlethal weapons without proper warning. Police fired upon the crowd with chemical agents, pepper spray, rubber bullets and stinger grenades. Protesters also claim the police sexually assaulted multiple detainees. Prosecutors initially charged 214 people with felony rioting, a charge which carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison. In April, a grand jury issued additional charges. So far, 20 have pleaded guilty. The remaining 194 awaiting trial face as much as up to 70 years in prison. Assistant US Attorney Jennifer Kerkhoff is pressuring the court to issue the maximum sentence to all 194 defendantseven ones who were simply in the wrong place at the wrong time. A person can be convicted of rioting without breaking a window, Kerkhoff claimed at a hearing in July. It is the group who is the danger, the group who is providing the elements. The prosecution has already begun looking into a Facebook page used to discuss plans for the protest and profiles associated with Disrupt J20, potentially revealing information to the federal government about thousands of people who expressed anti-Trump sentiments. The character of the trials so far and the severity of the charges make clear that the entire case is a frame-up aimed at intimidating protesters and silencing dissent. The court is doing all it can to stack the jury against the accused. During jury selection last week for the first six trials DC Superior Court Judge Lynn Leibovitz explicitly asked prospective jurors about their views on the president. Multiple potential jurors were immediately removed from the selection pool when they voiced sympathy for the protesters, as was a woman who claimed she did not intend to give greater weight to police testimony. At the same time, a contractor who designs websites for one of the vandalized banks remained under consideration for inclusion. Astonishingly, a man whose brother was involved in coordinating the Coast Guards participation in President Trumps inauguration day proceedings and had spent a decade as a DC police officer was also not excused. The first round of trials will involve six defendants who have been charged with felony rioting though in many cases there is no real connection between the individuals charged and those that actually carried out acts of vandalism. Trials are scheduled to take place in small groups through all of 2018. The first six to be tried are Jennifer Armento, 38, of Philadelphia; Michelle Macchio, 26, of Asheville, North Carolina; Oliver Harris, 28, of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Brittne Lawson, 27, of Aspinwall, Pennsylvania; Christina Simmons, 20, of Cockeysville, Maryland; and Alexei Wood, 27, of San Antonio, Texas. The viciousness with which that state is pursuing Alexei Wood, a photojournalist and videographer, underscores the contempt with which the ruling class views the freedom of the press and the anti-democratic character of the trials. Wood faces up to 61 years in prison on charges of felony rioting and the destruction of property. Wood had posted a video of the demonstration to social media. Despite the fact that the video was clearly shot from the point of view of an onlooker and not an active participant in any of the acts of vandalism, DC Superior Court Judge Lynn Lebovitz has decided that Wood's commentary on the video is tantamount to statements of conspiracy. According to NPR, Woods offending statements occurred when he made a series of enthusiastic but nevertheless vague exclamations such as Woo! at various intervals throughout the video. The fact that Leibovitz has been selected to preside over the trials is itself politically significant. She has been routinely hailed in the mainstream press as DCs toughest judge, having been described by one defense attorney as smart and relentless. The former prosecutor was tapped by President George W. Bush in 2001 to preside over the DC Superior Court. In 2005, Leibovitz sentenced an 18-year-old to one month in prison for graffiti tagging. She denied his lawyers requests to send him to a halfway house, replying, I want him to see what the inside of the DC jail looks like. Leibovitz also sentenced a 78-year-old antiwar activist to 25 days in prison in 2010 after the woman had disrupted a Senate Foreign Relations subcommittee hearing in protest over the criminal imperialist wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Adding insult to cruelty, she said the womans activities demeaned the action of protest. It is no coincidence that the vandalism which resulted in the mass arrest of protesters was associated with the petty bourgeois anarchist Black Bloc. The group is known to be rife with agent-provocateurs notorious for disrupting demonstrations by engaging in acts of vandalism and confrontations with police. This amalgamation of demoralized and politically confused middle class radicals has been shown time and again to have been infiltrated by the police in order to justify violent repression. In January of last year, evidence came to light that connected the Canadian section of the Black Bloc to the Montreal Police Department which used agent-provocateurs to break up a demonstration against police violence and the austerity policies of the Quebec Liberal government. During the night in question, a university student recognized a Black Bloc member as a police officer when he briefly removed his mask. The officer had arrested her at a previous protest. When confronted, the police agent and his partners beat up the protesters and arrested one, while the agent in question pulled a gun on the protesters. The Quebec government vehemently defended the officers violent actions, with police spokesman Ian Lafreniere claiming the officers had feared for their lives. Documents released in 2011 revealed that 12 undercover police agents had spied on and infiltrated protest groups planning to participate in demonstrations against world leaders at the June 2010 G-20 summit meeting in Toronto. In 2014, an undercover police officer pulled a gun on protesters in Berkeley, California in the wake of the police murders of Michael Brown and Eric Garner. Protesters claimed undercover police officers were attempting to instigate looting and had been banging on windows. With all-party support, Canadas Parliament adopted in late October a new sanctions law patterned after the US Magnitsky Act. Under the pretext of targeting so-called human rights violators, the legislation provides a ready mechanism for Ottawa to sanction leaders of, and ratchet up tensions with, Russia and other countries in the cross-hairs of Canadian and US imperialism. The Justice for Victims of Corrupt Foreign Officials Act (Bill S-226) enables the government to freeze Canadian assets of corrupt foreign officials and prevent them from entering Canada. Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland, a self-avowed Ukrainian nationalist and notorious anti-Russian hawk, announced the first round of sanctions under the new law at the beginning of this month. They target 52 individuals in Russia, South Sudan and Venezuela, including Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro. These sanctions were imposed only weeks after Canada targeted 40 other Venezuelan government officials and individuals under a different sanctions regime. Venezuelan Foreign Minister Jorge Arreaza has labelled the sanctions as illegal and accused Canada of absolute and shameful subordination" to Washington in its campaign for regime-change in Caracas. Russian President Vladimir Putin responded to the passage of Bill S-226 by accusing Canada of playing unconstructive political games. While not revealing any names, Kirill Kalinin, a spokesman for the Russian embassy in Ottawa told the Globe and Mail that a large number of Canadians pursuing a toxic Russophobic agenda were now prohibited from entering Russia. Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova confirmed that the list of Canadians contains dozens of names. Canadas Magnitsky Act is only the latest step in its longstanding and growing strategic rivalry with Russia. Ottawa staunchly supported NATOs expansion to Russia borders, which was undertaken in violation of pledges given to Moscow at the end of the Cold War. It has played a major role in Washingtons quarter-century long drive to bring Ukraine under western domination; and today is an integral part of the US-led military-strategic offensive to isolate, encircle and prepare for war with Russia. Since coming to power in 2015, Trudeaus Liberal government has continued and even intensified Conservative Prime Minister Stephen Harpers anti-Russia agenda. In Ukraine, Canada was deeply involved in the February 2014 fascist-spearheaded, US-orchestrated putsch that toppled the countrys pro-Russian elected president, Victor Yanukovych. Trudeau has continued Canadas close relationship with the far-right regime in Kiev. Last year Ottawa signed a free trade pact with Ukraine that facilitates arm deals between the two countries. When he travelled to Ukraine in the summer of 2016 visit, Trudeau boasted that Canadian troops are training Ukrainian forces to liberate eastern Ukraine from pro-Russian separatists. This was a reference to the 200 Canadian Armed Forces personnel who are training Ukrainian Army and National Guard troops under a mission set to last until 2019. The Canadian Armed Forces is commanding and anchoring a NATO forward deployed battlegroup in Latvia, one of four such battalions that have been established since 2016 in the three Baltic States and Poland. Canada also now routinely deploys battleships to the Black Sea and warplanes to patrol Russias western border. Another element in Canadas conflict with Russia is Ottawas determination to expand its military presence in the Arctic, where the two countries have competing claims for the resource-rich Arctic seabed. The original Magnitsky Act was adopted in 2012, with bi-partisan support, as part of the Obama administrations increasingly hardline anti-Russia stance. The Obama administration seized on a persistent campaign waged by multi-millionaire financier and Hermitage Capital-founder William F. Browder for anti-Russia measures, following the 2009 death of his lawyer, Sergei Magnitsky, in a Russian prison. Browder, who made a fortune out of the restoration of capitalism in Russia, alleges Magnitsky was jailed on trumped up charges and refused proper medical care, because he had uncovered a US$230 million tax fraud involving Russian government officials. In addition to the US and Canada, Britain and Estonia have implemented Magnitsky-style sanctions legislation. The US law enables the government to deny visas and block access to American banks to Russians and others accused of human rights abuses. Browder has praised Canadas adoption of like legislation, saying that the fact that the government came out so quickly with this shows how serious they are. This is a demonstration of moral leadership in a world that's sorely needing world leadership right now. In reality, the Canadian parliaments unanimous adoption of a Magnitsky-style law is a further sign that the Canadian ruling class is determined to deepen the countrys already extremely close military-security partnership with Washington, while pressuring the Trump administration not to seek any accommodation with Moscow. Since the election of Donald Trump, Trudeaus Liberals and Canadas corporate media have aligned themselves with the furious anti-Russia campaign mounted by the Democrats and a section of the Republicans, in league with the military-intelligence apparatus. Without providing any evidence, this campaign has baldly asserted that Russia, under the direct orders of Putin, covertly intervened in the 2016 US elections to undermine Hillary Clintons presidential bid and favour Trumps victory. This neo-McCarthyite campaign is increasingly being exploited to label all voices critical of the US ruling class as Russian stooges and demand that they be censored. It takes place in a context of fierce and ongoing conflicts within the US political establishment over matters of foreign policy. Specifically, the issue at stake is whether to prioritize Russia or, as Trump advocates, China for economic and military confrontation. Although Russia is the prime target of Bill S-226, the Liberal government is seeking to invoke human rights to advance Canadian imperialist interests around the globe. Trudeaus humanitarian rhetoric is shot through with hypocrisy. Canada, as a long-standing ally of US imperialism, has for decades resorted to the most ruthless methods to enforce its predatory imperialist ambitions around the globe. This includes assisting in installing, arming and otherwise supporting right-wing dictatorships, backing US wars of aggression, and spying on the worlds population through Canadas membership of the American National Security Agency-led Five Eyes surveillance network. In tandem with Washington, Ottawa maintains a studious silence when western-aligned governments such as Saudi Arabia, Israel or Egypt commit gross human rights violations. Indeed, Canada recently concluded a $15 billion arms deal with Riyadh, facilitating the absolutist sheikdoms suppression of its own population and its brutal war against the Yemeni people, which has claimed tens of thousands of lives in the Arab worlds most impoverished country. During his recent Asian tour, Trudeau declared his willingness to work with the fascistic president of the Philippines Rodrigo Duterte as well as the Burmese government of Aung San Suu Kyi, which is carrying out an ethnic pogrom against Rohingya Muslims. While claiming to uphold international law and human rights, Canada has engaged in virtually uninterrupted war over the last two decades, including NATOs 1999 bombardment of Yugoslavia, the invasion and occupation of Afghanistan for a decade beginning in 2001, the 2011 war on Libya, and the ongoing conflict in Syria and Iraq. In its foreign interventions, Canada has shown no qualms in cooperating with far-right, fascistic forces, such as in its 2004 toppling of the Haitian government of Jean-Bertrand Aristide. Trudeau is also indifferent to glaring human rights abuses at home, when not overseeing further encroachments on Canadians democratic rights. Trudeau preaches native reconciliation. But his government has refused to provide native people living on reserves with per capita health and education funding commensurate with that given other Canadians and has privately reassured Big Oil that it is ready to deploy the army to suppress protests against the building of environmentally and socially-destructive pipelines. And while the Liberals do everything to prevent desperate asylum seekers from fleeing to Canada to escape the Trump administrations brutal anti-immigrant crackdown, hundreds of refugees, including children, are left to rot in Canadian jails without trial, merely because they lack adequate identification papers. Since 2000, at least 15 people have died while detained by the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA), including at least three since the Liberals came to power two years ago. The European Union (EU) and African Union (AU) held a joint summit November 29-30 in Abidjan in the Ivory Coast. The meeting was overshadowed by the unfolding disaster caused by imperialist wars in Libya and the Sahel region, and escalating neo-colonial interventions of the EU powers, particularly France. It brought together leaders of 50 African and European countries to concentrate on EU plans to block immigration from Africa and, without saying it openly, to undermine China's growing influence in the continent. In the lead-up to the summit, protests erupted across Africa and in France against the barbaric treatment of African refugees by the Islamist militias controlling Libya, where CNN filmed the operations of slave markets that have re-appeared since the 2011 NATO war. After these protests, African regimes withdrew their diplomats from Tripoli. The reappearance of slavery expresses the political essence of European imperialism's neo-colonial intervention in Africa. Six years after the military intervention on the pretext of human rights and the protection of the Libyan population against Colonel Muammar Gaddafi's government, the result is not only a humanitarian disasteras African migrants, interned by the hundreds of thousands in horrific conditions in the camps, are sold as slaves on Libyan markets. Those responsible for this crime are now proposing to carry out a similar policy. This time they are presenting it under the cynical label of a struggle against slavery, reinforcing the militarization of the region and creating conditions for great-power conflicts in Africa. Citing the threadbare pretext of the war on terror, the summit declared the military operations launched in the Sahel by Paris and Berlin would be intensified, including the new G5 Sahel military force (Mali, Niger, Chad, Burkina Faso and Mauritania), which operates together with French troops in the region. We will support ongoing efforts to fight terrorism, including by supporting the G5 Sahel, declares the summit statement. French President Emmanuel Macron demanded that these countries, among the poorest in the world, provide thousands of troops for French-led military operations. A specific summit statement on migrants in Libya calls for a task force to operate in the country. At the end of the summit, AU Commission President Mahamat Moussa Faki declared, We have decided to set up a task force to act now to bring home 3,800 migrants from Libya. He added that the main task in the short term is to help women and children who are in this inhuman situation. The day after the summit, Macron insisted that Africa police units be sent to Libya, adding that the deployment of military forces or police by France is not being considered at this point. Since France already unofficially operates within Libya, such a rescue operation can only signify the setting up of military operations to prepare a new imperialist war in Libya. On the pretext of fighting people smugglers and traffickers, the EU wants to militarily control the routes taken by migrants across the Mediterranean and Europe. The summit announced the creation in each country of special forces in order to accelerate the deportation of migrants back to their countries of origin. Another priority underscored by the summit statement is to increase European investment, particularly from private sources, in Africa. According to Ivory Coast president Alassane Ouattara, the goal is the structural transformation of Africa and a transformation on the ground of Africa's resources. This policy, including a pledge to use a European External Investment Plan to leverage up to 44 billion [$US 52.3 billion] in investments in Africa, is aimed at increasing European capital's influence with the African bourgeoisies. Indeed, one of the EU's main goals in the summit was to block the development of Chinese influence in Central and Western Africa. Just before the Abidjan summit opened, the Second China-Africa Investment Forumin which hundreds of Chinese and African officials discussed boosting Chinese investment in Africawas ending in Rabat, Morocco. The European imperialist powers are alarmed at China's rising economic and political influence in Africa. Le Monde recently cited a McKinsey & Company report noting that Chinese firms already generate 12 percent of African industrial production now estimated at $500 billion (430 billion). In the infrastructure sector, Chinese firms already have 50 percent of market share. More than 10,000 Chinese firms are operating on the continent, and 90 percent of them are private. This is enough to deflate a lot of received wisdom. EU and especially French imperialism, which maintained considerable economic and political control over its former colonies after decolonization, aim to block this development. Throughout the post-1960s period, the economies and societies of Francophone West Africa were subordinated to the needs of French imperialism by countless mechanisms, including the denomination of African monetary reserves in the CFA franc and a network of permanent military bases in Africa. Paris organized dozens of coups in order to preserve this control. Moreover, the Sahel, which has abundant reserves of petroleum and natural gas, constitutes a key zone for exploitation by the multinational corporations. Beijing recently set up its own aid fund for the Sahel. Macron's trip to Burkina Faso on the eve of the Abidjan summit had already made clear the neo-colonial character of the EU intervention in Africa. When he arrived in the capital, Ouagadougou, on November 27, he was greeted by hostile protests. The next day, protesters threw stones at the vehicles accompanying him. Near Ouagadougou University, where Macron was to speak, cars were destroyed before his arrival. Fearing protests, Burkina Faso's government felt compelled to close all the schools on Monday and Tuesday. A humiliating joke by Macron at the expense of Burkina President Roch Kabore, whom he ordered to fix the air conditioning in the hall where they were speaking, only underlined his arrogant and neo-colonial outlook. Both in Burkina Faso and neighboring Ivory Coast, Macron's joke was widely seen as a humiliation for the Burkina governmentperhaps deserved, given broad opposition to the Burkina government's collaboration with French imperialist wars. Macron is already working closely with Libyan forces who are persecuting migrants. He has proposed to build triage centers in Libyan detention camps, where French officials would work with their Libyan counterparts to identify a minority of refugees to be admitted into Europeand prevent all the rest from leaving North Africa. David Walsh, arts editor of the WSWS, will be speaking at a meeting on December 5 to discuss the impact and influence of the Russian Revolution on art and culture, and its meaning today. The meeting will be held at 7:00 pm at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor-North Campus, the East Room in the Pierpoint Commons. The Russian Revolution of 1917 was an earthshaking event, the first time the working class and oppressed took power. It opened a new era in human history. The revolution inevitably had the most profound implications for art and culture, not only in Russia but worldwide. It shattered old ideas and relationships, and opened enormous new possibilities. Soviet art and film of the early 1920s began to reflect these possibilities, before the rise of Stalinism violently cut them off. Art today has reached an impasse, bound up with the general crisis of capitalist society. Dominated to a large extent by skepticism and postmodernist cynicism, along with gender and racial politics, very far removed from the conditions of life of wide layers of the population, art needs a new perspective. The lessons and experience of the Russian Revolution are critical in this regard. Meeting Details: Tuesday, December 5, 7:00 PM University of Michigan-North Campus Pierpoint Commons, East Room 2101 Bonisteel Blvd. Ann Arbor, Michigan A recent study carried out by the homeless charity Shelter calculates there are now 268,000 people in England classed as homeless. The figure for the whole of the UK stands at 307,000. Even these figures are a conservative estimate, with many more going unrecorded. Often described as the hidden face of homelessness, they include those who are sofa surfing, having to move from one place to the next. The number of homeless has risen by four percent since 2016. Legally this includes not just rough sleepers, the visible aspect of homelessness with people sleeping out on the streets, but also single people in hostels, and those in temporary accommodation. According to Shelter, this would mean that at least one in every 200 people across the population are considered homeless. This involves an estimated 4,100 people sleeping out on the streets, 242,000 in temporary accommodation, and another 21,000 staying in hostels, or being housed temporarily by social services. London has the highest number of homeless people in the country, and accounts for 31 of the worst hotspots, including the borough of Newham, with one in 25 people being recorded as homeless. However, other areas have been identified across the country including Brighton, with one in 69, and Birmingham, one in 88. In the last year, the number of homeless people has risen by 13,000. Local authorities, who process homelessness applications, record the reason statutory homeless households have lost their last settled home. The main cause is the loss of a private tenancy. Three in ten statutory homelessness applications are due to this, and these numbers have soared since cuts to housing benefit were introduced in 2011. The introduction of the Local Housing Allowance that applies to private tenancies has placed a ceiling on what rent will be paid on tenancies in particular areas, and has led to many people being unable to find a place they can afford to rent. The rise in rental costs places enormous financial burdens on people trying to find accommodations. In London, rents in the private rented sector have soared, going up by 24 percent since 2010, eight times the average rise in earnings. Local authorities face rising financial demands as they are left to foot the bill for the increase in homelessness. Local authorities are housing the equivalent of an extra secondary schools worth of homeless children in temporary accommodation every month. In 2015/16, the majority of the 1.1 billion spent on housing was used for providing temporary accommodation. That has increased by 39 percent in real terms since 2010/11, from 606 million to 845 million, and over the same period, spending on other services, prevention, ongoing support and administration has fallen by 9 percent, from 334 million to 303 million. In August, the homeless charity Crisis reported that it estimates that by 2041 the number of homeless people in Britain will have doubled to 575,000. The numbers of people estimated to be sleeping rough will quadruple, from a 2016 figure of 9,100, to 41,000. Those placed in bed and breakfast accommodation by local authorities are expected to rise from 19,300 to 117,500. Rising homelessness is often associated with urban, inner city areas of the country, yet it is becoming a growing problem in rural areas. A study carried out by the Institute for Public Policy Research, found that in 2015/16, 6,270 households were accepted as homeless in England, across 91 largely, rural local authorities. This accounts for, on average, 1.3 people out of every 1000 households. In sixteen of these predominantly rural areas, the figure rose to 2.0 in every 1,000 households. This is a higher rate than for urban areas for 2010/11. The figures for rough sleeping in largely rural areas increased by 52 percent between 2010 to 2016. The rise in rural homelessness is not too dissimilar from urban homelessness, often associated with family breakdown, and the end of a short hold assured tenancy. Many cases of homelessness, including rough sleeping, are hidden due to people bedding down for the night in places not in the public viewbarns, out houses, parked cars, tents, and fields. It is likely that the numbers are in fact higher as they are harder to find and record. Rural areas face specific problems, associated with communities often being isolated, having limited transport infrastructure, not able to effectively deliver services to homeless people and with restraints being placed on overstretched budgets. These problems are exacerbated by the lack of housing supply and affordability, with homes in rural areas being less affordable than homes in urban areas. The growth of second homes and holiday lets are another factor contributing to the lack of supply. The figures for Devon in 2016 show that the number of second homes accounted for three percent of the total housing stock, 12,000 homes. This pressure on local housing stock has led to many local residents not being able to find anywhere to live. The problem has been exacerbated by the lack of any major home building programme over the last 30 years. At the same time there have been major cuts to services working to prevent homelessness and a lack of decent temporary accommodation. These cuts have been carried out with the complicity of local Labour authorities across the country. Despite all the hand wringing from Labour MPs such as Jim McMahon Labour MP for West Royton, who said, This is a crisis of the government's own making, one would have to ask, which government is he referring to? According to government figures, the number of additional dwellings built between 2016/17 was 217,350, an increase of 15 percent on last year. This included 41,530 dwellings built in England that were classed as affordable, a figure well below the average for the past ten years. Following last weeks budget statement, the government announced a further 300,000 homes a year to be built. Not even a fifth of these homes will be affordable, condemning many people to insecure accommodation for the rest of their lives. Republican Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell announced Friday afternoon that he had the necessary 50 votes to pass the tax cut for the wealthy and giant corporations through the Senate. Voting on a series of amendments by Democrats, nearly all rejected on 52-48 party-line votes, culminated in final passage of the measure early Saturday morning by a 51-49 margin. The undemocratic process by which the tax cut bill has been pushed through the House and Senate testifies to its reactionary and socially criminal character. There have been no public hearings, no witness testimony, no submissions from economists or tax experts about the impact of the massive changes proposed in the federal tax code. As late as 4:15 p.m. Friday, as debate continued on amendments to the bill, the actual text of the legislation was not available to senators preparing to vote on it, let alone the American people. Handwritten pages were being pasted into the bill after they had been reviewed and approved by corporate lobbyists. Entire chapters accounting for hundreds of billions of dollars in revenue were being rewritten behind closed doors to satisfy the demands of the last few Republican holdouts. For Senator Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, who voted against Obamacare repeal, the price of her vote was incorporating into the tax bill an unrelated provision opening the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge for oil and gas exploration. For Ron Johnson of Wisconsin and Steve Daines of Montana, the price was another $60 billion in tax breaks for S-corporations, the mid-sized, multi-million-dollar enterprises that were treated less advantageously in the original bill than giant corporations. The families of both senators own such companies. Senator Susan Collins of Maine extracted a promise from Trump to support increased financial subsidies for big insurance companies participating in Obamacare. Democratic senators made demagogic statements during the floor debate, denouncing the legislation as a handout to the wealthy and big business. The pretense of concern for the impact on working people is completely bogus, but the outrage on the part of the Democrats is real: they are angry that they have been cut out of the lucrative deal-making. The White House and the Senate Republican leadership decided to push the tax cut through under a procedure known as reconciliation, which requires only 50 votes and avoids the threat of a filibuster, depriving the Democrats of any input on the legislation. All previous tax cut bills have been bipartisan affairs, in which the two capitalist parties worked together to deliver the goods to their favored corporate interests. The Democrats are not seeking to rally popular opposition to a brazen tax giveaway to the super-rich. Rather, they are appealing to the Republicans to let them participate in the grubby legislative horse-trading. At least 15 Democrats appeared at a press conference Tuesday to send a message to the Republican majority: Why settle for just 50 votes on tax reform when you could get as many as 70? Senator Joe Manchin of West Virginia, one of the group, said. If youve heard the rhetoric that Democrats dont want tax reform, thats false. We want tax reform. The country needs meaningful tax reform. Senate Democratic Leader Charles Schumer was not in the group, but he has repeatedly indicated his support for the main goals of the tax bill, which are to slash the corporate income tax rate, now 35 percent, and to allow giant companies holding trillions in cash overseas to repatriate the funds and pay only a nominal tax. He closed out the Senate debate with unctuous praise for Republicans, many of whom I admire, and an appeal for them to reconsider and reach a bipartisan deal with the Democrats. The White House and the congressional Republicans are seeking to conceal the brazen class character of the tax bill with an unprecedented barrage of lies. Trump appeared at a campaign-style rally in Missouri where he claimed that the tax bill would hurt billionaires like himself, while helping people of more humble means: Our focus is on helping the folks who work in the mailrooms and machine shops of America, the plumbers and the carpenters, the cops and the teachers, the truck drivers and the pipe fitters. Both the New York Times and the Washington Post published analyses Friday of the impact of the tax cuts on Trump, based on his 2005 tax return, the only one available, showing that under the Trump-backed bill the billionaire president would save $31 million of the $38 million he paid in taxes that year, as well as (in the House version) escaping an estimated $1.1 billion in estate taxes. The class character of the tax cut legislation must be understood historically. During the heyday of American capitalism, when the ruling elite could afford to extend modest concessions to working people, the income tax rate on the wealthiest families rose as high as 90 percent. Even if this rate could be evaded through tax avoidance schemes, it set a marker that those with the highest incomes were expected to pay significant amounts to underwrite federal social spending. Over the past 40 years, as a central part of the social counterrevolution waged by the US ruling elite, under both Democratic and Republican administrations, the top income tax rate has dropped sharply: from 90 percent to 70 percent in the 1970s, then from 70 percent to 28 percent under Reagan in the 1980s. Huge tax cuts for the wealthy combined with a savage attack on working class wages to drive up economic inequality to staggering levels. Today, three American billionaires own more wealth than the bottom half of the population. Real wages have stagnated or declined since 1972. The current tax bill marks a certain culmination in this process. American capitalism is in deepening crisis. The soaring stock market is not a sign of health, but the fever chart of a system on the brink of collapse. There is a genuine element of desperation in the frenzy in Washington to engineer one more transfusion of financial resources taken from working people and pumped into the sclerotic veins of the Wall Street addicts. The money-grabbing is so reckless that the tax bill does not provide even a fig leaf of fairness. In 2027, for example, according to figures provided by the Joint Committee on Taxation and the Congressional Budget Office (both Republican-controlled), the bill raises the taxes of people making $40,000 to $50,000 a year by $5.3 billion and cuts the taxes of those making $1 million a year or more by $5.8 billion. The methods employed by the ruling elite to resolve its crisis at the expense of the working class will provoke increasing popular resistance. Under the pay-as-you-go rules enacted as part of a series of bipartisan budget deals between the Obama administration and the Republican Congress, the $1.5 trillion tax cut over ten years must be offset by yearly cuts of $150 billion in spending, unless Congress approves a waiver by a super-majority vote. This means that the new year will begin with demands from the White House and Congress that the budget deficitwhich they have made much worse by cutting taxes on the richbe financed through across-the-board cuts in domestic programs, particularly the largest programs: Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security. Wall Street, the biggest beneficiary of the tax cut bonanza, will lead the charge for austerity measures. Goldman Sachs has already sounded the alarm, sending a note to clients Thursday warning that the US national debt was on track to hit unsustainable levels and was already at its highest point, as a percentage of GDP, since 1950. In its increasingly naked drive to monopolize all the wealth of society, the ruling class is fueling a growing mood of anger and opposition, with revolutionary implications. The coming struggles of the working class will require a complete political break with the two parties of big business, the Democrats and Republicans, and the building of a mass independent political movement based on a socialist program to put an end to the profit system. Written and directed by Dan Gilroy Dan Gilroy, writer-director of Nightcrawler (2014)about a ruthless, amoral crime photographerand now the legal drama Roman J. Israel, Esq., has something to say about contemporary society: [We] have entered a time of hyper-capitalism, and for me its sort of the law of the jungle. I think if you are weak in any way in todays world, the filmmaker told an interviewer, youre at a disadvantage just on every level, [from] health insurance to employment to housing, to just quality of life I think theres a tremendous number of really greedy, rapacious people, who have amassed this staggering amount of wealth. It almost feels like, to me, [the period] before the French Revolution. I believe, unfortunately, we do live in times where the value of human life and the human spirit is utterly marginalized. Gilroy explained that he tried to inject some of my worldview into the new movie. Indeed, with Roman J. Israel, Esq., he has succeeded in crafting a work that expounds on his concerns. The film begins with lawyer Roman J. Israel, Esq. (Denzel Washington) writing a brief in which he is both the plaintiff and the defendant. It makes a case for him to be disbarred and essentially excised from the human race. The movie then jumps back three weeks to trace out how he has arrived at this point in his life. The overweight, awkward (perhaps slightly autistic) and disheveled Roman has for the past 26 years been writing the briefs in the two-person Los Angeles law office of William Henry The Bulldog Jacksonwith Jackson its courtroom face. (The latter was great in the seat and great on his feet.) When Jackson suffers a lethal heart attack, his family wants to close the bankrupt firm that specialized in pro bono work. The slick George Pierce (Colin Farrell) is brought in to wind things down. George pegs Roman as a legal savanthe has memorized the entire California legal codeand sees him as a valuable asset. But Roman believes in the law as a force for good and cannot reconcile his principles with a firm that charges $2,500 per hour. Roman is a holdover from another time. He lives in a dump whose walls are decorated with posters of Angela Davis and Bayard Rustin, political and civil rights activists from the 1960s and 1970s protest period. He does not own a car and makes his way across Los Angeles by foot or public transportation, plugged into earphones that play vintage soul music. Roman uses the suffix Esquire to indicate that he believes he is above a gentleman, but below a knight. He is also a legal crusader, having worked for decades on a massive brief that, when finished, will advocate for significant law reform. Unable to find meaningful employment, including with a non-profit organization run by the sympathetic civil rights activist Maya (Carmen Ejogo), he reluctantly goes to work for George. Sick at heart, he attempts to rectify his situation by using privileged information from one of the firms clients to illegally obtain $100,000 in reward money. For a short time, Roman enjoys the trappings of success, until the scheme blows uparound the time that Roman can no longer live with himself. Roman J. Israel, Esq. is an unusual film. It attempts to re-ignite the spirit of a time when everybody [was] fighting and challenging civil rights laws, fighting for womens rights, anti-war protests, according to Gilroy. Romans devotion to legal reform, while historical in its inspiration, is undoubtedly still relevant in todays world. Washington is outstanding and thoroughly believable as the lumbering, gauche Roman. Farrell is a worthy match as the fast-talking shark with something of a conscience. Although the motives for Romans eventual extra-legal maneuver are not entirely credible, Gilroys aim was to investigate the toll exacted by a 40-year commitment to ideals that are bigger than yourself. Moreover, Romans brush with a couple of nasty feminists at Mayas center, in which he lands on the ideological high ground, is insightful and runs counter to the noxious atmosphere of identity politics. In Roman J. Israel, Esq., Gilroy pins a gold star on those who didnt make their peace with the system as the protest movement ebbed. Roman, the filmmaker says, is still interested in basic rights for everyone, regardless of color, regardless of socioeconomic status, regardless of gender. He wants judicial equality and parity and judicial fairnessacross the board for lets stick to the Constitution, lets stick to the Amendments. In the movie, Pierce introduces Roman to his firm by saying, Hes come to put social revolution squarely on the agenda. Gilroy no doubt has a different understanding of the phrase than we do (nor are we admirers of Davis and Rustin), but its nonetheless a worthy and uncommon sentiment. Gilroys father, Frank D. Gilroy, was a playwright best known for The Subject Was Roses (1964), which featured a youthful Martin Sheen as a World War II veteran in a family beset by painful, subterranean emotional difficulties. The drama was later made into a film, directed by Ulu Grosbard. Frank Gilroy also wrote extensively for television, during the heyday of such shows as Playhouse 90, Westinghouse Studio One and others. Tony Gilroy, Dan Gilroys brother, is a screenwriter and filmmaker, who wrote and directed the valuable Michael Clayton (2007). The preoccupations here seem to be with social and personal honesty and opposition to corruption and the arrogance and imperiousness of the wealthy. Its not the final word in filmmaking, but its intelligent and relatively complex work. In Roman J. Israel, the dilemma of the independent-minded Israel evokes the condition of many conscientious individuals in various fields today, including the film industry. Gilroy must surely be commenting on the current reality in Hollywood, where giant conglomerates attempt to control or smother any oppositional projects. Gilroy, both in Nightcrawler and Roman J. Israel, Esq., explores the moral and creative dimensions and consequences of being trapped in a world that has been reduced, as he puts it, to transactions, between people. Its a world in which the rich prey upon the pooran era similar, as he suggests, to that just prior to the French Revolution. Accompanied by lurid media headlines about a New Years Eve terror plot, police arrested a 20-year-old young man from a Somali family last Monday, claiming he had planned to carry out a massacre in Melbournes Federation Square during this years New Years Eve celebrations. Every aspect of this affair is dubious and points to efforts being made to launch another terrorist scare campaign to divert attention away from the political turmoil engulfing the federal government and parliament. Long before Ali Khalif Shire Ali faced a court, Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbulls government joined the police authorities in issuing prejudicial declarations that make it impossible for him to receive a fair trial. Police alleged that Ali was an Islamic State sympathiser and had attempted to obtain an automatic weapon in order to shoot and kill as many people as he could. Victoria Police Deputy Commissioner Shane Patton said Ali had not accessed a gun at any stage, but had face to face interactions about obtaining one. Patton told a press conference on November 28 that Ali had attempted to obtain instructions from an Al Qaeda web site on how to launch a terrorist attack. Without presenting any evidence, Patton declared that the potential of the attack was catastrophic and horrendous. Federal Justice Minister Michael Keenan wasted no time in politically exploiting the arrest. He said the fact that the ChristmasNew Year period was a target reminds us of the depravity of terrorists. It then emerged that the police and intelligence agencies had kept Ali under surveillance for two years after the teenager rejected demands by the federal political spy agency, the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation (ASIO), to become an informer in the Islamic community. Police told the media that Ali had been charged over actions taken in March, April and June. No explanation was provided as to why the police decided to arrest him now. A police-intelligence operation against Ali reportedly intensified last December. Operation San Josea joint ASIO, Australian Federal Police and Victoria Police procedurewas evidently launched after Ali was questioned at an apparently routine traffic stop late last December. As well as the unexplained timing of the arrest, ASIOs involvement raises questions about the long record of the police and intelligence agencies seeking to recruit and manipulate vulnerable young men. This includes using undercover operatives to entrap them into trying to purchase weapons or making comments that can then be depicted as a terrorist plot. In late 2015, Ali told a conference that ASIO had attempted to recruit him as an informant when he was 18 years old. He said ASIO agents persistently phoned him, followed him to university and visited his familys house multiple times, when his parents were not there. Ali said the agents offered him money for information but he refused. I know their tricks and whatever you say to them they will use as evidence against you, he said. The teenager said he was targeted because ASIO thought he was young and naive. The young man has been charged with vague counts of acts in preparation to commit a terrorist attack and collecting documents to facilitate a terrorist act. Under the draconian terrorism laws introduced since 2002, the first charge requires no proof of any specific terrorist plan, just a possible terrorist act. The second charge was reportedly based on Ali accessing material online. Both charges carry a life sentence. Denied bail, the young man has been detained pending a hearing next March 2018. Among the other incongruities in the case, Ali was allegedly in possession of an Al Qaeda guidebook, although police describe him as a sympathiser with rival group Islamic State. Media outlets, which were on the scene during police raids related to the arrest, reported that a computer and other evidence, including a large-framed picture were seized. In a slur against working-class Melbourne residents, Fairfax Media described Meadow Heights, where Ali lived, as part of a belt of suburbs in the north-west long linked to violent extremism. There is a record of governments, police and the media using so-called terror plots to justify the introduction, or use, of wide-ranging anti-democratic measures. That includes alleged plans to attack ASIO offices, military bases, Anzac Day ceremonies and major sporting events, organise implausible airplane bombings and conduct street murders and beheadings. Many of these cases, including the Lindt cafe siege in Sydney in December 2015, have involved disoriented or mentally-ill individuals who have been in direct contact with ASIO. For the past 16 years, governmentsLiberal-National and Labor alikehave seized upon alleged terrorist plots to introduce barrages of terrorism laws that overturn basic legal and democratic rights. At last months Council of Australian Governments meeting, federal and state governments unanimously agreed to another package. It will introduce wide-ranging powers of arrest and detention without charge, and adopt real-time face recognition technology to enable the police and intelligence agencies to identify individuals instantly. The latest massacre plot is being promoted under conditions in which the Turnbull government is in deep crisis and increasingly unravelling, facing deepening hostility among wide layers of the population. The author also recommends: Australian government implements far-reaching restructure of intelligence agencies [31 July 2017] Australia: Unanswered questions over police killing of Melbourne teenager [12 July 2017] Australian inquest into Sydney siege whitewashes unanswered questions [25 May 2017] Australian government exploits Christmas terror plot [24 December 2016] The planned visit of President Donald Trump to Britain early next year has been cancelled by the US, deepening a rupture with Prime Minister Theresa May over his retweeting of videos from the fascist organisation Britain First. According to a Daily Telegraph report, US diplomats have dropped plans for Donald Trump to conduct a visit to Britain in January amid a war of words between the two countries leaders. Trump was set to arrive on a working visit, including formally opening a new London embassy. This was envisaged, said the Telegraph, as a scaled down version of a state visit with no meeting with the Queen intended to allow Mr. Trump to come to the UK while avoiding the mass protests a full state visit would likely trigger. On Wednesday, Trump retweeted three anti-Islamic videos originally posted by Jayda Fransen, deputy leader of Britain First. The small fascist group specialises in mosque invasions and Christian patrols in urban areas with large Muslim populations. During the Brexit referendum campaign last year, Thomas Mair shot and stabbed to death Labour MP Jo Cox while shouting Britain First. Trump openly associating himself with Britain First is part of a deliberate political strategy aimed at inciting and encouraging far-right and fascist forces. His tweets provoked a wave of denunciations in the UK, and Downing Street responded with a statement that they were wrong. Sir Kim Darroch, the UK's ambassador to Washington, lodged a formal protest with the White House. Trump countered with a tweet to May stating, Theresa May, 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. During a press conference in Oman Thursday, May again criticised Trump, stating, The fact that we work together does not mean that we are afraid to say when we think that the United States have got it wrong and to be very clear with them. I am very clear that retweeting from Britain First was the wrong thing to do. Downing Street nevertheless insisted that the US is one of our longest, closest and most trusted allies. The offer of a state visit has been extended and accepted. Further details will be set out in due course. May was forced to respond because politicians from all parties, including within her own ruling Conservatives, were denouncing the US President in unheard of terms as a racist and fascist, who was not welcome in Britain. This was backed up with newspaper front pages attacking the tweets. During an emergency debate held in parliament, Commons Speaker John Bercow, a Conservative, told MPs he wanted urgently to express support for the victims of racism and bigotry and to denounce their purveyors. Communities Secretary Sajid Javid, who is of Pakistani descent, said Trump had endorsed the views of a vile, hate-filled racist organisation that hates me and people like me He is wrong and I refuse to let it go and say nothing. Another minister, Sam Gyimah stated on the BBCs Question Time that he was deeply uncomfortable about the prospect of Trump coming to the UK. Liberal Democrat leader Sir Vince Cable declared Trump an evil racist. Labour Mayor of London Sadiq Khan said the tweets represented a betrayal of the special relationship between our two countries and called for the cancellation of Trumps planned visit. Labour MP Naz Shah said Trump should be banned from Britain for promoting the hate-filled ideology of fascism, while two other Labourites, Paul Flynn and Chris Bryant, said Trump should be arrested for inciting racial hatred if he comes to the UK. May became prime minister at the head of a crisis-ridden and deeply divided government following the Brexit vote. To the extent that she ever had a Brexit strategy, it was based on deepening Britains orientation to the US and other markets to counter economically a potential loss of trade with Europe. With the subsequent and unexpected election of Trump as president, May saw an opportunity to capitalise on his declared hostility to the EU, which he decried as a German-dominated protectionist opponent of the US, and his support for Brexit, to place maximum pressure on the EU for favourable trading access to the Single European Market. Just seven days after Trump's inauguration in January, May became the first foreign leader to visit him at the White House, during which they were photographed holding hands as she offered a series of eulogies to the special relationship. Following Trumps unprecedented public attack on the prime minister, the alliance between the two countries has never been shakier, with Britains entire foreign policy orientation called into question. Trump has made clear once more that his administration is concerned only with carrying out the interests of the US corporate elite, based on a policy of America First. The foreign policy objectives of the Trump administrationthreats of trade war with the EU, calling into question the US commitment to NATO, targeting China by threatening war against North Korea and now threatening Iranendanger Britains commercial interests. With tensions between the imperialist powers escalating amid a fracturing of the global economy and a retreat to protectionist policies, British imperialism confronts an existential crisis. Any conception that Britain can maintain a beneficial relationship with the US while at the same time seeking a stable trading relationship with the European Union has become clearly untenable. It is over these fundamental issues of strategy and orientation that the contending factions of the British ruling elite are fighting. The Trump/May conflict only confirms that her days are numbered. In the last month, May has seen the resignation of two of her senior cabinet ministersSir Michael Fallon and Priti Pateldue to scandals. The resignation of a third minister, which could prove fatal to Mays premiership, is now threatened. First Secretary of State and de facto deputy prime minister, Damian Green, is under investigation based on allegations dating back to 2008 that he viewed pornography on his House of Commons computer. The campaign against Green escalated Friday when former Metropolitan Police detective Neil Lewis told the BBC that "thousands" of pornographic images were found on Green's computer during the 2008 inquiry into government leaks. Green, who denies the claims, was previously accused by another police officer, Bob Quick, the former assistant commissioner of the Metropolitan Police. However, Quick was forced to stand down in 2009 after a scandal. A Cabinet Office investigation is currently underway into Green based on allegations that he made inappropriate advances to a political activist. The inquiry is also looking into the claims that he accessed pornography. The report will likely be handed to May early next week or even sooner. Were Green to resign or be forced to stand down, it could also lead to the resignation of Brexit Secretary David Davis, who is tasked with leading the governments fraught negotiations with the European Union. On Friday, the BBC reported that Davis warned Downing Street not to sack Damian Green as a result of a wrongful attempt by former officers to do him down. A source close to Davis told the BBC that he would consider resigning if Green, who worked under him when Davis was shadow home affairs minister in 2008, were sacked. On Tuesday, prosecutors for the US Department of Justice (DoJ) introduced undercover video footage taken by the far-right media group Project Veritas as evidence to be used against political activists associated with Disrupt J20, a protest group charged with rioting and property destruction on the day of Trumps inauguration last January. The Trump DoJ has charged 194 individuals, most of whom were swept up indiscriminately by Washington DC police for being in the vicinity of the alleged acts, with conspiracy to riot and other charges that carry combined sentences of as much as 60 years in prison. Police fired on the crowd with mace, pepper spray, rubber bullets and stinger grenades. Prosecutors are pressing for maximum sentences, even for those who did not participate in alleged acts of violence. The prosecution has begun examining a Facebook page associated with J20 that was used to discuss the groups plans, exposing to government scrutiny thousands who expressed opposition to Trump. DC Superior Court Judge Lynn Leibovitz ruled as admissible Project Veritass video of a Disrupt J20 planning session, taken weeks before the inauguration, despite the right-wing propaganda groups history of falsifying and misrepresenting the targets of its sting operations. In 2009, the group, run by the conservative political activist and Breitbart News contributor James OKeefe, sent two of its members to the offices of the community activist group Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN), claiming to be seeking advice from the liberal group on how to conceal prostitution money. Project Veritas filmed and selectively edited ACORN employees giving unserious advice to the duo in order to scandalize the community activist group, which was forced to disband soon after. OKeefe was later forced to pay a $100,000 fine for his organizations egregious misrepresentation of ACORNs employees. Project Veritas continues to rely on such deceptive and unprincipled methods. On Monday, the Washington Post revealed that the group had sent an operative, Jaime T. Phillips, to plant a false story at the publication about Roy Moore, the right-wing Alabama Republican candidate for Senate currently facing accusations of sexual abuse. According to the Post, Project Veritas had intended to solicit and then record Post reporters making derogatory statements against Moore. The Post denounced Project Veritass efforts as a scheme to deceive and embarrass the newspaper that was solicited in maliciously bad faith. Assistant US Attorney Jennifer Kerkhoff introduced the groups right-wing propaganda video of the Disrupt J20 protesters as credible evidence from a third party provider the day after the Posts story ran. When the credibility of the films source was questioned, Judge Leibovitz ruled that, because the Disrupt J20 planning session had also been infiltrated by police independently of Project Veritas, the police would be in a position to vouch for the videos accuracy. The federal governments inclusion of the footage was denounced by the J20 defendants legal counsel, with Sam Menefee-Libey, a spokesperson for the group, telling the Huffington Post, [T]he judge has allowed the US Attorneys Office to get away with something that is incredibly questionable... Veritas has been roundly denounced by every reputable journalistic organization on the planet as being deceptive. Fundamentally, this shows that the state doesnt have very much to go on, said anti-Trump activist James Anderson to the Guardian about the prosecutions move. The federal governments use of material from Project Veritas in its case against anti-Trump demonstrators further signifies the latters increasing reliance on far-right and even fascistic forces as it faces increasing social tensions that threaten to explode into a movement of mass popular opposition to Trump and the capitalist system as a whole. The Trump administration has frequently sought to curry favor with such forces. Trump has doled out numerous high-level cabinet and advisory positions to fascistic and far-right ideologues. On Wednesday, Trump re-tweeted several anti-Muslim YouTube videos from a social media account owned by a member of the fascist group Britain First. In October, US prosecutors moved to include video footage taken of the January 20 protests by the right wing extremist militia group known as the Oath Keepers as evidence in the current trials. The governments collaboration with Project Veritas in the prosecution of the J20 defendants is a further indication that the Trump administration is determined to use this case to intimidate and silence all opposition. The author also recommends: Anti-inauguration protests infiltrated by provocateurs with ties to Trump administration [27 January 2017] Dozens of protests against Trumps inauguration across the US [21 January 2017] TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WTXL) - Mothers Against Drunk Driving of Northwest Florida, along with Leon County Sheriff's Office and other local groups joined together to promote safe driving during this holiday season. A fair was held Friday at the Kia of Tallahassee. Residents stopped by to learn about the dangers of impaired driving. Organizers say, in 2016, between Thanksgiving and New Year's Eve, there were 649 drunk driving fatalities across the country. The event also included several simulators to help people understand what happens to your body when you drink. TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WTXL) - The Special Victims Unit of the Tallahassee Police Department is searching for missing 20-year-old man, Christian Seth Cook. Police say Cook was last contacted on Wednesday, November 29 and was believed to be in the area of 1505 West Tharpe Street. Reports say Cook is 6 feet, 3 inches tall, and 150 pounds. There is concern for his welfare. Anyone with information is asked to call the Tallahassee Police Department at (850) 891-4200. An increase in suicide rates among U.S. teens occurred at the same time social media use surged, and a new analysis suggests there may be a link. Two men argue over the Bible and one man shoots the other man in the throat. Methinks it couldnt hurt if both these fellas were to give The Good Book one more read or even two. Our vacuous president dredges up his derisive and worn-out Pocahontas taunt of Sen. Elizabeth Warren and delivers the slur to wait for it no less than the Navajo Code Talkers who used their language to help save the world in World War II. To the surprise of nobody save The Obtuse One, our nations proud and honorable Natives are justifiably restless. The rest of us are, or should be, deeply embarrassed. Again. An American Airlines computer glitch accidentally dismisses all or most of the companys pilots for the holidays, leaving potentially thousands of flights with empty cockpits, but thats not the insane part. Whats nuts is that apparently the airline, presumably the employer of all these flyboys and girls, is helpless to simply say, Whoa, we made a boo-boo then apply some mutual common sense and work the thing out. An infamous U.S. Senate candidate from Alabama, the bottom feeder Roy Moore, steps to the mic and suggests with a straight face that a high school girl must have forged his autograph in her yearbook. This loose cannon is roundly vilified in every state save Alabama, including his own Republican Party, yet basks in the warm glow of support from Anyone? Anyone? ... The White House. Who saw that one coming? Everybody saw that one coming. The air-conditioningless and power-nothing cars and trucks of my youth somehow morphed into vehicles that turn the wipers and lights on themselves and even dim automatically for oncoming traffic. Cars today routinely navigate us to our destination and back again, chatting with us the whole trip. Tires tell the dashboard when they are lacking air and, speaking of air, there are bags of it in front and at the sides to cushion the impact should you Go Boom! Some models even call for help before the dust settles if you can believe that which I almost cant. Wednesday of this week I, a 68-year-old living fossil, received, bungled and returned a phone call without taking either hand off the wheel. They have this new-fangled thing they call Bluetooth, see. You should definitely check it out. No one of my generation could have possibly conjured even in an enlightening, self-induced 60s stupor - the technological miracle of cars we take for granted today with a bored shrug and a sigh. Its a mind-boggling world we live in; thankfully in some cases and monumentally sad and humiliating in others. SATURDAY 12/2 >> Alcoholics Anonymous - Fresh Start Group meets Saturday at 11 a.m. at First Presbyterian Church located at 414 Delaware Ave. in York. >> A Childbirth Preparation class will be held on Saturday, Dec. 2 at 8 a.m. in the Medical Office Building Lower Level, contact OB Director Nancy Hengelfelt, RNC, at 402.362.0457 for more information. MONDAY 12/4 >> Alcoholics Anonymous - Fresh Start Group meets Monday at 12 noon at First Presbyterian Church located at 414 Delaware Ave. in York. TUESDAY 12/5 >> Sexaholics Anonymous, a 12 Step recovery group for those dealing with addiction to pornography, sex, and other forms of lust, meets Tuesday nights at 5:45 p.m. For more information please call our toll free number 1-877-889-8071 or visit sanebraska.org. >> Alcoholics Anon meets Tuesday at 6:30 p.m. at Emmanuel Lutheran Church in York. Please use the west door. >> Alcoholics Anonymous meets Tuesday at 8 p.m. at Emmanuel Lutheran Church in York. Please use the west door. WEDNESDAY 12/6 >> Alcoholics Anonymous - Fresh Start Group meets Wednesday at 12 noon at First Presbyterian Church located at 414 Delaware Ave. in York. >> Hands Only CPR Class: On Dec. 6, at Fillmore Central High School, there will be a hands only CPR class to educate all the students. Rotary District Governor Gary Brin issued the challenge to teach 200 people in the community hands only CPR. This is made possible by a Fillmore County Foundation Grant, firefighters and EMT personnel and Geneva Rotarians. The assembly to teach students will begin at 1 p.m. THURSDAY 12/7 >> Weight Watchers meets in the basement of the York Towne House, 5th & Grant Ave., each Thursday. Weigh in 5:15 - 5:45 p.m.; Member meeting 5:45 - 6:15 p.m. >> AL-ANON meets Thursday at 12 noon at First Presbyterian Church located at 414 Delaware Ave. in York. >> Narcotics Anonymous meets Thursday at 8 p.m. at Emmanuel Lutheran Church in the Annex building. >> Breastfeeding Preparation Class will meet Thursday, Dec. 7 at 7 p.m. in the Lower Level of the Medical Office Building. For more information contact OB Director Nancy Hengelfelt, RNC, at 402-362-0462. FRIDAY 12/8 >> Alcoholics Anonymous - Fresh Start Group meets Friday at 12 noon at First Presbyterian Church located at 414 Delaware Ave. in York. SATURDAY 12/9 >> Alcoholics Anonymous - Fresh Start Group meets Saturday at 11 a.m. at First Presbyterian Church located at 414 Delaware Ave. in York. MONDAY 12/11 >> Alcoholics Anonymous - Fresh Start Group meets Monday at 12 noon at First Presbyterian Church located at 414 Delaware Ave. in York. WEDNESDAY 12/13 >> Immunization Clinic: The Polk County Health Department will hold immunization clinics at the Polk County Health Department in Osceola on Wednesday, Dec. 13 from 1:30 to 3:30 p.m., MONDAY 12/18 >> Immunization Clinic: The Polk County Health Department will hold immunization clinics at the Polk County Health Department in Osceola on Monday, Dec. 18 from 3:30 to 5:30 p.m. TUESDAY 12/19 >> Immunization Clinic: The Polk County Health Department will hold immunization clinics at the Polk County Health Department in Osceola on Tuesday, Dec. 19 from 1:30 to 3:30 p.m. News Washington, DC - Secretary of State Rex W. Tillerson: "On behalf of the Government of the United States of America, I congratulate the Romanian people on the 99th anniversary of the creation of modern Romania. "The United States is grateful for our strategic partnership of twenty years and Romanias cooperation in furthering our shared goals of prosperity, security, and democracy. We welcome our expanding bilateral trade relationship which has fostered mutual economic growth and significantly increased business ties. The United States also salutes Romania as a dedicated ally committed to upholding regional and global security. Romanias commitment to meeting its NATO obligations and its continued participation in the international effort to bring peace and stability to Afghanistan and Iraq are especially notable. "The United States joins all Romanians in celebrating this historic day and re-affirming the democratic freedoms that inspired the founding of both our nations." News Washington, DC - Secretary Tillerson met yesterday with Libyan Prime Minister Fayez al-Sarraj. Secretary Tillerson reaffirmed the United States full support for Prime Minister al-Sarraj, the Government of National Accord, and the Libyan Political Agreement. Secretary Tillerson thanked Prime Minister al-Sarraj for his stalwart partnership in counterterrorism efforts and defeating ISIS, and conveyed the United States commitment to supporting the Libyan peoples efforts to build a more stable, unified, and prosperous future. Secretary Tillerson and Prime Minister al-Sarraj discussed the need for all Libyan and international parties to back Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General for Libya Ghassan Salames Action Plan to advance the national political reconciliation process and lay the groundwork for Libya to hold successful national elections. Secretary Tillerson underscored that the United States continues to urge all Libyan parties to engage constructively with Special Representative Salames mediation, including his ongoing efforts to help them negotiate amendments to the Libyan Political Agreement. The Libyan Political Agreement remains the only viable framework for a political solution throughout Libyas transitional period. Attempts to bypass the UN-facilitated political process or impose a military solution to the conflict would only destabilize Libya and create opportunities for ISIS and other terrorist groups to threaten the United States and our allies. Latest News Mayport, Florida - U.S. Naval Forces Southern Command/U.S. 4th Fleet (USNAVSO/FOURTHFLT) is hosting the annual Maritime Synchronization Conference (MSC) on board Naval Station Mayport, November 28-December 1. The conference joins U.S. Navy attaches and section chiefs from the U.S. Southern Command (USSOUTHCOM) area of responsibility (AOR), which encompasses the Caribbean, and Central and South America. It also includes other service surrogates and stakeholders from component, service, theater and national agencies to discuss common naval issues and concerns to develop innovative solutions for current and future operations. "This is a great opportunity for us to get together and synchronize our efforts," said Rear Adm. Linda Wackerman, deputy commander of USNAVSO/FOURTHFLT, during opening remarks. "We have been in extremely busy times recently, and this is a valuable time for us to work out our maritime collaboration and cooperation over the next few days." Thirty-four U.S. military personnel from 18 U.S. embassy Department of Defense teams (security cooperation organization and defense attache representatives) are attending the conference from the countries of Argentina, Belize, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Haiti, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Peru and Uruguay. "This is a time for us to reflect and coordinate so we can bring all of your innovative thoughts together as we get ready for 2018 and future engagements and partnerships coming up," said Wackerman. The annual conference is based on the foundations of the Maritime Security Cooperation policy signed by the chief of naval operations, commandant of the Marine Corps and the commandant of the Coast Guard in 2013. The primary objective of the conference is to coordinate and synchronize fiscal year 2019-2022 maritime component security cooperation activities in support of the SOUTHCOM Theater Campaign Plan and the Tri-Service (USN-USMC-USCG) Maritime Security Cooperation guidance. Other commands and agencies attending the conference are the Office of the Chief of Naval Operations, Defense Intelligence Agency, U.S. Marine Corps Forces Southern Command, U.S. Coast Guard International Affairs, Special Operations Command South, Navy International Programs Office, Naval Education and Training Security Assistance Field Activity, Naval Small Craft Instruction and Technical Training School, U.S. Naval Academy, U.S. Naval War College, Naval Criminal Investigative Service Southeast Field Office, Office of Naval Intelligence, and Space and Naval Warfare Systems Command. The conference began in 2003, previously known as the Navy Section Chief Synchronization conference, and was designed to inform Navy section chiefs about theater security cooperation activities that support USSOUTHCOM objectives for current and upcoming years. USNAVSO/FOURTHFLT supports USSOUTHCOM's joint and combined military operations by employing maritime forces in cooperative maritime security operations in order to maintain access, enhance interoperability, and build enduring partnerships, in order to enhance regional security and promote peace, stability, and prosperity in the Caribbean, Central and South American regions. Spanish Health Somerton, Arizona - Caring for a child with special needs can be challenging, but a support group can give you the reassurance you need. Un Sueno Diferente Support Group will meet Thursday, December 14th, at 11:00 a.m. at the Somerton Library. Connect with other parents and share tips, advice, and support. There is no charge to attend. Please note, this is a Spanish-language group. The Somerton Library is located at 240 Canal Street in Somerton, AZ. For more information, call (928) 627-2149. Stiri pe aceeasi tema - Romania's President Klaus Iohannis will participate in the 5th edition of the Paris Peace Forum on Friday and Saturday at Brongniart Palace, told Agerpres. Fii la curent cu cele mai noi stiri. Urmareste stiripesurse.ro pe Facebook stiripesurse.ro Help your friends know - President Klaus Iohannis is participating, Thursday through Friday, in Brussels, in the meeting of the European Council, among the topics of discussion being the necessary measures in the field of energy, following the package of proposals presented by the European Commission and the reaffirmation - President Klaus Iohannis will participate, on Thursday and Friday, in Brussels, in the meeting of the European Council, among the topics of discussion being the necessary measures in the field of energy, following the package of proposals presented by the European Commission and the reaffirmation - President Klaus Iohannis declared, on Friday, that his express request for the Government and Parliament regarding the package of Justice laws was to take into account the known recommendations, adding that he does not believe that the opinion of the Venice Commission will be different from those - The European Union's unity can be strengthen if Romania, Bulgaria and Croatia become past of the Schengen area, President Klaus Iohannis stated on Thursday, prior to the first meeting of the European Political Community, in Prague, told Agerpres. Fii la curent cu cele mai noi stiri. Urmareste - President Klaus Iohannis will participate, on Thursday and Friday, in the first meeting of the European Political Community and in the informal meeting of the European Council, which is taking place in Prague, in the Czech Republic, the Presidential Administration informed, told Agerpres. Fii - President Klaus Iohannis participated on Tuesday in a videoconference with European Council President Charles Michel and a group of European leaders as a preparation stage for the meetings to take place on Thursday and Friday in Prague. Fii la curent cu cele mai noi stiri. Urmareste - President Klaus Iohannis signed, on Friday, the decree designating Minister of Research, Innovation and Digitalization Sebastian Burduja as Acting Minister of Education. Fii la curent cu cele mai noi stiri. Urmareste stiripesurse.ro pe Facebook stiripesurse.ro Help your Washington (AFP): 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 today 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 defence 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. UNITED NATIONS: Former U.S. National Security Adviser Michael Flynn admitted on Friday that he asked Russia to delay a U.N. 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 Dec. 23, Flynn also phoned the U.N. 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 Jan. 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 Dec. 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 U.N. 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 Dec. 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 Dec. 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 U.S. 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 Dec. 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 U.N. Ambassador Vitaly Churkin, who died in February, signalled to colleagues behind closed doors on Dec. 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 U.N. Ambassador Ramlan Bin Ibrahim, but Ibrahim did not take the call. He also called the Uruguayan U.N. mission, eventually getting through to Deputy Ambassador Luis Bermudez who was the charge d`affaires - minutes before the vote. Washington, Dec 2 (PTI) 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. Washington: 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. District of Columbia: US President Donald Trump insisted on 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. WASHINGTON: A federal judge on Friday ordered the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to rescind its delay of a rule that allows some foreign entrepreneurs to stay in the United States to grow their companies, court documents show. Judge James Boasberg of U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia ruled in favor of a lawsuit filed by a U.S. venture capitalist group in September challenging a delay by DHS of the International Entrepreneur Rule. (file:///C:/Users/U8007446/Downloads/IER-SJ-opinion.pdf) In the lawsuit, the National Venture Capital Association argued that the Trump administration bypassed proper procedures when it delayed the International Entrepreneur Rule, which had been due to go into effect in July 2017. The trade group was later joined by several tech start-ups active in the United States that were founded by foreign entrepreneurs who wanted to stay in the country and work with their businesses through the entrepreneur rule but are now unable to. The rule, proposed by the administration of President Barack Obama, would allow some foreign start-up founders to stay in the United States for up to five years to develop their businesses. Instead, in July the administration of President Donald Trump pushed back implementation to March 2018, and said it was "highly likely" to ultimately rescind the rule. Boasberg, in his ruling issued on Friday, agreed with the lawsuit`s claim that the government`s actions violated the Administrative Procedure Act, which requires advance notice of new rules. "This decision is an important reminder that this administration must comply with the law and allow the public to have a voice during the agency rule-making process," Leslie Dellon, an attorney at the American Immigration Council, said in a statement. Bengaluru: 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. PATNA: Former Bihar Chief Minister Rabri Devi on Saturday appeared before the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in the state capital in connection with a railway hotels allotment corruption case. A special team of the agency from Delhi is expected to question her and record her statement under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). Her appearance before the central probe agency today comes after she skipped similar summonses at least six times. Rabri had previously appeared before the ED officials on November 7, for questioning in the case. The agency had registered a case against Lalu Prasad, his family members and others under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) sometime back. Rabri's son and former Bihar Deputy CM Tejashwi Yadav has been grilled by the ED twice in the case, but he later skipped four summonses to appear again. In July, the CBI had registered an FIR and conducted multiple searches on the properties of Lalu Prasad, who is also a former Bihar chief minister, and others. The CBI FIR alleged that Lalu Prasad during his tenure as the railway minister handed over the maintenance of two Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) hotels to a company in 2004 after receiving a 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 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. 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'. Gopalganj: The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Saturday arrested one person for suspected involvement in extremist activities from here. Gopalganj SP Mrityunjay Kumar Chaudhari said Bedar Bakht alias Dhannu Raja, a resident of Saran in Bihar, was arrested from Jadopur Chowk here. "We are not certain in connection with which case he was arrested. But there are some naxals active in Saran and, prima facie, he may have been rounded up for suspected naxal links," Chaudhari told PTI. Dhannu Raja had come to Jadopur Chowk to visit his relatives. "The NIA team has taken him to Patna from where he is likely to be taken to Uttar Pradesh. It is understood that he is wanted in some case there", the SP said. Way back, in the year 2000, Hindu radical groups disrupted the filming of Deepa Mehta's Water, the third in a trilogy of movies. The film, about the life of Indian widows, was originally based in the holy city of Varanasi. But filming was stopped in February 2000 after just a day following widespread protests staged by Hindu radicals. So what did Deepa do? She secretly moved to Colombia, code-named her film River Moon and secretly shot Water with a new star cast. Said Deepa Mehta, "Water's journey was traumatic and anguished, but finally very satisfying. I came to terms with the tragic disruption of the film in Varanasi. I had to move on and yet make the film. My creative output wouldn't have been complete without finishing the trilogy after Fire and Earth. There were no hassles in getting permission for shooting in Colombia. We made a film without politics coming in our way. I'd have loved to make the film in India." Did Water suffer by the translocation? Deepa thinks. "I don't think my film suffered because of the transposition. I didn't have to look anxiously over my shoulders at who's shooting the next volley at my film. I could just focus on making the film. That fear is a real impediment to creativity. I let all the fear and insecurity play itself out. I couldn't stop myself from doing Water just because some people would read political statements in it. I made the film because I had to make it. It took me time to get over the trauma in Varanasi." Though she hates being controversial Deepa has made peace with her reputation of the controversy queen and her status as an NRI actor. "I don't know why it happened with Fire and then Water. I made Water exactly the way I wanted to." While casting, Kareena Kapoor agreed and then dropped out. Shabana Azmi had to bow out because it was felt the Hindu fundamentalists would be adamantly opposed to her portraying a Hindu widow. Sanjay Leela Bhansali's Padmavati too was attacked by Hindu fundamentalists owing allegiance to the Rajput outfit known as the Karni Sena. They first hounded Padmavati out of Rajasthan, just as Deepa Mehta's Water was hounded out of Varanasi. Luckily, Bhansali didn't have to shoot his film in secrecy outside the country. He shot in Kolhapur where again, the shooting was disrupted. Never one to give up , Bhansali continued shooting despite the protests only to be gagged and dragged through the mud just weeks before the release date, by self-appointed custodians of our culture who have presumed Padmavati to contain inflammatory references to a liaison between Rani Padmavati and Allauddin Khilji. Bhansali has gone blue in the face denying these fantastical conjectures about his film. "Am I so insane as to do something so outrageous?" he asks rhetorically. But the protesters are no in the mood to listen. They have made up their minds about the incendiary content of Padmavati. Even if they are barking up the wrong tree, so what? They at least have a tree to bark up. And they aren't about to give up their moment of glory. And to hell with the truth about Padmavati. Says Deepa Mehta, "All gagging, whether in literature, cinema or art is identical. It's referred to as the lynching of freedom of expression. Creative freedom is a given in most Western countries." (Subhash K Jha is a film critic and movie expert) (Disclaimer: The opinions expressed above are the personal views of the author and do not reflect the views of ZMCL.) New Delhi: Air India's domestic and international operations will be sold together, Union minister Jayant Sinha has said. The government has initiated the process for strategic disinvestment of debt-laden Air India as part of efforts to revive the national carrier. Sinha's comments assume significance against the backdrop of some players expressing their interest only in certain verticals of Air India. So far, IndiGo is the only airline that has formally expressed interest in the national carrier's disinvestment process. However, the budget carrier is interested only in Air India's international operations and subsidiary Air India Express. "What we will be offering through the bidding process is the integrated airline (Air India), which means both domestic and international operations (together)," Sinha, the Minister of State for Civil Aviation, said here. On the disinvestment process, he said the government is still in the process of identifying which subsidiaries of Air India should be offered separately. He added that a bidder can participate in different bids for the airline's flight operations and its different subsidiaries. "The goal here is to provide flexibility to bidders so that they can bid even if there are individual bids (for different subsidiaries of Air India). And, if you want to reintegrate (them) you can do that." Air India has several subsidiaries including Air India Air Transport Services Limited (AIATSL), Air India Charters Limited, IAL Airport Services Limited, Airline Allied Services Limited and Air India Engineering Services Limited. In June, after the Cabinet gave its nod for Air India disinvestment, IndiGo wrote to the ministry of civil aviation with an eye on the airline's international operations. "Kindly treat this letter as our expression of interest in acquiring the international airline operations of Air India and Air India Express. Alternatively, we are equally interested in acquiring all of the airline operations of Air India and Air India Express," IndiGo President and WholeTime Director Aditya Ghosh wrote in the letter. Aviation services providers Bird Group and Celebi have also shown interest in the ground-handling subsidiary AIATSL. Sinha said that it has appointed consultancy group EY as its transactional advisor, which will prepare a confidential information memorandum which will invite multiple bids for the integrated airlines as well as different subsidiaries which will be available for independent bids. He added that awarding of bids will be completed in six- eight months. On whether the private player who is awarded the bid for the airline will get to keep the Air India brand, Sinha said that matter is still being considered. "The terms of sale will be specified in the confidential information memorandum, which will be approved by the alternate mechanism," he replied. The Union Cabinet gave its in-principle approval for Air India's disinvestment in June and constituted an inter- ministerial group to work on the modalities for the stake sale. New Delhi: Infosys on Saturday appointed Salil S Parekh as Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director of the company effective January 2, 2018. Parekh is a member of the Group Executive Board at French IT services company Capgemini. 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. 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. "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," said Nandan Nilekani, Chairman, Infosys. The company said UB Pravin Rao will step down as interim CEO and MD effective January 2, 2018 and will continue as Chief Operating Officer and a whole-time Director of the company. Meanwhile, Capgemini in a statement said that the company and Salil Parekh have agreed on his 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," the company statement said. 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, Paul Hermelin, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Capgemini Group said. The Bengaluru-headquartered company had been searching for a new CEO since August this year after Vishal Sikka quit amid turmoil in the company. It had formed a Nomination and Remuneration Committee chaired by Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw to search for the CEO. Commenting on the committee's find, Shaw said, 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. Sikka resigned from 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. Nilekani, himself one of Infosys` seven founders and a former CEO, was named chair in August in a victory for the founders, who led by Narayana Murthy have waged an acrimonious battle with the board for months over alleged corporate governance lapses. NEW DELHI: Family members of the newborn, who was declared dead along with his still-born twin by a Delhi hospital, on Saturday staged a sit-in protest outside the hospital demanding strict action against them. The relatives sat in protest outside the hospital last night, saying they continue to sit there until an action is taken against the hospital administration. #Delhi: Relatives of two-newborn twins who were declared dead by Max Hospital yesterday sat in protest outside the hospital last night, say they will sit there until an action is taken against the hospital administration. One baby was later found to be alive by the family. pic.twitter.com/Nz2AqvfZDJ ANI (@ANI) December 2, 2017 Situated at Delhi's Shalimar Bagh, the hospital had on Friday handed over pre-mature born twins to the family in plastic bags declaring them to be dead. On their way to the burial ground, the parents noticed that one of the twins was showing movements inside the bag. The parents then immediately rushed to a nearby hospital where the doctors informed one of the newborn twins to be alive. After being declared dead, babies were given to us in packets, when we left for cremation ground we noticed movement & on checking found one was breathing. We immediately rushed to nearby hospital: Ashish, man whose child was declared dead by Max Hospital & was found alive later pic.twitter.com/EyhmL8EVXt ANI (@ANI) December 1, 2017 Taking notice of the negligence shown by the hospital, Union Health Minister JP Nadda has asked the Delhi government to take necessary action against the culprits. Appeal to the states adopt Clinical Establishments Act so that regulatory authorities are operative and can see working and functioning of private institutions: Union Health Minister JP Nadda on Max Hospital medical negligence issue #Delhi pic.twitter.com/oQaYIOKpTk December 1, 2017 The Delhi government ordered a probe into the incident and sought a preliminary report within three days. Dr Girish Tyagi, Registrar of the Delhi Medical Council, said that it would issue a notice to the hospital and a committee will be constituted to look into the matter. A medical negligence case was registered under section 308 of Indian Penal Code (IPC) against the hospital. NEW DELHI: At least 25 trains are running late, four have been rescheduled and six others have got cancelled due to fog which has resulted in poor visibility in the national capital and adjoining areas. On Friday, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said that winter this year is likely to be colder than last year but warmer than normal across the country, particularly in the northern region. Earlier on Thursday, 19 trains arrived late while six others were rescheduled due to fog in Delhi and other parts of northern Indian, the Northern Railway said. The railways has cancelled 46 trains between December 1 and February 13 in view of foggy conditions in north India. The national transporter has devised 'a detailed plan for cancellation and frequency reduction of trains traversing through fog-affected areas' to manage train operations, according to a letter from the Railway Board to all general managers. Among the trains cancelled are Agra Intercity Express, 12179 Lucknow Junction-Agra Cantt. Express, 15209 Saharsa- Amritsar Express, 14674 Amritsar-Jainagar Shaheed Express and Lucknow-Anand Vihar Express. Trains such as the Jainagar-New Delhi Express, Azamgarh- Delhi Kaifiyat Express, Barauni-Ambala Hariharnath Express will remain suspended on every Thursday between December 1 and February 13. The Jainagar-Amritsar Express will also not ply on Fridays between December 1 and February 13. The cancellations of the trains will to hurt daily commuters the most. While the frequency of 28 trains has been reduced during this period, eight trains have been partially cancelled, four have been diverted while 46 have been cancelled. New Delhi: 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. New Delhi: 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. NEW DELHI: Ahead of Gujarat polls, Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Saturday took a dig at Congress saying that the party is trying to divide Gujaratis on the basis of community. He said that the grand old party did politics on the basis of caste and creed for all these years. Referring to Hardik Patel, Alpesh Thakor and Jignesh Mevani, the Home Minister ironically expressed his sympathy towards the three 'young men' who have made an alliance with Congress for the upcoming assembly elections. Questioning Congress, Rajnath Singh said, "I want to ask the young men of Congress if GST was 'Gabbar Singh Tax, then why did you support it in the Parliament." Earlier in the day, Singh applauded Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his efforts towards developing Gujarat and said that he is the face of the state in independent India. Rajnath's reaction came a day after the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) registered a huge victory in Uttar Pradesh civic polls. The BJP has given the credit of the victory to PM Modi ahead of Gujarat elections in the state. Taking a dig at Rahul Gandhi after Congress lost in Amethi, Adityanath said the party which was daydreaming of winning the Gujarat Assembly polls has failed to even open an account in the UP municipal corporation polls. In his first comments as the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) surged ahead to a decisive victory in the civic polls, Adityanath said the results in favour of the BJP in the civic polls showed that the people had faith in the party and the policies pursued by the central and the state governments. AHMEDABAD: She is the daughter of a 'martyred' BSF jawan who died in the line of duty. On Friday, Rupal Tadvi, a 26-year-old tribal woman, rushed to meet Gujarat Chief Minister while he was addressing a rally at Kevadia Colony in the Narmada. However, before she could have reached the CM, she was taken away by woman police officials. According to local police, the woman has been protesting for last several years alleging that the government did not allot her family the piece of land that they had promised to, after the demise of her father Ashok Tadvi. As Rupani was addressing the public, she ran towards his stage, shouting, "I want to meet him, I want to meet him." The woman police officials took her away. Seeing this, Rupani announced from the stage that he will meet her after the programme. As per reports, the Chief Minister left for his destination without meeting the woman. According to the local police, Tadvi and her family members had tried to breach the security cover around the chief minister several times in the past. "The family claims that the land promised by the government after the death of Ashok Tadvi has not been allotted. They have been protesting for long and we have to keep an eye on them," a police officer said. A video of the purported incident, showing Rupal Tadvi struggling to escape while being taken away by the police, went viral. Taking a shot at the ruling BJP government, Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi posted the video of the incident on Twitter with a caption, "BJP's arrogance at its peak." When Rupal Tadvi is seen being taken away in the video, Rupani is purportedly heard slamming Gandhi in his speech. Gandhi, who tweeted in Hindi, alleged that Rupani, whom he called a "param deshbhakt", has shamed humanity by "throwing away a martyr's daughter". 15 , , pic.twitter.com/w8k7TYQrDt Office of RG (@OfficeOfRG) December 1, 2017 "Patriot Rupani ji made throw out the daughter of a martyr and has shamed humanity. The family got hollow promises instead of justice for 15 years," he said. Gandhinagar: 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 organised 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. 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 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)," he said. "The Congress' loss is such that the BJP won all the municipal corporation seats even in (Congress vice president) Rahul baba's (Gandhi'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 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, 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. New Delhi: 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 misbehaved 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". Amravati (Andhra Pradesh): The Andhra Pradesh Legislative Assembly on Saturday unanimously passed a Bill to provide 5 per cent reservation in education and employment sectors for the Kapu community in the state. The state assembly had introduced the bill today morning. The state cabinet had given a nod in this regard yesterday based on the report submitted by the Manjunath Commission.The bill facilitates providing them 5 per cent reservation in BC F Category. 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. However, political reservation will not be provided to the mentioned communities. Three of the four members BC commission headed by Justice KL Manjunatha gave their report to the chief minister yesterday.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. The Bill will now be sent to the governor, after which it will be sent to the Union Home Ministry.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). vladans/iStock/Thinkstock(NEW YORK) -- An arrest warrant has been issued for undocumented immigrant Jose Ines Garcia Zarate, who was acquitted by a San Francisco jury Thursday in the killing of Kate Steinle, the woman whose shooting death on a San Francisco pier in 2015 ignited an immigration debate. The warrant is for a supervised release violation. An existing federal detainer requires that Garcia Zarate remain in the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service and be transported to the Western District of Texas pursuant to the arrest warrant, a Justice Department official told ABC News. Garcia Zarate was found not guilty Thursday of first-degree murder, second-degree murder and manslaughter, but he was found guilty of being a felon in possession of a firearm. The surprising verdict sparked backlash Thursday evening, including from President Donald Trump, who called the decision "disgraceful." Steinle was shot and killed on a San Francisco pier as she was walking with her father in July 2015. Garcia Zarate claimed he found the gun used in the shooting in a wrapped T-shirt under a bench and that he went off accidentally. Garcia Zarate, a Mexican citizen, had been deported several times and has previous convictions for re-entry after deportation. Before the killing, he had been released from a San Francisco jail after a minor drug charge had been dismissed. Garcia Zarate was released under the city's sanctuary laws although the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement had issued a detainer for him. The case gained national attention during the 2016 presidential race when then-candidate Trump cited it as an example of why sanctuary cities, which limit a city's cooperation with the federal government's efforts to enforce immigration law, should be ended. Copyright 2017, ABC Radio. All rights reserved. As the Dec. 5 oral argument date for his case grows near, the drumbeat proclaiming Jack Phillips must be forced to create a same-sex wedding cake against his conscience grows louder. The most important consideration in Masterpiece Cakeshop v. Colorado Civil Rights Commission, we are told, is eliminating discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation. Finally, the state and its defenders claim, the emotional harm felt by prospective customers upon hearing someone disagrees with their actions for religious reasons cannot be tolerated either. Yet none of what we are being told here is true. First, no discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation has occurred in this case at all. Jack, who owns and operates Masterpiece, is not opposed to serving people who identify as homosexual; he simply objects to the celebration for which he is asked to create a cake the same-sex wedding. This becomes even clearer when we understand that Jack will not create a wedding cake for two men even if they claim a heterosexual orientation, but will create a cake for a wedding between a man and a woman despite them identifying as homosexual. Thus, Jack is not acting based on the sexual orientation of his prospective customers; hes only opposed to what they are celebrating, and asking to not be forced to be a part of it. This is a reasonable stance, and indeed, most people agree with Jack Phillips: 68 percent of Americans recently surveyed said a baker should not be required to create a custom wedding cake for a same-sex ceremony. The reason for this is simple: The cost of protecting this freedom is minimal, only entailing some offense on the part of the prospective customers, who will now have to go elsewhere to find a cake most couples inquire with multiple shops anyway for their wedding ceremony. The two men who initiated the legal case against Jack could have visited any one of 67 other bakeries in the Denver area willing to create their cake, including one only a tenth of a mile from Masterpiece. Instead, they filed complaints against Jack with the state, which followed up by suing him. But in light of all these providers happy to create the cake, is it really necessary to force Jack Phillips to be the one to do so? The would-be customers, after getting over their offense at Jacks beliefs, could have traveled 500 feet down the street to obtain their cake from someone happy to provide it. Instead, they want to force Jack Phillips to create it meanwhile, they had already obtained one free of charge from another bakery by the time they filed charges against Jack. Unfortunately, this coercion comes with the heavy price of forcing Jack to violate his conscience or shutting down wedding cake operations and possibly going out of business. At a recent practice oral argument, the American Civil Liberties Union claimed that this case is about full and equal participation in civic life, and if Jack wants to say God blesses this union for any wedding, he must be forced to say it for all weddings. Yet if those who want the government to punish Masterpiece get their way, Jack and many like him around the country will themselves be excluded from full and equal participation in civic life. Allowing religious business owners to continue to operate their businesses according to their deeply held religious beliefs will not push those identifying as homosexual out of society. However, forcing business owners to violate their beliefs could force many religious individuals out of the marketplace. The Supreme Court should keep this in mind as it decides this case in the upcoming months. Washington: 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. PUNE: Army Chief General Bipin Rawat said that the armed forces do not repeat the same operations across the Line of Control (LoC) to maintain an element of surprise. "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. When asked if 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 the Indian Army had various retaliatory options at its disposal. Speaking of the Myanmar operation, he said that it was essential to send a clear message across the border after 18 Indian soldiers were killed in an ambush in Manipur. He emphaised that the cadre review of the junior commissioned officers (JCOs) had been approved and would be implemented from January 1, 2018. "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," he said. 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. SURAT: Taking potshots at Narendra Modi, former prime minister Manmohan Singh on Saturday said that he does not speak of his humble background because he does not want people to take pity on him on the basis of his past. "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 ModiJi on this particular matter," he said. He also launched an attack on the Prime Minister over the government schemes recalling the hardships that people faced due to demonetisation. "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 and a sense of deep responsibility that the November 8 was a black day for our economy and democracy," he said. He also said that 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 demonetisation and hasty implementation of GST. "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 demonetisation and GST on the informal sector that accounts for about 30 per cent of the economy," Singh said. The former prime minister said that 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. Indore: Geeta, a deaf and mute girl who returned to India in 2015 after spending several years in Pakistan where she had landed accidentally as a child, on Saturday didn't recognise a couple from Bihar who had claimed that she was their long-lost daughter. "We arranged a meeting between a Nalanda-based couple, Ramswaroop Choudhary and Chinta Devi, and Geeta. But after meeting them she conveyed through gestures that they are not her parents," social justice department's joint director B C Jain told PTI. A district official said that two more persons who have claimed that Geeta is their missing daughter -- one from Ahmednagar in Maharashtra and another from Jharkhand's Jaamtada district -- will be introduced to Geeta at the collector's office here on December 11. So far more than ten families from different parts of the country have claimed that Geeta is their daughter. But none of them could establish the claim. Chennai: 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. The system is likely to further move towards Tamil Nadu and south Andhra Pradesh in the next three to four days, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said today. The well marked low pressure area over south Andaman Sea and adjoining strait of Malacca lies over north Sumatra coast and adjoining south Andaman Sea, IMD said in its mid-day bulletin. "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," it said. In the last 24 hours, many places in Tamil Nadu and Puducherry have witnessed rains, the Regional Meteorological Centre here said. "Sathanur in Tiruvannamalai district recorded the highest rainfall of 23 cm," S Balachandran, Director, Area Cyclone Warning Centre, told reporters. During this period, 17 locations in Tamil Nadu and Puducherry recorded heavy rainfall, he said. Coonoor and Cuddalore recorded 12.7 cm and 12.3 cm of rainfall respectively. The weather office said heavy rains are likely at isolated places over Tamil Nadu and Puducherry tomorrow. Heavy rain is likely at isolated places over Tamil Nadu, Puducherry and Rayalaseema in Andhra Pradesh on December 4, it said. Relief and restoration Relief and restoration work is on at Kanniyakumari district, which was battered by Ochki cyclone yesterday, officials said. Tamil Nadu Chief Minister K Palaniswami announced Rs 25 crore for expediting relief and restoration work in the district. He has also asked various departments to coordinate on a war-footing and restore normalcy, an official release said. In Kanniyakumari, power supply had been restored even as efforts are on to resume power supply in neighbouring areas like Nagercoil and Kuzhithurai, they said. Officials expressed confidence that the power supply would be restored in the entire district by tomorrow. Kanniyakumari, besides Tirunelveli, had borne the brunt of Ochki cyclone, which uprooted hundreds of trees besides crippling normal life. Missing fishermen Meanwhile, relatives of missing fishermen from this district staged a road blockade demanding the fishermen be rescued at the earliest. Scores of women also staged protest at Chinnathurai in that district. Tamil Nadu Electricity Minister P Thangamani, deputed by Palaniswami to oversee rescue and rehabilitation in Kanniyakumari district, said all efforts were on to trace the missing 86 fishermen. The Southern Railway announced partial and full cancellation of some trains in the Kanniyakumari-Nagercoil section. One train service was also rescheduled. Ulan-Ude: With the government clearing the mega-project to acquire 111 helicopters for the Indian Navy, a leading Russian manufacturer wants the Navy to try its Kamov 226T helicopter, saying the chopper aptly meets the force's needs. "We think of the Kamov Ka-226T JV with India as a synergistic project with further possibilities. For instance, the Indian Navy has recently announced a tender for delivery of 100 (111) helicopters with a mass of up to 5 tonnes. We think it might be good move for Indian ministry for defence to save their money and purchase Kamov 226T with its latest modifications, because we already have solutions of folding blades in the place. "And of course following the framework of Make in India project we will be actively involved in localising the assembly and production of this helicopter on Indian soil," CEO of Russian Helicopters Andrey Boginisky told a visiting foreign media delegation last night. Under the Indo-Russia joint venture to produce 200 Kamov 226T helicopters for the Indian Army and the Indian Air Force, 60 choppers will be supplied to India in fly-away condition, while the remaining 140 will be manufactured in India under a USD 1 billion deal inked in 2015. In October last year, India and Russia finalised a broad agreement for the joint venture between Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL) and two Russian defence majors. India is procuring Kamov choppers to replace its ageing fleet of Cheetah and Chetak helicopters. The agreement for the Kamov choppers was signed during Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Russia in December, 2015. Last year, Russian Helicopters, Rosoboronexport and HAL had almost completed the formalities for the joint venture to localise the production of Ka-226Ts and deliver them to the Indian market. The joint venture was registered in May, 2017. Stressing that Ka-226T meets the requirements of the Indian Navy, Boginisky clarified that the Navy's project for 111 helicopters is a separate project and is not related to the Ka-226T project of the Indo-Russian JV to produce 200 Kamov helicopters. He added that selecting the Ka-226T for the Navy could help the Indian government save a lot of money, as there would be cost reduction due to sharing of service facilities, training for flight and maintenance and other related costs. "Given the first project, this could be an advantageous option for India, as it would already have facilities for maintenance," he said. When asked about the export prospects of Mi-8/17 and Mi- 171 helicopters, Boginisky said, "We consider that the export potential of these machines is still there. It is proven by a deep modernisation to develop the Mi-171A2 model, which includes more than 80 changes and improvements to the platform. The Indian Ministry of Defence uses many helicopters of this family. It is very reliable and easy to use in any conditions". New Delhi: Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi on Saturday hit out at Narendra Modi government`s performance, citing former prime minister Manmohan Singh`s comments on the economic slowdown, to quip that "there was no scope for hope under Modi Raj". "No scope for hope under Modi Raj," said Gandhi on Twitter. Former prime minister Manmohan Singh 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 demonetisation and hasty implementation of GST. He welcomed the rise in the growth rate in the quarter but cautioned that it was too early to conclude that the economy has recovered. Washington: 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" 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 here. 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. NEW DELHI: Days after Congress leader Shehzad Poonawalla alleged that election for the post of president in Congress was rigged in favour of vice-president Rahul Gandhi, an audiotape has emerged that reportedly reveals that further raises question over the election process. The audio clip has purported conversation between Poonawalla and former Union Minister and senior Congress leader Manish Tewari. In the clip, Tewari is heard telling Poonawalla that his recent 'rigged' remarks against the election process were "one-way ticket out of the party". When Poonawalla justifies his stand by pointing out that proper procedure had not been followed in the selection of delegates before the polls, Tewari is heard replying, "Lets not get into an idealistic discussion, the fact is, this is a proprietary (party). Congress is not a political party and no party in India is a political party." The latter also said that it was a second chance of reforms which is essential for democracy. In a major embarrassment to Congress, Shehzad Poonawalla, party spokesperson and a relative of Sonia Gandhi's son-in-law Robert Vadra, questioned the process to elect party president, calling it "rigged". "The upcoming Congress president election is a selection and not an election. It's a sham election process. I think there should be only one ticket in one family, be it Shehzad Poonawalla or Rahul Gandhi," he said. Poonawalla, the Maharashtra Congress Secretary, had on Wednesday asked Rahul Gandhi to first resign from his post. Poonawalla had said he would also contest the election if it was conducted in a "genuine" manner. He had also reportedly written a letter to Rahul Gandhi in this regard. "I cannot contest a rigged election. If the system is genuine, then I will contest. It is a rigged election...it is a selection. Delegates who are going to vote for this election have not been elected as per the constitutional requirements. They have been handpicked," he was quoted as saying by IANS. "I will contest if Rahul Gandhi Ji agrees to first have genuinely-elected delegates and not hand-picked delegates. Second, he must give up his post because he has an unfair advantage by being the vice president. He has been selected and not elected as VP. He will leave his post, I will leave my post... Then we can contest,'' he added. "Third, will he be ready for a televised debate where we both as contestants can have a debate on what is our vision for the Congress party? We can be judged on merit, not on the surname," he said. "And finally, I want him to accept that our party must have a rule of one family-one ticket. I will be happy to contest a genuine election, not in a rigged election," the party leader added. In his letter to Gandhi, Poonawalla asked several questions. "Firstly, a common party worker like me joined the party in 2008-09. I spent time, energy and money working voluntarily for the party at all levels and finally got elevated after eight years to the position of a Secretary in a state unit in 2016. "But how and why (other than your surname) did you in the same time span start off with an MP seat in 2004 itself, get general secretaryship in 2007 and then graduate to vice-presidentship of the national unit while your mother was the President?" he wrote. "Did you win us more elections, were you genuinely elected to these posts, did you give better speeches than other leaders? You must, therefore, resign from the VP post and contest as an ordinary member for the election of the president. How can it be a fair contest if a common worker has to contest against the VP (who was selected and not elected as the VP or the number two in the party)?" he said. "Since the delegate system is completely rigged and manipulated, for a fair fight for the presidentship, will you allow real delegates to get appointed and vote rather than a bunch of handpicked 'yes' men? "If not, will you at least face your rival in a televised debate to see who articulates a better vision for the Congress party and India? Will you allow yourself to be judged on merit rather than your surname? If yes, let's have that contest. I am ready." "You failed to deliver on the promise that IYC, NSUI won't end up electing children of 'netas'. Will you at least now curb the innumerable dynasts who are given tickets and posts in the party by implementing the rule - one ticket/post to only one member of any family, Poonawalla asked. "So if I have a party ticket or post - my brother, sister, mother, brother-in-law, etc cannot be eligible for a ticket or post. We are not into some family business, are we?" his letter read. However, soon after his claims, several party leaders came out in defence of the Gandhi scion and calling him a disgruntled worker of the party. 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. San Francisco: Randi Zuckerberg, the former Director of Market Development of Facebook and the sister of the company`s co-founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg, was sexually harassed on an Alaska Airlines flight. The Silicon Valley entrepreneur to social media to detail her recent flight between Los Angeles and Mazatlan, Mexico and explained her ordeal and how the flight attendants brushed off her co-passenger`s behaviour. In a letter to executives of the Seattle-based airline, she said she was extremely uncomfortable with a man sitting near her, explaining he constantly made sexually explicit and lewd comments to her and others in the first-class section while being served multiple alcoholic drinks. "Feeling furious, disgusted and degraded after an Alaska Airlines flight during which the passenger next to me made repeated lewd, inappropriate, and offensive sexual remarks to me," Randi posted on Facebook. 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 "Both me and my colleague reported the incident to flight attendants who told me this was a frequent flier, brushed off his behaviour as "oh, he just doesn`t have a filter," kept feeding him more drinks, and suggested that I move to the back of the plane if I was uncomfortable," she added. Meanwhile, Alaska Airlines has launched an investigation and has temporarily suspended her co-passenger`s travel privileges. 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 passengers 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." New Delhi: Ivanka Trump, daughter and advisor of US President Donald Trump, has returned after two-day visit to attend Global Entrepreneurship Summit (GES) in India. But Ivanka's visit seemed to have given a lot of fodder to the Twitterati who shared several funny memes after she was photographed with Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Among several funny tweets, a meme by comedian Jose Covaco (@hoezaay) stating that she's in India to get her Aadhaar card made had gone viral. Jose Covaco gave a parodical voice-over to an edited video of Ivanka Trump telling delegates that she's in India to get her Aadhaar card made. Breaking : Exclusive : Paid media will not show you this. Ivanka Trump actually came to India to get her Aadhaar Card done. pic.twitter.com/YabfDudRZE Jose Covaco (@HoeZaay) November 29, 2017 The tweet has since gone viral, garnering over 2,000 retweets. However, Unique Identification Authority of India, seemed to be taking the meme quite sportingly. The official Twitter handle of UIDAI (@UIDAI) responded saying: But couldn't apply since she's not a resident of India. December 1, 2017 Ivanka, who led the US delegation at GES, had arrived in the city in the early hours of Tuesday. The same evening she attended the inaugural session of the three-day event inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The White House advisor also attended a dinner hosted by Modi for her and other GES delegates at Taj Falaknuma, the palace hotel. She addressed another session at GES on Wednesday and later met some prominent women entrepreneurs. Ivanka later visited Golconda Fort along with Juster and Sarna. JAIPUR: Rajasthan is emerging as a model state in building roads and improving transport facilities, transport minister Yunus Khan said on Saturday. We are proud that Rajasthan is emerging as a model state in the development of roads, TOI quoted Khan as saying. 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, 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, he told reporters on the completion of four years of the BJP government in the state. Under Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana, 3988 habitations have been connected by building 11363km roads with Rs 2907 crore, the minister 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, he added. SRINAGAR: Security forces on Saturday launched a search operation in Jammu and Kashmir's Pulwama district. The jawans cordoned off the district's Arigam village where the operation has been launched. Yesterday, a team of Army, Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) and Special Operations Group (SOG) Sopore personnel conducted a search operation in Baramulla's Zaloora in J&K. They reportedly received information about the presence of terrorists in the area. A day earlier, there were reports of civilian injured in clashes with the army in Badgam district where a gunfight was raged between security forces and militants. According to the state police, the number of militants killed in counter-insurgency operations in J&K crossed 200 in 2017 for the first time in seven years. HYDERABAD: The Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (MIM) on Friday won 30 of the 78 seats it contested in the Uttar Pradesh municipal elections. The Hyderabad-headquartered party`s candidate Hajjan Hansar was also elected as chairperson of Dasna Municipal Council. The party headed by Asaduddin Owaisi won 10 seats in Firozabad Municipal Corporation, two in Meerut Municipal Corporation and one each in Kanpur and Allahabad municipal corporations. According to MIM sources, it bagged four seats in Baghpat Municipal Council, three seats in Mahul Azamgarh Municipal Council, two each in Sambhal, Amroha and one each in Sitapur and Banda municipal councils. MIM finished second in the election for Ferozabad Mayor. Its candidate Mashroom Fathima polled 56,536 votes, pushing the Samajwadi Party to the third place. BJP`s Nutan Rathore won the seat with nearly 99,000 votes. The party claimed that three independents also want to extend support to it. Earlier, Owaisi said the party could win the seats due to hard work by the party`s state leaders and members. He thanked the voters for supporting the party. The MIM failed to open an account in the Uttar Pradesh assembly elections in March. It had contested 35 seats. THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: As Kerala reels under heavy downpour caused due to Cyclone Ockhi, the state government on Saturday has decided to ask the Centre to declare the cyclone as a national calamity. Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said the chief secretary has been entrusted to prepare the memorandum in this regard. Kerala govt has decided to ask the Union government to declare #OckhiCyclone a national calamity. The Chief Secretary has been entrusted to prepare the memorandum in this regard: Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan pic.twitter.com/pyCrT3dkva ANI (@ANI) December 2, 2017 Cyclone Ockhi had on Friday intensified into a severe storm and was rapidly moving towards the Arabian Sea, leaving a trail of destruction on its path. The death toll rose to 12 on Saturday even as the search and rescue operations in the sea continued with the help of the navy and the Coast Guard. Kanyakumari and Tirunelveli districts in Tamil Nadu and Calicut district in Kerala were the worst hit where hundreds of people have been affected. Over 60 fishing vessels from Tamil Nadu and Kerala were asked to dock at a port in Maharashtra on Saturday as the menacing Ockhi made their return journey unsafe. A total of 68 vessels, of which two from Tamil Nadu and 66 from Kerala, with nearly a 100 fishermen onboard, were asked to dock at Devagad port in Maharashtra's Sindhudurg district as the storm gathered strength. Seventy-one fishermen have already been rescued and brought to the port, while 97 others are still at sea, the ANI reported. The coastguards are currently searching for the stranded vessels in the sea. The Maharashtra government is providing shelter, food and other relief materials to the stranded fishermen who have already arrived at the port. The state govt swung into action after Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman sought help from Chief Minister Devender Fadnavis in the matter. Earlier in the day, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had assured all help to the affected people in the states. He also reportedly called Tamil Nadu Chief Minister K Palaniswami to assure him all assistance from the Centre to deal with the crisis. MUMBAI: Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Saturday called for declaring Cyclone Ockhi a national calamity as the storm wreaked havoc in the state and neighbouring Tamil Nadu. Over 60 fishing vessels from Tamil Nadu and Kerala were asked to dock at a port in Maharashtra on Saturday as the menacing Ockhi made their return journey unsafe. A total of 68 vessels, of which two from Tamil Nadu and 66 from Kerala, with nearly a 100 fishermen onboard, were asked to dock at Devagad port in Maharashtra's Sindhudurg district as the storm gathered strength. Seventy-one fishermen have already been rescued and brought to the port, while 97 others are still at sea, the ANI reported. The coastguards are currently searching for the stranded vessels in the sea. The Maharashtra government is providing shelter, food and other relief materials to the stranded fishermen who have already arrived at the port. The state govt swung into action after Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman sought help from Chief Minister Devender Fadnavis in the matter. Thanks Hon.CM @Dev_Fadnavis for understanding the sense of urgency in this matter of fishermen reaching Devagad minor port, Maharashtra.These fishermen from near Calicut, Kerala were caught in #CycloneOckhi. Grateful to CM who agreed to help immediately. @Kummanam @santhoshbjp Nirmala Sitharaman (@nsitharaman) December 2, 2017 Ive given orders to Maharashtra Maritime Board and the Sindhudurg district Collector 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, Fadnavis said in a tweet. 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 Cyclone Ockhi had on Friday intensified into a severe storm and was rapidly moving towards the Arabian Sea, leaving a trail of destruction on its path. The death toll rose to 12 on Saturday even as the search and rescue operations in the sea continued with the help of the navy and the Coast Guard. Kanyakumari and Tirunelveli districts in Tamil Nadu and Calicut district in Kerala were the worst hit where hundreds of people have been affected. Meanwhile, the Kerala government is preparing a memorandum for the Centre to declare Cyclone Ockhi as a national calamity. Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said the chief secretary has been entrusted to prepare the memorandum in this regard. Earlier in the day, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had assured all help to the affected people in the states. He also reportedly called Tamil Nadu Chief Minister K Palaniswami to assure him all assistance from the Centre to deal with the crisis. 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). KOLKATA: 'Didi' Mamata Banerjee will find herself standing alongside Samajwadi Party in her battle for a secular India, former Uttar Pradesh chief minister Akhilesh Yadav said here on Saturday. Yadav has met with the Trinamool leader in Kolkata a day after his party witnessed a massive drubbing in the state's civic polls. The SP leader has been trying to stitch up a coalition of parties with a similar ideology to deal with the formidable BJP, which has been on a winning streak since the 2014 general elections. Though the party has not revealed what transpired in the meeting, his visit is seen as the SP leader's fervent attempt to further consolidate the ties. Whenever I have visited Bengal, I have met didi (Mamata Banerjee). Her secular battle is not hidden from anyone and Samajwadi Party stands with her in her battle, the SP leader said. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Friday swept the civic body polls, winning 14 of the 16 mayoral seats. Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath attributed the victory to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's vision and party chief Amit Shah's election strategy. He said the results were an eye-opener for those making tall claims against BJP. New Delhi: Women and child activists have condemned the molestation of a four-year-old girl in Kolkata and questioned the negligence of GD Birla Centre for Education School authority. Speaking to ANI, women activist Brinda Adige said, "The incident is absolutely atrocious and horrendous. How dare these schools take in such kind of people as teachers over there." "GD Birla School is very well-known and parents struggle to get their children admitted to that school. This kind of incident with a 4-year-old girl is absolutely shameful. It is not only shameful to the teacher but alsp the management," added Adige. Another women activist, Ruby Mukerjee also dubbed the entire incident as unfortunate."This is very shameful and unfortunate. Although two have been arrested but what is the school administration doing?" she questioned."They take lots of money as donation for children`s admission," she said. There is no CCTV surveillance in the school premises, alleged Mukherjee.Earlier on Friday, the West Bengal Police arrested two teachers of Kolkata`s GD Birla Centre for Education school for sexually assaulting the four-year-old girl. LUCKNOW: A 35-year-old contractor has been shot dead by motorcycle-borne assailants in Lucknow's Gomti Nagar area. Mohammad Tariq was attacked while he was on his way home in his Toyota Fortuner at around 7.30 pm, the police said. Tariq was staying with his family at Kaveri Apartment in Gomti Nagar Extension since the last three years, the Times of India reported. Tariq, who originally hails from Varanasi, reportedly received two gunshot injuries, the report said citing police. He was rushed to the hospital, where the doctors declared him brought dead. Tariq had reportedly served jailed in a murder case in Varanasi. The motive behind the murder was not immediately known. The victim was identified through some documents kept in the vehicle. MUMBAI: In a strange incident, doctors on Thursday successfully operated and removed as many as 72 coins from a man's stomach in Maharashtra's Palghar district. The 50-year-old tribal man had reportedly swallowed the coins over a long period due to certain mental illnesses, doctors said. He hails from Thoratpada in Talasari taluka of Palghar. Krishna Somalya Sambar was suffering from a rare case of metallophagia, an impulse to swallow metallic objects, said Dr Amit Kele who led the team of doctors that operated Sambar. The endoscopic surgery lasted for three and a half hours. "He is suffering from 'bezoar'- a gastrointestinal disorder- and 'pica'- a compulsive disorder of eating non-nutritional substances- for the past 20 years. This made him a habitual eater of iron and metal coins. Some got flushed out of his system in the natural course of excretion but others remained," Kele told DNA on Saturday. The doctor added that due to the coins inside his stomach, Sambar was suffering from vomiting and indigestion. On Thursday, Sambar approached the medical team, following which he underwent an X-ray. It was after the X-ray revealed the presence of coins in his stomach, the doctors proceeded to the operation. The doctor said that Sambar's condition was improving and he would soon be discharged from the hospital. Mumbai: The Shiv Sena said today 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 here 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." Washington DC: Do you also keep checking your cell phone in every five minutes for news, information or maybe an occasional phone call? If yes, then you may need to take a break, as researchers have found an imbalance in the brain chemistry of teenagers addicted to smartphones and internet. According to a recent Pew Research Centre study, 46 percent of Americans say they could not live without their smartphones. Researchers from the Korea University in Seoul, South Korea used magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) to gain unique insight into the brains of smartphone - and internet - addicted teenagers. MRS is a type of MRI that measures the brain`s chemical composition. The team analyzed 19 young people (mean age 15.5, nine males) diagnosed with internet or smartphone addiction.12 of the addicted youth received nine weeks of cognitive behavioral therapy, modified from a cognitive therapy programme for gaming addiction."The higher the score, the more severe the addiction," said researcher Hyung Suk Seo.The results indicated that the addicted teenagers had significantly higher scores in depression, anxiety, insomnia severity and impulsivity. The researchers performed MRS exams on the addicted youth prior to and following behavioural therapy and a single MRS study on the control patients to measure levels of gamma aminobutyric acid, or GABA, a neurotransmitter in the brain that inhibits or slows down brain signals, and glutamate-glutamine (Glx), a neurotransmitter that causes neurons to become more electrically excited. The results revealed that the ratio of GABA to Glx was significantly increased in the anterior cingulate cortex of smartphone - and internet - addicted youth prior to therapy.Having too much GABA can result in a number of side effects, including drowsiness and anxiety."The increased GABA levels and disrupted balance between GABA and glutamate in the anterior cingulate cortex may contribute to our understanding the pathophysiology of and treatment for addictions," Seo noted.The research is presented today at the annual meeting of the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA). Mumbai: Filmmaker Rahul Rawail said the Sanjay Leela Bhansali-directed 'Padmavati' should not be shunned as it would amount to curtailment of creativity. "I abhor what is being done to 'Padmavati'. Sanjay Leela Bhansali is a sensible and fabulous filmmaker, he is not going to change history or turn it around. The reaction are more political. But 'Padmavati' has no reason to be shunned like this, let CBFC see the film," Rawail said. Various Rajput groups and political leaders have accused Bhansali of distorting history in the movie by using a romantic dream sequence between Rajput queen Padmini and Alauddin Khilji, a claim repeatedly denied by the filmmaker. "Politics should not come in the way of filmmaking. You cannot accuse Bhansali of having changed history, he is a sensible director, why will he do it? In 'Mughal-E-Azam', Anarkali was a fictitious character, so will you ban this film? The protest is stupid," he added. FIFA World Cup 2022 Qatar: Cristiano Ronaldo to Lionel Messi, stars likely to play their last WC Mumbai: 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). Ludhiana: Congress leader Navjot Singh Sidhu on Saturday came out in support of Rahul Gandhi days after a leader questioned the party`s presidential election process. Speaking to media, Sidhu said, "I have always been saying that Rahul Gandhi has a `khandaani` (vast political) background. I believe that Rahul Gandhi has matured a lot and the time has come that the country is led by a `khandaani` person like Rahul Gandhi." Maharashtra Congress secretary Shehzad Poonawalla on Wednesday claimed that the election was rigged and said it was merely a 'selection' process. On Gandhi`s faith controversy, the Punjab`s Local Bodies Minister said, "God is within each of us as we are a secular community. It is the spirit of the Constitution that there should be no discrimination on the basis of caste, colour and creed." Kolkata: '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 is based on popular Bengali writer Bibhutibhusan Bandyopadhyay's classic adventure fiction. It 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. CHENNAI: The Bharatiya Janta Party (BJP) on Saturday declared Karu Nagarajan as its official nominee to contest the RK Nagar polls scheduled for December 21. On Thursday, the ruling AIADMK announced E Madhusudhanan as its nominee to contest the RK Nagar polls. His name was finalised from a list of aspirants, who had applied expressing their willingness to contest the by-poll, a party release here said adding that he was the unanimous choice of the party. Madhusudhanan is the presidium chairman of AIADMK and a Panneerselvam loyalist. According to a report, as many as 19 other AIADMK members had also submitted an application seeking nomination to contest the RK Nagar Assembly constituency. His candidature came on the day after the rebel faction of the AIADMK named TTV Dinakaran as its candidate for the RK Nagar bypoll. Last week, Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) working president MK Stalin had announced Marudhu Ganesh as the candidate for RK Nagar by-elections. In 2015, former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalithaa was elected from the RK Nagar constituency. After her death in December last year, the constituency was left void. Although the by-poll was scheduled for April 12, it was countermanded following reports of attempted voter bribing by a candidate. The Madras High Court had directed to hold the by-poll before December 31. COIMBATORE: In a CCTV footage from Coimbatore's Periyanaickenpalayam, an elephant can be seen entering a house in search of food. The elephant entered the house but soon left without causing any damage. The footage was reportedly recorded on the night of November 30. Seeing the door of the house open, the calf had entered the house. A car and two bikes can be seen in the video. #WATCH: An elephant, along with an elephant calf, enters a house in Coimbatore's Periyanaickenpalayam in search of food, returns without causing any damage (Source: CCTV) pic.twitter.com/GRxpq6CsDr ANI (@ANI) December 2, 2017 The incident brings back memories of June this year when four people including a 12-year old girl and two women were killed after a wild elephant went on a rampage in a residential area of Coimbatore's Vellalore. The wild elephant had strayed into the area and attacked the locals when they were sleeping in the front yard of their house. A similar incident took place in December last year in Ranchi when residents took shelter on trees to escape an attack by a herd of elephants. A herd of wild elephants has spread panic among village residents, damaging their homes and food items. LUCKNOW: While the Bharatiya Janata Party is celebrating its massive success in the Uttar Pradesh civic polls, opposition parties have yet again alleged tampering of EVMs used in the elections. Calling for ballot papers to be brought back, Bahujan Samaj Party supremo Mayawati on Saturday said that if EVMs are not used, BJP cannot come to power. "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," she said. "If BJP is honest and believes in democracy then discard EVMs and conduct voting on Ballot papers," she added. In the civic polls that concluded on Friday, the BJP won 14 of the 16 mayoral seats. Mayawati-led BSP came second by winning the mayoral posts in western UP's Aligarh and Meerut towns. However, Akhilesh Yadav-led SP failed to win a single mayoral seat. Congress even lost in its pocket borough Amethi. The Samajwadi Party also attributed its humiliating defeat in the civic body polls to the "faulty EVMs used at some places". Party MLC Rajpal Kashyap said, ''It was disheartening to note that the BJP gained on places where EVMs were used.'' Polling in UP was held for 16 nagar nigams, 198 nagar palika parishads and 438 nagar panchayats with an average turnout of all the three phases estimated at 52.5 per cent of the 3.32 crore voters. The elections were held in three phases on November 22, 26 and 29. The couning was held was held under tight security cover and CCTV surveillance at 334 centres in district and tehsil headquarters. NEW DELHI: Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Saturday met Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Delhi. The meeting comes just a day after the Bharatiya Janata Party secured a massive victory in the civic polls in Uttar Pradesh on Friday. The elections were being seen as a popularity test for Yogi Adityanath as it comes eight months after the BJP won the assembly elections in the state. The CM did not leave any stone unturned to campaign in the state ensuring a win for the party in 14 of the 16 mayoral seats. Calling it a "historic win", he credited the victory to PM Modi's vision and BJP president Amit Shah's guidance. Pointing out that the Congress has been wiped out in its pocket-borough of Amethi, he took potshots at Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi saying it would better for those criticising the Gujarat model of development to learn from the defeat in Amethi. He said that the party will now look forward to achieving the goal of one hundred per cent success in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls. In the results on Friday, Mayawati-led BSP sprang a surprise as it thwarted the challenge from BJP candidates to win the mayoral posts in western UP's Aligarh and Meerut towns. Akhilesh Yadav-led SP failed to win a single mayoral seat. Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said that the results reaffirmed people's support for the GST which has made doing business "easier" for traders. BJP chief Amit Shah said that it was clear that the people had embraced the economic reforms and rejected politics of caste, appeasement and dynasty. The results are all the more a boost to the saffron party as they come days before the high-stakes Gujarat Assembly polls. LUCKNOW: A day after BJP swept the Uttar Pradesh civic elections, the Samajwadi Party on Saturday launched a frontal attack on the saffron brigade, saying it stage-managed the polls to turn them in its favour. BJP's winning percentage is 46% wherever polls were conducted via EVMs and 15% when it was done via the ballot papers, the former UP chief minister said, hinting at a possible manipulation in the voting process. The SP leader also rejected the BJP's claim of a landslide victory in the polls. Akhilesh, who made the remarks in Kolkata, however, did not directly blamed doctored EVMs for the poll result, like some of his party colleagues did in the past elections. Voicing a similar concern, his close confidant and senior party leader Azam Khan claimed there was no tampering of the EVMs but there was a setting, apparently referring to the stage-managing of the elections. Though he did not elaborate what he meant by setting. Backing Akhilesh's claims, Khan said: BJP won wherever EVMs were used and SP won wherever ballot papers were used. Hailing his party's big win in the civic polls, BJP chief Amit Shah on Friday said the results had made it clear that the people had embraced the economic reforms and rejected the politics of casteism, appeasement and dynasty. The BJP staged a massive victory in the polls on Friday, with its candidates winning 14 out of the 16 mayoral seats in the state. Kolkata: 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. London: 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." Tegucigalpa(AFP): Fresh clashes broke out today 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 yesterday. "Yesterday (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 yesterday and today. 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 per cent 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 today 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 Organization of American States observer mission urged the authority in a letter yesterday to ensure that 100 per cent of the ballots were processed before declaring a result. SANAA: Clashes erupted in Yemen's capital on Friday, witnesses said, as talks between feuding rebel allies failed to broker a truce. It is the third consecutive night of armed violence between supporters of former president Ali Abdullah Saleh and Yemen's northern Huthi rebels, who jointly control the capital Sanaa. Multiple witnesses said heavy gunfire could be heard in southern Sanaa, but there were no immediate reports of casualties. Fighting also erupted near the home of Brigadier Tarek Saleh, a nephew of the former president and commander in the force loyal to the Yemeni strongman. Three people were killed in clashes with the Huthis outside of the commander's home last night, Saleh's General People's Congress (GPC) said. Talks between members of the GPC and the Huthis' political council today failed to reach an agreement between the two parties, a high-ranking GPC source told AFP. An internal rift has shaken the fragile alliance between the Iran-backed Huthis and Saleh loyalists, who joined ranks in 2014 to seize Sanaa. The former enemies drove President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi's internationally recognised government out of the capital, which has been rocked by rebel infighting. The wider Yemen conflict pits the Huthi-Saleh alliance against the Saudi-backed government of Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi. The war has claimed more than 8,600 lives since Saudi Arabia and its allies joined the Hadi government's fight against the rebels in 2015, triggering what the United Nations has described as the world's worst humanitarian crisis. The rebel clashes in Sanaa come as tensions soar between the insurgents and the Saudi-led coalition, which imposed a crippling blockade on Yemen in response to a Huthi missile that was intercepted near Riyadh airport on November 4. Saudi Arabia intercepted and destroyed another ballistic missile fired from Yemen yesterday, state media in Riyadh said. No casualties were reported. The coalition, which accuses the rebels of being a proxy for Saudi Arabia's regional rival Iran, says the blockade is meant to stop the flow of arms to the rebels from Tehran. Iran denies it is supplying the Huthis with arms. Lahore: Days after his release from house arrest, Jamaat-ud-Dawa (JuD) and alleged mastermind of 2008 Mumbai terror attacks Hafiz Saeed on Saturday announced his decision to contest general elections in Pakistan next year, reports said. Saeed said he would contest the election on the platform of Milli Muslim League (MML), though he did not disclose anything about the constituency, reported Pakistani media. The JuD floated the MML in August this year to mark its entry into politics, promising to make Pakistan "a real Islamic and welfare state". In January this year, the JuD chief had been detained under the Anti-Terrorism Act. But, as the court refused to extend hi BEIRUT: Israeli missiles struck a military position near Damascus overnight and Syria`s air defence system thwarted them, Syrian state television said on Saturday. The "blatant assault" led to material losses at the site in the countryside around the capital, it said. An Israeli military spokeswoman had declined to comment on earlier reports of such an attack overnight. ABOARD A U.S. MILITARY AIRCRAFT: US Defense Secretary Jim Mattis said on Friday that as offensive operations against Islamic State in Syria entered their final stages, he expected the focus to move towards holding territory instead of arming Syrian Kurdish fighters. Speaking with reporters on a military plane en route to Cairo, Mattis did not say if there had already been a halt to weapons transfers. U.S. President Donald Trump informed Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan in a call last week that Washington was adjusting military support to partners on the ground in Syria. The Syrian Kurdish YPG spearheads the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), an alliance of Kurdish and Arab militias fighting Islamic State with the help of a U.S.-led coalition. Turkey`s presidency had previously reported that the United States would not supply weapons to Kurdish YPG fighters in Syria. Until now, the Pentagon has only gone as far as saying it was reviewing "adjustments" in arms for the Syrian Kurdish forces, which Ankara views as a threat. "The YPG is armed and as the coalition stops offensive (operations) then obviously you don`t need that, you need security, you need police forces, that is local forces, that is people who make certain that ISIS doesn`t come back," Mattis said. When asked if that would specifically mean the U.S. would stop arming the YPG, Mattis said: "Yeah, we are going to go exactly along the lines of what the President announced." Ankara has been infuriated by Washington`s support for the YPG militia, seen by Turkey as an extension of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), which has fought a decades-long insurgency in Turkey and is designated a terrorist group by Ankara, the United States and European Union. The United States expects to recover heavy weapons and larger vehicles from the YPG, but lighter weapons are unlikely to be completely recovered, U.S. officials have said. Earlier this week, the U.S.-led coalition fighting Islamic State said more than 400 U.S. Marines and their artillery would be leaving Syria after helping to capture the city of Raqqa from Islamic State. Mattis said that was part of the United States changing the composition of its forces to support diplomats to bring an end to the war. "The troops are changing their stance...that includes with our allies who are now changing their stance as they come to the limits of where they are going," Mattis said. WASHINGTON: Backers of a US-Russian plan to build nuclear reactors across the Middle East bragged after the US election they had backing from Donald Trump`s 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 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 Trump`s election as president is a game changer because Trump`s highest foreign policy priority is to stabilize U.S. relations with Russia which are now at a historical low-point," ACU`s 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 Party`s 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 Ukraine`s 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 plan`s 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: http://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 campaign`s 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. 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 committee`s top Democrat, said the panel`s 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 ACU`s nuclear reactor plan aimed to provide Washington`s Middle East allies with nuclear power in a way that didn`t 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 Trump`s 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, ACU`s Copson received an email from nuclear non-proliferation expert Reuben Sorensen saying that he had updated Flynn on the nuclear project`s status. Sorensen`s 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: http://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., which has a nuclear division based in Royce`s 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 Alex`s suggestion to reach out to General Flynn" to discuss the project. Royce`s 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, 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. 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. Balochistan [Pakistan]: 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. Dhaka: Pope Francis wrapped up a high-stakes Asia tour Saturday after meeting Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh in a highly symbolic gesture of solidarity with the Muslim minority fleeing violence in Myanmar. The Catholic leader visited a hospital in Dhaka run by the order of Mother Theresa on the final day of a visit to Bangladesh and Myanmar that has been dominated by the plight of the Rohingya. Pope Francis is known for championing the rights of refugees and has repeatedly expressed support for the long-suffering Rohingya, whom he has described as his "brothers and sisters". The usually forthright pontiff walked a diplomatic tightrope during his four days in Myanmar -- the first papal visit to the country -- avoiding any direct reference to the Rohingya in public while appealing to Buddhist leaders to overcome "prejudice and hatred". In Bangladesh he addressed the issue head-on, meeting a group of Rohingya refugees from the squalid camps in southern Bangladesh in an emotional encounter in Dhaka. Among them was a 12-year-old girl who told him she had lost all her family in a Myanmar army attack on her village before fleeing across the border earlier this year. "Your tragedy is very hard, very great, but it has a place in our hearts," he told them. "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."The pope referred to the refugees as Rohingya, using the term for the first time on the tour after the archbishop of Yangon advised him that doing so in Myanmar could inflame tensions and endanger Christians. The word is politically sensitive in the mainly Buddhist country because many there do not consider the Rohingya a distinct ethnic group, regarding them instead as incomers from Bangladesh. He had faced criticism from some rights activists and refugees for failing to address the issue publicly. The pope 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 (around 500 kilometres) 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," said 29-year-old Rohingya teacher Mohammad Zubair. "This meeting will send a clear message to global leaders." Analysts were more cautious. Alyssa Ayres, senior fellow with the Council on Foreign Relations, said the pope`s recognition helped raise global awareness of the humanitarian crisis, "but it unfortunately does very little to address the big questions about their future". More than 620,000 Rohingya have crossed into Bangladesh since a militant attack on police posts in late August sparked a deadly crackdown by the Myanmar military. They have given consistent accounts of mass rape, killings and villages deliberately burned to the ground by soldiers and Buddhist militia. The two countries last month signed an agreement to begin repatriating refugees, but rights groups say they are concerned about plans to house them in camps away from their former homes -- many of which have been destroyed. The pope returns to Rome on Saturday having led well-attended open-air masses in Bangladesh and Myanmar, which both have small Christian populations. In the morning he was greeted by hundreds of Bangladeshi nuns at the Mother Teresa House clinic, all dressed in the blue-and-white habit favoured by the woman who dedicated her life to the region`s poorest. Earlier he paid tribute to the works of Catholics in Bangladesh, where schools and clinics run by the church provide a lifeline for poor communities. "I am sure if the pope touches my head and prays for me, I`ll be cured," Ananda Hira, a kidney patient who receives dialysis at the clinic, told AFP ahead of the visit. "God listens to his prayers." Moscow: Russia`s decision to pass a measure that would ban American journalists from covering the Duma, the lower chamber of its Parliament, comes as a major blow to media freedom. 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 world 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. NEW DELHI: Moscow has expressed strong displeasure over the US senators and Congressmen refusing accreditation to the Russian national broadcaster Russia Today, saying it will arouse "emotional response" from Kremlin. "We would like to describe the decision by the American senators and congressmen to deprive RT of accreditation as extremely disappointing, wrong, and violating the freedom of the press principles," the Global Times quoted Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov as saying, citing the Russian media. On Wednesday, the US Executive Committee of the Congressional Radio and Television Correspondents' Galleries had reportedly cancelled RT's press credentials in the Capital Hill over the foreign agent allegations. "Such hostile and undemocratic decisions cannot be left without a response. You don't have to be a prophet to predict an emotional response from our lawmakers regarding the US media," Peskov said. Earlier in the day, Russian parliamentary speaker Vyacheslav Volodin had reportedly said that the State Duma is considering a "symmetrical measure" in response. The US administration has been accusing the Russian media, including RT, of influencing public opinion during the 2016 US presidential election. Moscow, however, has rejected the allegations. New Delhi: 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. United Nations, Dec 2 (IANS) 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. United Nations, Dec 2 (AP) Japan announced today 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 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 today from Russia's Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov. "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 at 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." Bessho, asked about Haley's tough words, 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." Haley called on all countries on Wednesday to cut ties to North Korea. She talked about additional measures against the DPRK and said President Donald Trump called China's President Xi Jinping 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. UNITED NATIONS: The United States, Britain, France and six other countries today requested a meeting of the UN Security Council on human rights abuses in North Korea, which is already under fire for its missile and nuclear tests. The meeting, expected to be held on December 11, will mark the fourth time since 2014 that the council holds an annual meeting on North Korea's dismal rights record. Italy, Japan, Senegal, Sweden, Ukraine and Uruguay joined the three permanent council members in requesting the meeting, according to a letter seen by AFP. China, North Korea's ally, has in the past sought to block any discussion on human rights in North Korea, arguing that the Human Rights Council in Geneva was the forum for those concerns, and not the Security Council. But China has all three times failed to win a procedural vote, and the meeting was allowed to continue. The UN General Assembly is also expected this month to adopt a resolution condemning North Korea for human rights violations and for conducting missile and nuclear tests while its people suffer from severe hunger. Japanese Ambassador Koro Bessho, who holds the council presidency in December, told reporters that it was important to understand the "nexus" between the human rights situation in North Korea and nuclear weapons development. North Korea conducted its sixth nuclear test this year and test-fired a series of advanced missiles, including intercontinental ballistic missiles, even as 18 million North Koreans, or 70 percent of the population, are struggling with food shortages. Caracas (AP): 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. (AP) YEREVAN, DECEMBER 2, ARMENPRESS. The deputy prosecutor of Istanbul has launched criminal proceedings against four Turkish scholars for visiting Artsakh. The criminal cases were initiated at the request of Azerbaijan. After the proceedings, the prosecution decided to launch court hearings against the scholars, Turkish scholar Sait Cetinoglu, who has appeared in the crosshairs of the Turkish-Azerbaijani conspiracy, told ARMENPRESS. Weve used the right to free movement, which is one of the fundamental freedoms of people. The Azerbaijani government issued an arrest warrant for us, moreover it is trying to issue a Red Alert against us using Interpol as a tool, with the purpose of restricting our freedom of travel, he said. He reminded that for visiting Artsakh without Azerbaijani authorization, Azerbaijan began an investigation and demanded Turkey to question the scholars. The deputy prosecutor of Istanbul personally dealt with the case. As far as I understood from media reports, a judicial case was launched against us as result of the process. We havent yet received a notification about this. Judging by the statements of Turkish foreign minister Mevlut Cavusolgu about the judicial case, it can be understood that Turkey and Azerbaijan are taking similar steps to prevent visits to Nagorno Karabakh, he said, adding that the Turkish FM has made similar statements in the past also. However, Cetinoglu found a similar conduct of Turkey to be odd to say the least, taking into account that Turkey is the one who has actually occupied the northern section of Cyprus. According to him, if proceedings are launched against them for visiting NK, then the same must be applied for Turkish citizens who visit the so-called "Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus". This process might end with court proceedings being launched against millions of Turkish citizens for visiting occupied territories without authorization, he said, mentioning that this process, which initiated Turkey, can have unpleasant consequences for Turkey itself. Araks Kasyan YEREVAN, DECEMBER 2, ARMENPRESS. Statement by Lieutenant General Hayk Kotanjian, Head, National Defense Research University, MOD, RA, Doctor of Political Science, Professor, at the parliamentary hearings on Armenia-EU: Comprehensive and Enhanced Partnership between the European Union and Armenia, 1 December, 2017. In July 2017 facing the conclusion of Armenias agreement with the European Union, the National Defense Research University, MOD, RA, embarked on the elaboration of the geostrategic initiative of the RAs integration into Chinas One Belt, One Road (OBOR) project. It is targeted at the assessment of the possibility of launching a new alternative China-Europe route in the context of the OBOR initiative, by integrating the China-Iran sea transit into the Persian Gulf-Black Sea multimodal transport corridor. The given elaboration was previously discussed in July 2017, during the visit of the delegation headed by MG Chan Inli, former Head of the School of Defense Studies of Chinas National Defense University, to our University. The project was reviewed with the Chinese side by Azat Davtyan, NDRU Research-Fellow, on 20-28, July, at the international strategic conferences in Xian and Shanghai. In order to review the outcomes of the meetings with the Chinese strategic analysts with the Iranian side, with the support of the RA Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the RA Embassy in Iran, Benyamin Poghosyan, my Deputy Head on ResearchHead, Institute for National Strategic Studies, and Azat Davtyan, Research-Fellow, took a mission trip to Tehran. On 24 October of this year they attended the international conference Central Asia and Caucasus, hosted by the Institute of Political and International Studies of Irans Ministry of Foreign Affairs. During the expert discussions of our joint elaboration in July-November, 2017, Chinese and Iranian specialists have underscored this project designed by the prime RA state think-tank. This very strategic integration project was delivered to the Central Military Commission of the Peoples Republic of China. Iranian specialists in particular have highlighted Irans interest in providing for the transit route to Europe across Armenias territory. The NDRU-developed project is to endow Armenias geopolitical role in the region with a new strategic caliber, and raise to a qualitatively new level the European Unions bilateral and multilateral cooperation with Iran and China with participation of Armenia. Meanwhile, I believe, it is necessary to mention that the further delay of the launch of the interstate discussions on this matter with Iran and China may essentially reduce the possibility of implementing the given program targeted at surmounting Armenias strategic isolation. YEREVAN, DECEMBER 2, ARMENPRESS. The Armenia My Love event was kicked off with a flashmob in Republic Square, Yerevan. Culture Minister Armen Amiryan was personally present at the event. Various song and dance ensembles performed national dances in the center of the Square. The ensembles later departed for provinces of the country on a tour. An unprecedented concert program is planned December 2-3 in 40 communities nationwide. Minister Amiryan said they launched the Cultural Stop program since the beginning of the year, with sponsors assisting in organizing 426 such events nationwide. He mentioned that 40 music bands are heading to various provinces of the country, and a cultural firework will happen during the upcoming two days. It is important for us to awaken the imaginary world of a child living in a remote village, to enable our citizens to communicate with modern arts, he said. YEREVAN, DECEMBER 2, ARMENPRESS. The OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) visited Yerevan November 29-December 1 to present the OSCE/ODIHR observer missions final report on the April 2 Armenian Parliament election. The report has been discussed during meetings with officials from the Parliament, the Central Electoral Commission, political parties, government, representatives of the civil society and international arena. The ODIHR team mentioned possible fields for future cooperation, as well as specific steps for bringing to life the proposals of various stakeholder parties. ODIHR proposed to implement certain electoral reforms, which will enable to eliminate the flaws in campaigning, financing, the right to dispute and submit objections. Further efforts which will help people with disabilities to become full participants of electoral processes have been highlighted, as well as increasing womens involvement in the process, and raising efficiency of electoral administration. The report also addresses the lack of public trust for electoral processes in Armenia urging authorities to display political will to prevent all means of pressuring voters. Realizing the willingness of stakeholder parties in initiating the instructions regarding the electoral process, deep and comprehensive consultation is necessary for reforms to be successfully implemented, Donald Bisson, deputy head of the ODIHR mission said. Alexander Shlyk, head of the electoral department of ODIHR, expressed readiness on behalf of ODIHR to assist in initiating the proposals. YEREVAN, DECEMBER 2, ARMENPRESS. Deputy FM of Armenia Ashot Hovakimyan held a meeting with George William Okoth-Obbo, UNHCR's Assistant High Commissioner for Operations. During the meeting the deputy FM highlighted the delegations visit, mentioning that Armenia has many years of experience in receiving refugees. He stressed that Armenia has put great efforts in assisting refugees both in the past and present and to care for their needs especially touching upon the integration experience of Armenian refugees who migrated in the 90s from Azerbaijan, then from Iraq and Syria. The deputy FM briefed the delegation on the latest developments around the NK conflict. He touched upon the displaced rural population of villages located in the line of contact as result of the large scale aggression of Azerbaijan again Artsakh in April 2016, and emphasized the necessity of humanitarian organizations being accessible for all in need equally and without discriminations. Hovakimyan thanked George William Okoth-Obbo for meeting with the residents of Artsakhs Talish village and getting to know their issues. Hovhakimyan stressed that Armenia continues to assist victims of conflicts in the Middle East, including ethnic and religious minorities. The UN official mentioned that they view Armenia to be a strategically important country in terms of finding solutions of refugee problems, highly praised Armenias experience of refugee integration, especially receiving Syrian refugees in recent years and caring for their educational, social and economic needs. The Democrat leadership has made constant, profound and incredible pronouncements that one's supportive vote for Republicans is tantamount to surrendering Democracy forever. Understanding their sincere thinking in their extreme position: How will you still vote on this election day? Democrat; because the continuance of this Democracy from the existential threat of extreme Republicans is paramount. Republican; the process of having a choice is the democratic method within what so called "Democracy" does exists. The House Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies appropriations bill, as well as the Senate draft Interior appropriations bill, include a rider directing Fish and Wildlife Service to reissue final rules delisting wolves in the Western Great Lakes and Wyoming. Photo by Alamy 1.3K shares As we move into December, one of the most important fights in Congress relates to the massive spending bill to fund the operations of the federal government in 2018 where the House and Senate try to find agreement between the respective bills in each chamber and send one final plan to the president for his signature. There are important spending levels in the bill that have implications for the enforcement of our federal animal protection laws, such as the Animal Welfare Act and the Horse Protection Act. But that bill is also a vehicle for lawmakers to attach riders, and some Republican lawmakers have attached some very destructive anti-wildlife and anti-horse riders that are an immense threat to animal welfare. We saw a similar set of issues emerge in the final negotiations last time around, and we were able to prevail when the Fiscal Year 2017 omnibus was completed in May, maintaining critical protections for wolves in the Great Lakes region, grizzly bears, and other animals in Alaska, and for American horses (domesticated and wild) who would not be slaughtered in the United States. If we are to prevail again this year, or early next year (the timing for final action is uncertain), we will need an outpouring of citizen concern. This week, Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., led a letter co-signed by 30 of his Senate Democratic colleagues urging Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., to stand firm against any riders to weaken Endangered Species Act protections for rare species, including wolves in Michigan, Minnesota, and Wisconsin. Sen. Schumer and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., have been staunch and effective advocates opposing attacks on wolves and other wildlife on our public lands and elsewhere. They have also been stalwart defenders of horses, as has Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., who has also long opposed horse slaughter for human consumption and helped fend off efforts to open horse slaughter plants in the United States. Horse Slaughter : Language barring the U.S. Department of Agriculture from expending funds for horse slaughter inspections was included in last years spending bill, and it passed by voice vote in the FY18 Senate Agriculture appropriations bill, but was not included within the House Agriculture appropriations bill. By prohibiting the USDA from spending tax dollars to inspect horse slaughter plants, this language effectively prevents plants from opening on U.S. soil to slaughter horses for human consumption. This provision has been enacted every year going back to FY06 except for FY12-13. Americans do not eat horses and do not want to see their hard-earned tax dollars used to enable a predatory and inhumane industry. Its clear that a majority of members of the House and Senate oppose horse slaughter, and negotiators should defer to that strong sentiment reflecting the public will, and maintain the ban on horse slaughter in the United States thats been in place for more than a decade. : Language barring the U.S. Department of Agriculture from expending funds for horse slaughter inspections was included in last years spending bill, and it passed by voice vote in the FY18 Senate Agriculture appropriations bill, but was not included within the House Agriculture appropriations bill. By prohibiting the USDA from spending tax dollars to inspect horse slaughter plants, this language effectively prevents plants from opening on U.S. soil to slaughter horses for human consumption. This provision has been enacted every year going back to FY06 except for FY12-13. Americans do not eat horses and do not want to see their hard-earned tax dollars used to enable a predatory and inhumane industry. Its clear that a majority of members of the House and Senate oppose horse slaughter, and negotiators should defer to that strong sentiment reflecting the public will, and maintain the ban on horse slaughter in the United States thats been in place for more than a decade. Wild Horses and Burros : The House Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies appropriations bill includes language, offered by Rep. Chris Stewart, R.-Utah, to allow thousands of healthy wild horses to be killed. By giving the Bureau of Land Management this authority, Congress is ignoring over 20 years of congressional action protecting wild horses. Appropriations language has been included since 1994, save one year, to prevent the BLM from destroying healthy horses and burros. Eighty percent of all Americans strongly oppose horse slaughter, and we oppose the mass killing of healthy wild horses and burros. BLM has the management tools it needs to be able to reduce the number of horses on the range without turning to mass killing. The HSUS, along with other coalition partners, has submitted to the Department of the Interior a proposed management plan for FY19 that calls for widespread use of humane fertility control and horse adoption as pillars of a multi-pronged plan to help address conflicts and concerns about wild horse numbers on the range and in captivity. : The House Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies appropriations bill includes language, offered by Rep. Chris Stewart, R.-Utah, to allow thousands of healthy wild horses to be killed. By giving the Bureau of Land Management this authority, Congress is ignoring over 20 years of congressional action protecting wild horses. Appropriations language has been included since 1994, save one year, to prevent the BLM from destroying healthy horses and burros. Eighty percent of all Americans strongly oppose horse slaughter, and we oppose the mass killing of healthy wild horses and burros. BLM has the management tools it needs to be able to reduce the number of horses on the range without turning to mass killing. The HSUS, along with other coalition partners, has submitted to the Department of the Interior a proposed management plan for FY19 that calls for widespread use of humane fertility control and horse adoption as pillars of a multi-pronged plan to help address conflicts and concerns about wild horse numbers on the range and in captivity. National Park Service Wildlife Rule in Alaska : The House Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies appropriations bill includes a rider blocking implementation of the National Park Service rule (80 Fed. Reg. 64,326, finalized on Oct. 23, 2015) that prevents inhumane hunting methods from being used on national preserve lands in Alaska. The NPS rule prohibits appalling and scientifically unjustified killing methods on more than 20 million acres of federal lands in Alaska, including luring grizzlies with pet food to get a point-blank kill, and killing wolf, black bear, and coyote mothers and their young at their dens. Congress already repealed a similar rule that protected predators on 76 million acres of National Wildlife Refuges, and this madness of cruelly exterminating creatures who are a major draw for tourists on the most important public lands in the United States must end. The HSUS and more than a dozen conservation groups intervened in two lawsuits in February, 2017, in order to defend the Department of Interiors NPS rule and two similar Fish and Wildlife Service rules (the larger of which was subsequently repealed by Congress, as noted above, under the Congressional Review Act). The government is currently producing an administrative record in this case and the court will receiving briefing on the merits of the case in 2018. Congress should allow this court process to proceed. : The House Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies appropriations bill includes a rider blocking implementation of the National Park Service rule (80 Fed. Reg. 64,326, finalized on Oct. 23, 2015) that prevents inhumane hunting methods from being used on national preserve lands in Alaska. The NPS rule prohibits appalling and scientifically unjustified killing methods on more than 20 million acres of federal lands in Alaska, including luring grizzlies with pet food to get a point-blank kill, and killing wolf, black bear, and coyote mothers and their young at their dens. Congress already repealed a similar rule that protected predators on 76 million acres of National Wildlife Refuges, and this madness of cruelly exterminating creatures who are a major draw for tourists on the most important public lands in the United States must end. The HSUS and more than a dozen conservation groups intervened in two lawsuits in February, 2017, in order to defend the Department of Interiors NPS rule and two similar Fish and Wildlife Service rules (the larger of which was subsequently repealed by Congress, as noted above, under the Congressional Review Act). The government is currently producing an administrative record in this case and the court will receiving briefing on the merits of the case in 2018. Congress should allow this court process to proceed. Great Lakes Wolves: The House Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies appropriations bill, as well as the Senate draft Interior appropriations bill, include riders directing FWS to reissue final rules delisting wolves in the Western Great Lakes (Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Michigan) (76. Fed. Reg. 81,666 [Dec. 28, 2011]) and Wyoming (77 Fed. Reg. 55,530 [Sept. 10, 2012]). The FWS should be making listing decisions based on the best available science; this is not something that should be decided by Congress. At the beginning of August, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia, in a unanimous ruling, affirmed a lower court ruling to block federal delisting of wolves in the Western Great Lakes region. The court specifically held that FWSs piecemeal approach of delisting gray wolves in the Western Great Lakes states failed to consider the impacts on the remaining population of wolves in the lower 48, as well as the impacts of historical range loss. These are some of the most critical provisions in the pending appropriations legislation. Congress must hold the line and protect Americas iconic horses from commercial killing and other ill-intended outcomes. Meanwhile, Congress should not subvert the federal courts and take wolves off the protected list for purely political reasons. Wolves are an essential part of the ecosystems they inhabit. They keep deer and other prey populations in balance, stopping the advance of Chronic Wasting Disease by killing sick animals, and draw tourists to wild areas for wildlife-watching excursions. The attacks on predators on our National Park Service lands defy a 100-year history of protecting all species on these lands. Please raise your voice with your lawmakers and demand that they maintain vital animal welfare protections. When Trump's former national security adviser Michael Flynn pled guilty to lying to the FBI about contact with a Russian ambassador, it brought Robert Mueller's investigation right into Trump's innermost circle. We don't know what's next in the election meddling probe, but the vice grip on Flynn is tight. Trump can't be comfortable, either. Nor, one imagines, is Jared Kushner, one of the 'senior officials' indicated in the legal filing released today. As a source close to Trump said to reporters, the Flynn plea deal is 'very, very, very bad' for Donald Trump. Stock up on popcorn, 'cause it's about to get real as heck. From the NYT: Mr. Flynn's pre-inauguration discussions with Sergey I. Kislyak, the Russian ambassador, were part of a coordinated effort by aides running Mr. Trump's transition into the White House to create foreign policy before they were in power, documents released as part of Mr. Flynn's 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 Mr. Trump knew about Mr. Flynn's discussions. But in at least one instance, federal prosecutors say, Mr. Flynn was directed by a "very senior member" of the presidential transition team. Mr. Trump's lawyers believe that unnamed aide was Mr. Trump's 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 Mr. Kushner; Reince Priebus, Mr. Trump's first chief of staff; and K.T. McFarland, who was Mr. Flynn's deputy and was appointed to be the ambassador to Singapore. Mr. Flynn spoke to her about discussing sanctions against Russia with Mr. Kislyak, according to the lawyer. Below, Trump and Flynn in happier days. [PHOTOS in this post: Reuters] Former National Security Agency employee Nghia H. Pho said in a Baltimore courtroom today he'd illegally taken home classified documents from NSA that are understood to have later "been stolen from his home computer by hackers working for Russian intelligence," the NYT reports. Nghia H. Pho, 67, of Ellicott City, Md., pleaded guilty to one count of removal and retention of national defense information, an offense that carries a possible 10-year sentence. Prosecutors agreed not to seek more than eight years, however, and Mr. Pho's attorney, Robert Bonsib, will be free to ask for a more lenient sentence. He remains free while awaiting sentencing. Mr. Pho had been charged in secret, though some news reports had given a limited description of the case. Officials unsealed the charges on Friday, resolving the long-running mystery of the defendant's identity. Mr. Pho, who worked as a software developer for N.S.A., was born in Vietnam but is a naturalized United States citizen. Prosecutors withheld from the public many details of his government work and of the criminal case against him, which is linked to a continuing investigation of Russian hacking. Nationalist politicians, led by Sinn Fein, want official status to be granted to the language in the form of an Irish Language Act. Unionists, represented by the Democratic Unionist Party, refuse to concede, saying it would erode the "British" character of Northern Ireland. The Legislative Assembly, in which Nationalists and Unionists are supposed to share power, hasn't sat for 11 months amid the political impasse. Meanwhile, down in the streets, the Irish language is thriving. According to the most recent census, in 2011, some 11 per cent of the total population can speak Irish to varying degrees, an increase of one percentage point on the previous census. The language's new dynamism, however, is most apparent in the educational sector. Since 1998, when the 30-year conflict known as the "Troubles" ended, the number of Irish immersion schools in Northern Ireland has grown from 39 to 92, catering to some 6,300 students today. High schooler Caoimhe Dillon is one of them. On a recent morning in Maghera, a town 40 kilometres west of Belfast, Dillon browsed stalls at a careers fair that focused on job opportunities that involve the Irish language media work, translation work, teaching and openings in the EU, to name a few. "[Irish] will be very useful in my life because there are so many jobs out there for people who do Irish," she said. The cradle of Irish-language revival The Irish immersion school movement in Northern Ireland started during the "Troubles," when the first such school was built in 1971, entirely funded and run by the Nationalist community of West Belfast, the cradle of the Irish language revival in Northern Ireland. Two years previously, that community had created the first modern urban Gaeltacht (Irish-speaking area) as civil violence and discord exploded across the province. It was a time of much difficulty, said Jake MacSiacais, a resident of West Belfast, but he believes that hardship paved the way for later successes. Story continues "If we hadn't have had it so hard, we would never have it so good," said MacSiacais, who is also director of Forbairt Feirste, a local organization that fosters economic development in West Belfast, using Irish. Since the signing of the Good Friday Agreement, which ended the "Troubles," the Irish language has met with relatively improved conditions. More funding and support are available, but access to them is precarious, dependent on which political party Nationalist or Unionist holds the reins at ministerial level or on local council level in any given district. Urban regeneration linked to language Limited funding for the language has also been made possible through Foras na Gaeilge, a cross-border language promotion body established as part of the peace process. This slight improvement in things, post-conflict, has enabled Forbairt Feiriste and other organizations to bring about urban regeneration along the once very run-down and deprived Falls Road area in West Belfast. The Culturlann McAdam O Fiaich, a large cultural centre opened in 1991, is the core of the regeneration. It houses a vibrant cafe, bookshop, gallery, and performance space as well as several units used to incubate start-up business. Once those businesses find their feet, they often move to more deprived areas further down the Falls Road so as to bring about development and employment there. This "Irish-as-community regeneration" model is also in evidence elsewhere in Northern Ireland. Carn Tochair, a small Irish-speaking community about 65 kilometres west of Belfast, is a good rural example of what has already been achieved in the urban context of West Belfast. Carn Tochair, which means "stony causeway" in English, was established in the mid-'90s by a group of Irish speakers who have since been building it up as a hub of Irish-language activity. The community now has a post office, in which you can do your business in Irish or English, as well as an Irish-language cultural centre, a kindergarten and a primary school. It even has small wind farm, a project developed to create more income for the community. Innovative approaches to funding "Our immediate goal must be economic self-sufficiency because you cannot do anything unless you have resources," says Liam O Flannagain, co-founder of Carn Tochair. "So far, though, we have been able to get by, by getting a pot of money here and there." Getting such "pots of money" for Irish language-only projects is a tough sell to fund administrators uninterested or ideologically opposed to the Irish language, says O Flannagain. Carn Tochair has therefore had to take a leaf out of West Belfast's playbook and get innovative with its fundraising approach. Carn Tochair has learned to wrap its Irish-language ambitions into projects that fall into funding categories such as youth engagement, eco-business and adult education. O Flannagain sees it as Irish language with the bonus of community development. In Unionist East Belfast, the bonus is nothing less than peace and reconciliation. In what is perhaps the most unexpected development in the Irish language's recent evolution in Northern Ireland, Unionists in East Belfast started to learn the language. It all began in 2011 with just one weekly class at East Belfast Mission, a community centre in the largely Unionist eastern part of the city. Since then, classes have ballooned to 13 classes per week, with a total of 170 students. "I'm from a Presbyterian background which, of course, has historical links with Scotland," says Ivor McKeown, a Unionist student of Irish at East Belfast Mission. "I quite like the idea of bringing the Irish and Scottish culture together with my Presbyterian background." Language a key to peace process Unionists like McKeown no longer view the Irish language as antithetical to Britishness, but rather as integral to it a part of the continuum of Celtic languages that includes Scottish Gaelic and Welsh which, together, contribute to the linguistic diversity of Britain. This kind of logic flies in the face of the current divisive discourse surrounding the language in Northern Ireland's political sphere. As the classes at East Belfast Mission grew, so too did the diversity of the students attending. The student body moved from a near totality of Unionist students in the beginning to a mix today of about 65 per cent Unionist and 35 per cent Nationalist. Many of the Nationalists in the classes hail from Short Strand, a small Nationalist enclave ensconced in largely Unionist East Belfast. Their enclave is still segregated from the rest of East Belfast by high, so-called "peace" walls, which at once serve as obstacles to inter-religious violence and as barriers to post-conflict reconciliation. In its small way, the growing diversity at East Belfast Mission's Irish classes is helping to break down those barriers. "For us, it has been a journey, a journey into the language but it's also turned out to be a journey of healing because it brings people together," says Linda Ervine, the Irish language development officer at East Belfast Mission. "The Irish language is the perfect medium for reconciliation." Rumble Our lives are full of moments where we must interact with each other and make compromises for the sake of coexisting. We face complicated social involvements that require some give and take to get things done and to benefit everyone. A life full of selfish decisions and actions would make everything harder for all involved. But occasionally, this compromise is difficult and emotions and pride get the better of us all. Tact an diplomacy gives way to anger and resentment and the sparks fly. This is what happened here in a simple and easily solved dilemma. As cars made their way through the parking lot, two met bumper to bumper and reached an impass. Onlookers could hear horns honking and impatient voices. It seemed that either could have backed up a little to make way, but the moment became tense and both dug in their heals. Cameras came out as people watched the exchange. Two grownups should have been able to resolve the matter without a spectacle. The man in the car with the trailer has difficulty in backing up. And in fairness, he has not blocked anything but his own lane. He wants to go forward and around the corner. The lady coming around the curve has entered into the middle of the lane and she could either adjust to her right, or back up out of the way. But she has her sights on a parking spot that is being blocked by the car and trailer. She may be afraid to back up, but she has the option to veer out and to her right. The car and trailer could pull forward and completely resolve the matter. What she does not like is the escalation in his voice as she hesitated and tried to decide what to do. Her initial reaction was to stop and do nothing. The man honked. She stared at him. He gestured and told her to move her car. And this is where it seemed to become unfriendly. Her passenger got out of the car, stood in the lane and began smoking a cigarette. She said she could not move as she was waiting for him to get back in. This was clearly a move of defiance. The camera recorded the moments that followed that initial meeting and up to that point. The man's impatience is now at a peak as the minutes have dragged on. Traffic has built up behind both vehicles. Backing up now is tricky for the woman, and impossible for the man. Other horns honked. The man began to swear and the passenger of the woman's car makes a deliberate show of taking his time getting back into the car. Spectators began to talk about intervening with advice or a reprimand. The cars behind both vehicles backed up and out of the way, leaving just the two in the predicament. The man finally got into the vehicle and the woman made a very slow move forward and out of his way. For Canada, this is an unusual display of impatience that left people shaking their heads. What had gone on for nearly 5 minutes was a seemingly needless showdown. Who is more to blame in this scenario? Is it the man with his rude demands, or the woman with her reluctance to move her car over to the right? A group of Yukon First Nations and environmental groups say Friday's decision from the Supreme Court of Canada on the Peel watershed planning process is "a huge victory" for them. "It's the outcome that we were hoping for," said Roberta Joseph, Chief of the Tr'ondek Hwech'in First Nation, one of three First Nations who fought the case. "This is a victory for the Peel watershed, and the integrity of our final agreements. This is a victory for democracy, Yukon First Nations, and Yukoners." In a unanimous decision, the top court overturned a Yukon Appeals Court ruling that rolled back years of planning and instead ordered the Yukon government to consider a final recommended plan proposed in 2011 by an independent commission. The land use plan would determine the fate of the Peel watershed region in north Yukon, a vast expanse of sub-Arctic wilderness. The commission's final recommended plan would protect about 80 per cent of the area from development. The Yukon government, in 2012, sought to discard that plan in favour of its own, which would protect just 30 per cent of the area. 'Our choice was never to go to court' Friday's ruling made clear that the government's 2012 plan had no validity, as it ignored the land use planning process spelled out in Yukon's Umbrella Final Agreement with First Nations. "The decision from the Supreme Court of Canada has upheld our final agreements," Joseph said. "Our choice was never to go to court, but the former government's idea of land use planning breached our final agreements, and we had no choice but to protect them." Yukoners elected a new government last year, and Premier Sandy Silver has said that he would accept the final recommended plan from the Peel planning commission. On Friday, he reiterated that, and agreed with the First Nations that the top court's ruling was "a victory for all of Yukon." Story continues "Today, we move forward. Today, we move forward with clarity, and most importantly, we move forward together," he said. "We believe that when people look back at this moment in time, they're going to see this as the beginning of a new era, one that's based upon reconciliation." Government can reject plan The Supreme Court ruling, however, does not force the Yukon government to adopt the final plan. That may have implications for future land use planning processes in Yukon, which have been on hold pending the resolution of the Peel case. "It is premature to interpret the scope of Yukon's authority to reject the Final Recommended Plan after it consults with the affected First Nations, and it is unnecessary to do so in order to resolve this appeal," the decision reads. The court orders the planning process back to the point where "Yukon can approve, reject, or modify the Final Recommended Plan as it applies to non-settlement land after consultation with the specified parties." But Margaret Rosling, a lawyer who represented the Tr'ondek Hwech'in, Na-Cho Nyak Dun, and Vuntut Gwitchin First Nations, as well as the Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society and the Yukon Conservation Society in the case, insists the government cannot do more than tinker with the Peel plan at this point. "It's not open to the government to reject in this case. And that is because of their finding based on an admission that was made by the Yukon Government in front of the court, that there were no changing circumstances in this case," she said. "They are bound to act in a matter that is consistent with the honour of the Crown, and that fosters reconciliation with Aboriginal people. And any modification have to be only minor." Rosling calls the Supreme Court ruling "a huge victory," and "a complete success for these plaintiffs." Silver also gave no indication that his Liberal government would scrap the work that's been done already. "We have always supported the final recommended plan, and now we have the ability to return to that final plan," he said Friday. "We're very keen to start working towards finalizing a regional land use plan that now reflects a shared vision." Silver says he's also looking forward to getting land use planning "back on track," elsewhere in the territory. First Nations leaders agreed that Friday's decision was a long time coming, and it marks a new beginning. "It could not have come at a better time Canada can lead when it comes to wildlife and environmental protection," said Vuntut Gwitchin Chief Bruce Charlie. Na-Cho Nyak Dun Chief Simon Mervyn agreed, and thanked Yukoners for joining the fight. "We're on the right path for environmental protection, and to preserve the integrity of the environment," he said. Sweden's Royal Family joined forces to celebrate Prince Carl Philip and Princess Sofia's youngest son Prince Gabriel's christening on Friday (Dec 1), but two very important people were noticeably absent from the festivities. Princess Madeleine and Chris O'Neill attended the service without their children Princess Leonore and Prince Nicolas. While their baby cousin was baptized at Drottningholm Palace, Princess Leonore, 3, and two-year-old Prince Nicolas stayed behind at their family home in London. A press secretary for the Swedish royal family told HELLO! Princess Leonore and Prince Nicolas stayed in London. Princess Madeleine and Mr. ONeill are returning to the UK tonight. TAP FOR GALLERY Princess Madeleine's children were noticeably absent from the family affair. Despite missing two members of the family, the House of Bernadotte turned out in full force to honour three-month-old Gabriel. King Carl XVI Gustaf and Queen Silvia were there, as were Crown Princess Victoria and Prince Daniel. The youngest members of the royal family Gabriels older brother Prince Alexander and his cousins Princess Estelle and Prince Oscar were also in attendance. ALL THE PHOTOS FROM PRINCE GABRIEL'S CHRISTENING Tradition was alive and well at the service, as Gabriel wore the family's cotton and lace gown that Prince Gustaf Adolf wore in 1906. It's the same gown that Prince Carl Philip and his siblings, along with all of their children, wore on the day of their own christenings. He was also baptized over the family's silver font, which was commissioned in 1696. The palace states that, "it took 11 years to complete [and] almost all of the royal children have been baptized in it." Princess Leonore and Prince Nicholas didn't travel to Sweden for the service. After the hour-long ceremony, the king and queen hosted a stunning reception at the palace. Rather than receiving gifts for the young prince, Carl Philip and Sofia asked attendees to make a donation in his name to their royal foundation and Sofias Project Playground. Andhra Pradesh assembly passes Kapu reservation bill Published: December 4, 2017 The Andhra Pradesh assembly has unanimously passed the Kapu reservation bill to provide 5% quota to Kapu community under the Backward Castes (BC) F Category in education and employment in the state. The bill will be sent to Centre for its approval and to include the Kapu reservation in Schedule 9 so that it will become legitimate. Though, Kapu quota if issued, will take the total quota in the state to 55%, which is more than 50% limit restricted by the Supreme Court. The state already has 29% reservation for Backward Castes under A, B, C, D and E categories. Apart from this, 15% and 6% reservations exist for Scheduled Castes (SCs) and Scheduled Tribes (STs), respectively. Month: Current Affairs - December, 2020 Topics: Andhra Pradesh India Indian caste system Indian society Kapu Other Backward Class R. Krishnaiah Reservation in India Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes Latest E-Books BIMSTEC Member States discuss draft text of Coastal Shipping Agreement Published: December 2, 2017 In the first meeting of Working Group BIMSTEC (Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation) member countries discussed draft text of BIMSTEC Coastal Shipping Agreement. The agreement has been drafted by the Ministry of Shipping, Government of India detailing modalities for promoting coastal shipping in region BIMSTEC Coastal Shipping Agreement The objective of agreement is to facilitate coastal shipping in region to give boost to trade between member countries. It will apply to coastal shipping that is shipping within 20 nautical miles of coastline. Once agreement is ratified by member countries and becomes operational, it will facilitate lot of cargo movement between member countries can be done through cost effective, environment friendly and faster coastal shipping route. Need for Agreement The requirements for movement of vessels within 20 nautical miles of coastline are different from standard requirements of deep sea shipping. Coastal ship movements require smaller vessels and lesser draft, and therefore, involve lower costs. Background The meeting of Working Group is follow up of BIMSTEC leaders call at Retreat hosted by India in Goa in October 2016 to enhance connectivity in region on sidelines of BRICS Summit. India is lead country in BIMSTEC for cooperation in transport and communication. BIMSTEC The BIMSTEC is sub-regional grouping comprising of seven countries of South Asia- India, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Nepal, Sri Lanka and South East Asia- Myanmar, Thailand. It was established on 6 June 1997 through Bangkok Declaration. It is headquartered at Dhaka, Bangladesh. Its objectives are technological and economical cooperation among south Asian and south East Asian countries along coast of Bay of Bengal. It also covers cooperation in commerce, technology, investment, agriculture, tourism, human resource development, fisheries, transport and communication, textiles etc. BIMSTEC region is home to around 1.5 billion people, constituting around 22% of global population with a combined GDP of $2.7 trillion economy. Month: Current Affairs - December, 2017 Topics: BIMSTEC Coastal Shipping Coastal Shipping Agreement international agreements Ministry of Shipping National Latest E-Books An Afghan official says authorities have executed 5 members of a criminal group behind several kidnappings and murders in the western province of Herat. The convicts were executed at Pul-e-Charkhi prison in the capital, Kabul. Nasrat Rahimi, deputy spokesman for the Interior Ministry, said Wednesday that Askar Anwari, a former member of the provincial council in Herat was among the 5 who were hanged. Rahimi says the executions were carried out after 3 appeals courts and President Ashraf Ghani confirmed the death sentences of the 5. The group had been involved in the kidnapping and murder of a deputy head of a construction company, as well as other illegal activities. In May 2016, Ghani approved the executions of 6 suspects convicted on terrorism charges. | Report an error, an omission, a typo; suggest a story or a new angle to an existing story; submit a piece, a comment; recommend a resource; contact the webmaster, contact us: deathpenaltynews@gmail.com Opposed to Capital Punishment? Help us keep this blog up and running! DONATE! "One is absolutely sickened, not by the crimes that the wicked have committed, but by the punishments that the good have inflicted." -- Oscar Wilde radio.gov.pk, December 2, 2017 An Israeli man has been sentenced to die for the murder of a fellow Israeli last year, police said Saturday. Shimon Sakira Bitton, 50, was convicted and sentenced to die one year after he was arrested on suspicion of killing Eliyahu Cohen, a 63-year-old Israeli policeman, and hiding his body under poured concrete. The court convicted and sentenced him on the same day, according to the officer in charge of the investigation. "It's up to defendant whether to appeal the ruling," Col. Jirapob Puridej said Saturday. Defendants have 30 days to appeal their convictions. He continued, "I am happy to have successfully brought the criminal to justice. We did everything in accordance with the facts." The Israeli Embassy has not made a statement and could not be reached Saturday for comment. Police said Bitton murdered Cohen with the aid of his 17-year-old son in a fit of jealous rage. They began investigating Bitton after Cohen's relatives told the Israeli Embassy he went missing. Investigators also linked him to a previous murder and concealed body from 1997. He served jail time before being booted out of the country, only to return years later under a new name. The suspense over Cohen's murder escalated when family of Bitton's Thai wife also reported her as missing. Although Thailand retains death penalty in serious crimes like first degree murders, an execution has not been carried out since 2009. A juvenile court verdict in the trial of Bitton's son is yet to be out. Col. Jirapob said Bitton's missing wife, Nantiya Saengurai, is still unaccounted for. She remains in the missing persons database and could not be ruled as deceased by the court for lack of evidence. "There is no evidence anyone has killed her," the colonel said. "For the court to declare someone dead, there must be some evidence, or a body. But in her case, there's no trace of her at all. Not even one witness." | Report an error, an omission, a typo; suggest a story or a new angle to an existing story; submit a piece, a comment; recommend a resource; contact the webmaster, contact us: deathpenaltynews@gmail.com Opposed to Capital Punishment? Help us keep this blog up and running! DONATE! "One is absolutely sickened, not by the crimes that the wicked have committed, but by the punishments that the good have inflicted." -- Oscar Wilde khaosodenglish.com, December 2, 2017 With the loss of the territory ISIS once held in Syria and Iraq, and of its two capitals, Mosul in Iraq and Raqqa in Syria, the terrorist groups false, self-proclaimed Caliphate has crumbled. The liberation of towns and villages once suffering under the brutal thumb of ISIS has created a situation where the foreign terrorist fighters who didnt die on the battlefield in Syria and Iraq are trying to return home. Since 2014, an estimated 40,000 foreign terrorist fighters from more than 120 countries have streamed into Iraq and Syria, wrote the State Departments Ambassador-at-Large and Coordinator for Counterterrorism, Nathan Sales, in a recent blog post. Now we need to prepared for the reality that some of these terrorists will return home, along with their families. This is not a monolithic group. Some of them may have engaged in terrorism while in the conflict zone or may pose a threat to the community, wrote Ambassador Sales. Others may themselves be victims of ISIS, however, particularly young children, who will have witnessed unspeakable violence, been indoctrinated, or otherwise become desensitized to ISISs brutality. The new initiative, which is headed by the United States and the Netherlands, will look for ways to balance national security concerns with helping vulnerable, often traumatized women and children to reintegrate into society. That is why the Global Counterterrorism Forums Foreign Terrorist Fighters Working Group recently launched the Initiative on Addressing the Challenge of Returning Families of Foreign Terrorist Fighters. The new initiative, which is headed by the United States and the Netherlands, will look for ways to balance national security concerns with helping vulnerable, often traumatized women and children to reintegrate into society. In the near future, the Initiative will convene workshops in Southeast Asia, Europe, and the Middle East, to develop a set of internationally recognized, non-binding good practices for dealing with non-combatants who come home from the conflict zone. We need to hold people accountable for their crimes, and we also need to help people who are victims of crime, wrote Ambassador Sales. To do this, countries need to have the legal frameworks and resources available to develop and implement tailored responses that can account for the unique and individual circumstances that each returning child and spouse will present. This Initiative is the first step to help nations develop the tools to address the return of family members of foreign terrorist fighters from the war zone in Iraq and Syria. The Administration of President Donald Trump has ratcheted up pressure on North Korea, in a continuing effort to get the rogue country to abandon its illegal nuclear and missile programs, and to cease its support of terrorism. On November 20th, the United States re-designated North Korea as a state sponsor of terror, almost a decade after it was removed from the list by the Administration of George W. Bush. The country had previously been added to the list of state sponsors of terrorism in 1988. This is a critical step that should have been taken a long time ago, said President Trump: In addition to threatening the world by nuclear devastation, North Korea has repeatedly supported acts of international terrorism, including assassinations on foreign soil. This designation will impose further sanctions and penalties on North Korea and related persons, and supports our maximum pressure campaign to isolate the murderous regime. Just one day later, on November 21st, the U.S. Treasury Departments Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control imposed another round of sanctions on North Korea, designating one Chinese individual, 13 entities and 20 boats. As North Korea continues to threaten international peace and security, we are steadfast in our determination to maximize economic pressure to isolate it from outside sources of trade and revenue while exposing its evasive tactics," said Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin. "These designations include companies that have engaged in trade with North Korea cumulatively worth hundreds of millions of dollars. We are also sanctioning the shipping and transportation companies and their vessels that facilitate North Korea's trade and its deceptive maneuvers." Those persons and entities that have been designated are blocked from holding U.S. assets. Any assets they hold that are within reach of the United States will be frozen. In addition, all U.S. citizens are prohibited from doing business with them. The North Korean regime, said President Trump, must be lawful, must end its unlawful nuclear and ballistic missile development, and cease all support for international terrorism. The U.S. Presidents Malaria Initiative, led by U.S. Agency for International Development, or USAID, and implemented together with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and UNITEL, Angolas leading telecommunication services provider, have entered a partnership agreement to optimize malaria prevention and control efforts. The partnership aims at increasing the accessibility and use of insecticide treated mosquito nets and malaria-related information in Angola. The agreement allows USAID to tap into UNITELs mobile services to make malaria information available to UNITEL customers throughout Angola. Through improved connectivity, more Angolans will have free access to behavior change messages promoting the use of mosquito nets. The partnership will also expedite the Angolan health systems transition from paper to digital information systems. UNITEL currently has more than 11 million customers and approximately 3,500 employees, making it one of the largest private employers in the country. UNITELs largest corporate social responsibility initiative is its Stop Malaria Program. In addition to the partnership with UNITEL, the Presidents Malaria Initiative, or PMI, is supporting Angolas Ministry of Health national campaign to distribute nearly 10 million mosquito nets, reaching every household in 15 provinces. PMI is also providing assistance to Angolas Ministry of Health for the national implementation of two software programs that will provide better, faster access to malaria surveillance and supply chain data. USAID Mission Director Derrick Brown commented: improving access to more accurate, timely, and complete information year-round, but especially during peak malaria seasonincluding infection numbers, geographic spread and availability of medicineswill save lives. With technical assistance from USAID, UNITEL and other partners, Angolas current plans to transition from paper-based to more digital data systems will be critical to the countrys ability to avoid stock-outs of antimalarial drugs in health centers and can result in better malaria services. The United States is proud to work with its partner Angola to help protect the Angolan people from the deadly threat of malaria. The U.S. welcomes an order by President Salva Kiir of South Sudan to allow unimpeded humanitarian access in the war torn country. The pledge is only one of several that need to be implemented. The U.S. has made it clear to leaders in South Sudan that they must honor their declared ceasefire, engage meaningfully in the planned regionally brokered peace talks, stop the obstruction harassment of aid workers, and cooperate fully with the United Nations Mission in South Sudan. U.S. Permanent Representative to the United Nations Nikki Haley stated that the United States will not be ambiguous in the face of atrocity during a recent speech at the U.S. Holocaust Museum. Describing the horrific suffering she saw among South Sudanese refugees on a recent trip to the region, Ambassador Haley noted: The United States is both generous and patient, but we are not without our limits. Entire generations are being lost in South Sudan. Families are being destroyed. We cannot and will not look away. We must never be silent when it comes to fundamental human rights. We must never waver when it comes to atrocities and genocide. We must always take sides. Ambassador Haley said that both sides in the conflict are responsible for atrocities against civilians. But the government is primarily responsible for ethnically-based killings and for deliberately blocking the delivery of humanitarian assistance to suffering people. Ambassador Haley met with Kiir during her trip and laid out U.S. concerns: The leaders of that country need to take responsibility and seize this opportunity. I laid out a series of things we expect from President Kiir in the near future, and a series of things he will face if he does not deliver. Time will tell if he makes good on his commitments. And time is short for him to do so. What makes the situation so frustrating, said Ambassador Haley, Is that it is not hopeless. There is a way to end the violence in South Sudan. There is a way to resuscitate the 2015 peace agreement. That resuscitation could happen as officials and rebel leaders attend internationally brokered peace talks next month. Michael Morrow, the U.S. Embassys charge daffaires in South Sudan, told Bloomberg News that both sides will face sanctions should they fail to act in good faith. If there are any spoilers of the process, if there is anyone who reneges on their commitment, he said, They can expect to face harsh measures. A few hundred people in Iran have borrowed billions of dollars from the countrys 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 countrys 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. Irans 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 Four the second time in over a month, the security forces in Iran have prevented former president Mohammad Khatami to attend a gathering with his former cabinet ministers and aides, a reformist activist announced, Thursday, November 30. Khatami used to get together with his government members at a dinner party once a month since 2005, when he left office. Now, for the second time in a row, Khatami was not allowed to participate in the gathering, former spokesman of his administration, Abdullah Ramazanzadeh disclosed on his Twitter account. An hour later, the tweet was deleted, but another pro-Khatami figure, Faizollah Arab Sorkhi almost immediately published a similar tweet. They [Irans judiciary] do not have the guts to respond to the one who is deriding [the Islamic republics authorities] from top to bottom. Nevertheless, the former president is not allowed to sit down and have dinner with his ministers. Sorkhi was referring to another twice former president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad who has recently attacked the Islamic Republics judiciary in his numerous derisive and vitriolic remarks. Earlier on October 18, media outlets close to the reformist former president announced that security forces had stopped Khatami attending a session at BARAN, an institution he has launched for promoting freedom in Iran. The Foundation for Freedom, Growth and Development of Iran, BARAN (an acronym in Persian, meaning rain) was established by Khatami in 2005 after his second consecutive term as president. BARAN, according to its website, is a non-profit foundation with mainly pro-reform members and a mission statement for promotion of freedom, growth and development in Iran. Meanwhile, a pro-reform website, Saham News reported in October that the Special Clerical Court had sent a letter to Khatami telling him that he was not allowed to attend any public or private event in the next three months. The ban applied even to going to theater, concerts, or any non-family related events, the report said. This was later confirmed by Khatamis lawyers. However, judiciary officials have denied imposing any new restrictions on the former president. The prosecutor of the Special Clerical Court announced on October 29 that the measures against Khatami were based on an order by Irans Supreme National Security Council (SNSC). However, Hassan Rouhani, Irans president and the head of the council has said in the past that the SNSC had never issued any order against the former President. It is not uncommon in the Islamic Republic for different state organs or officials to contradict each other, since the system is based on parallel, overlapping and often competing centers of power. Since the controversial presidential election in 2009, Khatami, who supported Mahmoud Ahmadinejads challengers, has been facing severe restrictions, including being barred from interviewing the media and travelling abroad. Despite Khatamis outright support for Hassan Rouhani in 2013 and 2017 presidential elections, the restrictions imposed on the former president have been significantly intensified, which can be an indication of how limited the presidents powers are in security matters. President Rouhani has not yet reacted to the new restrictions imposed on one of his main supporters. Israel has attacked a military target south of the Syrian capital, Damascus, in the early hours of Saturday, December 2, according to Syrian media. It is not clear if the attack was carried out by surface-to-surface missiles or Israeli warplanes and there are diverging reports about the nature of the target. Syrian state media reported that Syrian air-defenses intercepted at least two surface-to surface missiles fired at a military target, but the attack still caused damage. The Jerusalem Post and Haaretz quoting Sky News Arabic and other media say it was an attack by the Israeli air force, carried out from Lebanese airspace. They also say that the target was an sprawling Iranian base being completed south of Damascus. 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" near Kesweh or Al Kiswah southwest of Damascus. "An arms depot was destroyed," Observatory chief Rami Abdel Rahman told AFP, adding that it was not immediately clear whether the warehouse was operated by the Syrian army, or its allies Iran or Lebanese militant group Hezbollah. BBC recently reported that Iranians were building a base near Kesweh, in a Syrian army base. Loud explosions were reported from Damascus and the Observatory said electricity went out in some parts of the capital. Israel has acknowledged carrying out repeated air and missile strikes in Syria since the outbreak of the bloody civil war six years ago to stop arms deliveries to Hezbollah, with which it fought a devastating 2006 conflict. It has also systematically targeted government positions in response to all fire into territory under its control, whoever launched it and regardless of whether it was intentional or not. Based on Reporting by AFP, Reuters, Haaretz and Jerusalem Post Baku, Azerbaijan, Dec. 2 Trend: President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev has congratulated President of the United Arab Emirates Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan. On behalf of the people of Azerbaijan and on my own behalf, it is my pleasure to extend my sincerest congratulations to you and all your people on the occasion of the national holiday of the United Arab Emirates Independence Day, President Aliyev said in his letter. On this remarkable day, I wish you the best of health and happiness, and the friendly people of the United Arab Emirates lasting peace and prosperity, added the president. Ilham Aliyev has also sent a congratulatory letter to President of the Lao Peoples Democratic Republic Bounnhang Vorachith. On behalf of the people of Azerbaijan and on my own behalf, I extend my sincerest congratulations to you and the people of your country on the occasion of the national holiday of the Lao People's Democratic Republic Republic Day, said President Aliyev in his congratulatory letter. On this remarkable day, I wish you the best of health, success in your activities, and the friendly people of Lao peace and prosperity, added the head of state. Baku, Azerbaijan, Dec. 2 By Huseyn Veliyev Trend: Products of the Sumgait Technologies Park (STP) are entering the Middle East market, the STP press service told Trend. The STP strategy has undergone drastic changes, and it is aimed primarily at reducing imports and increasing the countrys export potential. We attach great importance to the access of our products to international markets. Our official distributors, who will be involved in export, have already started their operations in Georgia, Russia, Kazakhstan, Turkey and the Middle East, said the STP. We have already started working with Arab countries, where we plan to sell soon our factorys products, added the press service. Today, the companys export portfolio includes cable products, which are already supplied to the countries of the region. Currently, we are planning to obtain the relevant certificate, which will allow us to arrange the export of high-voltage cables, said the STP. The Sumgait Technologies Park is the biggest company implementing new infrastructure projects in the power industry of Azerbaijan. Fool me once, Mr. President. Back in the spring, the director of the Office of Management and Budget, Mick Mulvaney, talked as if the administration would welcome a government shutdown, and Donald Trump tweeted about it. I concluded that the chances of the government closing its doors had gone way up, because, after all, extended shutdowns have only happened when one side wants them to happen. I still didnt think it was likely, but I did think it was a possibility. Well, it didnt happen then, when Congress and the president had to fund the rest of fiscal-year 2017. And it didnt happen in September, the original deadline for funding fiscal-year 2018 they kicked the can down the road. And now were a week away from the Dec. 8 deadline, and the president is once again musing about how he could be helped politically if theres an impasse. I did tweet out a reminder that shutdowns require someone who wants it to happen, but on reflection? Im not biting this time. At least, mostly not. Why not? Because I very much doubt that most House and Senate Republicans want a shutdown, and I dont think congressional Democrats do, either. So theyll probably reach a deal, although it may take more than one more short-term continuing resolution, stretching into January or February or even March, to get it done. If they do, Trump will probably sign whatever they come up with, whether it contains his priorities or not. That still leaves a long way to go. The basic situation is simple. If Republicans could muster 218 votes in the House (where they have currently have 240 members) and at least 50 of their 52 senators plus the vice president for a funding bill, then Democrats would have minimal leverage. The minority party could still filibuster in the Senate, requiring Republicans to reach 60 votes. But while technically Democrats could stop any regular bill that way and force Republicans to make concessions, in reality it would be politically very difficult to force and maintain a shutdown supported by only a minority in the Senate. Even if the cause was popular (such as more money for favorite government programs or restoring the protections under DACA), and even with a very unpopular president, most neutral observers would blame an obstructing minority for the train wreck. But it appears that Republicans dont have 218 votes in the House thanks to defections from the House Freedom Caucus and others, and they may not have 50 in the Senate. That flips things entirely. If Republicans need Democratic votes just to achieve a simple majority, then Democrats have plenty of leverage indeed. Republicans cant reasonably expect Democrats to vote for a Republican bill, after all; they need to get to 218 and 50 by compromising. The limit of the Democrats leverage is basically defined by whatever it would take for Republican dissidents to back the Republican bill after all rather than allowing a bipartisan bill to pass, and that runs up against some Republicans who just refuse to vote for spending bills at all. So Democrats can ask for quite a lot, and if Republicans refuse and allow the government to shut down, most neutral observers would blame the party that holds the presidency and controls the House and Senate. A more complicated question is which party would eventually object to short-term spending bills to keep the government running while negotiations go nowhere. On the one hand, a clean continuing resolution keeping everything funded at the same levels prevents the majority party from getting anything done. On the other hand, Democrats want a resolution on the Dreamers before Trump cuts off the program in March, although a short-term fix for that or any other demand with a deadline is at least a possibility. So many cans to kick down so many roads! As of now, Republicans are already preparing the first of these short-term funding bills (or second, if you count the longer one passed in September), extending the shutdown deadline to Dec. 22. I have no idea whether they can reach a deal in the next two weeks, but if they dont, Id be shocked if they dont just push the deadline to some point in January. But neither side has any real incentive to shut down the government, because neither side would expect to get a better final deal with the government closed than with the government open. As for the guy at the other end of Pennsylvania Avenue muttering about how much hed love a big confrontation? If anything, his comments serve to undermine the Republican position, because one of the easiest ways for the neutral media to assign blame is to spot the politician who said he wanted a shutdown. Which, perversely, increases everyones certainty about what would happen if the government did shut down which makes miscalculation even less likely. Meanwhile, members of Congress from both parties will treat Trump as if hell sign whatever they send him, and theyll probably be right. Baku, Azerbaijan, Dec. 2 By Ali Mustafayev Trend: Kazakhstans Zhambyl region intends to launch 10 investment projects worth 19 billion tenge in 2018. The Industrialization Map of the region includes 34 more investment projects worth 558.6 billion tenge during the next five years, said the head of the local executive body (akimat) Karim Kokrekbaev during the opening ceremony of an automated animal feed production complex in the region, the press service of the akimat said in a message. The cost of the newly constructed animal feed production complex of the region amounts to more than billion tenge. The projects production capacity is 36,000 tons of feed per year. This project will undoubtedly give a new impetus to the development of the agro-industrial complex in our region. The plant will produce a new feed from Chinese beans and barley, which will be of great help to the peasant farms, said the head of the region. He stressed that the feed industry plays a key role in providing industrial, agricultural enterprises, as well as individual farms, with quality compound feedstuff. And this, in turn, allows us to increase the profitability of agriculture production. (Exchange rate for 02.12.2017: $1 331 tenge) Ashgabat, Turkmenistan, Dec. 2 By Huseyn Hasanov Trend: An international exhibition of technologies for the production of import-substituting products has opened in Ashgabat today. The exhibition, which will last until December 4, has been organized by Turkmenistans Chamber of Commerce and Industry. Turkmen President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov sent a message to the events participants. The planned development of the domestic economy, the creation of industries based on high technology, innovation, are a priority of Turkmenistans economic policy, said Berdimuhamedov in his message. Equipment for various spheres oil and gas, chemical, agricultural and food industry, healthcare will be showcased during the event. The event is aimed at expanding trade and economic relations, preparing and launching projects to increase the competitiveness of the national economy and its production potential. Previously, it was reported that relevant state programs were adopted in Turkmenistan. Under the program to increase the volume of exports of Turkmen products, 33 projects are planned to be implemented in the country. Meanwhile, under the program for the production of import-substituting products, the implementation of 81 projects is envisaged in Turkmenistan. The program was adopted with the aim of forming import-substituting industries, strengthening the positive balance of foreign trade turnover, creating new jobs and increasing the incomes of the population, and gradually increasing the share of the private sector of the economy. Baku, Azerbaijan, Dec. 2 By Nigar Guliyeva Trend: President of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev gave instructions for the construction of a hotel during his visit to the Tashkent International Airport named after Islam Karimov Dec.2. Mirziyoyev familiarized himself with the project for the construction of the new passenger terminal "Tashkent-4". The project is funded through banks and funds of Uzbekistan and South Korea. The capacity of the new terminal will be 1500 passengers per hour. Mirziyoyev also got acquainted with the work carried out in the sphere of improving the quality of services, and the construction of a new waiting room. He gave instructions for the construction of the hotel and the introduction of information technology to improve the quality of services. The Tashkent airport occupies a convenient geographical position, as it is located at the intersection of air routes coming from the CIS countries to Southeast Asia, the Middle East, Europe and America. The airport has two passenger terminals, for the international flights (Tashkent-2). and domestic flights (Tashkent-3). Tashkent, Uzbekistan, Dec. 2 By Diana Aliyeva Trend: Heads of local self-government bodies of Uzbekistan were given the right to involve unemployed people living in their territory to public works through employment contracts. The term "unemployed" includes persons registered in the local labor authority as job seekers, so they have the official status of the unemployed person. The new function is stipulated in the "Regulation of Labor Relations in Citizens' Self-Government Bodies, approved by the Resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers" No. 944, adopted on Nov.27 of this year. For the period of participation in public works, the payment of the unemployment benefit is suspended. After completing participation in public works the payment will be renewed. The document entered into force on Nov.28. Ashgabat, Turkmenistan, Dec. 2 By Huseyn Hasanov Trend: The Caspian region is one of the most important geopolitical and economic centers in the Eurasian area, said Turkmen President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov at a meeting of the government, the Turkmen Dovlet Habarlary state news agency reported. The Caspian Sea is surrounded by Azerbaijan, Russia, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan and Iran. Turkmenistan is carrying out extensive work to strengthen constructive cooperation with its neighbors in the Caspian region and, in general, a mutually beneficial partnership in the region, says the message. He added that neutral Turkmenistan takes an active and proactive position in the negotiation process on the Caspian Sea issues and the development of the Convention on its legal status. Ashgabat, Turkmenistan, Dec. 2 By Huseyn Hasanov Trend: Turkmenistans Foreign Minister Rashid Meredov will attend a meeting of foreign ministers of the Caspian littoral states in Moscow on Dec.4-5, the Turkmen Dovlat Habarlary state news agency reported Dec. 2. The report on preparations for this meeting was presented at the session of the Government of Turkmenistan. Meredov informed that the meeting will cover issues related to the agenda of the 5th Summit of the Heads of Caspian Littoral States that is scheduled for 2018 in Kazakhstan. In this regard, the foreign ministers of the Caspian states will pay a particular attention to the draft Convention on the Legal Status of the Caspian Sea. They will also continue discussions and consultations on draft pentalateral agreements dealing with various areas of cooperation in the Caspian Sea, including Agreements on Cooperation in Trade, Economics and Transport. The Caspian littoral states Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Russia, Turkmenistan and Iran signed the Framework Convention for Protection of the Marine Environment of the Caspian Sea in November of 2003. Russia and Kazakhstan signed an agreement on the delimitation of the northern part of the Caspian Sea in order to exercise sovereign rights for subsoil use in July 1998. The two countries signed a protocol to the agreement in May 2002. Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan signed an agreement on the delimitation of the Caspian Sea and a protocol to it on Nov. 29, 2001 and Feb. 27, 2003, respectively. Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan and Russia signed an agreement on the delimitation of adjacent sections of the Caspian Sea on May 14, 2003. Tashkent, Uzbekistan, Dec. 2 By Diana Aliyeva Trend: Afghanistans President Mohammad Ashraf Ghani will arrive in Tashkent for an official visit, the Uzbek Foreign Ministry said in a message Dec. 2. The visit will take place at an invitation of Uzbekistans President Shavkat Mirziyoyev, according to the message. It is planned to discuss the current state of the Uzbek-Afghan relations and priorities of development of long-term cooperation, exchange views on key international and regional security issues during the upcoming high-level meetings. A joint statement of heads of government, intergovernmental and interdepartmental documents aimed at further bilateral cooperation in political, trade, economic, investment, transport and communication, scientific and education and other fields, as well as commercial contracts are expected to be signed as a result of Ghanis visit. The Afghan president is also expected to visit Bukhara, where the distinguished guest will meet and address students of the Bukhara State University. Baku, Azerbaijan, Dec. 2 By Fatih Karimov Trend: The value of Irans exports to Turkey has witnessed a significant rise in recent months, compared to import, which declined. The latest statistics released by the Turkish Statistical Institute, indicates that the exports of Turkey to Iran in October 2017 was valued at about $287.742 million, 42 percent less compared to $497.887 million in October 2016. Meanwhile the country imported goods worth $762.986 million from Iran in the same month, compared to $366.81 million worth of imports in October 2016. The trade turnover between the two countries reached $1,050.73 million in October 2017. The trade turnover between Iran and Turkey stood at $9.2 billion during the first 10 months of 2017. The figure indicates a rise by 15 percent compared to same period of the preceding year ($8 billion). Turkey's exports to Iran in the period amounted to $2.602 billion, compared to $4.312 billion in the first 10 months of 2016. The country also imported $6.598 billion worth of goods from Iran in the 10-month period, 75.7 percent more compared to January-October 2016 ($3.688 billion). So, the trade balance between the two countries was $3.996 billion, in favor of Iran. The trade turnover between the two countries was $13.71 billion in 2014, which stood at $9.76 billion in 2015, indicating a 29-percent plunge. Baku, Azerbaijan, Nov. 29 By Fatih Karimov Trend: Iran has exported another crude oil shipment from the oil layer of South Pars, bringing the overall volume of the exports to 4.73 million barrels since the country started tapping the layer in March. The tenth oil cargo of the South Pars gas fields oil layer (SPOL) is scheduled to be loaded in December 2017, Director for planning of Iranian Offshore Oil Company (IOOC) Mohammad Hossein Daneshfar said, the Iranian oil ministrys official website said in a statement Nov. 29. The Islamic Republic has recently started production of 25,000 barrels per day of crude oil from SPOL and started talks with foreign investors, including Maersk, for the second phase of the layer development project, in order to increase the output level to 54,000 b/d. The first phase of the project was developed by Iranians, and Tehran needs to offer the second phase of the layer development project to foreigners, because domestic companies lack the necessary technology for development of the next phases. Development of SPOL needs use of modern technologies, including the Enhanced Oil Recovery (EOR) methods. Previously, Fardin Asadi, operator of SPOL's development project said, that oil export from the layer is carried out each 20-25 days, when the extracted oil reaches the ceiling of 550,000 barrels. Based on long-term plan, Iran targets to extract 200,000 barrels of crude oil from the South Pars oil layer in the next 20 years. At least 300 wells will be drilled in this regard. The SPOL is estimated to contain over 6 billion barrels of crude oil with an API of 21 and recovery rate of 10 percent, which can be increased to 35 percent by adopting EOR and IOR techniques for oil recovery. Baku, Azerbaijan, Dec. 2 By Azer Ahmadbayli Trend: Before the nuclear agreement was concluded and while the talks with the future signatories were under way, Irans trade balance with different partners was affected by a number of artificial factors. The whole picture of Iranian trade ties was twisted out of shape by sanctions posed on the country. For example, restriction of the EU trade ties with Iran forced the latter to turn towards China and India. Since the sanctions were lifted in 2015, the pre-existing natural equilibrium and broken trade links began to restore. Growing turnover between Iran and the EU is a clear illustration of that. The EU has already conquered the third position among top trade partners of Iran. But just as then and still now, Russia wasnt on the list of leading trade partners of the Islamic Republic despite the fact that both countries have been closest neighbors sharing borders across the Caspian Sea. For better contrast, lets emphasize that the neighboring Emirates, Iraq and Turkey are among the top trade partners of Iran. Is there nothing to offer each other? If you compare the balance of trade - one of the most important macroeconomic indicators - between Iran and its several economic partners, including Russia, it would look like this: within the first seven months of current Iranian fiscal year (March 20 October 22, 2017), total non-oil trade with China made $11.84 billion, with UAE - $8.15 billion, with EU - $6.41 billion, with South Korea nearly $4.3 billion, with Turkey $3 billion USD (sources: TPOI, Irans Customs administration). Poor figure of about $0.7 billion, showing the Iran-Russia total non-oil trade for the same period, can hardly be compared with those shown above. Trade between the Islamic Republic and Russia has always left much to be desired. Low trade turnover indicators have remained as such for five, ten and fifteen years already. To be fair, it is necessary to note that Russias exports to Iran were always far bigger than that from Iran to Russia. Irans northern neighbor is a giant state with colossal potential and resources. Iran itself has also much to offer. Why have both countries been so unwilling to rectify the long lasted situation? There must be reasons. - Iranians still remember historic experience of relationship with Russia, where they always lost: two Russian-Persian wars in early 19 century where Iran lost a significant part of its territory, occupation of Iran by Soviet and British military forces during the WW2, attempts of seizure South Azerbaijan and support of separatist sentiments of Iranian Kurds, military support for Iraq in the Iran-Iraq war, support of sanctions against Iran in the UN Security Council 2006-2010 etc. Based on those and some other historic events, a deep sense of mistrust is living in the minds of many Iranians creating a negative image of Russia. - Lack of public relations and weak ties between the two countries business circles. Almost all economic agreements and contracts are usually concluded at the governmental level. Neither Iranian nor Russian society doesnt show any interest in discovering the neighboring country through tourism, language learning, social media, etc. - The better Russian relations with the West and the US in particular, and, of course, with Israel, the more strained the relationship with Iran becomes. - As the rest of the world, ordinary Iranians prefer European goods to Russian ones (Mercedes vs. Russian Lada). Western technologies, as opposed to Russian ones, are of top priority. The recent examples large contracts with Airbus, Total and Renault. - The relations between Russia and Iran have not been long-stable and used to be characterized by periodical ups and downs due to lack of a single and clearly defined ground and coherent strategy. Baku, Azerbaijan, Dec. 2 By Fatih Karimov Trend: Iran and South Korea signed a contract worth 750 million euro for manufacturing 450 railway wagons. The deal was signed between Islamic Republic Railways (RAI), Iranian Rail Industries Development Co (IRICO) and South Korean Hyundai Rotem Company on Dec. 2 in Tehran, the state-run IRINN TV reported. Hyundai Rotem, a part of Hyundai Motor Group, manufactures rolling stock, defense products and factory equipment. The contract will be implemented in 78 months and the first rail buses will be handed over to RAI within 1.5 years. The South Korean side will transfer technology know-how to Iran and IRICO will manufacture all the wagons under Hyundai-Rotem license. The deals asset will be provided by South Korean side through finance credit lines. The rail buses will be used to assemble 150 urban trains for passenger transportation. Earlier in 2004 Rotem entered into a technology transfer and manufacturing agreement (value 110 million euros) with IRICO for the supply of passenger trainsets; 24 units were manufactured by Rotem in 2006, 24 assembled from CKD kits by IRICO, and the remainder was manufactured by IRICO with Rotem assistance. The trains were manufactured for the Raja Passenger Train Company. Railways are responsible for 30 to 50 percent of suburban transportation in many countries. In Iran, the number hovers around 1. In the past Iranian fiscal year (which ended March 20), 6 million out of 32 million suburban passengers in Iran were transported by rail. Baku, Azerbaijan, Dec. 2 By Fatih Karimov Trend: Irans oil exports to Japan (including gas condensates) in October 2017 decreased by 18 percent year-on-year and reached 5.13 million barrels. Compared to the preceding month, the figure indicates a fall by 20.6 percent, Japans ministry of economy, trade and industry said. The figure includes 487,510.7 barrels of condensates exported from Irans South Pars gas field. Iran was Japans fifth oil supplier after Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Qatar and Kuwait, with a share of 5.7 percent in October 2017, while the country supplied 6.6 percent of the Asian countrys oil demand in October 2016 (6.26 million barrels). Saudi Arabia exported 36.039 million barrels of oil to Japan in October (39.7 percent of the countrys total crude imports.) Irans oil exports to Japan reached 83.94 million barrels in the fiscal year of 2016, which is a 38-percent increase compared to the preceding year. Iran supplied 7 percent of Japans oil demand in 2016. Irans oil exports increased by 1 million barrels per day (mb/d) last year to 2.42 mb/d and the figure would increase to 2.5 mb/d in 2017 and 2.59 mb/d in 2018, IMF previously said in a report. Irans oil and condensate exports amounted to 2.6 mb/d in September 2017, the countrys oil ministry said recently. The country exported 2.25 mb/d of oil to Asian and European markets in the mentioned period. China, India, South Korea and Japan imported more than 1.9 mb/d in September, highest level since March 2017. Baku, Azerbaijan, Nov. 29 By Fatih Karimov Trend: Trade turnover between Iran and China stood at $30.4 billion in the first 10 months of 2017. The figure indicates a rise by 22 percent compared to January-October 2016, according to the latest data released by the Chinese Customs Administration. China's exports to Iran in the 10-month period amounted to $14.937 billion, 15 percent more year-on-year. China exported $1.593 billion worth of goods to the Islamic Republic in October 2017, compared to $1.614 billion worth of exports in October 2016. The country also imported $15.462 billion worth of goods from Iran in the 10-month period, 29 percent more compared to the same period of 2016. Chinas imports from Iran amounted to $1.572 billion in October 2017, while the figure stood at $1.442 billion in October 2016. China mainly imports crude oil from Iran, which has witnessed price rise in recent months. Trade turnover between the two countries was $51 billion in 2014, 31 percent more compared to the preceding year. The figure stood at $34 billion in 2015, indicating a 34 percent plunge. In 2016, trade turnover between Iran and China stood at $31.2 billion, down 7.7 percent from 2015. Baku, Azerbaijan, Dec. 2 By Fatih Karimov Trend: Iranian president Hassan Rouhani has called for closer ties with the neighboring countries. We are not in competition with neighboring countries, but in cooperation, Rouhani said, addressing a group of people in Zabol city, south eastern Sistan and Balouchestan province on Dec. 2, the state-run IRINN TV reported. He further said that the Islamic Republic does not want any gap with Arab world, adding that if certain countries in the region have stayed far from Iran, it is their fault, not Irans will. Rouhani arrived at Zabol today morning, to inaugurate a number of projects through video conference and to meet university students. Visiting Zahedan, Zabol and Chabahar cities is also among Rouhanis two-day itinerary in southeastern Iran. A powerful cyclone that has killed over a dozen people across India and Sri Lanka is expected to show effects in Pakistans coastal areas, the Met Office said on Saturday, Times of Islamabad reports. Cyclone Ockhi is expected to enter the Arabian Sea from the south east and will impact Karachi, Badin and Thatta on December 3 and 4 in the form of cloud cover, the Met Office predicted. The effects will begin to subside from December 4, the Met Office added. Cyclone Ockhi barrelled into the Lakshwadeep islands in southwestern India on Saturday after drenching the neighbouring states of Kerala and Tamil Nadu, claiming around 14 lives with many fishermen still feared trapped at sea. Authorities including the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), Indias 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. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has spoken to the chief minister of Tamil Nadu, assuring him of support operations including necessary funds, according to local media. U.S. President Donald Trump said on Saturday that actions by his disgraced former national security adviser Michael Flynn during the presidential transition were lawful and said that there was no collusion between his 2016 White House campaign and Russia, Reuters reported. Flynn was the first member of Trumps administration to plead guilty to a crime uncovered by special counsel Robert Muellers wide-ranging investigation into Russian attempts to influence the 2016 U.S. presidential election and possible collusion by Trump aides. I had to fire General Flynn because he lied to the Vice President and the FBI. He has pled guilty to those lies, Trump said on Twitter while he was in New York for a fundraising trip. It is a shame because his actions during the transition were lawful. There was nothing to hide! Flynn, a former Defense Intelligence Agency director, held his position as Trumps national security adviser only for 24 days. He was forced to resign after he was found to have misled Vice President Mike Pence about his discussions with Russias then-ambassador to the United States Sergei Kislyak.. What has been shown is no collusion, no collusion, Trump told reporters as he departed the White House for the New York trip. Theres been absolutely no collusion, so were very happy. Former US national security adviser Michael Flynn pleaded guilty on Friday to lying to the FBI about Russia, and ABC News said he was prepared to testify that before taking office President Donald Trump had directed him to make contact with Russians. Reuters could not immediately verify the ABC report, which cited a Flynn confidant. The news sent US stocks sharply lower. Flynn, a former top Trump campaign aide and a central figure in a federal investigation into Moscows alleged interference in the 2016 US presidential election, pleaded guilty under a plea deal on Friday to lying to the FBI. His decision to cooperate with the investigation led by Special Counsel Robert Mueller, marked a major escalation in a probe that has dogged Trumps administration since the Republican president took office in January. ABC News cited a confidant as saying Flynn was ready to testify that Trump directed him to make contact with Russians, initially as a way to work together to fight the Islamic State group in Syria. It was not clear when Trump supposedly told Flynn to contact Russians and whether there would be anything illegal in requesting such contact. Flynn pleaded guilty to making false statements about contacts he had in December with Russias ambassador to the United States, Sergei Kislyak, during the transition period after Trump was elected and before he was sworn in. The charges carry a sentence of up to five years in prison. The White House said Flynns guilty plea implicated him alone. Nothing about the guilty plea or the charge implicates anyone other than Mr. Flynn, Ty Cobb, a White House attorney, said in a statement on Friday. Australian former deputy prime minister Barnaby Joyce is expected to win re-election for the seat he was earlier forced to vacate, and return to his position in parliament on Saturday, just over a month after he was kicked out over a dual citizenship crisis that cost the government its majority, Reuters reported. Joyce faces a record 16 rivals for the seat of New England, in rural New South Wales, and should he win, it will give the conservative coalition government some much-needed relief in restoring its slim majority. Joyce has repeatedly said he was confident, not cocky about winning the seat of New England again, five years after he first entered federal parliament. I said right at the start that you cant take anything for granted, [but] the feedback Im getting as I travel around the electorate is that people just want us to get on with the job of governing, he told SBS. Joyce was one of a group of lawmakers known as the Citizenship Seven whose eligibility to sit in parliament was thrown into doubt when it was found they were dual citizens, a status that is barred for politicians under Australias constitution to prevent split allegiances. The High Court ruled on Oct. 27 that Joyce, along with four of the seven other lawmakers, was ineligible to remain in parliament, forcing Saturdays by-election. Joyce was found to be a dual citizen of New Zealand, a status he has since rescinded. Afghan security forces counter-offensive left at least 18 militants and two policemen dead in the country's eastern province of Ghazni, a local official said Saturday. The incident occurred late on Friday, when Taliban militants launched a wide offensive on the security checkpoints in Giro district of the province. The government security forces launched a counter attack, leaving 18 militants dead and 27 others wounded, Aref Noori, provincial government spokesman, told Xinhua. Among those militants killed in the fighting were two local leaders named Jawhari and Zaker, the spokesman added. Two policemen were also killed and 11 police personnel were injured in the skirmish. Taliban militants, who are fighting government forces in many parts of the province, have not commented on the report. Violence has been on the rise as Afghan security forces struggle against a surge in attacks by anti-government fighters. Baku, Azerbaijan, Dec. 2 By Rufiz Hafizoglu Trend: Turkey has become a member of the International Maritime Organization (IMO), the Turkish Ministry of Transport, Maritime and Communications told Trend Dec. 2. The ministry said that Turkeys membership in the IMO will strengthen the countrys role in shipping. The IMO was established in Geneva on March 6, 1948, when the Convention on Intergovernmental Maritime Consultative Organization (IMCO) was adopted. --- Follow the author on Twitter: @rhafizoglu City-Cost - Dec 2, 2017 - 22:41 | Arts Tokyo Comic Con 2017 entered its second day Saturday as Japanese fans demonstrated their enthusiasm for comic and sci-fi imports from the West with Star Wars featuring heavily ahead of Last Jedi release later in December. A huge scale model of Star Wars iconic Millennium Falcon, watched over by miniature Stormtroopers and Darth Vader, was set up at the three-day pop culture and technology event at Chibas Makuhari Messe convention center, east of Tokyo. Han Solos much-loved ride was one of many Star Wars-themed exhibits, booths and cosplayers on show at Tokyo Comic Con as anticipation builds ahead of the sagas latest installment, Star Wars: The Last Jedi, set for a December 15 release in Japan. The second day of Tokyo Comic Con also saw a return of the Star Wars Cosplay Showcase during which Star Wars fans could cosplay their favorite characters from the franchise, embellished with song, dance or the acting out of favorite scenes. Fans were selected from an SMS campaign held during November. Alongside Star Wars, characters from the Warner Bros. Pictures film "Justice League" (released in Japan towards the end of November) are another common theme at Comic Con. With Spiderman and X-Men creator Stan Lee playing a key role in bringing a comic con to Tokyo, Marvel Comics, the home of many of Lees creations, also maintains a strong presence at the event. The publisher has its own cosplay showcase and present among the special guests across the three days is actor Michael Rooker who plays Yondu in the MARVEL Studios films "Guardians of the Galaxy" (2014) and "Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 " (2017). Yondu cosplayers were among the myriad of characters on display at day-two of Tokyo Comic Con as Japanese fans showed their enthusiasm for the Wests answer to anime and manga. Together with their foreign counterparts and casual visitors, event organisers have anticipated visitor numbers to hit around 50,000 over the three days. Compared to other amecon events in Japan, Tokyo Comic Con stands out as being more friendly with so many foreigners happy to be here., said one member of a group of young Japanese cosplayers who regularly attend Japans many amecon events. Invited to attend Tokyo Comic Con 2017 after taking part in a campaign on Twitter, the group expressed confidence that the event, which they collectively described as gorgeous, in only its second year, would continue to grow due to the popularity of comics, and particularly their movie adaptations, here in Japan. Tokyo Comic Con 2017 runs until Sunday Dec. 3 with over 150 companies and organizations involved at the event. Founder Steve Wozniak (also one of the co-founders of Apple Inc.) and honorary goodwill ambassador Stan Lee will both be in attendance across the three days of the convention. Find more images from Tokyo Comic Con 2017 at www.city-cost.com By KiMi Robinson, KYODO NEWS - Dec 2, 2017 - 12:10 | All, World Hawaii started monthly trials of an attack warning system Friday, in the first such test in the state since the end of the Cold War, days after North Korea's latest missile launch. At 11:45 a.m., the Hawaii Emergency Management Agency, or HEMA, blared an "attack warning tone" from a WWII-era siren across the island state, signaling "impending nuclear missile attack." "The possibility of attack today is very remote, but we do believe that it's important that we be proactive, that we plan and are prepared for every possibility moving forward," said Hawaii Gov. David Ige at a news conference Tuesday. In what Ige calls "the new normal," every month Hawaiian residents and visitors, who number more than 7 million annually, will hear a 50-second "wailing" tone being tested in case of the "highly unlikely" event that North Korea launches an intercontinental ballistic missile at the U.S. state. "We have to do something. We can't ignore it," said Vern Miyagi, administrator of the Hawaii Emergency Management Agency. HEMA has spent the last two months ramping up awareness for the Attack Warning Tone and urging preparation for a nuclear weapon with town hall meetings and television appearances. Japan estimated the explosive device detonated in a nuclear test by North Korea in September had a yield of about 160 kilotons, 10 times the force of the world's first atomic bomb dropped by the United States on Hiroshima in 1945. The new "Attack Warning" siren follows the steady "Attention Alert" tone that indicates natural disasters such as hurricanes and tsunamis in the monthly statewide warning siren system test, which residents are accustomed to hearing. At Waikiki Beach, tourists were undeterred from their sunbathing and swimming as the two siren tones sounded for two minutes. "We were in the shop and didn't hear anything," said a woman in her 40s from Kanagawa, Japan. Several other visitors echoed that they did not hear the warning tones, nor did they know about the siren test. "They should work to put sirens on Waikiki Beach." The attack warning tone was once an air-raid siren during the Cold War that prompted shelter-in-place exercises. Decades later and with North Korea recently re-designated as a state sponsor of terrorism, HEMA no longer has designated fallout shelters, including ones used during WWII and the Cold War which ended in the early 1990s, because of lack of funding. There is not enough time to do much else besides "get inside, stay inside, and stay tuned" when the wailing siren is activated, officials say, with a missile from North Korea estimated to be able to reach Hawaii in around 20 minutes. There will be 10 to 13 minutes to shelter, according to HEMA, after activation of the siren and notifications over radio, television, and mobile devices. Hawaii, which has shared nuclear preparedness information with Guam officials, is reportedly the first and only U.S. state taking measures to prepare for a North Korean attack. Various U.S. states, mostly in the western United States, have reached out to HEMA for information on Hawaii's preparedness program, said Miyagi. KYODO NEWS - Dec 2, 2017 - 20:56 | All Okinawa Gov. Takeshi Onaga on Saturday asked Foreign Minister Taro Kono for a drastic amendment of the Japan-U.S. Status of Forces Agreement following a series of crimes and accidents involving U.S. military-related personnel in the southern Japan prefecture. Kono only told Onaga that the government will try to reduce the local burden of the U.S. bases in Okinawa at a meeting held at the Okinawa government building in Naha. It was Kono's first visit to the island prefecture since assuming his post in August. Okinawa hosts the bulk of U.S. military facilities in Japan and a spate of crimes committed by soldiers and base personnel as well as accidents involving military aircraft have angered local residents. Recent incidents include the crash-landing of a U.S. military helicopter in October and the arrest of a Marine for an alleged drunken driving accident leading to the death of a resident last month. "People in Okinawa have been shocked and are enduring significant anxiety," Onaga told Kono. Onaga said the Japan-U.S. Status of Forces Agreement has been criticized by locals as being "unfair" as they view it as overly protective of U.S. service members and civilian base workers if they are implicated in crimes. The Japanese government has been reluctant to revise the pact, which has never been revised since taking effect in 1960. The governor also repeated his call for the central government to give up a plan to relocate U.S. Marine Corps Air Station Futenma to a less populated, coastal area within Okinawa Island. Kono said the central government is considering preparing allotted places at American schools located in U.S. military bases in Okinawa for Japanese students in the prefecture. Tokyo is apparently hoping the proposed step to help Okinawa children improve their English language skills will contribute to cooling long-running tensions between the central and local governments over the planned relocation of the U.S. Marine base within Okinawa. Earlier in the day, Kono met Lt. Gen. Lawrence Nicholson, the top commander of U.S. military forces in Okinawa, and asked him to take preventive measures following recent crimes and accidents involving the U.S. military bases there. "I think it's important to cooperate together for stable stationing of the U.S. military forces in Japan and we need to work together to get the understanding of the local community, what it means to host U.S. military forces," Kono said to Nicholson. "We want to make every possible effort to maintain the deterrence capability of the Japan-U.S. alliance," Kono added. Nicholson replied, "We understand our obligation to the community and we can do that better as well. We will continue to look at our behavior, our actions and how we represent our country." Referring to the recent actions of North Korea, Nicholson said, "(North) Korea has demonstrated their impact on this area and I want you to know that it has never been more important for the alliance between the U.S. and Japan and (South) Korea to work more closely." Despite only accounting for 0.6 percent of the country's land mass, Okinawa is home to about 70 percent of the total area of land exclusively used by U.S. military facilities in Japan. KYODO NEWS - Dec 2, 2017 - 19:56 | All, World Japan was under fire for its "research" whaling in the Northwest Pacific as a possible violation of an international treaty on endangered species, while Tokyo's ivory trading practice was also questioned. During a five-day meeting of a standing committee on monitoring wildlife trade in Geneva through Friday, Japan drew criticism over its hunting of sei whales in the sea from anti-whaling countries, with Australia pointing out that the research whaling could be for commercial purposes. The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, or CITES and also known as the Washington Convention, prohibits international trade of sei whales and effectively bans the catching of them in the open sea. But Japan has continued the research whaling as the convention rules out scientific research from the restrictions. In 2014, the International Court of Justice in The Hague found Japan's research whaling in the Antarctic as a violation of the 1946 International Convention for the Regulation of Whaling. Since then, there was speculation that the Washington Convention would take up the issue of Japan's hunting of sei whales sooner or later. During the conference in Geneva, some proposed a ban on trade with Japan but the panel recommended Japan provide sufficient information to the secretariat of the CITES and accept a monitoring team. The Japanese government is expected to accept the team if the CITES secretariat concludes it is necessary to so do. "What Japan has done is calculating the collected samples and selection of research areas...it's difficult to say that it's for scientific research," said Atsushi Ishii, an expert on whaling and an associate professor at the Center for Northeast Asian Studies, Tohoku University. "Chances are high that (Japan's whaling) will be recognized as a violation of the treaty," he added. Meanwhile, the committee adopted a proposal that Japan should submit a report next year explaining how to regulate ivory trade in accordance with the treaty. The move came after four countries -- where African elephants inhabit -- submitted a report criticizing Japan. While the United States and China have already banned domestic ivory trading, Japan is drawing criticism as it is allowing ivory trading. CHICAGO - Researchers have found an imbalance in the brain chemistry of young people addicted to smartphones and the internet, according to a study presented today at the annual meeting of the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA). According to a recent Pew Research Center study, 46 percent of Americans say they could not live without their smartphones. While this sentiment is clearly hyperbole, more and more people are becoming increasingly dependent on smartphones and other portable electronic devices for news, information, games, and even the occasional phone call. Along with a growing concern that young people, in particular, may be spending too much time staring into their phones instead of interacting with others, come questions as to the immediate effects on the brain and the possible long-term consequences of such habits. Hyung Suk Seo, M.D., professor of neuroradiology at Korea University in Seoul, South Korea, and colleagues used magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) to gain unique insight into the brains of smartphone- and internet-addicted teenagers. MRS is a type of MRI that measures the brain's chemical composition. The study involved 19 young people (mean age 15.5, 9 males) diagnosed with internet or smartphone addiction and 19 gender- and age-matched healthy controls. Twelve of the addicted youth received nine weeks of cognitive behavioral therapy, modified from a cognitive therapy program for gaming addiction, as part of the study. Researchers used standardized internet and smartphone addiction tests to measure the severity of internet addiction. Questions focused on the extent to which internet and smartphone use affects daily routines, social life, productivity, sleeping patterns and feelings. "The higher the score, the more severe the addiction," Dr. Seo said. Dr. Seo reported that the addicted teenagers had significantly higher scores in depression, anxiety, insomnia severity and impulsivity. The researchers performed MRS exams on the addicted youth prior to and following behavioral therapy and a single MRS study on the control patients to measure levels of gamma aminobutyric acid, or GABA, a neurotransmitter in the brain that inhibits or slows down brain signals, and glutamate-glutamine (Glx), a neurotransmitter that causes neurons to become more electrically excited. Previous studies have found GABA to be involved in vision and motor control and the regulation of various brain functions, including anxiety. The results of the MRS revealed that, compared to the healthy controls, the ratio of GABA to Glx was significantly increased in the anterior cingulate cortex of smartphone- and internet-addicted youth prior to therapy. Dr. Seo said the ratios of GABA to creatine and GABA to glutamate were significantly correlated to clinical scales of internet and smartphone addictions, depression and anxiety. Having too much GABA can result in a number of side effects, including drowsiness and anxiety. More study is needed to understand the clinical implications of the findings, but Dr. Seo believes that increased GABA in the anterior cingulate gyrus in internet and smartphone addiction may be related to the functional loss of integration and regulation of processing in the cognitive and emotional neural network. The good news is GABA to Glx ratios in the addicted youth significantly decreased or normalized after cognitive behavioral therapy. "The increased GABA levels and disrupted balance between GABA and glutamate in the anterior cingulate cortex may contribute to our understanding the pathophysiology of and treatment for addictions," Dr. Seo said. ### Co-authors are Eun-Kee Jeong, Ph.D., Sungwon Choi, Yunna Kwon, Hae-Jeong Park, and InSeong Kim. Note: Copies of RSNA 2017 news releases and electronic images will be available online at RSNA.org/press17 beginning Monday, Nov. 27. RSNA is an association of over 54,000 radiologists, radiation oncologists, medical physicists and related scientists, promoting excellence in patient care and health care delivery through education, research and technologic innovation. The Society is based in Oak Brook, Ill. (RSNA.org) For patient-friendly information on MRS, or MR spectroscopy, visit RadiologyInfo.org. ABC News issued a correction late Friday to its report that Michael Flynn was prepared to testify that Donald Trump told him to reach out to Russian officials during the presidential campaign. ABC News issued a correction late Friday to its report that former national security adviser Michael Flynn was prepared to testify that Donald Trump told him to reach out to Russian officials during the presidential campaign. The network amended the story to note that Trump instructed Flynn to do so during the transition after the election not during the campaign. Flynn was told to discuss working together to defeat the self-described Islamic State militant group in Syria, according to ABC. The Dow plunged 350 points after the ABC report, and the story was widely picked up by other media. The network initially issued a clarification to the story, then later changed it to a more definitive correction. The difference in the stories is critical in the context of special counsel Robert Muellers investigation of possible Russian collusion during the campaign. An anonymous source cited in the report said that Trump only instructed Flynn and other associates during the campaign to explore ways to repair relations with Russia and other regions. 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 The original story was presented at 11 a.m. Eastern Standard Time in an ABC News special report after Flynn pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI about his contacts with Sergei Kislyak, the former Russian ambassador to the U.S. The Associated Press and The Washington Post reported that Flynn admitted in his plea that he spoke to the Russians at the direction of Trump transition team officials. One of those officials was Trumps son-in-law Jared Kushner, sources told CNN. Story continues 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 ABC investigative reporter Brian Ross announced a clarification of his story on World News Tonight at 6:30 p.m. Referring to his source, Ross noted: He said the president had asked Flynn to contact Russia during the campaign. Hes 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. After the election, the president-elect asked him to contact Russia on issues including working together to fight ISIS. ABC tweeted the clarification at 8:30 p.m. The network changed it to a correction just before 11 p.m., after ABC was slammed on social media. Former White House spokesman Sean Spicer lashed out on Twitter, saying ABC owed the American public an apology and not simply a clarification. He called the clarification a cop out and another reason for the decline in trust of the media. .@ABC news owes it viewers an apology. Calling false reporting a clarification is a cop out and just another reason for the decline in trust of the media Sean Spicer (@seanspicer) December 2, 2017 Axios political reporter Jonathan Swan also sharply criticized ABC. Retract. Correct. Dont use weasel words to describe an error, he tweeted. Love HuffPost? Become a founding member of HuffPost Plus today. If we want to regain trust in the media we need to admit our mistakes, especially when as consequential as this. Retract. Correct. Dont use weasel words to describe it. https://t.co/jFIavaQ4yv Jonathan Swan (@jonathanvswan) December 2, 2017 The CEO and co-founder of Axios called for a massive correction. Astonishing. The story moved markets, set off a media frenzy, suggested worst possible outcome. This is called a massive correction, or retraction, not clarification. https://t.co/uVUamf4jYY Jim VandeHei (@JimVandeHei) December 2, 2017 CNN media reporter Oliver Darcy criticized ABCs foot-dragging on moving from clarification to correction, and emphasized the importance of getting a second source for potentially explosive stories. A good reminder here on why it is best to get two sources when reporting -- particularly when it is a bombshell report like this. Oliver Darcy (@oliverdarcy) December 2, 2017 Related coverage Have The Walls Already Closed In On Michael Flynn? James Comey Basks In The Glow Of Michael Flynn's Downfall A Timeline Of Michael Flynn's Questionable Interactions With Russia This article originally appeared on HuffPost. With a market capitalization of USD $23.07B, Brown-Forman Corporation (NYSE:BF.B) falls in the category of stocks popularly identified as large-caps. These are established companies that attract investors due to diversified revenue streams and ability to enhance total returns through dividends. However, another important aspect of investing in large caps is its financial health. There are always disruptions which destabilize an existing industry, and although large-caps are hard to knock down, it is useful to understand its level of resilience. These factors make a basic understanding of a companys financial position of utmost importance for a new investor. Here are a few basic checks that are good enough to have a broad overview of the companys financial strength. Check out our latest analysis for Brown-Forman Is BF.Bs level of debt at an acceptable level? A debt-to-equity ratio threshold varies depending on what industry the company operates, since some requires more debt financing than others. A ratio below 40% for large-cap stocks is considered as financially healthy, as a rule of thumb. For BF.B, the debt-to-equity ratio stands at above 100%, which means that it is a highly leveraged company. This is not a problem if the company has consistently grown its profits. But during a business downturn, as liquidity may dry up, making it hard to operate. No matter how high the companys debt, if it can easily cover the interest payments, its considered to be efficient with its use of excess leverage. A company generating earnings (EBIT) at least three times its interest payments is considered financially sound. In BF.Bs case, its interest is excessively covered by its earnings as the ratio sits at 17.34x. This means lenders may be inclined to lend more money to the company, as it is seen as safe in terms of payback. Does BF.B generate enough cash through operations? NYSE:BF.B Historical Debt Dec 2nd 17 A simple way to determine whether the company has put debt into good use is to look at its operating cash flow against its debt obligation. This is also a test for whether BF.B has the ability to repay its debt with cash from its business, which is less of a concern for large companies. BF.Bs recent operating cash flow was 0.28 times its debt within the past year. A ratio of over a 0.25x is a positive sign and shows that BF.B is generating ample cash from its core business, which should increase its potential to pay back near-term debt. Story continues Next Steps: Are you a shareholder? BF.Bs high cash coverage means that, although its debt levels are high, investors shouldnt panic since the company is able to utilise its borrowings efficiently in order to generate cash flow. Since BF.Bs capital structure could change, You should continue exploring market expectations for BF.Bs future growth on our free analysis platform. Are you a potential investor? While investors should analyse the serviceability of debt, it shouldnt be viewed in isolation of other factors. After all, debt financing is an important source of funding for companies seeking to grow through new projects and investments. As for next steps, I suggest you assess BF.Bs Return on Capital Employed (ROCE) in order to see managements track record at deploying funds in high-returning projects. To help readers see pass the short term volatility of the financial market, we aim to bring you a long-term focused research analysis purely driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis does not factor in the latest price sensitive company announcements. The author is an independent contributor and at the time of publication had no position in the stocks mentioned. Senate Republicans have spent most of the past month looking for measures to offset the cost of their enormous tax giveaway to rich households and corporations. They plan to vote on the bill, which is supported by President Donald Trump, Friday. A few weeks ago, they settled on repealing the individual mandate in the Affordable Care Act, more commonly known as Obamacare. This mandate imposes a monetary penalty on those who cannot prove that they had qualifying health insurance over the past year. If it is repealed, 13 million fewer Americans will have health insurance, according to the Congressional Budget Office (CBO). This provides an offset to tax cuts because many of these 13 million would have received subsidies through Medicaid or the ACA exchanges. Earlier this year, attacks on key planks of Obamacare prompted a genuine storm of grassroots protest. And Republicans could not even pass a skinny repeal of the ACA, a small package of changes that had at its heart a repeal of this same individual mandate. But fired-up grassroots opposition to House and Senate plans on taxes has been slower to build, even after the Senate adoption of the mandate repeal. This is likely because the mandate has always been the least popular part of Obamacare. It doesnt directly provide insurance to anybody and strikes some as paternalistic. But lets be clear: Repealing the individual mandate would be a big deal. The mandate is a valuable device for stopping free riders. Obamacare mandated that insurance companies offer insurance to everybody who wants it, with only minimal price discrimination based on age and smoking status. But if a healthy person knows they can buy insurance whenever they want for a given price, they may well decide to only purchase it after they get sick and need coverage. This would be a big problem for insurance markets, as the pool of covered beneficiaries would be an unhealthy and expensive group. Thats why, for example, the CBO forecasts that repealing the individual mandate would cause premiums in nongroup markets to rise significantly. Story continues Additionally, the mandate provides a hard nudge to people on the fence about getting enrolled in health insurance, including those in nongroup markets but also those who have Medicaid or employer-sponsored insurance. The CBO estimates that of the 13 million people who would lose coverage if the mandate is repealed, seven million are dropping out of Medicaid and employer-sponsored plans. In short, the mandate is a very efficient tool for keeping premium increases in check and increasing enrollment in all types of coverage. Finally, while the individual mandate repeal is the only plank of the tax bill that directly attacks the ACA, Republicans have made no secret of the fact that after this bill passes, they will point at the resulting deficits to justify cuts in Medicaid and Medicare. This is not idle speculation; the House and Senate passed a budget resolution last month with $1.8 trillion in cuts to both of these programs. The battle over health care wont end with this tax billor anytime soon. Josh Bivens is the director of research at the Economic Policy Institute. US Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (C) -- shown with fellow Republican Senators Orrin Hatch (L) and John Cornyn (R) -- says he has the votes to pass the tax plan (AFP Photo/SAUL LOEB) (AFP/File) Washington (AFP) - US President Donald Trump's tax reform ran a gauntlet of opposition Friday after a small group of Republican deficit hawks balked at the controversial plan's $1.5 trillion price tag. Senate leaders had hoped to wrap up Thursday's session with Trump's first major legislative victory after 10 months in office. Instead, the president found himself tweeting encouragement to Republicans Friday -- and blaming Democrats for trying to sink his proposal because they believe it is "too good." Senator John Cornyn of Texas, the Republican whip, told reporters he believed the Republicans had locked down the 50 votes needed to pass the legislation. "We have at least 50, and were still working," the Washington Post quoted Cornyn as saying as he left a meeting of Senate leaders. Republicans "are working hard to pass the biggest Tax Cuts in the history of our Country," Trump said. "The Bill is getting better and better." The improvements have yet to manifest themselves in the legislation, but Republicans were believed to be working overnight for solutions that would placate the rebels within. They include senators Bob Corker and Jeff Flake, who have been critical of Trump in recent months. At least one skeptic has been won over. "I'm planning to vote yes today on the tax bill," Senator Steve Daines told Fox News. "This is an historic moment for our nation." The drama began Thursday when the Senate parliamentarian ruled against Corker's plan to use a so-called "trigger" to automatically raise taxes if revenues fall short of projections, saying it did not comply with Senate budget rules. But with some conservatives bridling at their party's trampling of anti-deficit budget orthodoxy, 11th-hour negotiations proceeded over how to offset the cost of dramatic tax cuts for corporations and more modest cuts for individuals. The problem was compounded earlier Thursday when a nonpartisan congressional tax scorekeeper projected that the tax overhaul would add a whopping $1 trillion to the deficit, even after accounting for expected economic growth from the plan. Story continues The analysis complicated Trump's argument, shared by many Republicans, that the tax cuts would pay for themselves through additional economic growth -- and left some senators mulling adding future tax hikes into the plan to ensure sufficient revenue. Republicans hold a narrow 52-48 Senate majority. Three defectors would kill the bill, and a handful were expressing reservations about a measure that experts say would benefit corporations and the wealthy. - 'Ticking time bomb' - The bill as it stands would reduce the corporate rate from 35 percent to 20 percent. Trump has repeatedly called for a 20 percent corporate rate. Lawmakers were seeking new ways to circumvent the unexpected snags, including potentially raising corporate taxes after six years. Senator Ted Cruz warned, however, that inserting automatic tax hikes would set a "bad precedent," because it could force American families into paying higher taxes during an economic downturn. Thursday's showdown highlighted the delicate balancing act required to get the tax plan across the finish line. Other senators have raised narrower concerns: over the tax rates for certain smaller companies; deductions for families with children; or a provision, slipped into the legislation, to end the requirement that all taxpayers carry health insurance or pay a fine -- a central pillar of Obamacare. If the legislation passes the Senate, it still must be reconciled with the recently passed House version. The plans differ on some points. Democrats, united in opposition, are arguing that the plan is too expensive and will accommodate only the rich. Top Senate Democrat Chuck Schumer called the plan a "ticking time bomb of middle class tax hikes." The final bill had yet to be released early Friday, but Republicans were so eager to rush the bill through that they might vote on it just hours after the final version is introduced. "Notching a political win... isn't a good enough reason to throw common sense and responsibility out the window," Schumer said. Donald Trump, the US president - AP Donald Trump has opened himself up to obstruction of justice claims by revealing he knew his former national security adviser had lied to the FBI. In a tweet playing down the Russian links controversy, Mr Trump said he knew Michael Flynn lied to agents before he left the administration in February. But the comment was immediately jumped on because Mr Trump allegedly encouraged the FBI to drop an investigation into Mr Flynn that same month. Knowing Mr Flynn had lied to the FBI - a criminal offence - but still telling investigators to stop their case would amount to obstruction of justice, critics said. Obstruction of justice is one of the reasons a US president can be impeached and was what Richard Nixon was eventually brought down over. Michael Flynn, the former US national security advisor, center, arrives at the U.S. Courthouse in Washington, D.CCredit: Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg The row marked another twist in the growing scandal over alleged Trump campaign links to Russia during and immediately after the US election. Mr Trump has always insisted there was no collusion with Russia and framed the investigation as a witch hunt against his presidency. The investigation, being led by special counsel Robert Mueller, took a major step closer to the White House on Friday when Mr Flynn pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI. Mr Flynn was one of Mr Trumps closest confidants during the campaign and became his national security adviser after the election, but soon left over his Russian links. On Friday, Mr Flynn admitted he had misled the FBI about conversations with the Russian ambassador in December 2016. The date Mr Flynn lied to the FBI was January 24, four days after Mr Trumps inauguration. The date he eventually left the administration was February 13. Mr Trump tweeted on Saturday: https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/937007006526959618 Commentators questioned whether Mr Trump had inadvertently admitted to obstruction of justice by saying he knew of Mr Flynns FBI lies in February. James Comey, the former FBI director, has claimed that Mr Trump urged him to drop an investigation into Mr Flynn that same month. Story continues I hope you can see your way clear to letting this go, to letting Flynn go. He is a good guy, Mr Trump said in February, according to Mr Comey. Knowing that someone had committed a crime (by lying to the FBI) but encouraging agents to stop investigating is tantamount to obstruction of justice, critics have said. The suggestion is significant because obstruction of justice is grounds for impeachment of a US president and said to be an area Mr Muellers investigation is looking into. Donald Trump, left, and Michael Flynn during the US election campaign in October 2016 Mr Trump's lawyer Marc Kasowitz strongly denied Mr Comey's claim at the time it was made, according to the Washington Post. He said: The president never in form or substance directed or suggested that Mr. Comey stop investigating anyone, including the president never suggested that Mr. Comey, quote, Let Flynn go, close quote. Mr Trump and his White House team have repeatedly dismissed any suggestion of collusion between the Trump campaign team and Russia. Discussing Mr Flynns admittance to lying, Ty Cobb, the White House lawyer, said: Nothing about the guilty plea or the charge implicates anyone other than Mr. Flynn. Related Video: Watch news, TV and more on Yahoo View. Flynn is the most senior member of the Trump administration to have been indicted by the special counsel so far. Michael Flynn, the former national security adviser to the president, has pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI in regard to a meeting with a Russian ambassador a year ago and will cooperate with investigators, according to reports. Flynn, a retired United States Army lieutenant general who served for 33 years, was charged Friday morning. He entered his plea in federal court Friday morning. Inside the courtroom, he told the judge he has not been coerced to plead guilty or been promised a specific sentence, according to reports. Following his plea, Flynn left the court with his head down and released a statement agreeing to cooperate with the special counsel and said he accepted full responsibility of his actions. "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. He added that his actions "were wrong, and, through my faith in God, I am working to set things right." The 58-year-old was forced to resign earlier this year after misleading White House officials about a meeting with Russian ambassador Sergei Kislyak in December 2016. Flynn is now accused of "willfully and knowingly" making "false, fictitious and fraudulent statements to the feds. The charges against Flynn were brought on by Special Counsel Robert Mueller, as part of an ongoing investigation into allegations that Russia may have had a hand in tampering with last years presidential election. Flynn is the most senior member of the Trump administration to have been indicted by the special counsel thus far. White House lawyer Ty Cobb told The Associated Press that Flynns guilty plea and pledge to cooperate with the Russia investigation does not implicate anyone other than Mr. Flynn. RELATED STORIES Jersey Boy: The Garden State Connection of Russian Singer at Center of Trump Jr. Email Scandal Story continues President Trump Calls Russia Probe a 'Fake Story' as Grand Jury Is Assembled Former FBI Director Robert Mueller Named Special Counsel in Russia Probe Related Articles: Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (NYSE: FCAU) took the wraps off of its long-awaited all-new 2018 Jeep Wrangler in Los Angeles this week. Yes, all-new: The redesigned Wrangler may not look much different from the current model, but nearly everything aside from its appearance is all-new and significantly improved, FCA says. And Jeep brand chief Mike Manley announced that the company will soon bring to market something that is entirely new: A plug-in hybrid Wrangler. A red 2018 Jeep Wrangler Rubicon parked next to a rocky stream. It doesn't look much different, but under the familiar skin, the iconic Jeep Wrangler is all-new for 2018. Image source: Fiat Chrysler Automobiles. How to redo an icon: Carefully I want to make something clear up front: The Wrangler may not be the company's top-seller, but it's really, really important to FCA. Why? It's because Jeep is now a global brand, it provides the bulk of FCA's profits, and -- at least in terms of brand perception -- the Wrangler is the most important Jeep. It's the crown jewel, the one vehicle that every car-aware person in the world will instantly recognize as a Jeep. Any new Wrangler has a tough job: It has to offer off-road prowess and traditional features that will satisfy hard-core Jeep fans and keep the Jeep brand relevant. At the same time, it has to deliver on up-to-date expectations around quality, comfort, and safety that will satisfy more-casual fans and keep it at least somewhat competitive on-road with smooth-riding SUVs from rivals like Toyota (NYSE: TM) and Ford Motor Company (NYSE: F). The dash of a 2018 Jeep Wrangler Rubicon. The 2018 Wrangler's interior is updated and much-improved, but it still looks and feels like a Jeep. Image source: Fiat Chrysler Automobiles. If that wasn't enough, the new Wrangler also has to deliver fuel-economy improvements that will help boost FCA's overall average fuel economy. Does the new Wrangler check all of those boxes? It seems very promising: Purists will like the improved off-road chops (among other things, the new Wrangler can ford water up to 30 inches deep), as well as a new two-speed transfer case and the continuation of now-traditional Jeep features like a folding windshield and removable doors. Casual buyers will appreciate the new Jeep's improved on-road handling and comfort, redesigned interior, and available high-tech safety and infotainment features. Those concerned about fuel economy will look to the all-new turbo four-cylinder engine (a first for the Wrangler), a new 8-speed automatic transmission that replaces the old and less-efficient 5-speed (a 6-speed manual is still available), and a new, fuel-efficient diesel option. Story continues FCA has begun production of the 2018 Wrangler in two- and four-door versions; they should begin arriving at U.S. dealers in a few weeks. A Wrangler-based pickup, to be called the Scrambler, is expected to follow about a year from now. And what about that plug-in hybrid version? A green 2018 Jeep Wrangler Unlimited Sahara near a mountain road. The four-door Wrangler Unlimited is also all-new for 2018. Image source: Fiat Chrysler Automobiles. What we know about the plug-in Jeep Wrangler Manley disclosed the existence of the plug-in hybrid electric (PHEV) Wrangler during a presentation at the Los Angeles International Auto Show. He didn't go into much detail beyond saying that FCA will launch it as a 2020 model, meaning that it will arrive at dealers in roughly two years. FCA has one plug-in hybrid model now, a well-regarded version of the Chrysler Pacifica minivan. The Pacifica Hybrid is powered by a 3.6-liter V6 gasoline engine paired with two electric motors and a 16-kilowatt-hour (kWh) battery pack. It has an EPA-rated electric-only range of 33 miles, and Chrysler offers a Level 2 (240-volt) charger for home use as an option. It's likely that the PHEV Wrangler's powertrain will be an evolution of the Pacifica Hybrid's. But whether it has similar performance will depend on, among other things, the size of its battery pack and the number of motors used. A red 2018 Jeep Wrangler fording a river in the mountains. Whether it's powered by gasoline, diesel, batteries, or unicorn dust, if it can't do this, it's not a Jeep Wrangler. It's the foundation of the Jeep brand. Image source: Fiat Chrysler Automobiles. The challenge will be getting anyone to buy it: Fuel economy isn't a priority for many SUV drivers. If FCA is smart (and it is, usually), it'll use the hybrid powertrain to enhance the Wrangler's capabilities in some useful way, rather than just counting on improved fuel economy to sell it. That's the approach that Ford is expected to take with the upcoming hybrid versions of its F-150 pickup, emphasizing its improved torque and the on-board availability of electric power from the hybrid system -- features that matter to pickup buyers. FCA will have to find ways to do something similar with the PHEV Wrangler. If it does, it may have another winner on its hands. More From The Motley Fool John Rosevear owns shares of Ford. The Motley Fool owns shares of and recommends Ford. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. Photo credit: Hearst Communications, Inc. All rights reserved From Esquire President Trump's campaign adviser and former top national security official will plead guilty to a single charge of lying to the FBI. Michael Flynn was fired after less than a month in the National Security Adviser post following revelations he lied to Vice President Mike Pence about a conversation with Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak. It now appears he also lied to federal law enforcement agents. The guilty plea suggests that Flynn has agreed to cooperate with Special Counsel Robert Mueller's investigation into whether members of the president's campaign colluded with Russian officials to influence the 2016 election. It follows on news last week that Flynn's lawyers would no longer share information with Trump's legal team. Here is a readout of the charges: Just in: Robert Mueller has charged former Trump national security advisor Michael Flynn with willfully and knowingly making false, fictitious and fraudulent statements to the FBI regarding conversations with Russias ambassador. pic.twitter.com/WqvDmytYiZ - David Wright (@DavidWright_CNN) December 1, 2017 This post will be updated. You Might Also Like Mike Pence, Jared Kushner, Reince Priebus, Jeff Sessions and Trump at risk Analysis: Flynn pleads guilty but signs are Mueller has bigger fish to fry By agreeing to cooperate with federal prosecutors in a deal announced on Friday, former national security adviser Michael Flynn won for himself protection from further prosecution. That protection could conceivably extend to his son, Michael Flynn Jr, who once worked for his father. But whats in it for the prosecutors? Court documents made it clear that special counsel Robert Mueller is zeroing in on people very close to Trump, who are identified as a senior official of the presidential transition team and a very senior member of the presidential transition team. Those two people unless they are in fact one person directed Flynn to hold conversations with the then Russian ambassador Sergey Kislyak about sanctions and about a United Nations resolution on Israel, Flynn admitted to prosecutors after initially lying about the matter. Those conversations not only give the lie to repeated statements by the president that his team had no contact with the Russians on Saturday he told reporters there had been absolutely no collusion and tweeted that Flynns actions during the transition were lawful but they also raise the possibility of serious criminal exposure among members of his inner circle for breaking laws banning communications with foreign entities that undercut US policy. I think theres definitely someone even closer to the president in Muellers crosshairs Steve Vladeck Senior members of the transition team included Vice-President Mike Pence; son-in-law Jared Kushner; Reince Priebus, then chairman of the Republican National Committee, later Trumps chief of staff; Jeff Sessions, then a senator, now the attorney general; and Trump himself. I think [Fridays] news means theres definitely someone even closer to the president in Muellers crosshairs, Steve Vladeck, co-editor of the Just Security forum and a professor at the University of Texas law school, said in an email. Regardless of whether thats Kushner, Sessions, Pence or someone else, its not good for the president. Story continues Three news reports, from Bloomberg, NBC News and BuzzFeed, identified Kushner as the transition team member who directed Flynn to act on the UN resolution, which denounced Israeli settlements. Flynn was instructed to ask Russia, a member of the UN security council, to block the resolution or vote no, according to court documents. The resolution was exceptional from an American viewpoint owing to the stated intention of the Obama administration to abstain from the vote instead of opposing it. The resolution was passed 14-0. The sudden spotlight on Kushner was an indication of how fast the Mueller prosecution is moving, and how close it is getting to the top of the food chain. Michael Flynn leaves court in Washington. Photograph: Jonathan Ernst/Reuters Flynn could testify about potentially sensitive interactions involving Kushner, for example a meeting with Kushner and Kislyak during the presidential transition. The Washington Post reported that Kushner proposed a secret channel for communications with Russia at the meeting. Kushner has denied that he proposed such a back channel, and has denied collusion with Russia and other wrongdoing. But if Trump and his familys past denials of campaign contacts with Russians fell short of the truth or if similar denials by Sessions fell short of the truth Flynn could be in a position to highlight that. He might also be able to describe when the Trump campaign first became aware that Russians had what they called dirt on Hillary Clinton and what the campaign did or did not do with that knowledge. Trump has categorically said that he was not aware of any campaign communications with Russia, said Anne Milgram, who has worked closely in the past with Mueller and his team as a former attorney general for the state of New Jersey and former federal prosecutor. That is the kind of question that you would want to ask Michael Flynn. Were there conversations about those communications? Was there an understanding that the Russians had so-called dirt on Secretary Clinton? And so all those things are going to be really important for the government to understand. The scope of Muellers investigation is unknown, although former prosecutors believe it may go all the way to the top with the special counsel potentially weighing obstruction of justice charges or other charges against the president, who denies all wrongdoing. The publicly visible legal moves, scant as they are, appear in any case to signify major offstage activity, according to former prosecutors. What we see with someone like Michael Flynn that we candidly do not see with the other people who are witnesses, is a very long-term relationship with Trump, a close level of involvement with the campaign, said Milgram. We know that he was frequently with Trump, with his family, with other members of the campaign. If there is something to be known, its likely that Flynn would be someone to have that information. And thats why hes so important, because it really does go to the heart of these questions. As a retired three-star general and former head of the Defense Intelligence Agency, Flynn joined the Trump campaign in early 2016 and installed himself as a hub for conversations with foreign operatives and relationships now under the intense scrutiny of prosecutors. With Flynns cooperation, Vladeck said, Mueller could be in position to answer the million dollar question: did the Trump campaign collude with Russia during the 2016 election? I would imagine that he [Flynn] would have insights into what contacts if any the campaign had with Russian government officials, Russian private citizens, Russian corporations, Vladeck said. But I think if theres dirty laundry, one suspects that Flynn of all people would know what and where it is. Milgram counseled against extrapolating too much about what is happening on the inside of the case from what is visible on the outside. I would preface what I say by qualifying that we are speculating, she said. Because I can tell you by having been involved in countless cases and having read lots of news stories about them we just dont know. Theres always stuff on the inside that we dont know. So thats the caution I would give to you and everybody else. FILE PHOTO - The ticker and logo for General Electric Co. is displayed on a screen at the post where it's traded on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York City, U.S., June 30, 2016. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid (Reuters) By Alwyn Scott NEW YORK (Reuters) - General Electric Co said on Friday it was laying off workers at its power division in Schenectady, New York, as it tries to reduce costs after a steep profit drop at the division. GE declined to disclose the number of workers affected. A report by local ABC TV affiliate News10, citing sources inside GE's Schenectady plant, said about 75 people had been notified that they are being let go. So far this year, GE has laid off at least 75 other workers in New York state, according to state records. GE Chief Executive John Flannery, who took over in August, has promised to cut $1 billion in company spending this year and $2 billion in 2018, as the company grapples with its weak financial results and declining share price. GE's profit fell about 9 percent in the third quarter. GE has grounded corporate jets, eliminated company cars for hundreds of executives, delayed part of its Boston headquarters and reduced employment in many locations. The company has also changed a number of top executives, including installing a new CFO, and plans to exit more than $20 billion in business in the next two years. "GE has previously announced a plan to reduce $3 billion in cost by the end of 2018," the company said in a statement. "Those actions include, but are not limited to, employee reductions, which have been under way for many months." GE said "a significant decline in orders" at GE Power prompted the layoffs in Schenectady. Workers will receive severance and help finding new jobs, GE said. GE's downsizing is not limited to its power division. In July, the company disclosed plans to lay off 575 workers at a railroad locomotive plant in Erie, Pennsylvania. An August report commissioned by the United Electrical, Radio and Machine Workers of America Local 506, which represents the workers, estimated they earn about $108,000 a year in pay and benefits. (Reporting by Alwyn Scott, editing by G Crosse) Say hello to your new favorite GIF. On Friday, a producer for The View interrupted co-host Joy Behar on air to deliver some breaking news. Behar read from a notecard the producer handed to her, sharing the news that President Donald Trumps former security adviser Michael Flynn pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI. Michael Flynn promised full cooperation to the [Robert] Mueller team, Behar read in disbelief, and is prepared to testify that, as a candidate, Donald Trump directed him to make contact with the Russians. However, the news Behar read appears to have been taken from ABC News Brian Ross, who was later suspended for four weeks without pay for an error in his reporting. Late Friday, Ross informed viewers on World News Tonight that Trump asked Flynn to contact Russians during the transition after the election, not before as was originally reported. Still, the news of the guilty plea caused Behar to fling her arms in the air and yell Yes! as the audience cheered. (Photo: "The View") Its beginning to look a lot like Christmas, and its beginning to look a lot like collusion, guest Ana Navarro said. Co-host Meghan McCain immediately compared the audiences response to the reaction when Oprah Winfrey famously gave out free cars on her show in 2004. To this, Behar retorted, No, no, [its like], he goes to jail! He goes to jail! He goes to jail! Lock him up! Honestly, its just pure Joy. You can check out the full video above. This post has been updated to include Ross correction. Also on HuffPost Love HuffPost? Become a founding member of HuffPost Plus today. This article originally appeared on HuffPost. Two women use their cellphone while walking on Yonge Street in Toronto. (Carlos Osorio/Toronto Star via Getty Images) Even though the Big 3 dominate the wireless communications scene in Canada, youd never know it due to the plethora of brands out there. That market gets a little more crowded today as Bell launches Lucky Mobile, a new low-cost prepaid wireless service provider. Lucky Mobile is an all-new mobile service for people who want a straightforward, low-cost prepaid option that offers all the talk, text and data options they need, says Blaik Kirby, President of Bell Mobility, in a press release. There is fast-growing demand from many Canadians for new lost-cost mobile options, and Lucky Mobile is here to lead the way. Kirby explains that the service is ideal for people who are on a low or fixed income, like seniors or students, or people who have not built up a strong credit profile. Starting December 4, Lucky Mobile will be available at Walmart, Wireless Wave, TBooth wireless, Wireless etc., Cellular Point, Visions Electronics and some The Source locations. While specific devices on offer by Lucky Mobile are not listed yet, the release says theyll have devices from manufacturers like Alcatel, LG and ZTE. Customers can also bring their own mobile device which will be much easier, as of December 1, as unlocking your phone from a carrier is now free. The initial launch will offer service in 17 zones in Canada, which will include Toronto, Calgary, Edmonton, Vancouver and surrounding areas. Customers have the option to upgrade to a plan that supports province-wide and nationwide calling options. An app will be coming out from Lucky Mobile in 2018 that will also allow talk and text over a Wi-Fi connection. Plans start at $20, and include voicemail, unlimited incoming calls and texts nationwide, call display, call waiting and three-way calling. Customers have the option to add on a mobile data option, available at 3G-equivalent access speeds, the press release reads. Customers will be notified by text if theyre going to use services not included in their plan, so they dont get any unexpected fees on their bill at the end of the month. Story continues The truth is, Bell is much later to the low-cost mobile game than its competitors. Rogers has operated Fido and Telus has operated Koodo for several years, and both offer prepaid options that would target the same market. Public Mobile also offers a prepaid mobile plan, which also includes data. Download the Yahoo Finance app, available for Apple and Android. WASHINGTON Michael Flynn, President Donald Trumps former national security adviser, plead guilty to one count to lying to the FBI as part of an agreement reached with Special Counsel Robert Mueller in his probe into Russian interference in the 2016 election. Mueller charged Flynn with willfully and knowingly making false statements to the FBI regarding his conversations with Russias ambassador, Sergey Kislyak. Flynn arrived at the federal courthouse in Washington about seven minutes before a scheduled 10:30 a.m. ET plea agreement hearing, where he appeared before U.S. District Judge Rudolph Contreras. The guilty plea has raised speculation that Flynn has reached an agreement to cooperate with Mueller as he looks into possible collusion between Trumps presidential campaign and Russian interests. Flynn faced other potential criminal charges. The one charge of making a false statement stems from a Jan. 24 query from FBI agents on his contact with Kislyak the previous month. According to Muellers complaint, Flynn lied when he denied that, in a Dec. 29 conversation, he asked Kislyak to refrain from escalating the situation in Russias response to the imposition of sanctions by the Obama administrations. Flynn also denied that Kislyak told him that Russia would moderate its reaction. Muellers complaint also claims that Flynn lied when he denied that he asked Kislyak on Dec. 22 that Russia should delay a vote on a United Nations Security Council resolution on Israel. Flynn resigned in February, just weeks into his tenure as national security adviser, after it was revealed that he lied to Vice President Mike Pence about the nature of his contact with Kislyak. He had denied that he had discussed the newly-imposed sanctions with the Russian ambassador, when in fact transcripts of his phone conversations showed that he had, according to the Washington Post, which broke the news. Story continues Flynn also faced other legal troubles. He had failed to disclose that he was lobbying on behalf of the Turkish government, as is required by federal law. On Oct. 30, Muellers team brought charges against Paul Manafort, Trumps former campaign chairman, and his associate, Rick Gates, on multiple charges including money laundering stemming from their work as lobbyists on behalf of the government of Ukraine. That same day, a legal filing was unsealed that showed that George Papadopoulos, a former foreign policy adviser to Trumps campaign, plead guilty to making false statements to FBI agents about the extent of his contact with sources connected to the Russian government. The full complaint against Flynn is here. Flynn is a retired U.S. Army lieutenant general, who joined Trumps campaign as an adviser and spoke at the Republican National Convention. He had served as director of the Defense Intelligence Agency during President Barack Obamas term, but was reportedly forced out after clashing with other defense officials and complaints over his management of the agency. Obama reportedly warned Trump against hiring Flynn in their first meeting at the White House after the election. Related stories British Leader Rebukes Trump Again Over Tweets but Won't Cancel State Visit Twitter Contractor Who Took Down Donald Trump's Account Reveals His Identity Trump's Retweet of Anti-Muslim Videos Condemned by British Prime Minister Theresa May Subscribe to Variety Newsletters and Email Alerts! Former national security advisor Michael Flynn has pleaded guilty to one count of making false statements to the FBI. As detailed in a court document filed by special counsel Robert Mueller, Flynn "willfully and knowingly" made "false, fictitious and fraudulent statements" to the FBI regarding conversations with Russian ambassador Sergey Kislyak. Flynn is the fourth person By Drew Salisbury Former national security advisor Michael Flynn has pleaded guilty to one count of making false statements to the FBI. As detailed in a court document filed by special counsel Robert Mueller, Flynn willfully and knowingly made false, fictitious and fraudulent statements to the FBI regarding conversations with Russian ambassador Sergey Kislyak. Flynn is the fourth person connected with the Trump campaign to be charged as part of Muellers investigation and the first official connected to the administration. Last month, former campaign chairman Paul Manafort and his deputy Rick Gates pleaded not guilty to tax fraud and money-laundering charges, while Trump campaign foreign policy adviser George Papadopoulos pleaded guilty to making a false statement to the FBI regarding contacts with Russians. According to CBS, Flynns legal team recently stopped cooperating with the White House, which many took as a sign of an impending plea deal. Flynn was fired from his role as national security adviser 24 days after President Trumps inauguration after it was revealed that the retired general had mischaracterized the nature of his communications with Kislyak to Vice President Mike Pence. According to the charges filed Friday, Flynn similarly lied to the FBI about those conversations, specifically whether he asked the Russian government representative to hold off on retaliating against sanctions imposed by then-President Obama in response to evidence Moscow had tried to interfere with the presidential election. In March, President Trump said that Flynn should request immunity from any possible charges that may be brought in relation to the conversations with Kislyak, characterizing probes into the former national security advisor as a witch hunt. Mike Flynn should ask for immunity in that this is a witch hunt (excuse for big election loss), by media & Dems, of historic proportion! Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 31, 2017 UPDATE: Flynn has released a statement: BREAKING: Michael Flynn releases statement following guilty plea to special counsel's charges pic.twitter.com/gLy3JKpMbm NBC News (@NBCNews) December 1, 2017 This post Michael Flynn Pleads Guilty to Lying to the FBI first appeared on SPIN. Flynn ready to testify about contact between Trump campaign and Russians I recognize that my actions were wrong I am working to set things right Michael Flynn arrives at court in Washington on Friday. Photograph: Jonathan Ernst/Reuters In a startling breakthrough for prosecutors investigating potential collusion between Russia and the Donald Trump presidential campaign, former national security adviser Michael Flynn announced on Friday that he was cooperating with prosecutors and ready to testify about Russian contacts. After months of silence and invisibility, Flynn walked into a federal courthouse in Washington DC on Friday morning and pleaded guilty to one count of lying to the FBI. The plea was part of a larger deal with special counsel Robert Muellers team, and strikes at the heart of the Trump White House. The US president was uncharacteristically mute as the spectacle played out. The White House canceled a planned photoshoot in the Oval Office with the prime minister of Libya. Flynn admitted that he lied in interviews with FBI agents shortly after the inauguration about conversations he had held with the then Russian ambassador Sergey Kislyak concerning US sanctions on Russia and other matters. Flynn further described a chain of communication within Trumps presidential transition team in which he received direction in December 2016 from a very senior transition official unnamed in court documents and consulted senior members of the team on what to say to Kislyak. Because Trump was not in power at the time, that plotting could expose those involved to charges of working with foreign governments to undermine US policy. But the extent of Flynns potential testimony in the Russia matter was unknown and could carry other legal hazards for the White House. Flynn acknowledged wrongdoing for the first time in a statement on Friday. It has been extraordinarily painful to endure these many months of false accusations of treason, Flynn said. 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. Story continues He added: 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. Michael Flynn is the fourth Donald Trump aide to face criminal charges in the investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 US election and any alleged collusion. Flynn has pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI making false, fictitious, and fraudulent statements about his contacts with Russia. Flynn, as part of Trumps transition team between the November 2016 election and the January 2017 inauguration, had secret contact with the Russian ambassador on at least two topics - shaping US and Russian policy on sanctions, and attempting to influence a UN vote about Israeli settlement-building. Flynn is cooperating with investigators, and under the terms of his deal agreed to take polygraph lie-detector tests and appear as a witness in all relevant cases. He admits that he discussed with another senior Trump transition official what he should say to the Russian ambassador Sergey Kislyak. At least two members of the Trump transition team were briefed by him after his contact with Kislyak. Flynn faces a maximum prison sentence of six months under the terms of his deal and a fine of up to $9,500. While new information reveals secret contact with the Russians, it does not shed light on whether the Trump campaign colluded with Russias interference in the US election. Trumps lead personal lawyer on the case, Ty Cobb, sought to distance the president from his former ally, a key adviser during the 2016 presidential election whose name Trump floated briefly as a possible vice-presidential pick. Nothing about the guilty plea or the charge implicates anyone other than Mr Flynn, Cobb said in a statement, which stated that Flynn served in the Trump administration for only 25 days and called Flynn a former Obama administration official. Obama fired Flynn as head of the Defense Intelligence Agency in 2014 and warned Trump against hiring him. A report from CNN quoting unnamed White House officials as claiming that the Flynn-Kislyak contacts had been authorized by the Obama administration drew derision from former staffers. Ned Price, the former National Security Council spokesman told the Guardian in an email: There is no world in which the Obama administration would have authorized anyone to attempt to subvert the principle of one President and one foreign policy at a time. Any suggestion otherwise by this White House is laughable, as are their other attempts to distance themselves from Michael Flynn, President Trumps first and handpicked national security adviser, Price said. Attempts by the Trump camp to distance themselves from Flynn represented a hard reversal of the presidents previous embrace, and belied Flynns status as a member of the innermost circle of the Trump campaign, which he joined in February 2016. Just nine months ago, Trump intervened personally with then FBI director James Comey in an effort to deflect an investigation of Flynn, according to Comey. Now it is knives out on both sides. As part of his plea deal, Flynn has agreed to be interviewed at any time by government agents and to submit to lie detector tests upon request. He faces a possible sentence of up to six months in prison in his guilty plea to the false statements charge. Flynn falsely denied to investigators that he had asked Kislyak in a meeting during the presidential transition to refrain from escalating the situation after the United States imposed new sanctions on Russia, and falsely denied that he had asked the ambassador in a separate meeting to delay a vote on a UN resolution, according to court documents. Flynn further failed to recall being told by Kislyak that Russia had decided to moderate its response to the new sanctions at Flynns request, the documents said. Flynn was filmed walking into FBI headquarters on Friday morning. He ignored shouted questions from the media asking whether he had reached a deal with special counsel. The retired three-star general, who had failed to declare payments from Turkish and Russian sources and who was reportedly under investigation for an alleged role in a kidnapping plot, had appeared vulnerable to much more serious charges than making false statements. Anne Milgram, who has worked closely in the past with Mueller and his team as a former attorney general for the state of New Jersey and former federal prosecutor, said that prosecutors decision to charge Flynn with a relatively minor offense indicated that a deal for Flynn to cooperate with prosecutors had been struck. And that was very quick, Milgram said in an email. The Trump campaign has denied coordinating with Russia during and after the presidential campaign, even as evidence of at least 19 in-person meetings between the two sides has emerged and Muellers team has uncovered high-level conversations inside the campaign about the contacts. Previously the special counsel has charged former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort and aide Richard Gates, and former foreign policy adviser George Papadopoulos pleaded guilty to making false statements, a similar charge to Flynn. But Trump had until now seemed especially protective of Flynn, who unlike the others was part of his inner circle during the campaign, frequently introducing Trump at campaign events and working closely with members of Trumps family, including son Donald Trump Jr and son-in-law Jared Kushner. Mike Flynn should ask for immunity in that this is a witch hunt (excuse for big election loss), by media & Dems, of historic proportion! Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 31, 2017 Three news reports on Friday, from Bloomberg, NBC News and BuzzFeed, identified Kushner as the transition team member who had directed Flynn to act on the UN resolution denouncing Israeli settlements. Flynns cooperation with prosecutors seemed potentially ominous for Kushner, who US intelligences sources said tried in one meeting with Kislyak to set up back-channel communications with Russians. Kushner has denied the accusation. The other person in the meeting was Flynn. In one of Flynns most public outings during the campaign, he appeared at the Republican national convention in Cleveland and led the crowd in a chant of Lock her up! referring to Hillary Clinton and her handling of classified information on a private email account. But it would be Flynn, and not Clinton, who would face criminal charges, and on Friday protesters outside the courthouse chanted Lock him up! as he left. Comey, whom Trump fired in May, said that the president had asked him in February to drop an investigation into Flynns activities the very investigation in which Flynn had, according to the charges, lied about a month earlier. I hope you can see your way clear to letting this go, to letting Flynn go, Comey quoted Trump as saying. He is a good guy. I hope you can let this go. Flynn resigned after 24 days as national security adviser when US surveillance records came to light indicating that he had discussed sanctions with Kislyak, despite a public denial at the time by Vice-President Mike Pence that such a discussion had taken place. Trump was not yet in office when Flynn made the request for Russia to block the UN resolution, a possible violation of Logan Act proscriptions against communicating with foreign governments and undermining US policy. The resolution to denounce the Israeli settlements passed 14-0 on 23 December, with the United States abstaining. If Michael Flynns full plea agreement is not visible above, click here to access it. WASHINGTON President Trumps former national security adviser, Michael Flynn, pleaded guilty on Friday morning to a charge of making false statements to the FBI. Flynn also indicated he plans to cooperate with special counsel Robert Muellers investigation into alleged Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. presidential election. Mueller filed the charges against Flynn on Thursday in a three-paragraph information that leaves many questions about Flynns activities unanswered. Flynn, a retired general, could face up to five years in prison. He is the fourth figure from Trumps presidential campaign to face charges, and there are indications that he may be cooperating with prosecutors in the broader Russia probe. In a statement released by his attorneys office shortly after he made the plea, Flynn claimed he has faced false accusations of treason. However, he also acknowledged that the actions he pleaded guilty to were wrong and indicated that his guilty plea was part of an agreement to cooperate with the Special Counsels Office. After over 33 years of military service to our country, including nearly 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. 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, said Flynn. Former Trump national security adviser Michael Flynn, center, arrives at federal court in Washington, D.C., on Dec. 1. (Photo: Susan Walsh/AP) Flynn described his decision to cooperate with prosecutors as one that was made in the best interests of my family and of our country. I accept full responsibility for my actions, he said. A Flynn confidant said the retired general promised full cooperation in the probe, ABC News reported, and that he is prepared to testify that Trump asked him to make contact with the Russians. Story continues The law firm indicated Flynn and his attorney, Robert Kelner, would not make further public statements about the plea. Flynn, a retired general, was accused of making a pair of false statements about conversations he had with Russias ambassador to the United States during the transition period before the inauguration. A top adviser to Trumps campaign, Flynn was appointed national security adviser days after Trumps election in November 2016. According to the criminal information filed by Mueller and his assistants in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, Flynns conversations with the Russian ambassador, Sergey Kislyak, took place the following month, as he worked with Trumps transition team. The information said Flynn spoke to FBI agents on Jan. 24, 2017, four days after Trump took office and he officially became national security adviser. During that interview, Flynn allegedly lied about discussions he had with Kislyak about U.S. sanctions on Russia and a U.N. Security Council resolution. According to the document, Flynn spoke to Kislyak on Dec. 29, the day the outgoing Obama administration issued sanctions to respond to Russias alleged intervention in the election. Mueller and his team said Flynn falsely said he did not ask Kislyak to refrain from escalating the situation. Mueller and his team also said Flynn spoke to Kislyak last Dec. 22. Flynn allegedly falsely told FBI agents that he did not ask the Russian ambassador to delay the vote on or defeat a pending United Nations Security Council resolution. Sergey Kislyak, Russias ambassador to the United States, visits the State Department in Washington, D.C., in July. (Photo: Carolyn Kaster/AP) The charging documents were made public on Friday morning. Shortly afterwards, the White House referred questions about the charges to Ty Cobb, the lawyer who is handling for the Trump administration issues related to the Russia investigation. The White House subsequently released a statement from Cobb in which he emphasized the fact that Flynn spent a little over three weeks in the Trump administration before being fired from his post as national security adviser, after it was revealed that he misled Vice President Mike Pence about his conversations with Kislyak. Today, Michael Flynn, a former national security adviser at the White House for 25 days during the Trump administration, and a former Obama administration official, entered a guilty plea to a single count of making a false statement to the FBI, Cobb said, adding, 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 Counsels work demonstrates again that the Special Counsel is moving with all deliberate speed and clears the way for a prompt and reasonable conclusion. Flynn has been the subject of intense scrutiny for months. In addition to the concerns about his communications with Kislyak, Flynn has faced questions about whether he failed to declare lobbying work he did for the Turkish government and whether he worked with Istanbul on a plot to hand over a Turkish dissident who is living in the United States. Flynns meeting with Turkish representatives allegedly took place last December during the presidential transition and involved his son, Michael Flynn Jr. Flynns son was also implicated in the payments from the Turkish government, since he worked in his fathers consulting business. Michael Flynn (right) and his son Michael G. Flynn, left, at Trump Tower in New York in November 2016 (Photo: Carolyn Kaster/AP) Legal experts have speculated that the potential for charges against Flynns son could give prosecutors leverage against him. Flynn was spared the more serious charges he could have faced for failing to register his work with Turkey or for negotiating with the Russian ambassador while he was still a private citizen. The deal between Flynn and prosecutors is a major development as the Russia probe heats up and has ensnared several Trump allies. Last month, Trumps former campaign chairman, Paul Manafort, was indicted along with a longtime associate on charges including making false statements to investigators and acting as unregistered foreign agents on behalf of Viktor Yanukovych, the former president of the Ukraine, who was closely allied with the Kremlin. A lower-level former campaign aide, George Papadopoulos, was also charged with making false statements to the FBI about his outreach to Russia during the presidential campaign. Papadopoulos has pleaded guilty. In a report released in January, the U.S. intelligence community said the Russian government had interfered in last years presidential election to help Trump against his rival, Democrat Hillary Clinton. Trump and his administration have repeatedly denied that he had any involvement with Russias efforts. The White House has also sought to distance Trump from the former aides who have faced criminal charges. Michael Flynn, with a detail of a U.S. District Court document (Yahoo News photo illustration; photos: Mario Tama/Getty Images) This story was updated at 11:55 a.m. with the statements from Flynn and Cobb. Read more from Yahoo News: Do we actually already know who the next U.S. President will be? This University thinks so. While there is no guarantee, this might be the closest we have. Western Illinois University (WIU) has correctly prognosticated each U.S. President since 1975, we think that is a VERY good track record. According to the Universitys mock elections, the 45th President of the United States will be Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders , whos running as a Democrat in the 2016 elections. The University also predicted that Marylands former Governor Martin OMalley will be Sanders running mate. So how does the University manage to predict correctly each year? Through WIUs mock presidential election , in which thousands of University students simulate the election process include the Iowa Caucuses, state primaries, nominating conventions, and the Electoral College vote, from October 20 to November 2. The University predicted Sanders as the clear winner because while his main opponent in the Democratic field, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton , is leading the polls as of today, Sanders managed to raise support from small donors at an unheard of pace. The former Vermont Senator, has supports from variety of demographicswhich gives him a broader appeal. Looks like well have to wait until next year to find out who the real winner will be. WASHINGTON Hours before Senate Republicans were scheduled to vote on a tax proposal that doesnt technically exist in final legislative form, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) strode to the floor on Friday and said he was confident the bill would pass. We have the votes, he told reporters. McConnell was foiled over the summer and fall by the GOP effort to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act, suffering a number of embarrassing defeats that illustrated his inability to wrangle the Republican Senate conference. Tax reform would be different, promised McConnell and other GOP leaders. After months of negotiations and false starts, Republicans finally seem prepared to pass their most sweeping rewrite of the U.S. tax code in three decades. To pass the bill, Republicans were forced to make significant last-minute changes, including some to a deduction for certain types of businesses. Republicans hadnt provided any detailed explanations or legislative text for the changes. Sen. Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.), one of the last holdouts on the GOP bill, announced Friday morning that he would vote for the bill despite concerns that the legislation would add as the Joint Committee on Taxation said Thursday more than $1 trillion to the debt over the next 10 years. From the outset of the current debate on tax reform, my goal has been to ensure that Congress passes a tax reform package that is both fiscally-responsible and promotes economic growth, Flake said in a statement. Flake said hed obtained a firm commitment from Republican leaders and the Trump administration to protect beneficiaries of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, and changes to a budgeting gimmick that made the bill seem less expensive than it actually is. An agreement on DACA would be a significant development in the tax debate, as well as in a coming struggle over a year-end government funding bill. But Marc Short, the White House director of legislative affairs, told reporters Friday there was not yet an agreement on DACA, only a deal to include Flake in the discussions. Story continues (Photo: SAUL LOEB via Getty Images) Although we dont know exactly what Flake got on DACA, we do know that Sens. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) and Steve Daines (R-Mont.) secured changes in the last 24 hours to a business deduction that would cost approximately $60 billion over the next decade, according to Daines. The amendment would raise how much these businesses could deduct off the top of their tax bill, from the 17.4 percent currently in the Senate bill to 23 percent. Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) also appeared to secure agreements. One would ensure the passage of the so-called Alexander-Murray legislation, a bill that would fund Cost Sharing Reductions for Obamacare. Another bill sponsored by her and Sen. Bill Nelson (D-Fla.) would hand states $2.25 billion a year to subsidize the cost of individuals requiring the most expensive medical attention. It also looks like Collins will get changes to the bill allowing for individuals to deduct up to $10,000 of their state and local property taxes. That change would match the House bill. What wasnt clear Friday afternoon was what, if anything, Sen. Bob Corker (R-Tenn.) had secured in the bill. Corker, along with Flake and Johnson, threatened to hold up the bill on Thursday after the Senate parliamentarian ruled that his trigger proposal which would have brought back certain taxes if the government failed to meet specific revenue targets could not be included in the reconciliation bill. (Republicans are using the budget reconciliation process in order to pass the bill with a simple majority. As a consequence, however, there are certain policy changes they are not allowed to make under Senate rules.) Related Coverage Senate Tax Bill Makes Millionaires Eligible For Child Tax Credit Senate Republicans Don't Care If Their Tax Bill Is Unpopular Republicans Rewrite Portions Of Tax Bill Hours Before Vote It appears as if Republicans may not have satisfied Corker and just decided to accept that he would vote no. If Corker were the lone GOP dissenter, the bill would pass 51-49. Even though the bill looks to be headed toward being passed by the Senate on Friday, the House and Senate still need to agree on the same legislation. The bill the House passed last month differs in several ways from the Senate version. Lawmakers will have to work out agreements on the estate tax, which the House bill repeals but the Senate bill merely reduces, and differences on provisions governing pass-through businesses that pay individual instead of corporate taxes. Perhaps most significantly, almost all of the Senate bills tax cuts for individuals expire after seven years as a budget gimmick to reduce the bills cost. Lawmakers have said they expect the two bills to be merged into one, which will require approval by each chamber, but there is still a lingering chance that the House will take the Senate bill in the end. Love HuffPost? Become a founding member of HuffPost Plus today. This article originally appeared on HuffPost. Traders watch, as a television displays the news about former U.S. national security adviser Michael Flynn, at the New York Stock Exchange, (NYSE) in New York, U.S., December 1, 2017. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid By Noel Randewich SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - An abrupt stock selloff on Friday, sparked by a report that magnified concerns about President Donald Trump's potential links with Russia, prompted Wall Street's favorite reaction in recent months: "Buy the dip." The phrase - or a cruder version abbreviated to "BTFD" - has become a refrain among traders who, nearly nine years into a bull market, have become accustomed to steadily climbing prices, interrupted only by occasional hiccups. The latest example came on Friday as the S&P 500 slumped as much as 1.6 percent after ABC News reported that former U.S. national security adviser Michael Flynn was prepared to testify that Trump directed him to make contact with Russians when Trump was a presidential candidate. With investors perennially wary of uncertainty, the CBOE Volatility index (.VIX), Wall Street's fear gauge, spiked to its highest in more than three months. But in under an hour, markets mostly recovered, with the S&P 500 down just 0.3 percent for the session. Flynn also pleaded guilty on Friday to lying to the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation about Russia. His cooperation with special counsel Robert Mueller marks a major escalation in a probe that has dogged Trump's administration since the Republican president took office in January. "We've kind of gotten used to the drama in the White House," said Rob Stein, chief executive of Astor Investment Management in Chicago. "Whether or not they prove that there are Russian relationship ties, that doesn't have a long-term effect on the value of the stock market." BANKING ON TAX CUTS The S&P 500 has surged 18 percent this year, in part due to optimism that Trump would fulfill a campaign promise to cut corporate taxes. Helping Friday's stock rebound, U.S. Senate Republicans said they had enough support to pass a sweeping tax overhaul after last-minute negotiations to ease some senators' concerns about its impact on the federal deficit, healthcare and property taxes. Story continues Wall Street has been banking on Trump's tax cuts to bolster corporate earnings. This year's rally has left the S&P 500 trading at about 18.1 times expected earnings, its priciest multiple since 2004. "I would buy any large sell-off, and I will continue to advise that course of action until I see signs of recession, because ultimately that is what will signal the end of this bull market," Chris Zaccarelli, chief investment officer of Independent Advisor Alliance, wrote in a note. The sentiment may even be migrating from Wall Street to Main Street. Web searches for "BTFD" on Google this week hit at least a five-year high, with many of those searches associated with stocks, finance and surging bitcoin. Some veteran investors worry about the confidence of younger traders who may not have experienced prolonged market turmoil. "Everyone kids around about BTFD - until it doesn't work," said Joe Saluzzi, co-manager of trading at Themis Trading, which handles trading for hedge funds. "If you haven't seen or experienced a bear market, then you don't know what it's like." (Reporting by Noel Randewich in San Francisco; Additional reporting by April Joyner in New York; Editing by Bill Rigby) Donald Trump is among private jet owners who are to be exempted under the Senate bill: PA Owners of private jets are among those set to benefit from a major tax bill passed by the US Senate in a late-night vote, a result Donald Trump said was a major win for millions of hardworking families. The Republican Senates version of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act passed by just two votes and specifically exempts maintenance costs of private jets, and any flight expenses, from tax increases. Sweeping reform of the US tax code has been rushed through in the past weeks, the US House of Representatives passed its version last month, and now the two bills will go into reconciliation to set the final deal. Donald Trump has tweeted his intention to approve the final draft before Christmas, and claimed the Senate bill passing as a victory for the middle classes. 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 But the Democrats said the bill was a "gut punch" for families and would chiefly benefit Republican big business backers. Currently the US levies an excise tax on support activities, including costs of training pilots and crew, maintenance, and administrative services like flight scheduling and safety compliance. These are levied in the ticket price of commercial flights and the Internal Revenue Service has said they should be paid for private jets. But the Senate Bill says: No Tax shall be imposed by this section or section 4271 on any amounts paid by an aircraft owner for aircraft management services related to: maintenance and support of the aircraft owner's aircraft, or flights on the aircraft owner's aircraft. Story continues It will also preserve tax benefits for private equity firms, allow drilling for oil in the Arctic, and ley churches to get involved in political campaigning while keeping their charitable tax-free status. Republicans have said the bill will introduce around $1.4 trillion (1 trillion) in tax cuts, with the greatest benefit for middle income families. Last night, Republican Senate leader Mitch McConnell said in a broadcast the bill would: Make America more competitive, prevent jobs being shipped offshore, and provide substantial relief to the middle class." An earlier evaluation, by the independent Tax Policy Center, has said in general higher income households receive larger average tax cuts under the plan, with those in the top 95 per cent to 99 per cent benefiting most. The Tax Policy Center has also said that these cuts for wealthy Americans are not paid for by reduced public spending and this is likely to increase the US budget deficit by $1.2 trillion by 2017. This would fall foul of law which prohibit any legislation from increasing the deficit after 10 years. Despite this Senator McConnell said today: Im totally confident this is a revenue neutral bill, I think its going to be a revenue producer Its going to kick start the American economy. Democrat senator Elizabeth Warren said the vote would hurt struggling families Tonight the @SenateGOP gave a giant tax break to the rich & left everyone else holding the bag. This is about more than economics its about our values. The Republicans just proved they are morally bankrupt. #GOPTaxScam Elizabeth Warren (@SenWarren) December 2, 2017 Democratic Senator Richard Blumenthal said Trump controlled more than 500 pass-through companies that would directly benefit. "So the president may be celebrating, but most Americans will rue this day," Mr Blumenthal said. Shortly after the announcement of the iPhone X in September, my colleague Natasha Lomas noted the similarities between the phone and how WebOS operated on the Palm Pre. She ended her article, noting "in the iPhone X its clear youre looking at a little ghost of the Pre." It seems that Qualcomm's legal team was taking note; they cited that line in a complaint alleging that Apple ripped off Palm's patented interface. In the latest escalation of the nearly year-long legal battle, Qualcomm filed three complaints Wednesday in U.S. District Court alleging violations on 16 different Qualcomm patents by Apple, some related to RF transceivers and power-saving measures, some related to multi-touch displays and some related to the innovations of Palm. Why does Qualcomm care about Palm? Well, in 2014 Qualcomm bought a bunch of Palm patents from HP, some apparently related to the company's design choices for WebOS and the Pre. In the complaint, Qualcomm specifically alleges that Apple copied the operating system's "cards" design interface. Other alleged patent violations include the functionality to respond to a call with a text instead of answering, the ability to refocus the camera by tapping on the screen and the idea to drag multiple uses out of the power button, including ending a call. "All of these Palm inventionsowned by Qualcommhave vastly improved the functionality of mobile devices and the user experience, and all of them are widely found in Apple products without license or permission," the complaint reads. These are accusation sure to piss off Cupertino. Apple CEO Tim Cook wasn't believed to be too happy when the Pre surfaced as we noted in the September story. We dont mind competition, but if others rip off our intellectual property, we will go after them, Cook said of competitors during a 2009 earnings call. Many took this as a dig at Palm. Many of these technologies feel essential to most modern smartphones, but things are getting personal for Qualcomm, which is playing David in a major legal battle with Apple, which has likely contributed to curtailing profits at the technology firm. Nearly a year ago, Apple filed a $1 billion suit against Qualcomm and proceeded to cut off royalty payments while encouraging its suppliers to do the same. All the while, Apple has reportedly been building iPhone prototypes that eradicate usage of Qualcomm technologies altogether. Qualcomm has remained defiant, challenging Apple on alleged patent violations. The rhetoric has been strong, too; in this complaint, Qualcomm says that Apple's products "would lose much of their consumer appeal" without Qualcomm technologies. A sign on the Qualcomm campus is seen, as chip maker Broadcom Ltd announced an unsolicited bid to buy peer Qualcomm Inc for $103 billion, in San Diego, California, U.S. November 6, 2017. REUTERS/Mike Blake By Stephen Nellis and Ankit Ajmera (Reuters) - Qualcomm Inc (QCOM.O) said on Thursday it filed three new patent infringement complaints against Apple Inc (AAPL.O), saying there were 16 more of its patents that Apple was using in its iPhones. The new complaints represent the latest development in a long-standing dispute and follows Apple's countersuit on Wednesday against Qualcomm, which alleged that Qualcomm's Snapdragon mobile phone chips infringed on Apple patents. Apple declined to comment on the new cases, referring to its earlier claims in its Wednesday filing that the company has developed its own technology and patents to power its iPhones. Qualcomm in July accused Apple of infringing several patents related to helping mobile phones get better battery life. That case accompanied a complaint with the U.S. International Trade Commission seeking to ban the import of Apple iPhones that use competing Intel Corp (INTC.O) chips because of the alleged patent violations. The three cases filed Thursday were all filed in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California in San Diego. One of the cases is a companion civil lawsuit to a new complaint also filed Thursday with the ITC that seeks the same remedy of banning iPhones with Intel chips. The other two cases are civil patent infringement lawsuits. The dispute between Apple and Qualcomm over patents is part of a wide-ranging legal war between the two companies. In January, Apple sued Qualcomm for nearly $1 billion in patent royalty rebates that Qualcomm allegedly withheld from Apple. In a related suit, Qualcomm sued the contract manufacturers that make Apple's phones, but Apple joined in to defend them. Qualcomm in November sued Apple over an alleged breach of a software agreement between the two companies. Apple emailed Qualcomm to request "highly confidential" information about how its chips work on an unidentified wireless carrier's network, Qualcomm alleged, but Apple had copied an Intel engineer in the email for information. Separately, Qualcomm is facing a lawsuit from the U.S. Federal Trade Commission over many of the same pricing practices Apple names in its complaints. (Reporting by Ankit Ajmera in Bengaluru and Stephen Nellis in San Francisco; Editing by Sai Sachin Ravikumar and Chris Reese) A polar bear keeps close to her young along the Beaufort Sea coast in Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, Alaska: REUTERS The US Senate has passed a bill allowing oil drilling in Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, fulfilling a priority for a number of conservatives. In a vote as part of their sweeping tax overhaul bill early on Saturday morning, Republicans rejected an amendment led by Democratic Senator Maria Cantwell of Washington state to block drilling. The 52-48 vote was an achievement for Republican Senator Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, who is chairwoman of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee. Ms Mukowski has introduced legislation to open a part of the Alaskan refuge to drilling every term she has served in the chamber, but most Democrats fiercely oppose the move and she had been blocked each time. This small package offers a tremendous opportunity for Alaska, for the Gulf Coast, and for all of our nation, Ms Murkowski said before the vote, The Washington Examiner reported. We have authorised responsible energy development in the 1002 area. Republican control of Congress and the White House this year emboldened members of the party in the Senate to move to include the provision within their tax reform bill. Democrats in the Senate have criticised the process, saying it is an unfair way to dismantle protections for an area safeguarded since 1960. 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. Billions of barrels of crude oil lie beneath grounds in the refuge known as the "1002 area". We don't think this has been a fair and open process," Senator Cantwell, who sits on the Energy and Natural Resources Committee, told The Washington Examiner before the vote. The only way they have been able to get any place on this issue is to throw away the regular process. Jamie Williams, President of The Wilderness Society, which campaigns for conservation, said sacrificing the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge has absolutely no place in a tax bill." Story continues He said it was "outrageous that some politicians will do anything to sneak this sell-out past the American people". Its outrageous that the oil lobby and their allies in Congress are trying to destroy the crown jewel of Americas wildlife refuge system after nearly four decades of bipartisan support for protecting it. "Fortunately, this fight isnt over, and we are committed to fighting this legislation every step of the way. "The coastal plain is vital habitat for wolves, musk oxen, threatened polar bears, and the Porcupine Caribou Herd. It has value far beyond whatever oil might lie beneath it. WASHINGTON When Donald Trump was elected president last year, a sweeping rewrite of the tax code was one of his top priorities. Throughout the campaign, Trump said he wanted a middle-class tax cut, one that wouldnt benefit wealthy people like him and would spur huge levels of economic growth while not adding to the national debt. For the hedge fund guys, theyre going to be paying up, Trump promised in September 2015. As president, Trump has continued to insist the tax code overhaul wont be good for himself or other millionaires. This is going to cost me a fortune, this thing believe me, Trump said this week. But the big winners in the GOP bill that the Senate passed early Saturday morning are corporations and the wealthy. Trump himself a self-proclaimed billionaire stands to gain millions through the elimination of certain taxes (though we dont know exactly how much because Trump wont release his tax returns). Far from being a middle-class tax cut, the measure is a massive corporate giveaway, a bill that recycles decades of Republican ideology on trickle-down economics and trusts that executives will hand over their new gains to average-income workers. If my friends here want to give a tax cut to the middle class, Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) asked on the Senate floor Thursday, why dont we give a tax cut to the middle class? His argument had no effect. After months of negotiations, the Senate passed the proposal, 51-49, with just one Republican Bob Corker of Tennessee joining all Democrats in opposition. Corker took issue with how much debt the bill would produce, and after the Senate parliamentarian struck down Corkers debt-control proposal, GOP leaders invited the retiring Republican to just vote no rather than finding him an accommodation. With the bill finally through the Senate the House passed its tax bill two weeks earlier the two chambers still have to work out their legislative differences in a conference committee before the tax rewrite becomes law. Theres a slim chance the House could adopt the Senate bill and send it to the presidents desk, but its more likely that negotiators will merge the two versions. Both chambers need to pass the same measure for the bill to become law. Story continues For most Americans, the legislation is still indeed at least in the short term a tax cut. Those cuts are due in large part to Republicans approving $1.5 trillion in added debt over the next 10 years. But of that pie, the wealthy disproportionately benefit, and some households could wind up with higher tax bills. The richest 20 percent of households reap 90 percent of the benefit of the tax cuts over that time period, according to the nonpartisan Tax Policy Center. Still, in the short term, its difficult to say exactly whose taxes go up and whose go down. Tax burdens depend on what deductions individual filers claim, and this bill is a complicated tax code rewrite one that analysts say will have limited impact on the economy, will cost the nation more than a trillion dollars over the next 10 years, and will do much more for rich investors than it will the middle class. Despite all that, despite poll after poll showing the measure is unpopular, most Republicans were ecstatic to pass the bill. While the bill took months to draft, the final package came together over a frenetic last few days. Republicans didnt even have finished legislative text until Friday night, hours before the vote, and Democrats slammed their GOP colleagues for rushing through a bill that was cobbled together with handwritten changes and crossed-out pages at the last minute. Those procedural concerns did nothing to slow the bill, however, with Republicans falling in line to vote down a Democratic motion to adjourn Friday night. Senators then began a so-called vote-a-rama, in which amendments get up-or-down approval one after the other until lawmakers are exhausted enough to stop. Eventually, in the early hours of Saturday morning, senators moved to a final vote on the reconciliation bill, and it passed. To get the bill over the 50-vote threshold for reconciliation legislation, GOP leaders cut deals this week on how much certain businesses could deduct off the top of their tax bills, as well as on what would be included in an upcoming government funding measure. Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine), for example, demanded that year-end spending legislation include funding for Obamacare subsidies that the Trump administration has targeted. Sen. Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.) said he got assurances on a contentious immigration program, Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, though Trump administration officials said Flake only got assurances on being part of the conversation. Overall, the legislation would cut the corporate tax rate from 35 to 20 percent, which has been the GOPs priority all along. Republicans say this dramatic reduction will unleash the economy and raise wages by making big businesses more internationally competitive claims that are dubious according to corporate executives themselves, who say they will throw the money at shareholders instead of workers. In addition to reducing corporate and individual tax rates across the board, the bill would simplify the tax code by getting rid of most deductions, which businesses and individuals use to reduce the amount of their income subject to taxation. Because Congress over the years has added write-offs in order to encourage and subsidize certain endeavors such as homeownership and higher education the mass elimination of these tax preferences could have wide-ranging effects that are incidental to the overall Republican goal of encouraging business investment. Axing deductions for state and local taxes, for instance, while increasing the value of a fixed standard deduction, would result in far fewer households finding it worthwhile to deduct the amount they spend on mortgage interest. A study commissioned by the National Association of Realtors earlier this year said the proposal would reduce home values by 10 percent (which could be a good thing for people who dont already own homes). Republicans have long championed homeownership but have been undeterred by a lobbying blitz from the real estate industry. While fewer deductions makes for a simpler tax code, the bill would also create a complicated new deduction for certain businesses that arent taxed as corporations. Determining which firms have the kind of qualified business income eligible for the deduction will require many pages of new IRS regulation, though the bill explicitly excludes high-income service providers like accountants, lawyers and investment managers. In the day before the final vote, Republicans increased the value of the deduction to win over Sens. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) and Steve Daines (R-Mont.), both of whom had previously withheld support because they felt the legislation disproportionately benefited firms that pay the corporate tax. And in a catchall managers amendment adopted just before the bill passed, Majority Whip John Cornyn (R-Texas) added a provision to allow publicly traded partnerships to claim the new deduction. Victor Fleischer, a tax professor at the University of San Diego School of law, said that the Cornyn amendment would specifically benefit oil and gas companies. We should all re-read Why Nations Fail after this tax bill passes, Fleischer said on Twitter. Another provision in the managers amendment, inserted by Sen. Pat Toomey (R-Pa.), would have exempted schools that dont take federal funds, such as the conservative Hillsdale College in Michigan, from a new tax on college and university endowments. The tax seems designed less to raise money than to poke educated liberals in the eye. Several Republicans joined Democrats in defeating the amendment. Toomeys office did not respond to a request for comment. To keep the cost of the bill beneath $1.5 trillion an arbitrary level Republicans set for themselves in a budget process earlier this year almost all of the tax cuts for individuals expire at the end of 2025. Republicans say that expiration wont happen, noting that even President Barack Obama made nearly all of the Bush tax cuts permanent when they were up for reauthorization. But for all the GOP bluster about this bill being a tax cut for the middle class, and for all the rhetoric about the false necessity of making tax cuts permanent, the bill would keep the corporate tax rates the same while putting the individual rates up for expiration. Because of those temporary cuts, the Joint Committee on Taxation, which scores tax legislation for Congress, found that most households earning less than $75,000 annually would pay higher taxes 10 years from now. Just before debate began Friday night, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) said on the Senate floor that this day would be remembered as one of the great robberies in U.S. history. CORRECTION: An earlier version of this story incorrectly reported that Toomeys Hillsdale carveout had been adopted. This story has also been updated to clarify which industry Fleischer says would benefit from Cornyns amendment. Love HuffPost? Become a founding member of HuffPost Plus today. This article originally appeared on HuffPost. Shervin Pishevar Tech Crunch/Flickr Uber investor Shervin Pishevar attended an Uber party in December 2014 with a live pony in a Santa hat. Pishevar allegedly put his hand on the leg of an Uber employee and moved it up her dress without her consent, according to Bloomberg. But one Bloomberg source provided by Pishevar's spokesperson claims that wouldn't have been possible, as they observed Pishevar's hands were full with a pony's leash and a drink. Uber investor Shervin Pishevar couldn't have engaged in alleged sexual misconduct at an Uber Christmas party in December 2014 because he had a "pony's leash in one hand, and a drink in the other," according to one Bloomberg source who claims to have attended the party. Pishevar allegedly put his hand on the leg of Austin Geidt, Uber's fourth employee, and moved it up her dress during the party, according to a Bloomberg report on Friday, in which 5 other women alleged the Uber investor had engaged in sexual misconduct ranging from harassment to assault. The alleged incident with Geidt wouldn't have been possible because Pishevar's hands were preoccupied, according to the anonymous source who defended Pishevar, who was referred to Bloomberg by Pishevar's spokesperson. The source told Bloomberg that she was not with Pishevar the whole evening and that she never saw Geidt at the party. Geidt "squirmed away" following the alleged incident, Bloomberg reports. Geidt did not comment on the story. Pishevar is the founding partner of Sherpa Capital, which has profited from early investments in the likes of Airbnb and Tumblr. He is also the CEO and cofounder of Virgin Hyperloop One, a tube-based transportation technology backed by Richard Branson. Pishevar, who denies the allegations are true, provided emails to Business Insider showing that he and Geidt continued to exchange friendly messages after the party. When Pishevar suggested that he and Geidt have lunch in July 2015, Geidt responded: "Yup, I'd love that." Later, in 2016, Geidt emailed Pishevar to say, "I'm traveling a bit next week but would love to grab some coffee when I'm back if you're around." Story continues In addition to the alleged incident with Geidt, five other women claim that Pishevar has engaged in other instances of sexual misconduct, Bloomberg reports. One female entrepreneur told Bloomberg that Pishevar forcibly kissed and groped her when she met him for dinner to pitch her company. Another said Pishevar showed her pictures of vaginas on his phone in a Dublin hotel room during the Web Summit conference in 2013. A representative for Pishevar provided the following statement to Business Insider: "Shervin Pishevar is the victim of an organized smear campaign," the person said. "Now, anonymous and untrue stories have suddenly surfaced concerning Mr. Pishevar. The assertions regarding the only person named have now been directly refuted by an eyewitness to the claimed events." In an unrelated incident, Pishevar was arrested in London on May 27 after an allegation of rape at the Ned Hotel. He was never charged. The police wrote a letter saying they were not the source of a "report" into the allegation. Pishevar took an injunction out in London that prevented at least one UK publication, The Sun, from reporting on the arrest. Read the full details of the allegations over at Bloomberg. NOW WATCH: This animation shows how terrifyingly powerful nuclear weapons have become See Also: SEE ALSO: Uber investor Shervin Pishevar denies claims by 5 women that he engaged in sexual misconduct Early yesterday evening, a story broke on Bloomberg alleging Uber investor and Hyperloop One co-founder Shervin Pishevar had used his position of power to make unwanted sexual advances to at least five women. Pishevar, through his lawyer, now says these allegations are part of a "smear campaign" against him. The allegations are egregious. One woman who spoke to Bloomberg alleged Pishevar had met up with her over business only to turn it into what she said was an unwanted romantic rendezvous culminating at his place. Another claimed he "forcibly kissed her" and later repeatedly harassed her. Yet another alleged the prominent Silicon Valley investor began showing her pictures of vaginas on his phone while at an after-party at a professional conference. Several current and former Uber employees Bloomberg spoke to also alleged Pishevar had attempted to pursue and later grope Ubers then 30-year-old head of global expansion, Austin Geidt, at a roaring 20s-themed Uber company party. Geidt, however, declined to give comment about the alleged incident. One person in attendance of the party and whom Pishevar's spokesman referred to Bloomberg for the story said she did not witness the incident but didn't think Pishevar would be able to touch Geidt as he had a drink in one hand and was holding the leash of the pony he brought to the party in the other. This report is not the first sexual misconduct allegation against Pishevar to come up. The prominent Silicon Valley investor was arrested in London over a rape allegation earlier this year. However, charges were later dropped in the case, citing "insufficient evidence." Pishevar went on to secure an injunction against the Sun newspaper, preventing it from reporting the arrest. None of the five women accusing Pishevar of sexual misconduct have identified themselves. Though Bloomberg notes in the report, some of the women were scared off from doing so, fearing Pishevar's history of lawsuits and his influence in the Valley. Story continues Pishevar's lawyer, Mark Fabiani, who also has represented Bill OReilly, the former Fox News host fired over allegations of sexual harassment, has now issued a statement about the allegations, denying them and saying they are part of a "smear campaign." "Shervin Pishevar is the victim of an organized smear campaign, which so far has involved the fabrication of a London 'police report.' Now, anonymous and untrue stories have suddenly surfaced concerning Mr. Pishevar," the statement reads. "The assertions regarding the only person named have now been directly refuted by an eyewitness to the claimed events, and there are communications sent from the named person herself to Mr. Pishevar which directly undermine any credibility being given to the claims made. Just as the London 'police report' turned out to be fabricated, we are confident that these anecdotes will be shown to be untrue as well. Mr. Pishevar is confident that he will be vindicated." Earlier this month, Pishevar sued a GOP opposition research firm, Definers Public Affairs, accusing it of spreading a smear campaign against him; though Tim Miller, a partner of the firm, called the allegations "delusional." When asked if these recent allegations are part of the same smear campaign, Pishevar's lawyer told TechCrunch, "The discovery process has just now begun in Mr. Pishevars lawsuit, and as a result of that process, which will of course include sworn depositions, should lead to an answer to your question." This article originally appeared on TechCrunch. Related Video: Watch news, TV and more on Yahoo View. 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. 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. Story continues 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. 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! Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 26, 2017 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. 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. Twitter went into overdrive on Friday after President Donald Trumps former national security adviser, Michael Flynn, pleaded guilty to charges that he lied to the FBI during a January 2017 interview. According to the Associated Press, court documents show that Flynn will admit to making false statements about his conversations with the Russian ambassador to the U.S. while Trump was president-elect. The move makes Flynn the first Trump White House official to plead guilty so far in special counsel Robert Muellers investigation into the Trump campaigns possible collusion with Russia to influence the 2016 presidential election. The Associated Press, The Washington Post and The Hill all reported that prosecutors indicated in court that Flynn was acting under instructions from at least one senior Trump transition official while dealing with Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak. According to the Post, prosecutor Brandon L. Van Grack said in court that a very senior member of the transition team directed Flynn to get in touch with Kislyak at one point. Flynn also allegedly called a senior official of the Trump team at Mar-a-Lago in regards to a United Nations resolution that Flynn had discussed with Kislyak. Flynn released a statement obtained by PEOPLE Friday saying hes cooperating with Muellers office because its in the best interests of my family and of our country. After over 33 years of military service to our country, including nearly 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. 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 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, the statement read in full. Story continues White House lawyer Ty Cobb also responded to Flynns guilty plea, stating in part, per the Washington Post, that 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. Heres how people are reacting on Twitter. Former FBI Director James Comey who was fired by Trump in May, days after reportedly seeking resources for a Russia investigation tweeted a biblical quote about justice. 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 U.S. Rep. Maxine Waters and others responded with chants of lock him up, a reference to Trumps oft-repeated promise to put 2016 rival Hillary Clinton behind bars over her use of a private email server while secretary of state. Lock him up, lock him up, lock him up, lock him up. Maxine Waters (@RepMaxineWaters) December 1, 2017 Lock him up! Lock him up! Lock him up! - Seems I've heard that somewhere before...Hmmmm. https://t.co/cQ6QlySxed John (@jearle1552) December 1, 2017 Clinton spokesman Nick Merrill, meanwhile, went with an understated Um. And the hashtag #MuellerTime was trending as many celebrated what they saw as a harbinger of Trumps own potential downfall. So thats whats got Trump so triggered. Its #MuellerTime ! Happy Flynn Friday! Well done, Mr. Mueller pic.twitter.com/ZzKW3pNNlj Suzanne Capriotti (@capriotti97) December 1, 2017 Congrats, Flynn took your advice! https://t.co/r5qe9ntPIt Jess Dweck (@TheDweck) December 1, 2017 Seems like my main man Flynn is singing! Kumail Nanjiani (@kumailn) December 1, 2017 Muell-tide Greetings to you, sir! Merry Flynn-mas! https://t.co/GMffybHvp9 Patton Oswalt (@pattonoswalt) December 1, 2017 Flynn has pled guilty. He has a story to tell. And his story involves the fake @potus installed by Russia. Another sip today from my #Muellertime party flask! Appetizers are tasty but the main trump dish has me salivating like Roy Moore at the mall on halloween. TrumpResign (@TrumpResign) December 1, 2017 me looking at all the news about this michael flynn guilty plea pic.twitter.com/8QbK4DDI72 La'Kris P. Kareem (@hipstrparamedic) December 1, 2017 I am LIVING for all the Michael Flynn news coming out today. I think we as a country owe Robert Mueller at least one round at the bar each. That man should never have to buy another drink again. Leslie Monster (@Thesilverymoon) December 1, 2017 Lord have mercy, the White House roof was just blown off by Michael Flynn...seat belts everyone because if you thought things were bad in the USA since Trump's election, I think things just got real scary.#WhiteHouse #whatamess Marisa Pulice (@MarisaPulice) December 1, 2017 The irony of it all is donald can plead insanity. Philippe Reines (@PhilippeReines) December 1, 2017 Elsewhere on Twitter, University of New Hampshire professor and attorney Seth Abramson warned that the celebrations may be premature: Its too early to know *all* the dominoes that will fall as a result of what just happened with Michael Flynn, he said. But, he added, We know (a) there will be international effects and consequences, and (b) the Trump presidency (including *all* his policy initiatives) is now gravely imperiled. The United States has said it strongly condemns the attack by the Pakistani Taliban on an agriculture university in Peshawar that killed 12 people and injured 35 others. The State Department on December 1 said that we offer our deepest condolences to the families of the victims and wish a speedy recovery to those injured in the attack on the Peshawar Agriculture Training Institute. 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, it added. The Pakistani Taliban -- Tehrik-e Taliban Pakistan (TTP) -- claimed responsibility for the December 1 attack on the agriculture institute that started when three gunmen dressed in all-enveloping burqas stormed the campus. TTP spokesman Mohammad Khorasani said in a message that the attackers had targeted a safe house of the military's Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) agency. Police and army troops summoned to the scene killed all three attackers during a firefight at the complex some two hours into the attack, the military's press service said. December 1 is a public holiday in Pakistan's Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province, commemorating Islam's Prophet Muhammad, meaning relatively few students and others were at the usually crowded complex. The gunmen arrived at the campus in an auto-rickshaw and disguised in the burqas worn by many women in the region, Peshawar police chief Tahir Khan said. They shot and wounded a guard before entering the campus, he said. In December 2014, TTP gunmen killed 134 children at Peshawar's Army Public School, one of the single deadliest attacks in the country's history. The Pakistani Taliban are fighting to topple the government and install a strict interpretation of Islamic law. They are loosely allied with the Afghan Taliban insurgents. With reporting by RFE/RL's Radio Mashaal, AFP, and Reuters egmat wrote: anshunadir wrote: Quote: statistics on how many licensed drivers own mobile phones what if a good percentage of drivers own mobile phones, but they actually don't use it while driving ? IMO - A and D both can't be used as evidence. Can someone please help with this question ? what if a good percentage of drivers own mobile phones, but they actually don't use it while driving ?IMO - A and D both can't be used as evidence.Can someone please help with this question ? I agree with the discussion here that while B, C and E can clearly be used right away by the citizen group, the same is not the case with either A or D. However, if we have to select one, it's logical to go with D. Why? How can option A be used by the citizen group? Here's my reasoning: This citizen group is going to the government asking for a law to ban mobile phone use during driving. The government can easily ask: "Is this problem that big in magnitude that we need to enact a law to handle this?". The government can't just enact laws for every problem under the sun. Now, as you can see, to answer this query, the group may use the statistic that a large number of licensed drivers have mobile phone - so the given problem can magnify in time to come. I agree that option A doesn't say whether the number of licensed drivers who have mobile phones is small or large but compared with option D, this option makes at least some logical sense. Thanks, Chiranjeev I agree with the discussion here that while B, C and E can clearly be used right away by the citizen group, the same is not the case with either A or D.However, if we have to select one, it's logical to go with D.Why? How can option A be used by the citizen group?Here's my reasoning:This citizen group is going to the government asking for a law to ban mobile phone use during driving. The government can easily ask: "Is this problem that big in magnitude that we need to enact a law to handle this?". The government can't just enact laws for every problem under the sun.Now, as you can see, to answer this query, the group may use the statistic that a large number of licensed drivers have mobile phone - so the given problem can magnify in time to come.I agree that option A doesn't say whether the number of licensed drivers who have mobile phones is small or large but compared with option D, this option makes at least some logical sense.Thanks,Chiranjeev We can vouch for D in the same manner! My reasoning is:This citizen group is going to the government asking for a law to ban mobile phone use during driving. The government can easily ask: "Can you get someone who can testify to have seen drivers using mobile phones while driving?".The jury can't just deliver verdict for every problem without witnesses.Now, as you can see, to answer this query, the group may use the pamphlets that a large number of are floating on highways - after seeing some or many of them using mobile while driving.I agree that option D doesn't tell the number of licensed drivers who were using mobile phones while driving but compared with option A, this option gives an eye - witness account of at least some form of guilty.So, I would prefer a reported incident, no matter how few [or many] of them are, over a probability! As of August 26th, 2021 Yahoo India will no longer be publishing content. Your Yahoo Account Mail and Search experiences will not be affected in any way and will operate as usual. We thank you for your support and readership. For more information on Yahoo India, please visit the FAQ New York, Dec 2(Just Earth News): With millions displaced within the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and thousands more forced to flee across the border into Zambia, the United Nations refugee agency is appealing for urgent resources to make sure that relief programmes hanging on by threads do not collapse. The number of refugees fleeing militia violence in south-eastern DRC and arriving in Zambia has crossed the 12,000 mark with more than 8,400 arrivals in the last three months, Babar Baloch, a spokesperson for the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), told reporters at a regular news briefing in Geneva Friday. In addition, according to refugee accounts, more than four million people are displaced inside the DRC, and there are fears that many more could be forced to flee the country as fighting is intensifying. The worst affected are women and children, who form about 80 per cent of the refugee numbers, and there are reports of civilians being killed, women being raped, private property looted and houses torched. However, assistance programmes in both countries are hugely underfunded added Baloch, noting that of the $236.2 million required in the DRC, only $54.6 million has been received so far, while in Zambia, only $13.6 million has been received. In both cases, this is less than a quarter of what is needed, he expressed. According to the UN refugee agency, most of the people displaced from the DRC into Zambia hail from the Haut-Katanga and Tanganyika provinces of the and many among them crossed into the Zambian province of Luapula (which borders the DRC on three sides). People are also crossing into other northern and north-western provinces of Zambia. In total, the country hosts over 65,000 refugees, including some 33,000 from the DRC. Photo: UNHCR/Pumla Rulashe Source: www.justearthnews.com There are some 250 million migrants in the world and they move and settle in very different circumstances, said Louise Arbour, the UN Special Representative for International Migration, told UN News ahead of a meeting on the Global Compact, to be held Monday in Mexican city of Puerto Vallarta. If you look at Asia for instance, even within the continent there are lots of different configurations of migrant workers: people who move permanently, others who move temporarily but sometimes for decades with the expectation of coming back home, she explained. At the three-day stocktaking meeting, UN Member States, civil society and other stakeholders will jointly shape a vision for the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration. They will review the outcomes and recommendations gathered during the consultations phase of the Global Compact, held between April and November this year, as well as look at the process going forward. Enumerating her hopes from the meeting, Arbour said that the Puerto Vallarta is the last opportunity for Member States to express clearly to each other what their expectations are. We will probably be in a better position coming out of this meeting to understand where the work has to be done were there still room for potential disagreements or more problematic area. So I think it's a critical really important step towards a Global Context. UN Photo/Mark Garten Source: www.justearthnews.com Kabul, Dec 2 (IBNS): Taliban militants dressed as army-men killed at least four people, including three policemen, in Afghanistan's Farah province, local Tolo News reported. According to officials, the policemen were on their way to the central province when the militants, dressed as army-men, stopped their car and opened fire on them. The incident took place on Friday. The Taliban has not commented on the report so far. Kabul, Dec 2 (IBNS): At least four people were injured as an explosion hit Afghanistan's Kabul city on Saturday, media reports said. A spokesman for the Kabul police commandment Basir Mujahid told Khaama News the incident took place in the vicinity of the 1st police district of the city in Bagh-e-Qazir area. He told the news agency that a magnetic bomb was planted in a container belonging to the security forces and it went off at around 11:30 am. No group has claimed responsibility for the attack so far. Lahore, Dec 2 (IBNS): A teenager was set on fire in Pakistan's Lahore city on Friday, media reports said. The incident occurred in Nawab Town area in the city. He was reportedly set ablaze for allegedly stealing a cellphone, media reports said. The teenager was taken to Jinnah Hospital where doctors treated him for burns on one side of his face and arms, police told DawnNews. Shortly after, he was released from the hospital. The man, who is suspected to have set the boy on fire, has been taken into custody. In one example of this phenomenon, Fars News Agency reported upon talks that Iranian officials had held with the Eurasian Economic Union. Iranian officials declared that the meeting signified the imminent expansion of trade with the five EEU member states, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Russia, Kyrgyzstan, and Armenia. The Fars report also quoted Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif as saying that Iran and the Union would soon be implementing preferential tariffs. However, this claim was not backed up by the announcement of any formal agreement or corroborating statement from the EEU or its member states. Instead, Zarif merely declared that negotiations on the topic had concluded and that an agreement would be signed soon. The Islamic Republic News Agency provided somewhat more corroborating evidence for the claims in its report on prospective economic ties between Iran and Afghanistan, but the report glossed over notable details that can be expected to complicate any mutual efforts to pursue those ties. It indicated that the chief Afghan consul in the Iranian city of Mashhad had called for economic matters to be given precedence over security topics in talks between the countries. Seyed Nurollah Raghi also reportedly said that economic cooperation between Afghanistan and Iran had been positive, but remained in need of growth. But Raghi also called attention to a possible source of tension, arguing that the Iranian governments attitude toward ethnic Afghans must improve in order to facilitate economic opportunities. The IRNA report presumably highlighted these remarks in order to suggest that Tehran would be sensitive to the recommendation, but there is substantial evidence to suggest otherwise. Afghan immigrants to the Islamic Republic of Iran are largely treated as second class citizens, generally being denied access to lawful employment and other civil rights. The Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps has also exploited this situation in order to recruit Afghan refugees for paramilitary groups fighting in Syria and elsewhere, in exchange for the offer of working papers and permanent resident status. At the same time, the IRGC and other security forces have reportedly been spearheading a worsening crackdown on ethnic minorities. This trend is ongoing, and there is little reason to suppose that the Afghan minority will be isolated from it in the near future. If this is indeed an area of concern for Afghani officials and diplomats, then it stands to reason that economic ties between their country and the Islamic Republic of Iran may be strained, regardless of mutual interest in the expansion of these ties. On the other hand, there has been longstanding speculation about other threats to the established cooperation between Iran and some of its allies, and some of these threats have failed to fully manifest. For instance, at the height of the Syrian Civil War it was widely suggested that divergent Iranian and Russian interests in that area could be leveraged by Western powers to diminish the strength of the alliance. But more than six years after the outbreak of the war and more than two years after the advent of full-scale Russian intervention, the Russian-Iranian alliance appears to be as close as ever. Naturally, this closeness has both a security and an economic dimension, and the recent outpouring of Iranian state media has sought to highlight the latter. Tasnim News Agency, an outlet with close ties to the IRGC, recently boasted of Iranian Prosecutor General Mohammad Jafar Montazeris planned participation in a meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, which concludes on Thursday in St. Petersburg, Russia. In addition to holding talks with representatives of the eight-member SCO, Montazeri was also scheduled to hold direct sideline discussions with Russian officials, according to Tasnim. This reporting suggests persistently strong economic ties with Russia while also pointing to the supposed potential for those ties to translate into the expansion of economic opportunity for Iran in other countries, including countries with relatively weak ties to the West. But even if this potential is as robust as the Iranian media outlets seem to be suggesting, it is not clear that it is sufficient to make up for a prospective shortfall in European investments involving the Islamic Republic. Tehrans interest in attracting such investment was arguably underscored by a report that was published on Tuesday by the Financial Tribune, which bills itself as the first Iranian English economic daily. The article quoted Mohammad Khazaei, the head of Irans Organization for Investment, Economic and Technical Assistance as boasting that these investment prospects are already emerging and also that they should be considered safe because of the focused intentions underlying Irans spending of prospective investment capital. Following the nuclear deal, we are increasingly witnessing proposals and negotiations for foreign finance deals with our country, and the government along with the private sector is ready to guarantee these funds and welcome them, he said according to the report. The Tribune went on to claim that Iran had already fully secured 26 million dollars worth of foreign investment agreements from both Asia and Europe, and also that a further 35 million dollars worth of agreements are currently in the final stage of talks. It also quoted the Central Bank of Irans Vice Governor Akbar Komijani as saying, This shows that Iran has remained faithful to its foreign exchange commitments. In a transparent reference to American sanctions and the Trump administrations increasingly assertive Iran policy, he then immediately added, If not for political pressures, other nations are ready to invest in the country. Iranian officials have repeatedly endeavored to portray US sanctions as unjustified and politically motivated. Furthermore, wherever Irans economic recovery has appeared to falter in the wake of the 2015 nuclear agreement with six world powers, those officials have tended to blame the persistence of non-nuclear sanctions beyond the implementation of that deal. But this talking point is undermined by international reports pointing to the ways in which Tehran has declined to shore up the perceived security of foreign investments in the Islamic Republic. Despite its recent outpouring of reports about heightened economic prospects, Iranian state media has also acknowledged some of the deliberate deficiencies of its economic policy. The National Council of Resistance of Iran issued a report on Tuesday that included relevant excerpts from Iranian state media regarding the prospects for Iranian compliance with the Financial Action Task Force, which assesses the danger of money laundering and other financial crimes in nations throughout the world. Iran technically has until the start of 2018 to bring itself into line with the requirements of the FATF, but it is not clear whether the regime in Tehran will allow this to happen. Editorials in state media have linked this issue to recent propaganda regarding an axis of resistance that includes Iran-backed terrorist groups like Hezbollah, and they have claimed that Western powers will use the FATF to declare such resistance to be a violation of international commitments. In a larger sense, this hardline commentary underscores the persistent unwillingness of Iranian officials to cooperate with the international community, even when doing so may have substantial economic benefit for the Islamic Republic. This lack of cooperation, together with the specific and persistent danger of Iranian money laundering, may be a major reason why the World Banks Doing Business report for 2018 contradicts the rosy picture painted by Iranian state media, moving Iran down four places to 124th out of 190 countries, compared to the previous year. Although another Financial Tribune article attempted to boost perceptions of Irans investment security by pointing to a reported eight percent rise in non-oil foreign trade compared to last year, it appears that such indicators may prove relatively unimportant over the long term, as Iran faces persistently challenging conditions for both foreign investment and economic development. According to Azer News, the World Bank report specifically highlights the prevalence of inefficient economic policy, political instability, and endemic corruption as reasons why foreign investors may be wary of the Islamic Republic, irrespective of US-led sanctions. The NCRI further underlined the problem of corruption in a report on Monday which once again drew upon news sources linked to the Iranian government. According to that report, sources in the Iranian judiciary have summoned and basically convicted former President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad over the alleged embezzlement of three billion dollars in government assets. Despite this, Ahmadinejad remains not only free from jail but also close to Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, having been recently appointed as a member of the Expediency Discernment Council. The NCRI report explicitly concludes that an impressive history of government corruption, together with political infighting and growing public discontent, constitutes proof that a grim prospect faces any Western governments or businesses that are looking to invest in the Islamic Republic or collaborate with the Iranian regime. Many sanctions were suspended under the 2015 nuclear agreement, or Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, but the deal left in place sanctions on terrorist activity and human rights abuses. Iranian officials have repeatedly taken issue with ongoing enforcement and have suggested that the US is violating the spirit of the nuclear deal by imposing sanctions based on non-nuclear pretenses. The expectation among advocates of these sanctions is that they will continue to exert pressure on the Islamic Republic to curtail other activities that are threatening to Western interests. But the Iranians have attempted to paint a picture of Irans economic prospects which suggests that this pressure is proving ineffective. This is bolstered by Tehrans claims that various allies of the US are effectively ignoring the American strategy, although numerous international reports have detailed the wariness of potential European investors, as well as their difficulty in securing financing amidst the threat of US sanctions. Zanganeh attempted to contribute to the rosy picture of the Iranian economy on Thursday, saying of talks with prospective investors, So far everything is going well. We hope we can sign some contracts before the end of this Iranian calendar year. His remarks come immediately after an apparent outpouring of optimistic reports in Iranian state media regarding foreign trade, investment deals, and international meetings on the topic of economic cooperation. But as Iran News Update previously pointed out, the content of these reports is frequently at odds with other, independent reporting on the economy of the Islamic Republic, which the World Bank recently downgraded four places in its annual ranking of the business environments in 190 nations. The mismatched tone of these different reports suggests that Iranian state media is attempting to project a false image of stability for the benefit of prospective investors. Indeed, CNBC reported that Zanganeh himself acknowledged the need for billions of dollars in foreign investment capital. The acquisition of such capital is by no means assured, despite the Iranian regimes public declarations. Furthermore, it is apparent that prospective foreign investments will be in even greater danger if the US continues to expand its sanctions regime, thereby making it even more difficult for the companies to do business with the Islamic Republic and not threaten their existing ties to the US and its allies. The White House has acted on its own authority to expand sanctions several times in recent months, including by designating the entire Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps as a material supporter of terrorism. The White House is also generally expected to put pressure on Congress to expand sanctions in an even more dramatic fashion. Indeed, some reports conclude that it has already begun doing so, albeit in a somewhat clandestine fashion. It was reported last week that the Justice Department of the US had begun reviewing legal cases involving Iranian defendants, with an eye toward making them public at the presidents recommendation. Examples of this publicity have apparently already emerged, notably in the form of news stories on the case against a successful Iranian hacker named Behzad Mesri who has known ties to coordinated cyberespionage and cyberterrorism efforts of the IRGC. Closely coinciding with these stories, reports gradually emerged of the supposed cooperation with federal prosecutors of Reza Zarrab, a gold trader who helped Turkey to evade sanctions on Iran. After evidently pleading guilty in exchange for reduced sentencing, Zarrab began giving testimony on Thursday in the case against several former partners in the scheme, one of whom is in US custody while others are being tried in absentia. Most reporting on the case focus on the impact it will likely have on the Turkish government, which Zarrab says was complicit in the crime. The Financial Times, for instance, says that Zarrabs testimony is likely to cause further deterioration in relations between the US and Turkey tensions that had already been strained in large part because of American support for Kurdish forces that, while fighting against ISIL in Syria, were also reportedly close to separatist elements inside Turkey. Hurriyet Daily News, meanwhile, supported this conclusion with reference to the statements that Turkish government officials made in response to the start of Zarrabs testimony. In addition to denying the accusations of complicity by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and others, these officials accused the US of holding Zarrab hostage and of handing the prosecution and judgment of the case to persons with ties to the Muslim cleric now residing in the US whom Erdogan blames for coup attempt against his administration last year. That coup signified marked a turning point in relations between Turkey and not just the US but also Iran. As relations with the US have deteriorated, Turkey has only grown closer to Iran, and has accordingly been cited in a number of the recent reports by Iranian state media regarding the expansion of trade ties with regional nations. But these particular ties are not expansive enough to represent a serious enticement to Western investors, assuming they are competing with an expanding sanctions regime. Whats more, by highlighting the ties between Turkey and Iran, as well as their mutual animosity toward the US, the Zarrab case may feed into the White Houses efforts to encourage more expansive economic pressures for the Islamic Republic. This potential outcome is even more evident when one looks beyond the mainstream reports on the Zarrab case, toward those that place greater emphasis on the role of the Islamic Republic in the scheme. Credible sources issued such a report on Thursday, specifically identifying several Iranian officials whom Zarrab claimed to have collaborated with in his sanctions-busting efforts. The defendant disclosed that in direct communication with then-Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the scheme came to be referred to as a financial jihad against the US and its allies. The same report notes that the value of smuggled goods was approximately 87 billion euros, or more than 100 billion dollars. It also makes mention of ties that Zarrab had established with money-laundering networks in Russia, China, and the United Arab Emirates. This broader context suggests that the subsequent two days of Zarrabs testimony may reveal more information about the global scale of Irans illicit financial activities. Another report pointed to some of the information that is already known about these activities, and particularly about the primacy of the Revolutionary Guards role in carrying them out. The report primarily consisted of a profile of Mahmoud Seif, one of the IRGC-linked individuals who was added to the US Treasury Departments sanctions list on November 20, on the basis of his role in a vast counterfeiting scheme in Yemen that may have created hundreds of millions of dollars worth of false banknotes. It identifies this as one chapter in a criminal career that dates back at least to sanctions-busting efforts in 2004, after which Mahmoud Seif has sometimes operated under an assumed name. This is significant because of the familiar tendency of the IRGC to use false names for both its operatives and its front companies in order to hide their activities and evade criminal enforcement. It suggests that this may undermine the effectiveness of sanctions being assertively spearheaded by the Trump administration. But defenders of the emerging US strategy would likely argue that the White Houses decision to sanction the IRGC in its entirety is specifically intended to root out the source of the countrys many familiar financial crimes. On Monday November 27, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad revealed a letter he apparently wrote two weeks ago to Ali Khamenei. The letter was released a few hours after regime judiciarys spokesman Mohseni Ejei referred to Ahmadinejads attacks on the judiciary, describing him as a thug who talks big. Although Ahmadinejads letter gives detailed description about the countrys current conditions, but he doesnt mention how much his government and policies are responsible for todays situation. Due to authorities ignorance and effectiveness of enemies plans, such crises like unprecedented economic slowdown, liquidity, banking problems, unemployment, poverty, wide gap between the rich and poor and production fall have reached such a critical level that could at any moment hit the country and people with unpredictable and unmanageable consequences, says Ahmadinejad. According to Ahmadinejad, due to heavy economic, propaganda and emotional pressures as well as political and psychological ones, many people and families are subjected to serious harms and breakdown, and a bleak outlook has been formed in the minds of all people, the youth in particular. Considering the countrys current conditions, hope for a better future has reached bottom low. In another part of his letter, Ahmadinejad focuses on his conflict with regimes judiciary, saying irregular, unjustified, and unlawful insistence on sticking to personal and political stances and involving those viewpoints in judicial process while taking advantage of judicial power in political, personal, and family relations has stripped the judiciary of any chance to address and improve its status, avoid mistakes and injustice, attempt to resolve the countrys major problems and realize peoples rights. Ahmadinejad says hes against Larijani brothers and their dominance over the countrys (judicial and legislative) branches. He then refers to judiciarys performance as the source of public discontent in the country, saying having 17 million judicial cases means that an overwhelming majority of Iranian families are somehow involved in lawsuits. It clearly and totally mirrors the countrys conditions and the performance of different entities, and yet by itself is a proof and a clear sign of the judiciarys awkward situation, judicial officials incompetence and real problems in the branch. Public discontent towards the status of the country and judiciary is unprecedented, so much so that the majority of people are shouting against injustice and improper relations. Ahmadinejads fierce attack on the judiciary is despite the fact that the branch played a key role in oppressing the 2009 uprising during Ahmadinejads second term. Nonetheless, Ahmadinejad never questioned or criticized the judiciarys record at the time, nor does he refer to it now. But only now that the branch, amid clashes between regimes rival bands, has targeted Ahmadinejad and those around him, he has started criticizing. Regimes former president, who never seriously opposed limitations and violating individual and social freedoms, now writes any kind of criticism, protest, or freedom of expression is harshly blocked for different excuses while a few groups and known families seek to exclusively take the power and major positions stemmed from peoples revolution, so they can consolidate the rule of factions and owners of wealth and power. Considering the escalation of conflicts between regimes former president and judiciary over the past few weeks, the release of Ahmadinejads letter to Khamenei could lead to even more heated conflicts. the criticisms that have been expressed by opponents of the Islamic Republic, among them the current leadership of the US. The Voice of America piece quoted the White House as saying, Iran has used detentions and hostage taking as a tool of state policy. Regardless of the ends that the Iranian regime hopes to achieve through this hostage-taking, it is clear that the trend is continuing at a steady or even escalating pace. Voice of America also noted that both the US State Department and the United Nations rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Iran have called attention to the targeting of dual nationals in their latest reports on the regimes human rights record. At least four American citizens and two permanent residents are currently detained in the Islamic Republic, on the basis of what Asma Jahangir, the UN special rapporteur called easy and far-fetched charges of espionage. Four of these individuals have been sentenced to 10 years in prison. Additionally, Mrs. Zaghari-Ratcliffe, an Iranian-British dual citizen, has been sentenced to five years after authorities accused her of training journalists for the soft overthrow of the clerical regime. She is scheduled to face a new trial on December 10 as hardliners strive to use a charge of propaganda to expand her sentence by as much as 16 years. Little to no real evidence has been presented to corroborate the charges in any of these cases and Jahangir also noted that the relevant trials have taken place in absence of dual process, suggesting that the motive for the prosecution was not justice, but revenge. The campaign of vengeance has also taken place in the court of public opinion, with Iranian state media presenting substantial propaganda about Zaghari-Ratcliffe, Wang, and others. Several-minute features on those two prisoners were broadcast in November, just before the Times and other outlets began reporting that Iranian authorities were considering the possibility of parole for Zaghari-Ratcliffe. The coincidence of that judiciary statement and the propaganda broadcasts led many to conclude that the Iranians were raising the profile of the British nationals case in order to put greater pressure on the British government. If that is the case, it stands to reason that Iranian state media was not satisfied with the British response, because a follow-up to the previous weeks propaganda broadcast was aired on the first day of December. It reiterated the claim that she had been at the head of a training program for journalists, run by her employer, the Thomson Reuters Foundation. That organization has repeatedly rejected the claim and has affirmed the purpose of Zaghari-Ratcliffes trip to Iran in the spring of 2016 was not professional, but a personal visit to her family, accompanied by her two-year-old daughter. The Thomson Reuters Foundation is a charity that is separate from the Reuters news service, and none of its charitable projects are located in Iran. The accusations against Zaghari-Ratcliffe evidently stem not from her employment at the time of her visit to Iran, but rather from her previous employment with the BBC World Service Trust. Although this, too, is a charitable organization, the Iranians have linked Zaghari-Ratcliffe, through it, to BBC Persian, which is banned by the regime. According to Agence France Presse, the new propaganda broadcast about the imprisoned Briton elaborated upon its accusations by specifically asserting that financing for the Thomson Reuters project in Iran was provided by the United States Agency for International Development and, by extension, the State Department and the Central Intelligence Agency. It provided no credible evidence for this or for the very existence of a Thomson Reuters project within the Islamic Republic. Furthermore, the previous state media feature had presented as evidence a pay stub from Zaghari-Ratcliffes employment with the BBC World Service Trust, even though that aspect of her employment history had never been disputed. Zaghari-Ratcliffes husband Richard Ratcliffe has generally been able to speak to her once a week by phone from Britain, and he has continued to keep Western media updated about her condition. Recently, he described her as being on the verge of a nervous breakdown after she was scheduled to face her new trial on the 10th. It is not clear whether she has been made aware of the public dissemination of information about her case via Iranian state media. Psychological strain aside, Zaghari-Ratcliffes physical condition is said to be deteriorating as well. In November she was finally transferred to a hospital upon finding lumps in her breast, but only after her complaints of stabbing pains in that area had been ignored at length. The denial of access to medical care is a well-known pressure tactic in Iranian prisons, and its use is reportedly ongoing among other imprisoned dual nationals. Another AFP report highlighted the case of Xiyue Wang while featuring quotations from his wife, who has urged the US government to open dialogue with Iranian leaders for the sake of securing his release. Hua Qu told reporters that her latest contact with Wang revealed that he could barely stand up as a result of prison conditions exacerbating or causing arthritis, rashes, back pain, and diarrhea. He doesnt have any treatment other than painkillers, which he takes for everything hes got, Qu said. Although the AFP report points to the urgency of the demands for dual nationals to be freed from their detention in Iran, it also contributes to the perception that their situation is being made more urgent as a deliberate matter of policy by the Iranian regime. While visiting family in Beijing, Hu reportedly sought help from the Chinese government, only to be informed that the Iranians wanted to deal only with the US government, because they were intent on exchanging US nationals for imprisoned Iranians. At the start of 2016, coinciding with the implementation of the Iran nuclear deal, the US released seven prisoners and dropped charges against 14 others in exchange for four Americans who were then being held prisoner in Iran, also on apparently trumped-up charges of espionage. The prisoner swap also coincided with a debt repayment in the form of 800 million dollars worth of foreign capital flown directly into Iran. It is presumably no mere coincidence that less than two years after that exchange, the Iranian government is reportedly pushing simultaneously for the release of more prisoners from the US and also for the repayment of a decades-old British debt as conditions for the release of Western nationals. In order to continue enjoying our site, we ask you enter in the text you see in the image below so we can confirm your identity as a human. Thank you very much for your cooperation. As soon as the Thanksgiving holiday is over, Santa Clauses start appearing everywhere in shopping centers, supermarkets and other places. It takes more than red clothing and a white beard to be a professional Santa. In fact, many aspiring Santas attend special classes. The CW Howard Santa School is in Midland, Michigan. It is the longest continuously running Santa Claus School in the world. This year, it is celebrating its 80th anniversary. VOA recently visited the school. More than 250 Santas have gathered at the school to prepare for their seasonal work. Charlie W. Howard was the Santa Claus in the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade for 17 years. He started the school in 1937. Tom Valent is the school's current leader. "At that time, there was a great need for good Santas, better Santas. Santas didn't portray the image that we want. Santa Claus stands for all good things and some of the gentlemen that were portraying that image weren't up to par then." The three-day Santa workshop teaches people Santa sign language, facts about reindeer and clothing and make-up style. The future Santas also learn about the newest wish list toys, gain interview experience for radio and television and even get advice on how to do their business taxes. Robert Davis has played Santa for 30 years. He has attended the school several times. "I think no matter how good you are at whatever you choose to do, you can always be better. And not only does the school teach you so much, but when you interact with 250 fellow people who love the same thing you do, you learn something new every year." The student Santas headquarters is the Santa House. Tom Valent designed the house in 1986 to look like those made of gingerbread, a Christmas tradition. Conservative estimates suggest 15,000 students have graduated from the Santa School. They come from all over North America, Europe, Africa, and Australia to study. This year, the school welcomed Santas from all 50 states as well as Canada, Denmark, New Zealand and Norway. Fred Ostaer is the only Norwegian Santa at the school this year. He is known as Oslo Santa. It is his eighth time at the school. "I have been Santa this Christmas 65 years. I started to be a Santa when I was 12." The Santas never claim to be the one and only "real" Santa. Instead they describe themselves as "the spirit of Christmas." At the school's opening-night activity, Santa Walk, they tell visiting children they are the "cousins of Santa." Robert Davis says they also never promise children anything. Instead they say they will "try their best." "Anywhere I go, I try to make my contact and exchange with that child the very best that it can be because that could be that child's best five minutes of the year." After all, as founder Charles W. Howard liked to say, "He errs who thinks Santa enters through the chimney. Santa enters through the heart." I'm Caty Weaver. Erika Celeste reported this story for VOA News. Caty Weaver adapted it for Learning English. Ashley Thompson was the editor. ____________________________________________________________ Words in This Story beard - n. the hair that grows on a man's cheeks and chin aspiring - adj. desiring and working to achieve a particular goal portray - v. to describe (someone or something) in a particular way up to par - expression at an expected or usual level or quality. interview - n. a meeting at which people talk to each other in order to ask questions and get information err - v. to make a mistake A jailed Uyghur professor was honored Thursday at a ceremony in the Netherlands. Ilham Tohti was named the winner of Liberal Internationals Prize for Freedom. Liberal International gives the award once each year to a person whom it says has worked to improve human rights and political freedoms. A rights group fighting for Tohtis release from prison accepted the prize in his place. Tohti, an economics professor, has spoken repeatedly about what he considered religious and cultural persecution of the mostly Muslim Uyghur ethnic minority in Chinas northwest. A Chinese court charged Tohti in September 2014 with promoting ethnic separatism. He was sentenced to life in prison after a two-day trial. Following his jailing, the United States, European Union and the United Nations called for his release. Liberal International, or LI, is a group of 100 liberal and progressive parties. It was formed in 1947. LI Human Rights Committee chair, Markus Loening, said at the ceremony that Tohti had fought for democracy and rule of law in China. The Chinese government should feel ashamed, Loening said. It is not protecting the rights of its citizens but instead putting them behind bars as soon as they speak up for human rights. Marie Holzman helped to set up the Ilham Tohti Initiative following his jailing. She said on Thursday that receiving the award in his place was, in her words, confirmation that the Chinese government can no longer sustain the pretense that no one cares about Ilham Tohti. Tohtis daughter, Jewher Ilham, spoke by video to the gathering at Thursdays ceremony. She described her father as a man known for his moderate positions and his desire to see different ethnic groups living together peacefully. Jewher lives in the American state of Indiana. In October 2016, Tohti received the Martin Ennals Award. The prize is a joint project of 10 rights groups, including Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch. The United Nations human rights chief attended the ceremony honoring Tohti. China protested the attendance, saying the UN chief had confused right and wrong and blatantly supported terrorists by going to the event. Radio Free Asia reported this story. VOA Learning English adapted the report with additional information from the Associated Press. George Grow was the editor. RFA and VOA are each part of the U.S. government-supported Broadcasting Board of Governors. ____________________________________________________________ Words in This Story persecution - n. unfair or cruel treatment, especially because of race or religious or political beliefs promote - v. to help (something) happen, develop, or increase initiative - n. a plan or program that is intended to solve a problem sustain- v. to show that (something) is true or correct blatantly - adv. very obviously and offensively Your Ultimate Investing Toolkit Sign up for MarketBeat All Access to gain access to MarketBeat's full suite of research tools: Portfolio Monitoring Top Stock Lists Premium Reports Stock Screeners Live News Feed Premium Support Free for your first month. The following companies are subsidiares of General Motors: 2140879 Ontario Inc., ACAR Leasing Ltd., ACF Investment Corp., AFS SenSub Corp., APGO Trust, Adam Opel GmbH, AmeriCredit, AmeriCredit Financial Services Inc., Annunciata Corporation, Argonaut Holdings LLC, Astyx Inc., BOCO (Proprietary) Limited, Banco GM S.A., Boco Trust, BrightDrop LLC, BrightDrop Solutions LLC, BrightDrop Vehicle Distribution LLC, CHEVYPLAN S.A. Sociedad Administradora de Planes de Autofinanciamiento Comercial, Cadillac, Cadillac Europe GmbH, Carve-Out Ownership Cooperative LLC, Chevrolet Deutschland GmbH, Chevrolet Otomotiv Ticaret Limited Sirketi, Chevrolet Sales (Thailand) Limited, Chevrolet Sales India Private Ltd., Chevrolet Sociedad Anonima de Ahorro para Fines Determinados, Controladora General Motors S. de R.L. de C.V., Cruise, Cruise LLC, Cruise Munich GmbH, DCJ1 LLC, DMAX Ltd., Dealership Liquidations Inc., Delphi Energy and Engine Management Systems UK Overseas Corporation, EDS (Electronic Data Systems), GCAR Titling Ltd., GM (UK) Pension Trustees Limited, GM Administradora de Bens Ltda., GM Asia Pacific Regional Headquarters Ltd., GM Components Holdings LLC, GM Corretora de Seguros Ltda., GM Cruise Holdings LLC, GM Defense LLC, GM Eurometals Inc., GM Finance Co. Holdings LLC, GM Financial, GM Financial Bank, GM Financial Canada Leasing Ltd., GM Financial Colombia Holdings LLC, GM Financial Colombia S.A. Compania de Financiamiento, GM Financial Consumer Discount Company, GM Financial Holdings LLC, GM Financial Insurance Company, GM Financial Mexico Holdings LLC, GM Financial de Mexico S.A. de C.V. SOFOM E.R., GM Financial del Peru S.A.C, GM Global Technology Operations LLC, GM Global Tooling Company LLC, GM Global Treasury Centre Limited, GM Holdings Australia Pty Ltd, GM Holdings U.K. No.1 Limited, GM Inversiones Santiago Limitada, GM Investment Trustees Limited, GM Korea Company, GM LAAM Holdings LLC, GM Mobility Europe GmbH, GM Personnel Services Inc., GM Philippines Inc., GM Protections LLC, GM Regional Holdings LLC, GM Retirees Pension Trustees Limited, GM Speciality Vehicles UK Limited, GM Subsystems Manufacturing LLC, GM Technical Center Korea Ltd., GM-DI Leasing LLC, GMAC Administradora de Consorcios Ltda., GMAC Prestadora de Servicios de Mao de Obra Ltda., GMCH&SP Private Equity II L.P., GMF Funding Corp., GMF Global Assignment LLC, GMF International LLC, GMF Leasing LLC, GMF Wholesale Receivables LLC, General Motors (China) Investment Company Limited, General Motors - Colmotores S.A., General Motors Advisory Services LLC, General Motors Africa and Middle East FZE, General Motors Asia LLC, General Motors Asia Pacific Holdings LLC, General Motors Asset Management Corporation, General Motors Australia Pty Ltd., General Motors Australia and New Zealand Pty Ltd., General Motors Auto LLC, General Motors Automobiles Philippines Inc., General Motors Automotive Holdings S.L., General Motors Belgique Automobile NV, General Motors Chile Industria Automotriz Limitada, General Motors China LLC, General Motors Daewoo Auto and Technology CIS LLC, General Motors Egypt S.A.E., General Motors Europe Limited, General Motors Financial Chile Limitada, General Motors Financial Chile S.A., General Motors Financial Company Inc., General Motors Financial of Canada Ltd., General Motors Global Service Operations Inc., General Motors Holden Australia NSC Pty Ltd., General Motors Holdings LLC, General Motors IT Services (Ireland) Limited, General Motors India Private Limited, General Motors International Holdings LLC, General Motors International Operations Pte. Ltd., General Motors International Services Company SAS, General Motors International Services LLC, General Motors Investment Limited, General Motors Investment Management Corporation, General Motors Investment Participacoes Ltda., General Motors Investments Pty. Ltd., General Motors Israel Ltd., General Motors Japan Limited, General Motors LLC, General Motors Limited, General Motors New Zealand Limited, General Motors New Zealand Pensions Limited, General Motors Overseas Commercial Vehicle Corporation, General Motors Overseas Corporation, General Motors Overseas Distribution LLC, General Motors Peru S.A., General Motors Research Corporation, General Motors South Africa (Pty) Limited, General Motors Taiwan Ltd., General Motors Technical Centre India Private Limited, General Motors Treasury Center LLC, General Motors Uruguay S.A., General Motors Ventures LLC, General Motors Warehousing and Trading (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., General Motors de Argentina S.r.l., General Motors de Mexico S. de R.L. de C.V., General Motors del Ecuador S.A., General Motors do Brasil Ltda., General Motors of Canada Company, General Motors-Holden's Sales Pty. Limited, Global Services Detroit LLC, Grand Pointe Holdings Inc., Grand Pointe Park Condominium Association, IBC Pension Trustees Limited, Lease Ownership Cooperative LLC, Lidlington Engineering Company Ltd., Limited Liability Company "General Motors CIS", Maven Drive LLC, Millbrook Pension Management Limited, Monetization of Carve-Out LLC, Motors Holding LLC, Multi-Use Lease Entity Trust, North American New Cars LLC, Omnibus BB Transportes S. A., OnStar Connected Services Srl, OnStar Egypt Limited, OnStar Europe Ltd., OnStar Global Services Corporation, OnStar LLC, OnStar de Mexico S. de R.L. de C.V., P.T. G M AutoWorld Indonesia, P.T. General Motors Indonesia, PIMS Co., PT. General Motors Indonesia Manufacturing, Pan Asia Technical Automotive Center Company Ltd., Prestadora de Servicios GMF Colombia S.A.S., Rapid Motor Vehicle Company, Reliance Motor Car Company, Riverfront Holdings III Inc., Riverfront Holdings Inc., Riverfront Holdings Phase II Inc., SAIC GM (Shenyang) Norsom Motors Co. Ltd., SAIC GM Dong Yue Motors Company Limited, SAIC GM Dong Yue Powertrain Company Limited, SAIC GM Wuling Automobile Company Limited, SAIC General Motors Corporation Limited, SAIC General Motors Sales Company Limited, SAIC-GMAC Automotive Finance Company Limited, SAIC-GMF Leasing Co. Ltd., Servicios GMAC S.A. de C.V., Shanghai OnStar Telematics Co. Ltd., Sidecar Technologies, Ultium Cells LLC, Vehicle Asset Universal Leasing Trust, WRE Inc., and Zona Franca Industrial Colmotores SAS. Read More The following companies are subsidiares of Transocean: 15375 Memorial Corporation, Agon Shipping Inc., Aguas Profundas Limitada, AngoSantaFe - Prestacao de Servicos Petroliferos Limitada, Angola Deepwater Drilling Company (Offshore Services) Ltd, Arcade Drilling AS, Asie Sonat Offshore Sdn. Bhd., Barents Rigco Limited, Blegra Asset Management Limited, Blegra Financing Limited, Caledonia Offshore Drilling Services Limited, Challenger Minerals Inc., Covent Garden - Servicos e Marketing Sociedade Unipessoal Lda, Deepwater Drilling (Transocean Ghana) Limited, Deepwater Drilling North Africa LLC - Free Zone, Deepwater Pacific 1 Inc., Deepwater Supply Inc., Drillship Alonissos Owners Inc., Drillship Hydra Owners Inc., Drillship Kithira Owners Inc., Drillship Kythnos Owners Inc., Drillship Paros Owners Inc., Drillship Skiathos Owners Inc., Drillship Skopelos Owners Inc., Drillship Skyros Owners Inc., Eastern Med Consultants Inc., Entities Holdings Inc., GSF Leasing Services GmbH, Global Marine Inc., Global Offshore Drilling Limited, GlobalSantaFe (Labuan) Inc., GlobalSantaFe B.V., GlobalSantaFe C.R. Luigs Limited, GlobalSantaFe Denmark Holdings ApS, GlobalSantaFe Drilling (N.A.) N.V., GlobalSantaFe Drilling Company, GlobalSantaFe Drilling Company (North Sea) Limited, GlobalSantaFe Drilling Company (Overseas) Limited, GlobalSantaFe Drilling Mexico S. de R.L. de C.V., GlobalSantaFe Drilling Operations Inc., GlobalSantaFe Drilling Services (North Sea) Limited, GlobalSantaFe Drilling Trinidad LLC, GlobalSantaFe Drilling Venezuela C.A., GlobalSantaFe Financial Services (Luxembourg) S.a.r.l., GlobalSantaFe Group Financing Limited Liability Company, GlobalSantaFe Holding Company (North Sea) Limited, GlobalSantaFe Hungary Services Limited Liability Company, GlobalSantaFe International Drilling Corporation, GlobalSantaFe International Drilling Inc., GlobalSantaFe International Services Inc., GlobalSantaFe Nederland B.V., GlobalSantaFe Offshore Services Inc., GlobalSantaFe Operations (Mexico) LLC, GlobalSantaFe Saudi Arabia Ltd., GlobalSantaFe Services (BVI) Inc., GlobalSantaFe Services Netherlands B.V., GlobalSantaFe Servicios de Venezuela C.A., GlobalSantaFe South America LLC, GlobalSantaFe Tampico S. de R.L. de C.V., GlobalSantaFe Techserv (North Sea) Limited, GlobalSantaFe U.S. Holdings Inc., Indigo Drilling Limited, Inteliwell JV GP Limited, Inteliwell JV LP, Kalambo Operations Inc., OCR Falklands Drilling Inc., OR Norge Operations Inc., Ocean Rig, Ocean Rig 1 Inc, Ocean Rig 2 Inc., Ocean Rig Canada Inc., Ocean Rig Cuanza Operations Inc., Ocean Rig Cubango Operations Inc., Ocean Rig Deepwater Drilling Limited, Ocean Rig Investments Inc., Ocean Rig Management Inc., Ocean Rig Operations Inc., Ocean Rig UDW Inc., Ocean Rig UDW LLC, Offshore Ghana Transocean Limited, Offshore Rig Operations AS, Olympia Rig Angola Holding S.A., Olympia Rig Angola Limitada, Orion Holdings (Cayman) Limited, Orion RigCo (Cayman) Limited, P.T. Santa Fe Supraco Indonesia, PT. Transocean Indonesia, Platform Capital N.V., Platform Financial N.V., Primelead Limited, R&B Falcon (A) Pty Ltd, R&B Falcon (Caledonia) Limited, R&B Falcon (M) Sdn. Bhd., R&B Falcon (U.K.) Limited, R&B Falcon B.V., R&B Falcon Deepwater (UK) Limited, R&B Falcon Drilling Co. LLC, R&B Falcon Exploration Co. LLC, R&B Falcon International Energy Services B.V., RBF Rig Corporation LLC, Ranger Insurance Limited, Reading & Bates Coal Co. LLC, SDS Offshore Limited, Safemal Drilling Sdn. Bhd., Santa Fe Braun Inc., Santa Fe Construction Company, Santa Fe Drilling Company of Venezuela C.A., Saudi Drilling Company Limited, Sedco Forex International Inc., Services Petroliers Transocean, Servicios Petroleros Santa Fe S.A., Ship Investment Ocean Holdings Inc., Songa Offshore Delta Limited, Songa Offshore Drilling Limited, Songa Offshore Enabler Limited, Songa Offshore Encourage Limited, Songa Offshore Endurance Limited, Songa Offshore Equinox Limited, Songa Offshore Equipment Rental Limited, Songa Offshore Malaysia Sdn. Bhd., Songa Offshore Management Limited, Songa Offshore Pte. Ltd., Songa Offshore Rig 2 AS, Songa Offshore Rig 3 AS, Songa Offshore SE, Songa Offshore SE, Songa Offshore Saturn Limited, Songa Offshore T & P Cyprus Limited, Songa Saturn Chartering Pte. Ltd., Spitsbergen Rigco Limited, Sub-Saharan Drilling Inc., T. I. International Mexico S. de R.L. de C.V., TILAM Holdings Limited, TRM Holdings Limited, TSSA - Servicos de Apoio Lda., Transocean Africa Drilling Limited, Transocean Asia Services Sdn Bhd, Transocean Asset Holdings 1 Limited, Transocean Asset Holdings 2 Limited, Transocean Asset Holdings 3 Limited, Transocean Atlas Limited, Transocean Barents ASA, Transocean Brasil Ltda., Transocean Britannia Limited, Transocean Canada Drilling Services Ltd., Transocean Conqueror Limited, Transocean Conqueror Opco LLC, Transocean Corporate Services Limited, Transocean Cyprus Capital Management Public Limited, Transocean Cyprus Drilling Operations Public Limited, Transocean Deepwater Drilling Services Limited, Transocean Deepwater Holdings Limited, Transocean Deepwater Inc., Transocean Deepwater Mauritius, Transocean Deepwater Nautilus Limited, Transocean Deepwater Seafarer Services Limited, Transocean Discoverer 534 LLC, Transocean Drilling Enterprises S.a.r.l., Transocean Drilling Israel Ltd., Transocean Drilling Limited, Transocean Drilling Namibia Inc., Transocean Drilling Offshore S.a.r.l., Transocean Drilling Sdn. Bhd., Transocean Drilling Services (India) Private Limited, Transocean Drilling U.K. Limited, Transocean Eastern Pte. Ltd., Transocean Employee Support Fund, Transocean Enabler Limited, Transocean Enabler Rigco Limited, Transocean Encourage Limited, Transocean Encourage Rigco Limited, Transocean Endurance Limited, Transocean Endurance Rigco Limited, Transocean Entities Holdings GmbH, Transocean Equinox Limited, Transocean Equinox Rigco Limited, Transocean Finance Limited, Transocean Financing (Cayman) Limited, Transocean Financing GmbH, Transocean Guardian Limited, Transocean Holdings 1 Limited, Transocean Holdings 2 Limited, Transocean Holdings 3 Limited, Transocean Holdings LLC, Transocean Hungary Holdings LLC, Transocean Hungary Investments LLC, Transocean Hungary Ventures LLC, Transocean Inc., Transocean Innovation Labs Ltd., Transocean International Holdings Limited, Transocean International Resources Limited, Transocean Investimentos Ltda., Transocean Investments Holdings LLC, Transocean Investments S.a.r.l., Transocean Ltd., Transocean Management Services GmbH, Transocean Minerals Holdings Limited, Transocean Nautilus Limited, Transocean North Sea Limited, Transocean Norway Operations AS, Transocean Offshore (North Sea) Ltd., Transocean Offshore Canada Services Ltd., Transocean Offshore Deepwater Drilling Inc., Transocean Offshore Deepwater Holdings Limited, Transocean Offshore Drilling Limited, Transocean Offshore Gulf of Guinea II Limited, Transocean Offshore Gulf of Guinea VI Limited, Transocean Offshore Gulf of Guinea VII Limited, Transocean Offshore Gulf of Guinea XII Limited, Transocean Offshore Gulf of Guinea XIII Limited, Transocean Offshore Holdings Limited, Transocean Offshore International Limited, Transocean Offshore International Ventures Limited, Transocean Offshore Limited, Transocean Offshore PR Limited, Transocean Offshore USA Inc., Transocean Onshore Support Services Limited, Transocean Orion Limited, Transocean Phoenix 2 Limited, Transocean Phoenix 2 Opco LLC, Transocean Pontus Limited, Transocean Pontus Opco Inc., Transocean Poseidon Limited, Transocean Poseidon Opco Inc., Transocean Proteus Limited, Transocean Proteus Opco LLC, Transocean Quantum Holdings Limited, Transocean Quantum Management Limited, Transocean Quantum Rig Holdings Limited, Transocean Quantum Sentry Holdings Limited, Transocean Rig 140 Limited, Transocean Rig Management Limited, Transocean SPSF Holdings Limited, Transocean Sedco Forex Ventures Limited, Transocean Sentry Limited, Transocean Services (India) Private Limited, Transocean Services AS, Transocean Services UK Limited, Transocean Skyros Limited, Transocean Spitsbergen ASA, Transocean Sub Asset Holdings 1 Limited, Transocean Sub Asset Holdings 2 Limited, Transocean Sub Asset Holdings 3 Limited, Transocean Support Services Limited, Transocean Support Services Nigeria Limited, Transocean Support Services Private Limited, Transocean Technical Services Egypt LLC, Transocean U.S. Holdings LLC, Transocean UK Limited, Transocean Voyager 1 Limited, Transocean Voyager 2 Limited, Transocean West Africa Holdings Limited, Transocean Worldwide Inc., Triton Asset Leasing GmbH, Triton Capital I GmbH, Triton Capital II GmbH, Triton Capital Mexico GmbH, Triton Conqueror GmbH, Triton Corcovado LLC, Triton Financing LLC, Triton Gemini GmbH, Triton Holdings Limited, Triton Hungary Asset Management LLC, Triton Hungary Investments 1 Limited Liability Company, Triton Industries Inc., Triton KG2 GmbH, Triton Management Services LLC, Triton Mykonos LLC, Triton Nautilus Asset Leasing GmbH, Triton Nautilus Asset Management LLC, Triton Offshore Leasing Services Limited, Triton Pacific Limited, Triton Poseidon GmbH, Triton Voyager Asset Leasing GmbH, and Wilrig Offshore (UK) Limited. Read More The Bank of Nova Scotia provides various banking products and services in Canada, the United States, Mexico, Peru, Chile, Colombia, the Caribbean and Central America, and internationally. It operates in four segments: Canadian Banking, International Banking, Global Wealth Management, and Global Banking and Markets. The company offers financial advice and solutions, and day-to-day banking products, including debit and credit cards, chequing and saving accounts, investments, mortgages, loans, and insurance to individuals; and business banking solutions comprising lending, deposit, cash management, and trade finance solutions to small, medium, and large businesses, including automotive financing solutions to dealers and their customers. It also provides wealth management advice and solutions, including online brokerage, mobile investment, full-service brokerage, trust, private banking, and private investment counsel services; and retail mutual funds, exchange traded funds, liquid alternative funds, and institutional funds. In addition, the company offers international banking services for retail, corporate, and commercial customers; and lending and transaction, investment banking advisory, and capital markets access services to corporate customers. Further, it provides online, mobile, and telephone banking services. The company operates a network of 954 branches and approximately 3,766 automated banking machines in Canada; and approximately 1,300 branches and a network of contact and support center internationally. The Bank of Nova Scotia was founded in 1832 and is headquartered in Halifax, Canada. Customers Bancorp, Inc. operates as the bank holding company for Customers Bank. Customers Bancorp, Inc. was founded in 1997 as New Century Bank which operated 5 branches in Southern Pennsylvania. The companys lending portfolio, which was primarily residential mortgage loans, led to the bank's eventual rebranding and hiring of Jay Sidhu as chairman and chief executive officer. The bank changed to a Bank Holding Company after it made a few strategic acquisitions and it now operates 12 full-service branches across 10 states and provides financial services to individuals, and small, and medium-sized businesses. The bank was a troubled asset worth $250 million when Mr. Sidhu took over and now it is worth upwards of $20 billion. Customers Bancorp, Inc is a super-community bank operating in multiple states across the US. The companys assets topped $20.3 billion in mid-2022 which put it on par with many of the US regional banks. The company sets itself apart by offering dedicated personal service to all its clients and by operating as a digital-first business. This means a single point of contact to help with any needs that may arise and full-service digital banking for all client needs. Customers Bancorp offers traditional deposit products, including checking, savings, MMDA, and other deposit accounts as well as a full range of loans. Loan products include but are not limited to commercial warehouse loans, loans for multi-family construction, commercial real estate, small business loans, equipment financing, residential mortgages, and consumer lines of credit. The company also offers traditional and business banking activities including mobile, internet, wire transfers, electronic bill payment, safe deposit boxes, remote capture, courier, payment processing services, and cash management. Among the many services offered by Customers Bancorp are digital assets. The company supports a wide range of cryptocurrency-related services for individuals and businesses and even uses its own token. The token is used to power instant B2B payments across the TassatPay blockchain network. The companys native token is CBIT (Customers Bancorp Instant Token). Customers Bancorp is headquartered in West Reading, Pennsylvania, and operates 12 full-service branches, as well as production and administrative offices in several counties in southeastern Pennsylvania, New York, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, New Hampshire, Illinois, Florida, and North Carolina. The following companies are subsidiares of Ingersoll Rand: 13125882 Canada Inc., 211 E. Russell Road LLC, 4458664 Canada Inc., ACCUDYNE INDUSTRIES ASIA PTE. LTD., ACCUDYNE INDUSTRIES BORROWER S.C.A., ACCUDYNE INDUSTRIES INDIA PRIVATE LIMITED, ACCUDYNE INDUSTRIES LLC, ACCUDYNE INDUSTRIES MIDDLE EAST FZE, ACCUDYNE INDUSTRIES SERVICES LIMITED, ASTRUM IT GmbH, Accudyne Industries Acquisition S.A r.l, Accudyne Industries Canada Inc., Accudyne Industries S.A r.l., Air Dimensions, Air Dimensions Inc., Albin Pump SAS, BOC Edwards Global Low pressure Air business, CISA S.p.A., Cameron-Centrifugal Compression, Comercial Ingersoll-Rand (Chile) Limitada, Comingersoll-Comercio E Industria De Equipamentos S.A., CompAir, CompAir (Hankook) Korea Co. Ltd., CompAir Acquisition (No. 2) Ltd., CompAir Acquisition Ltd., CompAir BroomWade Ltd., CompAir Finance Ltd., CompAir GmbH, CompAir Holdings Limited, CompAir International Trading (Shanghai) Co Ltd, CompAir Korea Ltd, CompAir South Africa (SA) (Pty) Ltd., Consolidated Distribution Holdings Ltd., DV Systems Inc., Dosatron International SAS, Emco Wheaton Gmbh, Emco Wheaton USA Inc, Enza Air Proprietary Limited, FlexEnergy Holdings LLC, Frigoblock Grosskopf Gmbh, GD Aria Holdings Limited, GD Aria Holdings Limited, GD Aria Investments Limited, GD First (UK) Ltd, GD German Holdings GmbH, GD German Holdings I Gmbh, GD German Holdings II GmbH, GD German Investments GmbH, GD Global Holdings II Inc., GD Global Holdings Inc., GD Global Holdings UK II Ltd., GD Global Ventures I B.V., GD Global Ventures II B.V., GD Global Ventures III B.V., GD Industrial Products Malaysia SDN. BHD., GD Investment KY, GD UK Finance Ltd., GPS Industries, Gardner Denver (Thailand) Co. Ltd., Gardner Denver Austria GmbH, Gardner Denver Bad Neustadt Real Estate GmbH & Co KG, Gardner Denver Belgium NV, Gardner Denver Brasil Industria E Comercio de Maquinas Ltda., Gardner Denver CZ + SK sro, Gardner Denver Canada Corp (Canada), Gardner Denver Cyprus Investments II Limited, Gardner Denver Cyprus Investments Limited, Gardner Denver Deutschland GmbH, Gardner Denver Engineered Products India Private Limited, Gardner Denver FZE, Gardner Denver Finance II LLC, Gardner Denver Finance Inc & Co KG, Gardner Denver France SAS, Gardner Denver Group Svcs Ltd, Gardner Denver Holdings Limited, Gardner Denver Hong Kong Investments Limited, Gardner Denver Hong Kong Ltd, Gardner Denver Iberica SL, Gardner Denver Inc., Gardner Denver Industries Ltd., Gardner Denver Industries Pty Ltd., Gardner Denver International Inc., Gardner Denver International Ltd., Gardner Denver Investments Inc., Gardner Denver Italy Holdings S.r.L., Gardner Denver Japan Ltd., Gardner Denver Kirchhain Real Estate GmbH & Co KG, Gardner Denver Korea Ltd., Gardner Denver Ltd., Gardner Denver Machinery (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., Gardner Denver Nash Brasil Industria E Comercio De Bombas Ltda, Gardner Denver Nash LLC, Gardner Denver Nash Machinery Ltd., Gardner Denver Nederland BV, Gardner Denver Nederland Investments B.V., Gardner Denver Oy, Gardner Denver Polska Sp z.o.o., Gardner Denver Pte. Ltd., Gardner Denver S.r.l., Gardner Denver Schopfheim GmbH, Gardner Denver Schopfheim Real Estate GmbH & Co KG, Gardner Denver Schweiz AG, Gardner Denver Slovakia s.r.o., Gardner Denver Sweden AB, Gardner Denver Taiwan Ltd., Gardner Denver Thomas GmbH (f/k/a ILMVAC GmbH), Gardner Denver Thomas Inc., Gardner Denver Thomas Pneumatic Systems (Wuxi) Co. Ltd., Gardner Denver Thomas Real Estate GmbH & Co KG, Garo Dott. Ing. Roberto Gabbioneta S.r.l., Ghh-Rand Schraubenkompressoren Gmbh, HASKEL EUROPE LTD., HASKEL HOLDINGS UK LIMITED, HASKEL INTERNATIONAL LLC, Hamworthy Belliss & Morcom, Haskel France SAS, Haskel Sistemas de Fluidos Espana S.R.L., Hibon Inc., Highspeed Newco LLC, Hingerose Limited, ILMVAC (UK) Ltd., ILS Innovative Labor Systeme, ILS Inovative Laborsysteme GmbH, INGERSOLL RAND ITS JAPAN LTD., INGERSOLL-RAND (CHANG ZHOU) TOOLS CO. LTD., INGERSOLL-RAND (CHINA) INDUSTRIAL EQUIPMENT MANUFACTURING CO. LTD., INGERSOLL-RAND CHINA LLC, INGERSOLL-RAND COMERCIO E SERVICOS DE MAQUINAS E EQUIPAMENTOS INDUSTRIAIS LTDA., INGERSOLL-RAND DE PUERTO RICO INC., INGERSOLL-RAND INDUSTRIAL COMPANY B.V., INGERSOLL-RAND INDUSTRIAL SP. Z O.O., INGERSOLL-RAND INDUSTRIAL U.S. INC., INGERSOLL-RAND PHILIPPINES INC., INGERSOLL-RAND SPAIN S.A., INGERSOLL-RAND U.S. HOLDCO INC., IR HPS Holdco. Inc., ITO Emniyet, Ingersoll Rand Cyprus Investments Ltd., Ingersoll Rand Finance LLC, Ingersoll Rand Global Investments LLC, Ingersoll Rand Global Ventures LLC, Ingersoll Rand Hong Kong Investments Limited, Ingersoll Rand Inc., Ingersoll Rand Investments (SG) Pte. Ltd., Ingersoll Rand Investments B.V., Ingersoll Rand Schweiz Investments Gmbh, Ingersoll Rand Technology R&D (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., Ingersoll-Rand (Australia) Ltd., Ingersoll-Rand (China) Investment Company Limited, Ingersoll-Rand (Guilin) Tools Company Limited, Ingersoll-Rand (Hong Kong) Holding Company Limited, Ingersoll-Rand (India) Limited, Ingersoll-Rand Ab, Ingersoll-Rand Air Solutions Hibon Sarl, Ingersoll-Rand Beteiligungs Und Grundstucksverwaltungs Gmbh, Ingersoll-Rand Colombia S.A.S., Ingersoll-Rand Company Limited (Uk), Ingersoll-Rand Company South Africa (Pty) Limited, Ingersoll-Rand Cz S.R.O., Ingersoll-Rand De Mexico S.A. De C.V., Ingersoll-Rand Equipements De Production S.A.S., Ingersoll-Rand Holdings Limited, Ingersoll-Rand Industrial Ireland Limited, Ingersoll-Rand International (India) Private Limited, Ingersoll-Rand International Holding Llc, Ingersoll-Rand Italia S.R.L., Ingersoll-Rand Italiana Manufacturing S.R.L., Ingersoll-Rand Korea Holding Llc, Ingersoll-Rand Korea Limited, Ingersoll-Rand Lux Investments II S.A R.I., Ingersoll-Rand Lux Investments S.A R.L., Ingersoll-Rand Luxembourg Industrial Company S.A R.L., Ingersoll-Rand Machinery (Shanghai) Company Limited, Ingersoll-Rand Malaysia Co. Sdn. Bhd., Ingersoll-Rand S.A. De C.V., Ingersoll-Rand Services And Trading Limited Liability Company, Ingersoll-Rand Services Company, Ingersoll-Rand Services Limited, Ingersoll-Rand Singapore Enterprises Pte. Ltd., Ingersoll-Rand South East Asia (Pte.) Ltd., Ingersoll-Rand Superay Holdings Limited, Ingersoll-Rand Technical And Services S.A.R.L., Ingersoll-Rand Technologies And Services Private Limited, Ingersoll-Rand Technology R&D (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., Ingersoll-Rand Tool Holdings Limited, Ingersoll-Rand Trading Gmbh, Ingersoll-Rand Vietnam Company Limited, Instrum Rand JSC, Interflex Datensysteme, Ir Canada Holdings Ulc, Ir Canada Sales & Service Ulc, Ir France Sas, Kryptonite corp, Lawrence Factor Inc., LeROI, LeRoi International Inc, MILTON ROY (HONG KONG) LIMITED, MILTON ROY (UK) LIMITED, MILTON ROY EUROPA B.V., MILTON ROY EUROPE SAS, MILTON ROY INDUSTRIAL (SHANGHAI) CO. LTD., MILTON ROY LLC, MILTON ROY US PURCHASER INC., MP Pumps Inc., Maximum AG Technologies Inc., Maximus Solutions, Mb Air Systems Limited, Nash Elmo, Officina Meccaniche Industriali Srl, Oina VV, Oina VV Aktiebolag, Plurifilter D.O.O., Pt Ingersoll-Rand Indonesia, Robuschi, Runtech Systems, Runtech Systems (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., Runtech Systems Inc., Runtech Systems OY, SEEPEX, Seepex (M) SDN, Seepex Australia Pty Ltd, Seepex Beteiligungs-Gesellschaft mit Beschrankter Haftung, Seepex France S.a.r.l., Seepex GmbH, Seepex Inc., Seepex India Private Ltd., Seepex Italia SRL, Seepex Japan Co. Ltd., Seepex Nordic A/S, Seepex OOO, Seepex Pumps (Shanghia) Co. Ltd., Seepex UK Ltd., Shanghai CompAir Compressors Co Ltd, Shanghai Compressors & Blowers Ltd., Shanghai Ingersoll-Rand Compressor Limited, Shenzhen Bocom System Engineering Co., Superay, Syltone, TIWR Real Estate GmbH & Co. KG, Tamrotor Marine Comp AS Norway, Tecno Matic Europe s.r.o., Thomas Industries Inc., Trane Technologies, Tri-Continent Scientific Inc., Vacuum and Blower Systems division, Welch Vacuum Equipment (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., Zaxe Technologies Inc., Zeks Compressed Air Solutions Llc, Zinsser Analytic, Zinsser Analytik GmbH, Zinsser NA Inc., and crayon interface. Read More Banco Santander-Chile, together with its subsidiaries, provides commercial and retail banking products and services in Chile. It operates through Retail Banking, Middle-Market, Corporate Investment Banking, and Corporate Activities segments. The company offers debit and credit cards, checking accounts, and savings products; consumer, automobile, commercial, mortgage, and government-guaranteed loans; and Chilean peso and foreign currency denominated loans to finance various commercial transactions, trade, foreign currency forward contracts, and credit lines, as well as mortgage financing services. It also provides mutual funds, insurance and securities brokerage, foreign exchange, financial leasing, factoring, financial consulting and advisory, investment management, foreign trade, treasury, and transactional services, as well as specialized services to finance projects for the real estate industry. In addition, the company offers short-term financing and fund raising, and brokerage services, as well as derivatives, securitization, and other tailor-made products. It serves individuals, small to middle-sized entities, companies, and large corporations, as well as universities, government entities, and local and regional governments. As of December 31, 2021, the company operated 326 branches, which include 220 under the Santander brand name, 14 under the Select brand name, 7 specialized branches for the middle market, and 22 as auxiliary and payment centers, as well as 1,338 ATMs, including depository ATMs. Banco Santander-Chile was incorporated in 1977 and is headquartered in Santiago, Chile. The United Nations monitor on extreme poverty and human rights has embarked on a coast-to-coast tour of the US to hold the worlds richest nation and its president to account for the hardships endured by Americas most vulnerable citizens. The tour, which kicked off on Friday morning, will make stops in four states as well as Washington DC and the US territory of 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. United Nations Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights, Philip Alston. Photograph: Ng Han Guan/AP 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. The US has an extraordinary ability to naturalize and accept the extreme poverty David Grusky, director of the Center on Poverty and Inequality Poverty experts are watching the UN tour closely in the hope that it might draw public attention to a largely neglected but critical aspect of US society. 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. Alstons findings will be announced in preliminary form in Washington on 15 December, and then presented as a full report to the UN human rights council in Geneva next June. An especially unpredictable element of the fallout will be how Trump himself receives the final report, given the presidents habit of lashing out at anyone perceived to criticize him or his administration. Trump has also shown open disdain towards the world body. In the course of the 2016 presidential campaign he griped that we get nothing out of the United Nations other than good real-estate prices. On the other hand, observers have been surprised that the White House has honored the invitation to host Alston after the initial offer was extended by Barack Obama. US diplomats on more than one occasion since Trumps inauguration have said they welcomed the UN party. Ruby Dee Rudolph in her home in Lowndes County. A recent study suggests that nearly one one in three people in Lowndes County have hookworm, a parasite normally found in poor, developing countries. Photograph: Bob Miller for The Guardian Alston himself is reserving his comments until the end of the tour. But his published work suggests that he is likely to be a formidable critic of the new president. In a lecture he gave last year on the challenges posed by Trump and other modern populist leaders, he warned that their agenda was avowedly nationalistic, xenophobic, misogynistic, and explicitly antagonistic to all or much of the human rights agenda. Alston concluded the speech by saying: These are extraordinarily dangerous times, unprecedentedly so in my lifetime. The response is really up to us. The UN poverty tour falls at a singularly tense moment for the US. In its 2016 state of the nation review, the Stanford Center on Poverty and Inequality placed the US rank at the bottom of the league table of 10 well-off countries, in terms of the extent of its income and wealth inequality. It also found that the US hit rock bottom in terms of the safety net it offers struggling families, and is one of the worst offenders in terms of the ability of low-income families to lift themselves out of poverty a stark contrast to the much-vaunted myth of the American dream. To some extent, Trumps focus on making America great again a political jingo that in itself contains an element of criticism of the state of the nation chimes with the UNs concern about extreme poverty. His call for greater prosperity for white working Americans in declining manufacturing areas that proved so vital to his election victory will be echoed in Alstons visit to the depressed coal-producing state of West Virginia, which backed Trump in 2016 by a resounding 69%. In many other ways, though, the Trump administration in its first year has taken a radically hostile approach towards communities in need. He has tried, so far unsuccessfully, to abolish Obamacare in a move that would deprive millions of low-income families of healthcare insurance, was widely criticized for his lackluster response to the hurricane disaster in Puerto Rico that has left thousands homeless and without power, and is currently pushing a tax reformthat would benefit one group above all others: the super rich. A man who lost his home during Hurricane Maria in September sits on a cot at a school turned shelter in Canovanas. Photograph: Alvin Baez/Reuters The US poses an especially challenging subject for the UN special rapporteur because unlike all other industrialized nations, it fails to recognize fundamental social and economic rights such as the right to healthcare, a roof over your head or food to keep hunger at bay. The federal government has consistently refused to sign up to the international covenant on economic, social and cultural rights arguing that these matters are best left to individual states. Such an emphasis on states rights has spawned a patchwork of provision for low-income families across the country. Republican-controlled states in the Deep South provide relatively little help to those struggling from unemployment and lack of ready cash, while more assistance is likely to be forthcoming in bigger coastal cities. By contrast, raging house prices and gentrification is fueling a homelessness crisis in liberal cities such as Los Angeles and San Francisco the first stop next week of the UN tour. Martha Davis, a law professor specializing in US human rights at Northeastern University, said that such vast regional variations present the UN monitor with a huge opportunity. Unlike other international officials, he has the ability to move freely at both federal and state levels and be equally critical of both. Theres a lot that Philip Alston can say about basic inequality that goes to the heart of the rights that he is reviewing, Davis said. Kendallville, IN (46755) Today Snow will taper off and end this morning but skies will remain cloudy this afternoon. High 31F. Winds WSW at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of snow 100%.. Tonight Some clouds. A few flurries or snow showers possible. Low 22F. Winds WSW at 10 to 15 mph. UNLV researchers Daniel Benyshek and Sharon Young found that consuming encapsulated placentas has little to no effect on postpartum mood and maternal bonding; detectable changes shown in hormones. Credit: UNLV A groundbreaking study by UNLV researchers shows that taking placenta capsules has little to no effect on postpartum mood, maternal bonding, or fatigue, when compared to a placebo. Consuming the placenta (in pill form) following childbirth is an increasingly popular trend in industrial countries, such as the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Australia, and the United States. Although precise estimates are not yet available, most experts agree there are many thousands of women in the U.S. alone who practice maternal placentophagy. And while the practice appears to be more common in home birth settings, it has been spreading to hospital births. Proponents of the practice say that because maternal placentophagy is common in mammals throughout nature, it most likely offers some benefits to human mothers as well. The current study, which included 12 women who took placenta capsules and 15 who took placebo pills in the weeks after giving birth, was led by researchers from UNLV's Department of Anthropology and School of Medicine. The research team tested the efficacy of placenta capsules in promoting various health benefits, including stemming the onset of postpartum 'baby blues' and depression of new mothers. The results of the new study find that such claims are not clearly supported. The research group's work did show, however, that ingesting placenta capsules produced small but detectable changes in hormone concentrations that show up in a mother's circulating hormone levels. The study was published online Nov. 23 in the journal Women and Birth. Last year, the team released a study showing that consuming encapsulated placentas was not as good of a source of iron as proponents had suggested. Prof. Daniel Benyshek, senior author of the study, suggested that both advocates and skeptics alike may point to these new results. "Placentophagy supporters may point to the fact that we did see evidence that many of the hormones detected in the placenta capsules were modestly elevated in the placenta group moms," Benyshek said. "Similarly for skeptics, our results might be seen as proof that placentophagy doesn't 'really work' because we did not find the type of clear, robust differences in maternal hormone levels or postpartum mood between the placenta group and placebo group that these types of studies are designed to detect," he said. So, while the study provides no clear evidence of placentophagy benefits compared to a placebowhich is the scientific standardit does show that the practice is capable of influencing maternal hormone levels and that could provide some kind of therapeutic effect. To what extent, however, is unclear. More research is needed in order to explore these effects more fully. "While the study doesn't provide firm support for or against the claims about the benefits of placentophagy, it does shed light on this much debated topic by providing the first results from a clinical trial specifically testing the impact of placenta supplements on postpartum hormones, mood, and energy," said Dr. Sharon Young, lead author of the study and program manager for UNLV's Office of Undergraduate Research. "What we have uncovered are interesting areas for future exploration, such as small impacts on hormone levels for women taking placenta capsules, and small improvements in mood and fatigue in the placenta group." Professor Piot's comments were made at the launch of a new policy paper published by LSHTM and the charity Sentebale to support governments, policy makers and NGOs in combatting the continuing high levels of HIV among adolescents in sub-Saharan Africa, including those infected from birth and those infected sexually. While great progress has been made in tackling the HIV epidemic in recent years, evidence shows adolescents have been left behind. In 2015, UNICEF reported that the number of adolescent deaths from AIDS had tripled in 15 years. UNAIDS estimates highlight that in 2016, there were 150 deaths every day amongst adolescents due to AIDS-related illnesses, and HIV remains one of the leading causes of death for adolescents in Africa. The situation is particularly urgent for adolescent girls and young women in sub-Saharan Africa. In 2015, nearly 7,500 young women aged 15-24 years acquired HIV each week. Freely available to view or download on LSHTM's and Sentebale's websites, the policy paper combines the latest scientific evidence and experiences of young people in the region with HIV, to identify the barriers they face in knowing and managing their HIV status, as well as recommendations to address them. These include: Recognising that adolescents living with HIV (ALHIV) face unique challenges and ensuring psychosocial support is reaching them as they transition into adulthood RAdopting a human rights-based approach to testing, care, virological suppression, and supporting mental wellbeing of ALHIV RRecognising the crucial role of caregivers, families and communities, and equipping them to best support ALHIV RFinding ways to sensitively discuss sex, dating and relationships for ALHIV - a clear gap in current interventions The policy paper stems from the Sentebale Let Youth Lead Roundtable held at the School in July 2017, which was chaired by Prince Harry, the charity's Co-Founding Patron. A key message from this meeting was the need to ensure young people with HIV are given a voice in future research and policy decisions. Professor Peter Piot said: "The largest ever generation of adolescents in sub-Saharan Africa is at risk of HIV and yet the world is not listening to them. Working with Sentebale we've been able to hear first-hand the issues affecting young people affected by HIV, and improve our understanding of what they're going through." The authors hope that this policy paper will help to identify not only where the scientific evidence base can be improved in the future, but how researchers, policy makers, NGOs, health workers and community networks can work together to enable young people with HIV/AIDS to live happy, healthy and productive lives. Rashida Ferrand, Professor of International Health at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine and an author of the policy brief, said: "It's important to recognise that young people living with HIV face unique challenges, different to adults. We must think about the meaningful involvement of young people. Undoubtedly this will lead to uncomfortable conversations as adolescents become increasingly independent and start having relationships, but they must be had - young people don't simply live in a health clinic." Cathy Ferrier, Sentebale Chief Executive Officer, said: "This paper is of crucial importance to Sentebale, and will act as a roadmap for the onward delivery of our work addressing the multitude of challenges preventing young people affected by HIV from accessing life-saving care in southern Africa. We are delighted to partner once more with the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine following the Sentebale Roundtable in July, and to have the long-standing support of the Handa Foundation which makes this vital work possible." Sentebale Let Youth Lead Advocate, Masedi Kewamodimo, from Botswana said: "As a young woman living with HIV, sometimes you need motivation, sometimes challenges overwhelm you. Programmes like Sentebale's Let Youth Lead are so important because it provides a structure and support network filled with peers, offering education and something that is ultimately designed for youth, by youth. It is encouraging to see so many real and every day barriers to care for our generation addressed in this paper and amplified through the relationship between LSHTM and Sentebale." The policy brief will be launched at HIV/AIDS in Adolescents - Needs, Opportunities and Challenges, a special event taking place at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine today, World AIDS Day. Organised with Sentebale and Worldwide Support for Development, the discussion event will feature Masedi Kewamodimo, a 22 year old Sentebale Let Youth Lead Advocate from Botswana who will share her story, along with perspectives from other distinguished speakers including Noerine Kaleeba, Rashida Ferrand, Cathy Ferrier and Lord Andrew Turnbull. Uber acquiesced to the demands, and then went further. The company tracked down the hackers and pushed them to sign nondisclosure agreements, according to the people familiar with the matter. To further conceal the damage, Uber executives also made it appear as if the payout had been part of a bug bounty a common practice among technology companies in which they pay hackers to attack their software to test for soft spots. The details of the attack remained hidden until Tuesday. The ride-hailing company said it had discovered the breach as part of a board investigation into Ubers business practices. The breach at Uber is far from the most serious exposure of sensitive customer information. The two breaches that Yahoo announced in 2016 eclipse Ubers in size, and an attack disclosed in September by Equifax, the consumer credit reporting agency, exposed a far deeper trove of personal information for a far larger group of people. But the handling of the breach underscores the extent to which Uber executives were willing to go to protect the $70 billion ride-hailing giants reputation and business, even at the potential cost of breaking users trust and, perhaps more important, state and federal laws. The New York attorney generals office said on Tuesday that it had opened an investigation into the matter. Dara Khosrowshahi, who was chosen to be chief executive of Uber in late August, said he had only recently learned of the breach. 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. Mr. Hart, a lawyer whose grandfather was born in the United States and immigrated to Cuba, was also, later, his countrys first culture minister. An early member of Castros inner circle, Mr. 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. Mr. 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, Mr. 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. Rex Tillersons tenure as secretary of state has been tumultuous, damaging to American foreign policy and his department. And, one can reasonably speculate, more unpleasant and unsatisfying than not for Mr. Tillerson himself. Successful secretaries of state tend to have respectful relationships with their boss. The Trump-Tillerson partnership failed miserably as the president soured on the former ExxonMobil C.E.O. and marginalized him in policymaking. A relationship in which Mr. Tillerson privately called President Trump a moron and Mr. Trump publicly faulted Mr. Tillerson for wasting his time on North Korea seemed destined to end badly. Mr. Tillerson has approached his job more as an efficiency-driven management consultant than as the nations senior diplomat and spokesman to the world. He has undermined the institution of diplomacy by advocating a 30 percent cut in the State Department budget and trying to push out 2,000 career diplomats, has shown little interest in explaining American positions at home or abroad and has done little to counter the steady erosion of trust in Americas historic role as a global leader, which Mr. Trump has brought about by his indifference to old alliances and his courtship of despots and strongmen. Yet, amid reports that Mr. Tillerson may soon be forced out of his job, the people thought to be front-runners in any shake-up of the administrations national security team are cause for concern and, potentially, every bit as inimical to the national interest. Although other names are said to be in play, C.I.A. Director Mike Pompeo is reportedly the top choice to succeed Mr. Tillerson at State while Senator Tom Cotton, an Arkansas Republican, is a leading contender to replace Mr. Pompeo. The government of Niger has given the Defense Department permission to fly armed drones out of the Nigerien capital, Niamey, Pentagon officials said Thursday, in a major expansion of the American militarys footprint in Africa. Pentagon officials want to start the flights within days. A memorandum of understanding between the United States and Niger, which was finalized this week, calls for the remotely piloted aircraft to be armed initially, by the militarys Africa Command, at the Nigerien air base in Niamey where they are currently deployed without arms. The drones, the memo says, will eventually be moved to a Nigerien air base in Agadez, where American troops will also be deployed. Pentagon officials said the new mission likely would significantly increase the number of American troops in Niger, from the 800 who are there now. About 500 of those troops now deployed in Niamey would move to the base in Agadez. This operation supports the long-term strategic partnership between the United States and Niger, as well as the ongoing effort to counter violent extremism throughout the region, the Defense Department said in an emailed response to a query from The New York Times. MTN SA CEO Godfrey Motsa has a plea for Telecommunications Minister Siyabonga Cwele Please release the spectrum. Motsa said every time he sees the minister, he shows him a graph which illustrates how bandwidth-starved South Africas mobile operators are compared to those in other countries. We all know that the 2,600MHz spectrum has been lying dormant, said Motsa, referring to capacity in the wireless frequency spectrum suitable for 4G and LTE services. Only Rain currently has frequencies in the 2,600MHz band, and the process to assign further capacity in South Africa has been met with constant delays. The spectrum is being held back until South Africa completes its migration from analogue to digital terrestrial television, a process which has been dragging on for several years. Cweles ministry has also indicated in new draft legislation that it plans to give all available spectrum to a national wireless open access network, despite negotiations with industry indicating the contrary. This is a huge point of concern for MTN, said Motsa. Weve written to the minister to ask for an extension [on the 30-day deadline for submission of feedback on the Amendment Bill], said Motsa. He said they are not asking for the spectrum to just be handed to operators, and due process must be followed. We do not want spectrum without obligations, without conditions. In the past, spectrum was issued with certain rural coverage obligations and we expect any new spectrum to be the same. Spectrum assignment by country The graph below details Motsas statement on spectrum allocation in South Africa. The latest statistics from SteamSpy show that Clicker Heroes was the most popular game in South Africa over the past two weeks. Valve, the company behind Steam, does not release game sales figures, but estimates suggest it is by far the dominant player in the global PC digital game distribution space. SteamSpy uses its resources to estimate the popularity of Steam titles around the world, including in South Africa. Statistics from SteamSpy on Steam in South Africa are detailed below. Steam in South Africa For the week of 28 November, SteamSpy showed the following: Total active users: 607,166 ( 75,064) ( 75,064) Share of total users: 0.22% Share of total games: 0.23% Owned games per user: 27.57 Average playtime (2 weeks): 29:47 Active users (2 weeks): 39% Popular games in SA Popular Steam games in SA Rank By players By hours (average per user) 1 Counter-Strike: Global Offensive 27% Clicker Heroes 56:09 2 Dota 2 23% Left 4 Dead 2 33:21 3 PLAYERUNKNOWNS BATTLEGROUNDS 18% ARK: Survival Evolved 26:39 4 Warframe 10% Dota 2 23:44 5 Battlerite 6% Warframe 21:33 6 ARK: Survival Evolved 5% Rust 17:18 7 Rust 5% Call of Duty: WWII 16:33 8 Borderlands 2 4% Warface 16:30 9 Wallpaper Engine 4% PLAYERUNKNOWNS BATTLEGROUNDS 15:13 10 Grand Theft Auto V 3% Counter-Strike: Global Offensive 15:00 Now read: Steam changes review system to fight spammers Advertise Here Be seen advertise here. Contact us. Oppositionist: No guarantees that war with Azerbaijan can be avoided Armenia-Azerbaijan peace agreement to be signed till end of year? Pashinyan's associate voices conditions Erdogan says Russia and US agreed to refrain from using nuclear weapons Azerbaijani oppositionist complains of torture by police UN Secretary General Guterres welcomes parties' agreement on renewal of food deal Eurasian Development Bank: Armenia is the leader among EEU countries in terms of economic growth Greece promises to continue military support to Ukraine Number of appeals from Azerbaijan to ECHR is growing Fire hits Baghdad airport North Korea fires ballistic missile towards Sea of Japan Istanbul agrees to extend 'grain initiative' for another 120 days 'Hayastan' Fund to build 6 residential houses in Nerkin Khndzoresk village Vocal as Russophobic propaganda: Azerbaijani singer sings about 'disgusting peacekeepers' Biden congratulates Republicans on winning majority in House of Representatives 14 freight cars derailed in Kazakhstan, train traffic suspended Newspaper: Ruben Vardanyan does not hurry to make changes in composition of Karabakh government Russia attacks Ukraine with missiles in morning: Explosions heard in Dnieper, air defense works in Kyiv region U.S. National Security Council: It is clear that the party ultimately responsible for this tragic incident is Russia Gold prices decline Russian Trade Representative to Armenia: Situation at Upper Lars checkpoint is not related to geopolitical issues Trade Representative of Russia: Trade turnover with Armenia sets new record Copper falls in price Gas explodes in Fatih district of Istanbul, 10 people injured Oil prices go down Meteorite that fell in Britain contains key information about how oceans and life formed on Earth Gamer drinks 12 energy drinks in ten minutes and ends up in hospital Sweden to provide Ukraine with new military aid worth $287 million Bulgaria, Croatia and Romania meet conditions for joining Schengen zone Oil prices may reach $120 a barrel and stay at this level for 2 years Zelenskyy receives 'signals' that Putin wants direct talks Security Service of Ukraine puts Ramzan Kadyrov on wanted list Unidentified men open fire at market in Izeh city in southwestern Iran Karen Donfried tries to explain State Department's decision to exempt Azerbaijan from 907th Amendment Philip Reeker says U.S. administration representatives have no access to Nagorno-Karabakh Rimac Nevera sets speed record for production electric cars Reeker: Pace and depth of current talks between Yerevan and Baku demonstrate potential to resolve conflict FBI director considers TikTok threat to US National Security Bob Menendez says Ukraine supplies Azerbaijan with phosphorus bombs it used in Karabakh Delegation headed by Speaker of Armenian Parliament is in Tbilisi Austin: U.S. intends to continue supplying weapons and aid to Ukraine during winter Armenian politician charged with abuse of office, money laundering Karen Donfried says Armenia and Azerbaijan have historic opportunity to establish lasting peace Bob Menendez: How can the U.S. justify security assistance to the Baku regime? Azerbaijan fires at residents of Sarushen village of Artsakh Head of Portugal's Finance Ministry: EU countries must work faster on energy intervention Kuwait executes 7 prisoners Czech Republic plans to train up to 4,000 Ukrainian servicemen next year Ukraine once again asks US for powerful drones Belarusian border guards shoot down drone intruding into airspace from Ukraine Armenian Deputy PM: Regional electricity export opportunities significantly increased Greek authorities temporarily ban export of firewood from country Azerbaijan protests to France in connection with Senate resolution Blinken calls on Aliyev to observe ceasefire and limit provocations Pashinyan: We're advancing rights of Armenians in Nagorno-Karabakh. Pashinyan: Armenia invites Azerbaijan to sign framework agreement on peace Pashinyan: Most of the arable land of 4 villages in Tavush Province is occupied by Azerbaijanis Armenian Prime Minister: Let the opposition loudly reject Russia's proposals Pashinyan: 2023 budget growth in social protection compared to 2018 is 56% Inflation in UK up to 41-year high of 11.1% in October Pashinyan: We don't want to provoke war between CSTO and Azerbaijan Pashinyan's explanation: How should we fight inflation? Pashinyan: Armenia submitted its proposals for peace treaty to Azerbaijan, we are waiting for a response Pashinyan: Army budget 2023 more than doubled compared to 2018 CNN: CIA director visits Kyiv Macron urges Iran to calm down and respect the French IRGC forces detain Mossad spy in southern Iran Iranian Foreign Minister expresses dissatisfaction with number of 'unrealistic comments' by Azerbaijani officials Parliament Vice-Speaker: Armenian military-industrial complex able to establish serial production of military products Armen Grigoryan receives Major General Daniel Lasica Poland says Ukrainian missile could be cause of explosion Ivanka Trump says she will not participate in her father's presidential campaign KGB of Belarus states about 'threat of intervention' from Baltic States, Ukraine, and Poland Belarus says AFU blew up bridges in direction of Gomel and Mozyr 22-year-old soldier dies in accident with army truck in Armenia Indonesian president hands over G20 presidency to India Azerbaijani Ombudswoman's distorted perception of reality: French Senate Resolution 'will undermine peace in the region' Nikol Pashinyan holds telephone conversation with Irakli Garibashvili Four explosions blow up in sky over Belgorod NATO Secretary General to hold meeting of alliance on incident in Poland Finnish Foreign Ministry: Many in NATO believe that Turkey has created an awkward situation for the alliance Armenian Patriarch of Jerusalem receives group of wounded participants of 44-day Karabakh war AP: Drone with explosives attacks oil tanker off the coast of Oman LPR announces attack by AFU from Popasna to Kharkiv Oblast Toyota reveals next-generation Toyota Prius hybrid Central Bank head: State Budget deficit in Armenia to grow to 3.1% of GDP in 2023 Erdogan believes Russia had nothing to do with the missile incident in Poland Thanasis Bakolas shares concerns that Armenian politician banned from leaving Armenia Biden and Sunak discuss missile incident in Poland at G20 summit Russian Defense Ministry: Elements of the Ukrainian S-300 system fell in Poland Erdogan: Biden administration is determined to sell F-16s to Turkey Gold price remains stable Copper falls in price Microsoft to leave Azerbaijan G7 and NATO leaders say they are ready to support Poland in investigation of bombings Joe Biden asks Congress for new funding for Ukraine Finance Minister: Capital expenses will greatly increase in Armenia in 2023 Azerbaijani MFA accuses French Senate of undermining relations normalization process between Baku and Yerevan Armen Grigoryan to pay working visit to India AP: Missile falls in Poland may have been fired by Ukraine to shoot down Russian missile Erdogan plans to discuss fertilizer transportation and grain deal with Putin The Onalaska School District administration was settling into its new home in the former Festival Foods support center along Second Street last month. The school district closed on the building in late September after agreeing to purchase it for $870,000 from owner Dave Skogen in July. We were glad that we were able to make a deal with Dave and Barb Skogen, Superintendent Fran Finco said, adding that the buildings central location and history made it an ideal choice for the new district offices. The 11,500-square-foot building was originally the site of Skogens IGA before becoming the Festival Foods support center. There is kind of a Skogen family legacy on this site, Finco said. The district had hoped to move in earlier last month, but the move was delayed after a survey revealed the building encroached onto city property by just over 18 inches. The discovery required a November vote by the the Onalaska Common Council to transfer the property to the district. Once that was out of the way, the district set to work on a myriad of renovations to convert the former grocery store into the schools new administrative offices. A new roof was installed along with new heating and air conditioning and LED lighting. False walls were erected to make partitions for office spaces. The move has allowed the district to consolidate many departments including accounts payable, information and pupil services, nursing, and administration, under one roof. Finco said by moving pupil services to the administrative building, the parents can register their children from a centralized location rather than going to Irving Pertzsch. It feels more professional, said Administrative Assistant Kristen Fay. She said the move to the larger facility was a welcome improvement over the districts old 3,600-square-foot administrative building, which is now owned by Altra Federal Credit Union. I think the best part of this building is having all services under one roof, Fay said. Finco said the district should hold its first school board meeting in the new location in early January. As you probably have heard, RSV is hitting early and hitting hard this year. Here at Winona Health, my fellow caregivers in Pediatrics and Family Medicine and I are fielding many questions from concerned parents and child care providers. We are always happy to be your resource! The University of California announced that a $22 million investment from the State of California to accelerate innovation and entrepreneurship across the UC system has supported more than 500 new startups and existing companies, helped launch at least 47 new products and enabled companies to attract $3.7 million in additional investments. Assembly Bill 2664 funds have been and will be used as a catalyst to bring together resources on campuses and within local communities to develop entrepreneurial skills and to help commercialize new products and technologies, said Christine Gulbranson, UCs senior vice president for innovation and entrepreneurship. With its share of funding, UC Santa Cruz developed a multifaceted innovation and entrepreneurship program to support technology commercialization, creative entrepreneurship in the arts and social sciences, and experiential education and training for students, faculty, staff, and the neighboring community. Called the Support Program for Longterm Innovation, Commercialization & Entrepreneurship (SPLICE) and managed by the Office of Researchs Industry Alliances & Technology Commercialization (IATC) Office, the program consists of: a wet-lab incubator; a Santa Cruz business accelerator; an expanded entrepreneurship training program for students focusing on social enterprise; a Silicon Valley incubator/accelerator; a proof-of-concept grant program to help commercialize UCSC science and engineering technologies; an Arts Division entrepreneurial training, mentorship and creative internship program; and a program to commercialize student games. By pushing UCSC innovations from campus out to the community, SPLICE is bringing value and economic development through sustainable entrepreneurship, job creation and improved quality of life in the community, said Assistant Vice Chancellor for Research Mohamed Abousalem. In a report sent to state officials, UC provided an update on the range of activities supported by AB 2664 funds across UCs ten campuses. Early results show that the state funds are having an overwhelmingly positive impact: AB 2664-funded programs supported nearly 400 existing companies and supported entrepreneurs in the formation of another 127 startup companies. At least 47 products were launched with the support of AB 2664 programs, ranging from footwear made with sustainable materials to smartphone applications for managing campus parking. Startups leveraged their experience and funding from AB 2664 programming to attract at least another $3.7 million in additional investments, helping them bridge gaps to commercialization. AB 2664 funds enabled UC campuses to add over 38,000 square feet of space for UC researchers and entrepreneurs to work on their projects in 2017, attracting 1,200 more users of those spaces than in the previous year. More than 3,600 members of the UC community attended networking, pitch events and entrepreneurial education workshops supported by AB 2664 funds, an increase of some 1,700 participants from the previous year. UC also leveraged Assembly Bill 2664 to raise $11.1 million in matching funds from corporate and philanthropic sources, with more fundraising to come. As of Nov. 2017, campuses have received over $5.5 million in matching funds, with another $5.6 million committed. AB 2664, the Innovation and Entrepreneurship Expansion, was authored by Assemblymember Jacqui Irwin and signed in fall 2016 by Gov. Jerry Brown. Through the bill, each of UCs 10 campuses received $2.2 million in one-time funding in Jan. 2017 to invest in infrastructure, incubators and entrepreneurship education programs. In 2013, Napolitano launched the Innovation and Entrepreneurship Initiative to leverage the scale and diversity of the UC system to build an even more vibrant entrepreneurial culture. For more information about innovation at UC, including UCs new contest for alumni entrepreneurs, visit http://entrepreneurs.universityofcalifornia.edu/. For more information on the SPLICE program or the IATC Office, email innovation@ucsc.edu or call 8314595415. WHITEHALL Warren Harding Herried, 95, of Whitehall died Saturday, Nov. 25, 2017, in the Noel Manor Retirement Living assisted living apartments in Verona. Warren was born Sept. 11, 1922, in Black River Falls to Wendell and Effie (Knutson) Herried. Warren graduated from the Black River Falls High School in 1940. He attended Tennessee Technological University on military assignment during World War II in preparation for his aviation duties in the U.S. Eighth Air Force. Warren married Virginia M. Christianson April 6, 1942, in Milwaukee. They moved to Whitehall in 1954 and purchased the Coast-to-Coast Hardware Store that they owned and operated for 35 years prior to their retirement in the fall of 1988. Warren was also actively involved in managing real estate properties and other personal investments. Warren enjoyed travel, including many fishing trips to Canada, and spending winters at the family seasonal home in Bonita Springs, Fla. He was a devoted Green Bay Packer and Wisconsin Badger fan and an avid hunter, fisherman and boating enthusiast most of his life, often spending time at his lake cottage on Lake Arbutus at Hatfield. Warren was selected and very thrilled to fly to Washington D.C. on one of the Veterans Honor Flights that featured visits to the nations capitol, military monuments, and other historic sites. Warren is survived by his son, Richard of Verona; several nieces and nephews, and a special friend, Verna Jergens of Onalaska. Warren was preceded in death by his parents; and his wife, Virginia, who died on January 1, 1997; and several brothers-in-law and sisters-in-law. Funeral services will be held at 6 p.m. Monday, Dec. 4, in the Jack Funeral Home in Whitehall, with Pastor Thomas Elliott officiating. Friends may call from 4 p.m. until the time of service. Burial with military rites conducted by the American Legion Post #200 will be held at 11 a.m. Tuesday, Dec. 5, in the Riverside Cemetery in Black River Falls. People of all faith traditions and spiritual backgrounds are invited to an Advent Labyrinth Walk on Thursday, Dec. 7, at the Franciscan Spirituality Center, 920 Market St. The indoor labyrinth will be available between 4 and 7 p.m. A labyrinth is a single path that has been used as a walking meditation for prayer and reflection since ancient times. For many, it is symbolic of a pilgrimage and can help bring about clarity, peace and healing. The FSC's labyrinth is designed in the pattern of the Chartres Cathedral labyrinth in France, which dates to the 1200s. As Americans struggle to comprehend the mass shootings, terrorist attacks and political uproar that have rippled across the country over the past year, many lose focus on the traumas and tragedies all over the globe affecting those who need our support more than ever. For the 15th year, Amnesty International is asking citizens from around the world to take a moment to recognize the millions of people who have been denied their basic rights, and to take pen to paper on their behalf through the Write for Rights campaign. The worlds largest human rights event, Write for Rights aims to enact justice through words, flooding government officials, leaders or decision makers with letters, postcards, tweets and posts petitioning for the release or improved treatment of prisoners of conscience, the prosecution of those who have committed torture and abuse and the severing of laws which violate the right to speech. With just a letter, conditions improve, said Joan Schoenfeld, leader of local Amnesty International chapter 581. Chapter 581 has participated in Write for Rights for the past three years, and will hold a group letter writing session from 7 to 8:30 p.m. Wednesday at the Viterbo nursing building. Last year, 15 individuals penned 155 letters, and community members are invited to join the current eight members to exceed that number this year. Every single letter makes a difference Amnesty International has helped free at least one person each year since 2010, including Chelsea Manning, for whom a quarter million letters were sent, in 2017, and Angola 3 member Albert Woodfox in 2016, who was released after 44 years in solitary confinement for a murder he didnt commit. Each year well find someone who has gotten out of jail, Schonfeld said. We always have hope, thats why we continue to do it. Ten prisoners or victims are being spotlighted this year, including Clovis Razafimalala, an environmental activist who has protested the black market sale of Madagascars rosewood trees. The rare trees are facing commercial extinction due to the billion dollar industry, and Razafimalala has endured harassment and threats from traffickers, as well as criminal charges. The government isnt doing anything about it, Schoenfeld said. The case of the Instanbul 10 is of particular concern to Schonefeld. The ten human rights defenders include Taner Kilic, the Turkish chair of Amnesty International, who is last of the group to remain in prison for speaking out against human rights abuse in the Turkey. The other nine have been released due to the efforts of Amnesty International. They were jailed for doing what we do, Schoenfeld said. These people are taking their lives into their hands. Ni Yulan, a housing rights activist in China, is also in dire need of support. Construction projects across Beijing have forced families from their homes, and Yulans resistance and activism led to her torture by police, a beating so brutal she has been confined to a wheelchair. The governments behavior has attracted international attention, Yulan has said. They should be the ones who are afraid. During Write for Rights, participants are encouraged to send a second missive, offering encouragement and acknowledgement to the person fighting injustice. These correspondence are sent on colorful stationary or picture cards. I would think the bleakness some of these prisoners experience (would be helped) by a card or a letter, Schoenfeld said. Even if they cant read them, they know someone is thinking of them. Schoenfeld concedes the mission can be frustrating at times, with some of their prisoners languishing behind bars for years, but she has had the honor of attending a few global Amnesty International meetings, and speaking with those she has helped free. They tell us, Dont give up, Schoenfeld said. The Amityville Horror they basically start what would become The Conjuring series of films, except Patrick Wilson's ass George Lutz severly lacks. Misha: A Memoire of the Holocaust Years Heidi Girl of the nonexistent German Alps Anthony Godby Johnson Cooks Source Controversy (BUT HONESTLY MONICA) "But honestly Monica, the web is considered 'public domain' and you should be happy we just didn't 'lift' your whole article and put someone else's name on it! It happens a lot, clearly more than you are aware of, especially on college campuses, and the workplace. If you took offence and are unhappy, I am sorry, but you as a professional should know that the article we used written by you was in very bad need of editing, and is much better now than was originally. Now it will work well for your portfolio. For that reason, I have a bit of a difficult time with your requests for monetary gain, albeit for such a fine (and very wealthy!) institution. We put some time into rewrites, you should compensate me! I never charge young writers for advice or rewriting poorly written pieces, and have many who write for me... ALWAYS for free!" Norma Khouri Let's get started. Un, deux trois!No horror film is as creepy as The Amityville Horror. Just kidding, there are plenty of others that are, I just can't think of how to start. Technically speaking, this isn't really a book hoax as....well the entire story to begin with. Basically, The Amityville Horror is an account of the haunted goings on at a house, witnessed by the Lutz family. The house is actually where the infamous DeFeo murders happened, where an unhinged man murdered his entire family by shooting them with a rifle. Since that time, it has been alleged that the spirits of the murdered family haunt the house. Anyway, the Lutz family moves in, andKathy Lutz reported damaged locks, footprints in the snow, body pains and aches, odors of shit and perfume, and bite marks. But who the fuck cares? Anyway, they published a book about their experiences, and that very book launched a series of legal disputes, mostly focusing on Lutz's actual account, as well as changes made when the book was republished. Sadly the debate as to the accuracy of what happened in the house goes on to this day.Holocaust memoirs....are very difficult things to talk about. Except the author of this book is an ingrate. Basically, Misha Defonseca (real name Monique de Wael) published a harrowing account of her time wandering Europe during the Holocaust, searching for her missing parents. While I certainly doubt anyone named Monique was ever imprisoned by the Nazi's and stuff, the factual accuracies were disproven. She wasn't actually Jewish, her parents were Roman-Catholic, and she didn't actually leave her home during the war. She later claimed the hoax was her way of coping with the war. Because nothing says PTSD from true hell in that time like lying about howMonique,, walks the earth trying to avoid capture. I suppose she at least had the decency to admit it was entirely fake.Once upon a time there was a young boy named Anthony Johnson. Johnson endured child sexual abuse and rape by his druggie parents hands. He got adopted by a family, only to find out he had AIDS. The truth? There is no Anthony Johnson. His "mother" Vicki Johnson perpetrated the hoax, creating this fictitious child. The clues? Well, many medical experts find it unlikely that Anthony, at 19 years old, could still be alive having AIDS for so long, and medications that slow the disease were not available around the time of his alleged diagnosis. The story was adapted for a Law and Order episode called 'Faith' in 2002. Vicki Johnson claims she handed Anthony to a foster care mother in 1997. She married a child psychologist who was later arrested for abusing child patients at a treatment center for troubled children in Indiana. He was acquitted of one felony count of practicing medicine without a license and three misdemeanor counts of battery for inappropriately touching boys. He died of a heart attack in 2009, because karma's a fucking bitch. Supposedly Vicki is also deceased, but not before her lawyers turned a 147-page response from her to ABC's 20/20, which did a segment on her and her fake shit. To this day, people still think he exists.Hoo boy, here we go! Cooks Source was an independently published food-based magazine in New England. In 2010, they took an online article called "A Tale of Two Tarts" written by Monica Gaudio, retitled "As American As Apple Pie Isn't!" with a heavy revision. Gaudio, understandibly was pissed, and before you can say "here go hell come", she notified the magazine's founder, Judith A. Griggs, demanding that she retract the story and donate some money to the Columbia School of Journalism. Well, Ms Griggs, fake bitch that she is, was not having any of that humble pie. So she delivered a harsh response, which is quite possibly the greatest literary meme ever.The response attracted national attention from people like Will Wheaton and Neil Gaiman. Gifted as she was, Ms Griggs didn't realize that the internet never forgives, never forgets. Monica became the whistleblower that would deal Cooks Source a serious blow. The day after, Cooks Source website stated it was changing its business practices. Griggs claimed she had to disconnect her phone because she got over 100 calls from angry foodies. She also blamed Monica, that she didn't give her a chance to address the issue. After Monica posted Griggs' email, online investigators created a Google Spreadsheet and compiled almost 170 instances where Cooks Source appeared to have lifted copyrighted material, including text and images, from other sources,NPR sent a cease and desist, and eventually Cooks Source went down in flames.Norma Khouri....greatest fraudster ever? You decide. Khouri published Forbidden Love in 2004, a tale based on the honor killing of her friend in Jordan. The book became an instant bestseller, however, people began questioning the authenticity of her story. A Sydney Morning Herald reporter eventually revealed that Khouri was not living in Jordan during the time of the alleged murder (1993-1995), but was living in Chicago with her husband and children. Furthermore, she had left the US for some time after attempting to defraud her elderly neighbor. So she's not only the literal example of "fake bitch, can't write" but ALSO a con-artist! She was exposed as a fraud and now claims she didn't receive any royalties from the book. Aw poor dat. Next Time: A Child Called "It", Opal Mehta, Janet Cooke, Helen Darville, Kitty Kelley, and Gay Girl in Damascus An artist concept depicting one of NASA's twin Voyager spacecraft. Humanity's farthest and longest-lived spacecraft are celebrating 40 years in August and September 2017. Credit: Jet Propulsion Laboratory If you tried to start a car that's been sitting in a garage for decades, you might not expect the engine to respond. But a set of thrusters aboard the Voyager 1 spacecraft successfully fired up Wednesday after 37 years without use. Voyager 1, NASA's farthest and fastest spacecraft, is the only human-made object in interstellar space, the environment between the stars. 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. Now, the Voyager team is 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, Pasadena, California. 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. The Voyager team assembled a group of propulsion experts at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, California, to study the problem. Chris Jones, Robert Shotwell, Carl Guernsey and Todd Barber analyzed 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 maneuver," or TCM, thrusters that are identical in size and functionality to the attitude control thrusters, and are located on the back side of the spacecraft. But because Voyager 1's last planetary encounter was Saturn, the Voyager team hadn't 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. All of Voyager's thrusters were developed by Aerojet Rocketdyne. The same kind of thruster, called the MR-103, flew on other NASA spacecraft as well, such as Cassini and Dawn. On Tuesday, Nov. 28, 2017, 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 traveled through space, taking 19 hours and 35 minutes to reach an antenna in Goldstone, California, that is part of NASA's Deep Space Network. Lo and behold, on Wednesday, Nov. 29, they learned the TCM thrusters worked perfectlyand just as well as the attitude control thrusters. "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 Barber, a JPL propulsion engineer. 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 powera limited resource for the aging mission. When there is no longer enough power to operate the heaters, the team will switch back to the attitude control thrusters. The thruster test went so well, the team will likely do a similar test on the TCM thrusters for Voyager 2, the twin spacecraft of Voyager 1. The attitude control thrusters currently used for Voyager 2 are not yet as degraded as Voyager 1's, however. Voyager 2 is also on course to enter interstellar space, likely within the next few years. So what are these rules of self-defense? What is legal and what isn't? Was Willeford, the hero in the Texas shooting, justified in his actions? The law, in most places, allows for the defense of others, Branca explains. And, when the shooter took aim at Willeford, self-defense laws kicked in. Even in the high-speed pursuit of the shooter that followed, Willeford and another man seem well within legal bounds, especially given that there aren't many laws governing mass shootings. Advertisement For people claiming self-defense in situations where they are personally threatened, things are a little clearer. Laws vary from state to state, as do those who enforce the laws. What seems an unlawful act to a prosecutor in Massachusetts may not be to one in Texas. But generally, most states recognize a handful of conditions, up to five, that must be met to conduct a successful defense of self-defense: Innocence: You have to be the innocent party. Imminence: The threat can't be about something in the past or future; it must be now. Proportionality: The amount of force you use must match, and not exceed, the threat. Avoidance: In a number of states, but not all, you have a duty to retreat to avoid a deadly encounter. Reasonableness: Your conduct must be reasonable to the point that a prudent person would think it reasonable. Since most states recognize self-defense as a defense for lethal force, Kristin Brown, co-president of the Brady Campaign, says that's why these policies a bad idea. "Shooting in self-defense is legal in most cases, so why would people need insurance for something that they are legally entitled to?" she says. "We should focus on solutions to those real problems that impact far too many families instead of emboldening the George Zimmermans of the world to shoot first and ask questions later which is exactly what this insurance will do." Maybe. Maybe not. "You could do everything legally correctly and face a disaster in terms of finances and emotional stress," Branca says. "By the same token, just because you have, say, defense insurance, that's not a 'Get Out of Jail Free' card. If your use of force was unlawful, they may pay your legal expenses, but off to jail you go nevertheless." Now That's Interesting Much was made of the Florida "stand your ground" self-defense legal strategy used in the Trayvon Martin shooting in 2012. But many other states have similar statutes. California, for example, allows for deadly force in defending one's home (the "castle doctrine") and points out that homeowners and can actually pursue an assailant until danger has passed even if they would have been safer staying put. Bolivia's President Evo Morales speaks during a ceremony in Tiquipaya, Cochabamba, Bolivia, November 28, 2017. Enzo De Luca/Courtesy of Bolivian Presidency/Handout via REUTERS (Reuters) LA PAZ (Reuters) - Bolivian President Evo Morales said on Thursday that opposition from the United States convinced him to run for a fourth term in 2019, spurring a second day of protests after the constitutional court eliminated term limits. Morales' government earlier brushed off criticism from Washington, which said it was "deeply concerned" over Tuesday's court decision. Morales himself then took it a step further, saying the U.S. reaction actually convinced him to run. "I was not so determined; now I am determined," he said at a public event in the central Bolivian region of Cochabamba. "I will be a candidate, sisters and brothers, in 2019." The court ruling is final and cannot be appealed. Groups opposed to the ruling protested in several cities again on Thursday, as opponents clashed with police outside an elections office in the city of Santa Cruz. "Bolivia has a constitution and we should respect it," said Olga Flores, who identified as a human rights activist and was among several hundred protesters braving the rain in La Paz. Others chanted "Bolivia said no!" Morales, a former coca farmer in power since 2006, had previously accepted the results of a referendum in 2016, when 51 percent of voters rejected his proposal to end term limits. He later reversed course, saying that while he was willing to leave office, his supporters were pushing for him to stay. The U.S. State Department disputed that position. "Twice in the last decade, the Bolivian people have expressed their opposition to the concept of indefinite reelection for elected officials," the department's statement said. It referred to a vote in favor of the current constitution in 2009 and the 2016 referendum. Morales' administration dismissed the criticism. "It looks like they are trying to tell us who our candidates should be," the minister of the presidency, Rene Martinez, said. Story continues He said right-wing political forces in Bolivia had joined with the United States and the Organization of American States to stop Morales from running again. Historically unstable Bolivia has enjoyed relative calm and prosperity under Morales, the country's first indigenous president. Approval ratings for Morales, a fierce critic of capitalism and ally of embattled Venezuelan socialist leader Nicolas Maduro, hover at around 50 percent. In September, Morales' Movement to Socialism party asked the courts to rescind legal limits barring elected authorities from seeking reelection indefinitely. Morales says his first election took place under Bolivia's previous constitution and therefore did not count under the now-defunct two-term rule. (Reporting by Daniel Ramos, Monica Machicao and Alexandra Alper in La Paz; Writing by Hugh Bronstein and Caroline Stauffer; Editing by Dan Grebler and Leslie Adler) HAVANA (Reuters) - 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. Cuba's healthcare system, built by late leader Fidel Castro, is one of the revolution's 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 U.S. 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. Story continues "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. (Reporting by Sarah MarshEditing by Marguerita Choy) Although Ibrahim Hondeta's Yazidi family reached Greece a year ago after fleeing persecution, they still fear being the target of violence and are fighting to keep their community together. Having run the gauntlet of invasion, combat, killings and enslavement by Islamic State jihadists in Iraq, the members of this religious minority have found temporary shelter in the largely agricultural region of Serres in northern Greece. The camp they have been allocated to is one of the best in the country -- their prefabricated homes have air conditioning and solar panels to heat water. The grounds are clean and there is a playground for the children. Many hope to be reunited with other Yazidis stranded in Greece, but with the country struggling to manage more than 50,000 refugees and migrants stranded on its territory, that is not always an option. "Creating a camp just for Yazidis is neither possible nor viable," said a Greek official with knowledge of refugee management efforts. The camp can normally accommodate 700 people. At the moment there are some 350 Yazidis, most of them women and children, waiting for EU-sponsored relocation to other parts of Europe. - 'They hunted us down' - Greece's policy is to move eligible refugees from overcrowded island camps -- where they undergo identity checks upon arrival from Turkey -- to the mainland, where more comfortable accommodation is available in better camps, UN-funded flats and hotels. But the Yazidis, who have already faced an ordeal keeping their dwindling community together thus far, oppose this policy. This is partly down to fear of other communities. They had a scare earlier this year, when a Yazidi celebration in Kilkis, another part of northern Greece, descended into violence between Arabs and Kurds. "(The Arabs) threatened to kill us. They hunted us down with knives and clubs. We had to hide in a forest to save our lives," says 55-year-old Hondeta, sitting on a bench outside the camp. "After that, we asked to be given a safe place for our families and we ended up here together." Since that time, they have frustrated the Greek government's attempts to bring in non-Yazidis. They recently blocked the transfer of 60 Congolese and Senegalese mothers and their children to the Serres camp, the government official said. All of them were Catholic. In Athens, a migration ministry source said every effort is being made to facilitate and protect the Yazidis from possible harm. "To my knowledge, there hasn't been an incident in 10 months," the official told AFP, speaking on condition of anonymity. "But there are some people who chafe towards any attempt at integration," the official said. "Respecting one's religious convictions, and using this issue to create sub-groups among the refugee population are two totally different things," the government official in Athens said. "Suppose Syrian Christians demand four camps for themselves? It's not something that can be managed," he added. - 'We are not here for fun' - Rooted in Zoroastrianism, the Yazidis adhere to a faith that emerged in Mesopotamia more than 4,000 years ago but that has over time integrated elements of Islam and Christianity. Of the world's 1.5 million Yazidis, about 550,000 lived in Iraqi Kurdistan but some 400,000 have been displaced by fighting due to the jihadist Islamic State. Around 1,500 have been killed and more than 3,000 are believed to remain in captivity, the UN Assistance Mission to Iraq (UNAMI) and the UN rights office said in an August report. In areas controlled by Islamic State, thousands of women and girls from the Yazidi minority were used as sex slaves and suffered horrific abuse, including rape, abduction, slavery and cruel, inhumane and degrading treatment. The suffering the Yazidis have endured explains why community elders in Serres have written to the migration ministry to officially request that the camp be assigned to Yazidis alone. "We ask for our community not to be disturbed and to live here in safety until we depart," says Hajdar Hamat, a self-styled spokesman for the Yazidis at the camp. "Everybody knows about our peoples' genocide. We did not come from Sinjar to Greece for fun. Europe must protect us," says Hamat. French President Emmanuel Macron (R), Kurdish region's Prime Minister Nechirvan Barzani and Iraqi Kurdistans Deputy Prime Minister Qubad Talabani (L) attend a press conference at the Elysee Palace following a meeting in Paris, France, December 2017. REUTERS/Etienne Laurent/Pool By Michel Rose and Ahmed Aboulenein PARIS/BAGHDAD (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 joint 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. Spokesmen for Abadi and the Badr Organisation, largest group in the PMF, could not be reached for comment. 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. Story continues 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. 'ISSUE IS OVER' "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 Stephen Powell) Yes, its that time of the year again to share what we think are the Best Hair Salons of 2017 for haircuts, colours, perms and so on! Reviews may be the most objective way of evaluating a salon, but it is not always the fairest way as the number of positive reviews also depends on the number of stylists and prices in the salon. A salon with one stylist, for example, is unlikely to be featured as compared to a salon with 10 stylists, even if she is very skilful. Hence, this year, we will be separating our awards into two: 1. Best Hair Salons according to Reviews 2. Best Hair Salons according to Editors Choice Can you guess who they are? Top 10 Hair Salons Based on Reviews 1. Chez Vous Hair Salon @ Ngee Ann City Takashimaya Price: From $55 (Men), From $70 (Ladies) With a whopping 114 reviews from January to September 2017 alone, Chez Vous Hair Salon is clearly the top choice for haircuts for Beauty Undercover readers. Given their distinguished stylists, many of whom are among the best in the industry, and exceptional customer service, were not surprised! We hear that the stylists here go through very rigorous training and are only allowed to cut customers hair after lots of tests. Thats why they are able to cut all sorts of hairstyles well, be it pixie haircuts, bobs or even the more fashion-forward ones like asymmetrical cuts! Even if you get a bad haircut elsewhere, Chez Vous is possibly the best place to go to salvage your hair as the Directors here are able to make use of their arsenal of hair techniques to save your hair. If you are not in a hurry, you can even apply for their Expertligent Fix You program where they might fix your damaged hair for FREE (not valid during peak periods e.g. December to February). Service at Chez Vous is also among the best weve experienced, with a receptionist attending to you the moment you enter. The staff here are also very attentive to your needs and make sure that you are comfortable at all times. This level of skill and service offered at a price of below $100 for haircuts is possibly why Chez Vous remains the preferred hair salon for haircuts by Beauty Undercover agents! Story continues 2. LeeKaJa Korean Hair & Beauty Salon @ Mandarin Gallery Price: From $60 In just one year, LeeKaJa has already catapulted itself into the position of Beauty Undercover Agents favourite Korean Salon. If youve been there, youll understand why. The salon leaves an unforgettable first impression with warm lights, vintage chairs and a beverage bar that will make you feel like youre in a cafe. Within seconds of your arrival, someone will attend to you, offering you wine, smoothies or coffee while the salon manager comes over for a quick consultation. The salon manager is fluent in English so you will not have to worry about communication problems. Volume Cut by Ted Some of the hairstylists here (Ted and Preston!) are so good-looking, you may even mistake them Koreanrean celebrities! But looks aside, the team seems to get only stronger and stronger with each new stylist that joins the team. This includes Caely and Jerry, local hairstylists who used to anchor a top Japanese salon outlet in Singapore as well as Gunhee, international hairstylist who previously worked with Guy Tang on hair colours as well as Beck, who previously cut and coloured hair for top Korean celebrities including Jay Park, Loco and other Korean artists. Yey A post shared by Beck Katira (@beck.bk) on Dec 16, 2016 at 3:21pm PST Beck cutting Cha Cha Malones hair! Layered Cut by Hyun Jin Starting at $60, prices are also reasonable for the quality of haircuts and service received here. Add the first timer Beauty Undercover exclusive promotion and youve got an irresistible Korean hair salon you must try! 3. Color Bar by Full House Salon @ Tampines Central Price: From $16 Color Bar by Full House Salon may be best known for their beautiful and long-lasting hair colours, but regulars to Full House Salon will know that this is also a great place to come for good and affordable haircuts. With prices ranging from $16-$25 for haircuts without a wash, this is possibly one of the cheapest rates you can get for haircuts by stylists who have attended training at Vidal Sassoon London. Service and ambience may not be the best but you can be sure that the quality of haircuts here are well worth the value. They do a great job with male haircuts, too! male haircut 4. HARTS Salon @ Bugis Tan Quee Lan Suites Price: From $35 Another new salon discovered by Beauty Undercover, HARTS is THE place to go for awesome hair colours. Founder Noel is a very talented Singaporean hairstylist who has won multiple awards as a hairdresser, including 1st runner-up for the recent LOreal Colour Trophy. Youll understand why we are so in love once you take a look at their hair works. Aside from colours though, their haircuts are a favourite among our agents as they are stylish and easy to maintain. Pixie Cut by Noel Youll also enjoy their in-depth consultation where they will find out more about what you want instead of imposing their preferences on your hairstyle. Prices are very reasonable at $35, $40 and $45 for short, medium and long hair, respectively! 5. Pro Trim Korean Salon @ Jurong East JEM Price: From $43 One of JEMs most popular hair salons, Pro Trim Korean Salon has a strong team of Korean and local hairstylists. Here, you can find hairstylists who have founded their own salons before and even coloured the hair of Hillary Clinton! While the Korean hairstylists here are very popular, the local hairstylists are not lagging behind. Local stylists such as Elva, Lisa and Karen are very popular for their cuts and perms. Prices are also not very high at $43 for a wash, cut and blow. 6. Art Noise Japanese Hair Salon @ Holland Village Price: $80 One of the most popular hair salons in Holland Village, Art Noise Japanese Hair Salon is known for their skilful hairstylists and great Japanese service. Here, you are welcomed very warmly the moment you enter. There is also a local translator who always helps with consultation. The place is always kept spick and span. They also use tissue paper to shield your face during a wash, give relaxing scalp massages, use carbonated water for hair washing and are extremely patient during hair consultations. Art-Noise is also among the top Japanese hair salons who stand out for their service. They make sure they arrange the appointments so that each customer has sufficient 1-to-1 time, making the service here feel extremely personalised. Still, were here for their cuts and not just their service. We have heard many positive reviews about how they can give the much-needed volume to limp hair with just a haircut. Were especially in love with their bobs, which gives the softer, natural feel, and their long layered cuts look just as good! Prices here are a little higher than usual at $80 for wash + cut + blow. However, their other services e.g. scalp spa at $50 are especially affordable and an essential add-on to their signature cut! 7. No. 8 Hair Studio @ Chinese Garden Jurong East Ave 1 Price: $48 No. 8 Hair Studio may be a local hair salon but its ambience and service level closely resembles that of a Japanese salon. Although it is a little hard to find, the location offers ultimate privacy. It is staffed by two talented local stylists Jimmy and Kent, both of whom are popular hairstylists in Jurong. With the cosy chairs, a variety of teas, and the latest equipment, the salon is designed by both Jimmy and Kent to look more like a cafe than a salon. While they are really popular for hair colours, many customers come to them for a face-framing haircut that promises to make them look slimmer and bring out the best of their features! As you can see, they are not just popular among students, teachers and working professionals, you also have men and even children coming to them for daring cuts. With this level of service and skill, we find Jimmy and Kent a steal with haircuts + wash + blow at $48! 8. AVENTA Hair Salon @ City Hall Stamford Court Price: $65 Next on our most well-reviewed hair salons for haircuts is AVENTA. Located close to City Hall MRT Station, AVENTA is one of Beauty Undercovers most-loved Japanese hair salons. Prices here are reasonable (at $65 before any discounts) and the stylists are really good! Just take a look at these photos to know what we mean! Whether you want romantic, professional or edgy, the stylists are able to give haircuts that are on point. Best of all, the price sets you back by only $65. They are, however, very popular so there are times you may have to wait even if youve made an appointment, so do keep that in mind. 9. Flamingo Hair Studio @ Tanjong Pagar Neil Rd Price: From $90 Located at Tanjong Pagar, this salon is a calm hideaway from the bustling CBD crowd. Feel yourself relax as you walk in because it looks and feels just like a resort in the heart of town. While they are very popular for their rebonding and keratin treatments, Flamingo is best known for the signature cuts by the highly competent Japanese team consisting of Ryu, Ayumi, Take and Ryo. Here, they focus on giving customers a cut that best fits their face shape and their lifestyle. As the Japanese stylists Ryu, Ayumi and Ryo are fluent in English, they are also adept at explaining why a specific hairstyle best suits you, something we appreciate. This may also be why many customers put their faith in the stylists to transform their hair from long to short. Prices here are a little higher but their service level is also more personalised. Hence, were not surprised to find it a hit among working professionals in the CBD area. 10. Follicle Salon @ Ngee Ann City Takashimaya Price: From $88 Follicle Salon may be best known for their scalp treatments but the experienced team of stylists here mean that their haircuts are also highly sought after. Winson, Edward and Amelia have a huge following of customers which include Marketing Directors (Agent AC is one of them), actresses and taitais who just cant find the same level of skill, consideration and service elsewhere. Customers who face thinning hair will love coming here as the stylists are able to create hairstyles that make the thinning hair less obvious. The area is also very discreet (since it is located on Level 8 of Ngee Ann City) and is perfect for that super effective scalp treatment we love to rave about. Prices arent cheap here but its certainly worth it, as its regular customers would attest! Top 10 Hair Salons Based on Editors Choice Now that youve read about the top 10 hair salons based on reviews, here are the top 10 hair salons that our Chief Editor Agent G personally recommends. Customers to these salons dont write as many reviews but these are the salons that leave a strong impression on Agent G due to the stylists excellent skill and service. Read on if you trust in Agent Gs astute professional judgment! 1. Izumi Salon Price: $120 Izumi Salon is not located in any shopping mall but in the SOHO section of The Central. While the outside looks like any office space, the door opens to an amazing view of the CBD area. The view is matched by an equally awesome hairstylist, Izumi. Other than her hairdressing experience in both Japan and the US, she picked up haircutting techniques from international hair maestros that allow her to deal with customers of all hair textures with ease. Her arsenal of hairdressing skills which includes a unique combination of wet cuts (from Vidal Sassoon and Toni & Guy), dry cuts (John Sahag) and the Japanese R cut, together with her professionalism and conscientiousness makes her one of the best weve seen in the industry. If you are someone who appreciates a high level of skill and artistry in hairdressing, we would highly recommend you to try Izumi, who is likely to take your hairdressing experience to the next level. Definitely one of the best haircut specialists weve seen in Singapore! 2. Evolve Salon Price: From $60 )111/825 #ladyfirstsg#starhub#goldwellsg#ghdsg#johnfriedasg#kenhong #evolvesalonsg #hairstyles #haircut #Hair #hairstyle #iamgoldwell #evolvesalon A post shared by KEN HONG (@kenhong.sg) on Sep 17, 2017 at 11:07pm PDT Have you ever seen Ken from ? Well, hes the founder of Evolve Salon and also the FIRST hairstylist from Singapore to be the International Hair Ambassador for a major haircare brand, Goldwell! In just a few snips, he can transform someones looks from dull to refreshed! Yes, Ken is just so, so talented we cant stop raving about him. Despite his status as a top hairstylist, we love how he remains down to earth and humble, making him one of our FAVOURITE hairstylists of all time. His busy schedule, however, means that he is not always available for a haircut. Fortunately, Ken has built a strong team of hairstylists who seem to be following in his footsteps to greatness. Director Dylan Tung, for example, recently won the Goldwell Colour Zoom in Singapore and flew to Barcelona to represent Singapore in the Global Colour Zoom competition. Up and coming hair colour genius, Yuujin has also won a few awards of his own at the National Colour Zoom competition. Although colours appear to be their strong suit, we love their stylistic graduated bobs and pixie hairstyles that make an impression with their clean and precise haircuts. 3. Kenaris Salon Price: From $129 Kenaris may be among the priciest hair salons in Orchard but its regular customers will tell you that their cuts are absolutely worth it. Bob by Aris If youre hoping to go short, both Ken and Aris are perfect for the job as they can customise the hairstyle to your desired length and facial structure. We sent Agent WT down for a cut after her wedding. Check out how much fresher and chic she looked after the cut! While they are good with colours and perms as well, we think that the haircuts at Kenaris are its signature service as the stylists here are all very highly trained in cuts. Overall, one of our recommended top salons for haircuts! 4. Gene by Ginrich Price: From $68 There are a number of salons in Orchard but Gene by Ginrich remain one of our favourites. Its not just the swanky design that got us hooked. The star stylists here, which include Derek, Dawn, Jamie and Catherine are known to be very strong in haircuts. Derek especially enjoys a very strong following among air stewardesses and working professionals who LOVE his bob haircuts. For us though, the attraction lies beyond the haircuts and into the service we receive at Gene. It is clear that the staff here treat each other and customers like family. Hence, we feel well taken care of from the moment we enter till we leave. We especially love adding on the AVEDA scalp treatment when we come here for a cut because of the fantastic massage given by their junior stylists. 5. The Bund @ Ang Mo Kio Price: From $60 Theres lots of things we like about The Bund, including its serene ambience and open concept. However the largest attraction lies in its stylists, Ricky and Annie. When talking about bob haircuts, there are few hairstylists as good as Ricky. Just take a look at his haircuts to know what we mean. Whether soft bob or assertive bob cuts, Rickys haircuts stand out for its unique personality and easy maintenance. We hear that his cuts are also very sustainable and can stay in shape for a long time, a major reason why customers keep coming back! 6. Hairpage Underground Price: From $85 If a haircut to you is a fashion statement that should be worn your way, dont miss a haircut by Eric. While he is perfectly capable of bob haircuts We think that he is best at customised haircuts like these: We love how Eric is able to create haircuts you cant get elsewhere because of his unique training with top haircut specialists in Croatia, Vidal Sassoon as well as Toni &Guy. Service here is also amazing as the tightly-knit team makes every effort to make your experience at Hairpage Underground a great one! 7. Rubik Japanese Hair Salon Price: From $80 You wont see Rubik among top hair salons based on reviews because there are just two stylists here. However, customers whove tried Teru swear by his hairdressing skill because hes just so good at giving haircuts that are easy to manage. Teru may be a little quiet but his patience and incredible skill have earned him scores of customers who love how his haircut stays in shape for a long long time. Definitely one of our top choices for haircuts in Singapore! 8. RuleR Japanese Hair Salon Price: From $100 The salon at Circular Rd may be a little small but boasts a team of skilled Japanese stylists popular for their professional cuts. The team of 6 stylists here are mostly conversational in English and have had international experience working in Japan, US, and even Spain for a period of time. This makes them familiar with many different hair types. Whether youre thinking about bob haircuts or shorter pixie cuts, there will be a stylist here who is good at that. We would recommend you to try Yoshi and Rie who are best known for their cuts! 9. S.A.Ds Hair Design @ River Valley Price: From $100 The salon exterior and even its founder Aki may look quirky but weve heard only good things from customers whove tried Aki for themselves. His haircuts dont just stay in place really well, it looks so good, it simply flows! Unlike typical Japanese stylists, he is able to keep your hair voluminous, which is why your hair feels really good when you run your hair through it. If you dont mind his artistic temperament, we are confident that a haircut by Aki will positively surprise you to no end. 10. COVO Japanese Hair Salon Price: From $100 One of the first few Japanese hair salons in Singapore, COVO has built a strong team of Japanese hairstylists who are especially strong in haircuts. Whether youre thinking about shoulder length cuts or long layered cuts, the stylists can transform your hair significantly with a cut alone. Dont forget their signature treatment though. The COVO treatment requires just an add-on of $50 and your hair will be a lot more manageable in the weeks after. Have you tried any of these salons? Share your experience on BU.sg to be part of the decision making process for such articles! A Turkish court on Friday sentenced to prison a hunger striking academic who is protesting her dismissal after last year's failed coup, but released her pending appeal, her lawyer said. Nuriye Gulmen was found guilty of being a member of an outlawed far left-wing group and sentenced to six years and three months in jail, Omer Faruk Eminagaoglu said after the hearing in Ankara. However, the court ordered her conditional release, the lawyer said, adding they would appeal the conviction. She will be released later on Friday from hospital where she has been since authorities transferred her into intensive care in September. Gulmen, 35, was originally sentenced to seven years and three months but it was cut by one year for "good conduct" during her hearings before the court, the lawyer told AFP. Teacher Semih Ozakca, also on trial and on hunger strike with Gulmen, was acquitted of the same charge of belonging to the outlawed Revolutionary People's Liberation Party-Front (DHKP-C), which has carried out sporadic attacks in recent years. Ozakca had been released from prison in October. The pair previously said the charges were fabricated. The DHKP-C is proscribed as a terrorist organisation by Turkey, the European Union and the United States. The defendants first began a protest in central Ankara late last year after their sacking by government decree under a state of emergency imposed after the 2016 attempted overthrow of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. They started a hunger strike a few months later. They have become a symbol of the widespread crackdown in Turkey since the coup bid. The pair are among over 140,000 public sector workers including judges, civil servants and police officers suspended or sacked since July 2016. More than 50,000 have been arrested over alleged links to the movement run by Islamic preacher Fethullah Gulen who Turkey says ordered the attempted putsch. He strongly denies the charges. There are concerns over the health of the hunger strikers, who are only consuming salty or sugary water, herbal tea and vitamin B1. They have now been on hunger strike for 269 days. Yemeni strongman Ali Abdullah Saleh said Saturday he was open to talks with the Saudi-led coalition fighting Iran-backed rebels, as his alliance with the Huthi insurgents appeared to be crumbling. "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. The capital has been shaken by escalating violence this week between supporters of Saleh and the Huthis, with dozens of fighters killed and injured and residents now fearing a new front in an already devastating war. 2017 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #48 Posted on 2 December 2017 by John Hartz Skeptical Science Facebook page during the past week. A chronological listing of news articles posted on thepage during the past week. Editor's Pick Climate Change Panel Talks Hope and Despair David Wallace-Wells, Cam Webb, Nancy Knowlton, and Nikhil Advani speak Wednesday evening at a panel discussion hosted by the Harvard University Center for the Environment. AMY Y. LI Climate change researchers, professors, and journalists debated how best to present the severity of climate change to the public Wednesday evening at an event hosted by the Harvard University Center for the Environment. The discussion, titled Hope and Despair: Communicating an Uncertain Future, was held in the Geological Lecture Hall. Elizabeth M. Wolkovich, an assistant professor in the Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, moderated a discussion about how to best motivate the public to take action on climate change. David Wallace-Wells, who is the deputy editor of the New York Magazine and wrote the article The Uninhabitable Earth this year, advocated the use of fear about the planets future as a way to inspire more people to become climate agents. I think that there is real value in scaring people, Wallace-Wells said. When I talk to colleagues it just seems so obvious to me that when you think about the relatively well-off Western world, that complacency about climate is just a much bigger problem than fatalism about climate./em> Nancy Knowlton, chair for Marine Science at the Smithsonian Institution, said she thinks it is more effective to be optimistic about humanitys ability to stave off disaster. Ive had many, many students come up to me after talks about optimism or the Earth Optimism Summit that we ran in Washington saying you know, this was incredibly empowering, I now really want to go out and work on solving this problem. I almost left the field of conservation because I thought there was nothing I could do, Knowlton said. I do feel that it is absolutely essential to talk about whats working, why its working, in addition to providing this very scary context. Climate Change Panel Talks Hope and Despair by Yasmin Luthra & Aidan F Ryan, The Harvard Crimson, Nov 30, 2017 Links posted on Facebook Sun Nov 26, 2017 Mon Nov 27, 2017 Tue Nov 28, 2017 Wed Nov 29, 2017 Thu Nov 30, 2017 Fri Dec 1, 2017, 2017 Sat Dec 2, 2017, 2017 Taiwanese manufacturer Foxconn has won the political battle for a $3 billion state tax credit, but the campaign to win over the public, including many in the business community, continues. The public relations effort comes as Gov. Scott Walker mounts a campaign for a third term, his Democratic challengers criticize the Foxconn deal as a waste of taxpayer resources and initial public polling shows evidence of public opposition. One of Walkers closest political advisers is also involved in Foxconns communications strategy. Last week the company sent Louis Woo, a top Foxconn executive, to participate in a panel discussion at a Wisconsin Manufacturers & Commerce event in Madison where he cracked jokes with fellow panelists Wisconsin Economic Development Corp. CEO Mark Hogan and Department of Administration Secretary Scott Neitzel in front of a projected map of Wisconsin with ripples emanating across the state from a star in Racine County. Woo said the companys 10-year vision is to create a Wisconn Valley that will rival Californias Silicon Valley. He added that in order to recruit workers it will be imperative to maintain and even increase the pristine of Wisconsin, the beauty of Wisconsin, the environmental values of Wisconsin even though one of the main criticisms of the deal is that it exempts the company from certain state environmental regulations that other businesses must follow. Why are we attracted to Wisconsin? Mostly its the people, Woo said. Its because of you guys that we are attracted to Wisconsin. Gov. Scott Walker, speaking at the same event, addressed right away a concern that he said has been on the mind of many business owners as the Foxconn facility creates as many as 13,000 direct jobs, 22,000 indirect jobs and 10,000 construction jobs in Racine County. One of our goals is to make sure were not only fulfilling the needs that theyre going to have directly and indirectly there but that those are a net gain when it comes to jobs in the state and that were not taking employees from other employers across the state, Walker said. In its recent series on the worker shortage, the Wisconsin State Journal reported how some business owners are concerned about where Foxconn will find 13,000 workers when near record-low unemployment has made it difficult to find workers. Speaking with reporters Friday, Walker acknowledged the concerns about Wisconsins worker shortage in relation to Foxconn have been continual and widespread. Theres usually not a week, sometimes not a day that doesnt go by when I havent heard specifically from employers about concerns they have about filling positions, Walker said. And so as I look ahead knowing that obviously the (Foxconn) building will start next year and the full-scale hiring Im going to make sure that were not waiting until weve got an insurmountable problem, that were acting now. Walker said that after announcing the Foxconn deal in July, he met with representatives from German candymaker Haribo to reassure the company that it wouldnt be competing with Foxconn for workers. He brought representatives from Milwaukee-based workforce consultant Manpower to share a report that had been prepared regarding the Foxconn deal. We actually involved Manpower to help us make the case about how there are different markets in terms of the type of workers theyre looking for and different ways even though theyre in southeastern Wisconsin, Walker said. It was something that renewed their confidence. Earlier this year, Haribo landed a $21 million income tax credit incentive from the Wisconsin Economic Development Corp. at the time the agencys fourth largest tax credit award to create 385 jobs in Pleasant Prairie. Haribo officials didnt respond to a request for comment. Wisconsin Manufacturers & Commerce, the states largest business group, also declined to discuss what they are hearing from businesses about the Foxconn deal and their public relations strategy. Foxconns public relations effort is being overseen by Platform Communications, a company owned by Walker campaign political adviser Keith Gilkes. A Platform spokeswoman declined to discuss the groups communications strategy. Foxconn provided a statement saying over the coming weeks and months, it will continue to engage with business leaders and the public as the company builds its campus in Racine County and grows an extensive Wisconsin-based supply chain that will support this facility. Polls from Marquette Law School and Democratic-leaning Public Policy Polling suggested the deal isnt wildly popular. The Marquette Poll was limited to southeastern Wisconsin but found 38 percent saying it was worth the $3 billion state investment and 48 percent saying it wasnt. The PPP poll found statewide 41 percent opposed the Foxconn deal, 34 percent supported it and 26 percent werent sure. The Walker campaign declined to discuss any internal polling, but noted Walker has talked up Foxconn on the campaign trail after initially not mentioning it in his kickoff speech in Waukesha. At an event in Superior soon after in the opposite corner of the state from Racine County and the location of a failed economic development deal from 2012 involving Kestrel Aircraft Walker said Foxconn is going to have to have construction workers from one end of the state to the other and purchase $1.4 billion from companies in Superior and all over. Not only was Foxconn the right thing to do for hard-working families excitement around this historic investment will continue to grow as shovels enter the ground, suppliers and workers across the state support the project, and tens of thousands of jobs are created, campaign spokesman Nate Craft said. All the major Democratic candidates running for governor have criticized the deal. State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Evers launched an ad in August highlighting how taxpayers wont recoup the lost state revenue for 25 years. Rep. Dana Wachs, D-Eau Claire, who voted against the deal, decried the staggering price tag borne by taxpayers and lack of protections for workers, our water and air. Milwaukee businessman Andy Gronik called it a shell game. Former Democratic Party of Wisconsin chairman Matt Flynn called it a desperate deal. The criticism prompted a response last month from the Republican Party of Wisconsin and the GOP leaders of the Legislatures economic development committees, who said Democrats are so desperate to score a few cheap political points that they are willing to put hard working families at risk by creating a chilling effect on investment and job creation. Rep. John Nygren, R-Marinette, also wrote a column recently defending the deal, saying while Foxconn may be located in southeastern Wisconsin, its impact will be felt statewide. Rep. Todd Novak, R-Dodgeville, one of two Assembly Republicans who voted against the deal, said before the vote he heard from business owners concerned about what impact Foxconn would have on their ability to find workers. He said he heard from all across the political spectrum: What are we going to get out of it? Novak said many of his concerns about the deal were addressed when WEDC signed the Foxconn contract, which spelled out a timeline for when the company would have to create the 13,000 jobs in order to qualify for the $3 billion in tax credit. Editor's note: This story has been changed to clarify that Foxconn issued a statement about ongoing public relations efforts among the public and within the business community. In the past, people got together to process feathers, crack nuts, shell beans and gossip through the cold months. Font size: A - | A + Processing goose feathers (paracky) and cracking nuts together with telling scary stories or singing songs used to be a regular part of the rhythm of the household in the past. This tradition has almost disappeared but citizens of Vysehradne (part of Nitrianske Pravno) are renewing it and prepared paracky recently. Skryt Remove ad Article continues after video advertisement Skryt Remove ad Article continues after video advertisement In the past, when I was a child, I used to walk with my mum and grandma across the whole village. Every time someone was done with the processing, we went further to another house, recalls Jarmila Chlpekova from Poluvsie, as quoted by the TASR newswire. We talked about everythings new in the village, gossiped, ate, she continued for TASR. Chlpekova attended her third contemporary paracky this year. Young people do not know how to do it, so at least we can teach them something, Chlpekova added for TASR. Lukas Kovac from Prievidza, one of the younger generation during paracky day, thinks that it is a very nice event in a beautiful village. I am from town, so for me this is kind of an escape, Kovac said for TASR, adding that he also learnt new skills. I tried nut cracking without a hammer, I took two nuts in my hands and squeezed them together, he explained for TASR. The organizer of the event is citizen association Vysehrad that has renewed the tradition of paracky for the seventh year now. Legends were performed by the Divadelna spolocnost (Theatre society), and the school of dance and music were also part of the event besides nut cracking, bean shelling, and feather processing. We are very happy that more and more people are coming and they are interested in traditions and all the beautiful things that were happening in the life of ordinary people in the past, said Vojtech Bartko from Divadelna spolocnost, as cited by TASR. Matador Resources Company, an independent energy company, engages in the exploration, development, production, and acquisition of oil and natural gas resources in the United States. It operates through two segments, Exploration and Production; and Midstream. The company primarily holds interests in the Wolfcamp and Bone Spring plays in the Delaware Basin in Southeast New Mexico and West Texas. It also operates the Eagle Ford shale play in South Texas; and the Haynesville shale and Cotton Valley plays in Northwest Louisiana. In addition, the company conducts midstream operations in support of its exploration, development, and production operations; provides natural gas processing and oil transportation services; and offers oil, natural gas, and produced water gathering services, as well as produced water disposal services to third parties. As of December 31, 2021, its estimated total proved oil and natural gas reserves were 323.4 million barrels of oil equivalent, including 181.3 million stock tank barrels of oil and 852.5 billion cubic feet of natural gas. The company was formerly known as Matador Holdco, Inc. and changed its name to Matador Resources Company in August 2011. Matador Resources Company was founded in 2003 and is headquartered in Dallas, Texas. Hawaiian Electric Industries, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, engages in the electric utility, banking, and renewable/sustainable infrastructure investment businesses in the state of Hawaii. It operates in three segments: Electric Utility, Bank, and Other. The Electric Utility segment engages in the production, purchase, transmission, distribution, and sale of electricity in the islands of Oahu, Hawaii, Maui, Lanai, and Molokai. Its renewable energy sources and potential sources include wind, solar, photovoltaic, geothermal, wave, hydroelectric, municipal waste, and other biofuels. This segment serves suburban communities, resorts, the United States armed forces installations, and agricultural operations. The Bank segment operates a community bank that offers banking and other financial services to consumers and businesses, including savings and checking accounts; and loans comprising residential and commercial real estate, residential mortgage, construction and development, multifamily residential and commercial real estate, consumer, and commercial loans. This segment operates 42 branches, including 29 branches in Oahu, 6 branches in Maui, 4 branches in Hawaii, 2 branches in Kauai, and 1 branch in Molokai. The Other segment invests in non-regulated renewable energy and sustainable infrastructure in the State of Hawaii. Hawaiian Electric Industries Inc. was incorporated in 1891 and is headquartered in Honolulu, Hawaii. Police in Hanoi have recommended that a ring of five Columbian nationals who robbed victims of cash shortly after they left banks or gold shops be charged with theft, officers said on Friday. The foreign thieves are Fabian Lucero Wilches, Jersain Ladino Cardona, Jose Aureliano Rosas Pena, Luis Alexander Rodriguer Cuevro, and Carlos Alberto Lamprea Pena, according to police. The groups headman, Fabian has been identified as having committed many serious thefts in other countries. These Colombians met each other while traveling in Laos and Cambodia, and decided to come to Vietnam to steal money from people when they leave banks or gold shops, Hanoi police said, citing their investigation conclusion. On February 17, Fabian, Jersain, Luis arrived in Vietnam through the Cau Treo Border Gate located in the north-central Ha Tinh Province, and took a passenger bus to Hanoi, where they would meet Jose. On February 22, the four began hunting for victims around various streets in Hoan Kiem District on two motorbikes. They then found a Vietnamese man, later known as Nguyen Van Ng., entering a gold shop on Ha Trung Street, with his car parked outside. Fabian approached his car and punctured one tire with a knife. Ng. then left the gold shop, putting some money to the car and drove away, not knowing that he was followed by the thieves. While Ng. was having his tire replaced at an auto repair shop on Hang Tre Street, the group managed to steal VND105 million (US$4,630), 10,000 British pounds and various pieces of gold jewelry weighing 112.5g. The knife used by the group in their thefts is seen in this police photo. After their first successful attempt, the group left Vietnam for Laos with Fabian, Jersain, and Jose re-entering Vietnam on March 11. During their stay in Ho Chi Minh City, the three met Carlos and asked him to join them in the next theft in Hanoi. On March 28, using the same technique, the four Colombians stole VND1.6 billion ($70,560) from Pham Van B. shortly after he had withdrawn the cash from a bank on Vu Trong Phung Street in Thanh Xuan District, Hanoi. On March 30, Fabian and Jose were captured in the north-central Quang Tri Province while the others were busted later in other places. According to the thieves testimonies, they had carried out many other thefts in Cambodia, Laos, Thailand, China, and several countries in Europe and South America. Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam! The platforms, launched on Thursday, allow users to view information regarding the state of a piece of land including its area, road width and usage planning at the ease of simple clicks. Users can either input the coordinates of a piece of land or search for their desired location manually on the database, which is presented in a style similar to web mapping services like Google Maps. An integrated GPS capability allows users to instantly navigate to their current location on the map. Each piece of land is color-coded according to their planning state, which can be exported as a PDF file for convenience of download and printing. Users can also toggle between the digital and paper versions of the planning map. The web version interface of the database on land use planning in Ho Chi Minh City. The website is accessible at http://thongtinquyhoach.hochiminhcity.gov.vn/, while the mobile app is available for Android and iOS devices under the name of Thong tin quy hoach TP.HCM. Speaking at the launch of the database on Thursday, Ho Chi Minh Citys deputy chairman Tran Vinh Tuyen said the new website and app would not only help improve land governance but also make it more convenient for residents and investors to inspect the state of any given piece of land. Such transparency is expected to help curb corruption and bureaucracy from the part of authorities when handling land issues, Tuyen said. These platforms lay the groundwork for the city to develop other applications to manage construction, underground space and buildings on the surface, Tuyen stressed. Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam! A bus operator in Ho Chi Minh City has replaced a fleet of diesel buses with eco-friendly ones in a bid to encourage more commuters to use public transportation. The new fleet, consisting of 24 buses running on compressed natural gas (CNG), began to serve passengers on the route No.18, on Friday, according to its operator, 19/5 Transport Cooperative. The service connects Ben Thanh Market in District 1 and Hiep Thanh Market in District 12. Most buses in Ho Chi Minh City are still powered by diesel. Besides being eco-friendly, the new vehicles also boast a number of major new features compared to their diesel-driven predecessors, according to the operator. The 60-seater buses follow semi-low floor design, with a two-step entry, easing accessibility for users, while the interior is fitted with security cameras and a GPS-based bus station announcement system. Seating priority for seniors, expectant mothers and passengers with disabilities is clearly indicated by orange seats while normal users receive blue ones. The new fleet collectively costs VND55.2 billion (US$2.43 million) and will averagely travel 220 times per day, according to the operator. As a toll gate of a BOT (build-operate-transfer) project in southern Vietnam made headline after repeatedly having to shut down due to opposition from commuters, a deputy minister of transport has admitted that there is unfairness in similar projects. Despite this, the installations of toll stations for BOT projects across Vietnam are in line with the law and it is not likely that those considered controversial would be relocated, Deputy Minister of Transport Nguyen Nhat said in an interview with Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper on Friday. Nhat talked to Tuoi Tre amid a heated situation at the Cai Lay toll station on the section of National Highway 1 running through Cai Lay Town in the Mekong Delta province of Tien Giang. A BOT developer has invested VND1.389 trillion ($61.1 million) on building a detour across Cai Lay Town and upgrading part of the highway, and is operating the toll station to make up for the investment. However, shortly after being put into operation on August 1, the Cai Lay toll station sparked fierce opposition from drivers as the facility was placed on the existing highway instead of the new detour. This means commuters have to pay the toll even when they do not take the detour. A driver passes a BOT toll gate in Tien Giang, southern Vietnam. Photo: Tuoi Tre Following protest from drivers, the tollgate had to shut down in mid-August and resumed operations on Thursday, only to spark a fresh wave of opposition. Drivers protested by paying the fee in small denomination banknotes, or paying VND25,100 for the VND25,000 fee and demanded changes in the rarely-used VND100 banknote. The station had been closed three times since its Thursday reopening before resuming service at 11:30 pm on Friday. This time, the station managed to have a large amount of VND100 bills, the smallest denomination note, to deal with drivers protest tactics. Relocation: impossible In the Tuoi Tre interview, deputy minister Nhat asserted that the BOT project to upgrade the highway and build the detour in Cai Lay had been carried out in line with the law, after obtaining approval from local authorities and the prime minister. Nhat admitted that the toll collection for BOT projects on the countrys highways can only ensure relatively fairness, meaning it can never please all drivers. The deputy minister emphasized the necessity of calling on BOT developers for infrastructure projects at a time when the state budget is tight. The Ministry of Transport has therefore worked with Tien Giang authorities to educate and encourage drivers to share the difficulty with the state [by accepting the tollgate], he said. Talking of the commuter protest at Cai Lay toll station, Nhat vowed to continue working with local authorities and police to strictly handle those violating the law in a bid to ensure interest for all parties involved. He encouraged drivers to follow the rules and refrain from causing traffic or security disorders; otherwise they will be dealt a tough hand by law enforcement officers. An aerial view of the Cai Lay toll booth in Tien Giang, southern Vietnam, on December 1, 2017. Photo: Tuoi Tre Unfair policy Asked if the Cai Lay tollgate should be relocated to the detour, so only those who really use the infrastructure have to pay the fee, Nhat reiterated that the installation of the station is totally legitimate. Relocation the toll station to the detour will ruin the financial effectiveness of this BOT project, he said, adding that this will mean no drivers will use the detour and the developer would fail to recoup investment. Then the government will have to acquire the project, which is impossible due to the current budget difficulty, he underlined. Nhat said the ministry acknowledges that toll stations for BOT projects across the country have such issues as high fees or unreasonable locations of installation. While the first issue has partially been solved through fee reductions or exemption, the deputy minister said the second one remains a headache. The Ministry of Transport always seeks feedback from local authorities and seek approval from the prime minister before it decides on the installation of a toll station, he said. But in reality, people in some areas have no choice on what roads to take and this is an unfairness of the policy. Vietnam's Deputy Minister of Transport Nguyen Nhat Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam! TEGUCIGALPA, Honduras (AP) Honduras announced a curfew and suspended some constitutional rights to allow security forces to contain protests and unrest over a disputed election in which both candidates have declared themselves winner and the ballot count is entering its sixth day. Honduras' electoral court had finished counting nearly 95 percent of the vote boxes from last Sunday's presidential election by late Friday and said it would conduct a hand count of 1,031 other boxes that presented "inconsistencies." 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. 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. National Police spokesman Jair Meza said 12 people had been wounded in clashes between police and protesters. Meza said numerous businesses were also damaged and looted in the capital and in San Pedro Sula. Local press reported that protesters set a bank branch on fire and looted several other businesses along a street in San Pedro Sula. 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. In a decree read out on radio and television, the government's Cabinet chief Jorge Hernandez said late Friday that some constitutional guarantees would be suspended for 10 days to allow the army and police to control the situation. The government declared a curfew from 6 p.m. to 6 a.m. across the country. "The curfew is to safeguard the security of the country," President Hernandez said as he left a hotel in the capital after meeting with observers from the Organization of American States and the European Union. "This is the time for the people to feel supported by their armed forces and their police because it cannot be that somebody decides to loot or rob." Story continues Earlier, electoral court president David Matamoros said 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. The count had still not begun Friday night because no representatives for Nasralla had arrived: "The wait continues," said court spokeswoman Lourdes Rosales. 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. Heide Fulton, charge d'affaires at the U.S. Embassy in Honduras, said via Twitter Friday that Honduras was beginning an "unprecedented phase in the electoral process." She called for calm during the count. Both Nasralla and Hernandez have declared themselves the winner of the election and their parties have urged their supporters to defend the vote in the street. Nasralla and Hernandez have urged calm and warned their supporters to not be provoked into violence. 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. "The electoral court is not doing things correctly and things have gotten out of control. The people believe there was fraud because the court did not make the election results immediately known." __ Associated Press writer Christopher Sherman in Mexico City contributed to this report. See Also: SPARTAWhile supervisors voiced concerns, the Monroe County Board of Supervisors voted to join a multi-county lawsuit against manufacturers of opioid medications at the countys Nov. 21 regular monthly meeting. The board voted 13-2, with supervisors Doug Path and Paul Steele dissenting and supervisor Dan Olson absent. The lawsuit seeks to pressure persons and entities responsible for the opioid abuse epidemic to accept responsibility for the costs the epidemic has imposed on local governments. Supervisor Mary Von Ruden favors the lawsuit. She said 37 counties in Wisconsin have already joined. When I went to the (Wisconsin) Counties Association conference ... one of the workshops was explaining how ... all counties are having issues with human services going over their budgets because they cant afford all the issues the opioids are bringing, she said. Von Ruden said the lawsuit is a big part of opening up everybodys eyes, and if we dont stop this, doing whatever we can to stop this, the price is going to keep rising. Supervisor Doug Path said hes not against joining the lawsuit but believes more information was needed before the board could make a decision. I think its too early to jump in and vote on something we are very uninformed about, he said. Its a good thing. Im not against the lawsuit, but if Im going to put my name on the dotted line, I want to know all of the information and move forward with that. Path was specifically concerned about compensation for the involved law firms. which have agreed to bear the upfront costs associated with the claims and would not be compensated unless the county receives a financial benefit. Thats when its going to cost us something, he said. I ask what the breakdown would be. Is it a 50/50 deal the attorneys would get 50 percent ... and the counties would get 50 percent? ... Were already incurring costs, and we will continue to incur them until this is resolved, so why shouldnt we know how much were going to get? Corporate council Andy Kaftan said the breakdown is still unknown. Theres no clear answer on how any recovery will be split among the counties, he said. Its not clear how theyre intending to look at what the costs are for the counties. We dont really know; we dont have the data yet. Part of this will be gathering the data. Kaftan said it might not be known until the end of the lawsuit. Part of the reason they sent out this type of lawsuit where they recover percentage and their out-of-pocket cost is because they dont know what the settlement is going to be, he said. If they knew they were going to be getting money, they would have switched to an hourly fee and expect you to pay up front. But this is so open-ended, they dont know if theyll be successful, and if theyre not successful, they lose theyre out of pocket all the cost they put in. ... well we may never know until the final bell is rung on this. Supervisor James Schroeder was concerned about the possibility of failure. My biggest concern over the whole thing is, yes, the pharmaceutical companies did make this drug, but who allowed them to put it on the market? he said. Thats the part that bothers me, how far will this go, and will they jump behind that and say, Look, we didnt put it out there. We made it, but the Food and Drug Administration is the one that let it be put on the market and your pharmacies are the ones that sold it. Kaftan said that will be part of the oppositions argument. To win, youll have to be more like the tobacco industry where youre fighting studies and other information that they knew just how dangerous this was, he said. The only way were going to know is as this lawsuit moves forward and we see what the evidence is and we know how much they knew by the end of this. YAOUNDE (Reuters) - Militants seeking independence for Cameroon's English-speaking regions killed four soldiers and two policemen in attacks this week, President Paul Biya said late on Thursday, vowing to eliminate the secessionists as a threat to peace. Dozens of civilians have been killed since October, after the government cracked down on members of a movement protesting their perceived marginalisation by Cameroon's Francophone-dominated government. The repression has driven many into the arms of a once-fringe separatist movement, which has launched a series of deadly raids before presidential elections in 2018. "I think things are now perfectly clear to everyone. Cameroon is the victim of repeated attacks," Biya said as he arrived home from a summit of European Union and African leaders in Ivory Coast. "Faced with these attacks of aggression, I assure the Cameroonian people that all measures are being taken to end these criminals' ability to do harm," he said. Two secessionist leaders confirmed the movement carried out the first raid, late on Tuesday in the town of Mamfe, near the border with Nigeria in Cameroon's Southwest Region, in which four soldiers were killed. "One of the main objectives is to clear the checkpoints that they have put on our roads. They are the symbols of occupation," Ben Kuah, the chairman of the defence wing of the Ambazonian Governing Council (AGC), told a Reuters reporter in Dakar. The separatists claimed to have looted weapons during the raid. Ambazonia is the name the separatists have given to the homeland they hope to create. "We will dismantle all of these military outposts that have been used to prosecute the occupation of our homeland," said Cho Ayaba, another leading member of the AGC. Two police officers were killed in a similar attack the following night in the nearby town of Out. Separatist leaders were not immediately available to comment on that raid. Story continues Cameroon's language divide is a legacy of World War One, when the League of Nations split the former German colony of Kamerun between allied French and British victors. The two entities were reunited following independence. (Fixes typo in paragraph 5.) (Reporting by Sofia Christensen and Edward McAllister; Editing by Joe Bavier, Larry King, William Maclean) European Space Agency astronaut Paolo Nespoli posted a timelapse video on Saturday, December 2, shot from the International Space Station showing Earth from Somalia to Russia, with a fly-over of the Himalayas. The timelapse was created via a series of photos Italian astronaut Nespoli shot during his countrys VITA mission to test various aspects of human endurance in space. Credit: European Space Agency via Storyful By Gustavo Palencia TEGUCIGALPA (Reuters) - Honduras suspended the right to free movement on Friday, imposing a dusk-to-dawn curfew and giving the army and police extended powers after looting and protests triggered by a contested election killed at least one person. Five days after polls closed, no clear winner has emerged from Sunday's vote. President Juan Orlando Hernandez has clawed back a thin lead over his challenger, but thousands of disputed votes could still swing the outcome. At least one protester has died, over 20 people were injured and more than 100 others were arrested for looting after opposition leaders accused the government of trying to steal the election by manipulating the vote count. "The suspension of constitutional guarantees was approved so that the armed forces and the national police can contain this wave of violence that has engulfed the country," said Ebal Diaz, member of the council of ministers. International concern has grown about the electoral crisis in the poor Central American country, which struggles with violent drug gangs and one of the world's highest murder rates. Honduras is the source of waves of poor migrants to the United States and sits on major cocaine trafficking routes. The nationwide curfew will run from 6 p.m. to 6 a.m. for 10 days starting on Friday night, government minister Jorge Ramon Hernandez read out in a statement simultaneously broadcast to TV and radio stations. Under the decree, all local authorities must submit to the authority of the army and national police, which are authorized to break up blockades of roads, bridges and public buildings. In the widely criticized vote count, TV-host's Salvador Nasralla's early lead on Monday was later reversed in favour of President Hernandez, leading Nasralla to call for protests. One of the four magistrates on the electoral tribunal on Thursday flagged "serious doubts" about the counting process. Story continues Nasralla, who heads a centre-left coalition, said government infiltrators had started the looting and violence to justify a military curfew. "The people doing acts of vandalism are not from the opposition Alliance, they are from the government," Nasralla said on his Facebook page. "These are government operations to spread panic, create chaos and make you believe that the Alliance is causing the destruction." Both Hernandez and Nasralla claimed victory after the election. The 64-year-old Nasralla is one of Honduras' best-known faces and backed by former President Manuel Zelaya, a leftist ousted in a coup in 2009. LOOTING, PROTESTS Businesses closed early and Hondurans lined up for panic purchases as groups of looters carried off TVs and washing machines from shopping centres, television images showed. Plumes of smoke from burning tires at barricades drifted over the San Pedro Sula, the country's second city. Police used tear gas to disperse crowds. Police sources said at least one man had been shot and killed at a protest in the city of La Ceiba, while about 12 members of the military and police force had been injured in demonstrations that snarled traffic outside Honduras' main port on Friday and around the country. At least 10 protesters were injured in the capital of Tegucigalpa, according to the city's Hospital Escuela. More than 100 people were also arrested on suspicion of looting in San Pedro Sula on Friday, a police spokesman said, and local media carried footage of shops being plundered with no security forces in sight. People flocked to supermarkets on Friday, stocking up on food and provisions as major roads and supply routes were blocked across the country by angry protesters. "I'm filling the tank with gas in case anything happens, the situation looks bad and there are protests all over the city," said Carlos Valle, a 61-year-old pensioner, as he joined a long line of vehicles waiting at a fuel pump in Tegucigalpa. VOTE COUNT DELAYS Honduras was due to publish the final result of the election at 9 p.m. local time (0300 GMT) on Friday, the electoral tribunal said, but opposition complaints about the count impeded that. Election results initially had Nasralla leading by five points with more than half the votes counted. They then swung in favour of U.S.-backed centre-right Hernandez after the count came to a halt on Monday and resumed over a day later, sparking protests. The tribunal has said it will hand-count some 1,031 outstanding ballot boxes with irregularities - or nearly 6 percent of the total - after the count halted with Hernandez ahead by less than 50,000 votes, or about 1.5 percentage points. However, Nasralla's centre-left alliance has called for votes to be recounted in three of Honduras' 18 departments, or regions, and refused to recognise the tribunal's special count until its demands for a wider review were met. "If Juan Orlando wins, we're ready to accept that, but we know that wasn't the case, we know that Salvador won and that's why they're refusing the transparency demands," said Marlon Ochoa, campaign manager of Nasralla's alliance. (Additional reporting by Lizbeth Diaz, Ana Isabel Martinez, Adriana Barrera and Daina Beth Solomon; Writing by Dave Graham and Frank Jack Daniel; Editing by Michael Perry) FILE PHOTO - A flag with the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) logo is seen during a meeting of OPEC and non-OPEC producing countries in Vienna, Austria September 22, 2017. REUTERS/Leonhard Foeger Thomson Reuters By Henning Gloystein and Keith Wallis SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Asian refiners are losing no time reacting to a decision by OPEC and Russia to extend their agreed production cuts to all of 2018, ordering more oil from the Caribbean and Gulf of Mexico in a move that will result in lost OPEC and Russian market share. Output cuts aimed at tightening the market to prop up prices have been in place since January and were to expire in March 2018, but the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), together with non-OPEC producers including Russia, extended those cuts on Thursday, to cover all of 2018. Despite this, oil supplies remain ample. Even before the official announcement on Thursday to extend the cuts, refiners in Asia, the world's biggest consumer region, had already put in enquiries for oil shipments from the Gulf of Mexico and the wider Caribbean, particularly from the United States, Mexico, Venezuela and Colombia, tanker operators said. "There have been many enquiries from Asia for oil tanker shipments from the Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean. Now that we know OPEC's cuts will be extended, these enquiries are being turned into orders," said a broker who specializes in long-haul crude oil shipments, declining to be named as he was not authorized to talk to media about ongoing negotiations. 'CHRISTMAS COMES EARLY' OPEC's and Russia's biggest problem with cutting output has been that it has led to higher U.S. production and market share. In a note to clients titled "Christmas comes early," Barclays bank said on Friday: "U.S. crude oil exports to China could easily double next year as U.S. production and export capacity expands ... (and) OPEC countries will see their market shares in Asia decline further." Shipping data in Thomson Reuters Eikon shows oil shipments from the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean to Asia's consumer hubs of China, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan and Singapore have already soared from around half a million barrels per day (bpd) in January, when the OPEC-led cuts were implemented, to over 1.2 million bpd in November and December. Story continues The biggest increase in exports to Asia have been coming from the United States, where output is soaring thanks to shale oil drillers. U.S. oil production hit a record 9.68 million bpd last week, according to government data. [EIA/S] "The real winners (of the cuts) will be the U.S. producers," said Matt Stanley, a fuel broker for Freight Investor Services in Dubai. Consultancy Rystad Energy expects U.S. output to reach 9.9 million bpd this year, bringing it close to levels of top producers Russia and Saudi Arabia. Stronger North American oil supplies to Asia benefit shippers as this is one of the world's longest trade routes, meaning chartered tankers spend more time at sea. The U.S.-Asia route is at least twice as long as that from the Middle East to the main Asian trading hubs in China, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan and Singapore. "We believe the 'new trades' (from North America to Asia) will develop further, which is long-term positive for shipping," said Robert Hvide Macleod, chief executive of Frontline Management, a major tanker owner. The ripple effects of ongoing OPEC cuts will also affect refinery output. U.S. crude oil tends to be relatively light and sweet in quality, as opposed to the heavier and sourer grades that many Middle East producers export. Mike Petrut, a petroleum researcher at Industrial Info Resources Oceania in Perth, Australia, said an increase in supplies of light U.S. crude at the cost of heavy crudes from OPEC would mean higher gasoline output by Asian refiners, and a lower yield of heavier products like fuel oil. (Reporting by Henning Gloystein and Keith Wallis; Additional reporting by Roslan Khasawneh; Editing by Tom Hogue) See Also: She was a naive, rather pretty 16-year-old doing the dishes on a hot summer day. Her mother was on a trip with her younger sister, so she was in charge of the house while her father was at work at the lumber yard. The outside noise came from the construction workers repairing the old wooden bridge over Plum Creek, but she was used to it. And it was so warm that she had all the windows and doors open to admit what little breeze the maple tree in the front yard could muster. When one of the workers, a burly red-faced, gray-haired man, called out at the porch door and asked for a glass of water, she went to the refrigerator to get a cold drink. Before she could turn around, he had come into the house and put his arms around her from behind. He tried to kiss her. She screamed and pushed him away. Get out of here, she begged, crying uncontrollably, and he made a hasty retreat. The frightened young teenager called the neighbor whose children she baby-sat. The young mother came and picked her up and took her to her safe house. She brought her home when the girls father returned from work and together they told him what happened. That was 60 years ago. And I remember what happened exactly. I remember exactly what he looked like. He had a glass eye. He had on a greasy plaid shirt with rolled-up sleeves. And he smelled bad. Yes, I remember what happened exactly. My father was at the bridge waiting for Joe (that was his name) the next morning. He didnt tell me what he said to him; he probably did not threaten to kill him, but he did get him fired. (My father was a township trustee who had hired the crew to repair the bridge.) Sixty years later, I have gotten beyond it. But I will never forget it. The incident left a small scar on my psyche. It made me wary for years of any old man who got too close to me, friend or stranger. So for Donald Trump, when excusing Senate candidate Roy Moores assaults of teenage girls by saying it happened 40 years ago, and so diminishing the experiences felt by the young women, is insulting on its face. They have not forgotten the assaults. The women who have come out to share their assault (and sometimes rape) encounters with Harvey Weinstein, Al Franken, and, yes, Donald Trump, remember exactly what happened. A Democratic president, Bill Clinton, survived rape allegations by Juanita Broderick, and settled a sexual harassment suit brought by Paula Jones for $850,000. He was impeached (but not convicted) on one charge of perjury and one charge of obstruction of justice. He got away with lewd, boorish and violent assaults against women. For the Trumpers who believe or dont care what Donald Trump says or does, the he said, she said argument is always won by men. And so Bill Clinton is respected in the world today, hormones be damned. Now we have a Republican president who is wreaking havoc in America and around the world with his infantile, narcissistic, psychopathic rantings being held in high esteem by most of the Congress that we have sent to Washington to preserve and uphold the Constitution. Our elected officials are becoming as big an embarrassment to the world as Donald Trump is, because they ignore or accept his tweets, unconstitutional executive orders and threats to North Korea. And they ignore the stories of thirteen women who were assaulted by our president. Meanwhile, more and more women are telling their stories (Me, Too!) and being heard by a world that has long endured and tolerated the demeaning of the female sex. Sexual abuse of women has gone on since before Jacobs young daughter Dinah was raped by a powerful prince of the land, Shechem (Genesis 34), and will probably continue far beyond the current societal structure of today. (It must be noted that Shechem fell in love with Dinah and married her, but he and his whole tribe were wiped out in a vengeful attack by Dinahs brothers. But still...he did assault her against her will.) A tsunami almost drowned the Catholic church when more and more young men related their sexual assaults by priests, some from years earlier. I believe that the church has survived because reforms and prosecutions were implemented to restore its reputation. Were experiencing a tsunami now, with powerful men being thrown into the ocean of public disgust, washing up on the shore of a country of mostly decent men and women that finally, hopefully, is saying, Enough is enough. That is, for most of the exposed predators. We still have a leader who will probably not suffer the consequences of his actions. But at least now other powerful men who might have thought, Hey, if the Donald can get away with it, why not I? will think twice about imposing their lewd desires on unsuspecting teens and other young women. The House of Representatives will vote next week on a resolution requiring all lawmakers and staff to complete anti-sexual harassment training, a new mandate following a flood of sexual harassment accusations against members of Congress. That is a start. But more, as an enlightened society, we must not forgive the dirty old men who think it is their right to satisfy their sexual cravings by hitting on vulnerable females. And do not suppose that what happened 40 years ago, or 60 years ago, is ever forgotten by the girls and women who were preyed upon. glacier crack Marcos Brindicci/Reuters The Pine Island glaciers and the Thwaites glacier are steadily moving toward the Amundsen Sea as they collapse due to global warming. The glaciers act as a dam because they hold back enough ice that could cause sea levels to rise by a catastrophic 11 feet. This could happen between in 20 to 50 years leading to the destruction of every coastal city. Other glaciers around the world will be vulnerable as well. This story originally appeared on Grist. In a remote region of Antarctica known as Pine Island Bay, 2,500 miles from the tip of South America, two glaciers hold human civilization hostage. Stretching across a frozen plain more than 150 miles long, these glaciers, named Pine Island and Thwaites, have marched steadily for millennia toward the Amundsen Sea, part of the vast Southern Ocean. Further inland, the glaciers widen into a two-mile-thick reserve of ice covering an area the size of Texas. There's no doubt this ice will melt as the world warms. The vital question is when. The glaciers of Pine Island Bay are two of the largest and fastest-melting in Antarctica. (A Rolling Stone feature earlier this year dubbed Thwaites "The Doomsday Glacier.") Together, they act as a plug holding back enough ice to pour 11 feet of sea-level rise into the world's oceans an amount that would submerge every coastal city on the planet. For that reason, finding out how fast these glaciers will collapse is one of the most important scientific questions in the world today. To figure that out, scientists have been looking back to the end of the last ice age, about 11,000 years ago, when global temperatures stood at roughly their current levels. The bad news? There's growing evidence that the Pine Island Bay glaciers collapsed rapidly back then, flooding the world's coastlines partially the result of something called "marine ice-cliff instability." The ocean floor gets deeper toward the center of this part of Antarctica, so each new iceberg that breaks away exposes taller and taller cliffs. Ice gets so heavy that these taller cliffs can't support their own weight. Story continues Once they start to crumble, the destruction would be unstoppable "Ice is only so strong, so it will collapse if these cliffs reach a certain height," explains Kristin Poinar, a glaciologist at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center. "We need to know how fast it's going to happen." In the past few years, scientists have identified marine ice-cliff instability as a feedback loop that could kickstart the disintegration of the entire West Antarctic ice sheet this century much more quickly than previously thought. Minute-by-minute, huge skyscraper-sized shards of ice cliffs would crumble into the sea, as tall as the Statue of Liberty and as deep underwater as the height of the Empire State Building. The result: a global catastrophe the likes of which we've never seen. Ice comes in many forms, with different consequences when it melts. Floating ice, like the kind that covers the Arctic Ocean in wintertime and comprises ice shelves, doesn't raise sea levels. (Think of a melting ice cube, which won't cause a drink to spill over.) Land-based ice, on the other hand, is much more troublesome. When it falls into the ocean, it adds to the overall volume of liquid in the seas. Thus, sea-level rise. NASA's DC-8 flies across a crack, 18 miles (29 km) in length, forming across the Pine Island Glacier ice shelf in this October 26, 2011 handout photograph. REUTERS/NASA/GSFC/Jefferson Beck/Handout Thomson Reuters Antarctica is a giant landmass about half the size of Africa and the ice that covers it averages more than a mile thick. Before human burning of fossil fuels triggered global warming, the continent's ice was in relative balance: The snows in the interior of the continent roughly matched the icebergs that broke away from glaciers at its edges. Now, as carbon dioxide traps more heat in the atmosphere and warms the planet, the scales have tipped. A wholesale collapse of Pine Island and Thwaites would set off a catastrophe. Giant icebergs would stream away from Antarctica like a parade of frozen soldiers. All over the world, high tides would creep higher, slowly burying every shoreline on the planet, flooding coastal cities and creating hundreds of millions of climate refugees. All this could play out in a mere 20 to 50 years much too quickly for humanity to adapt "With marine ice cliff instability, sea-level rise for the next century is potentially much larger than we thought it might be five or 10 years ago," Poinar says. A lot of this newfound concern is driven by the research of two climatologists: Rob DeConto at the University of Massachusetts-Amherst and David Pollard at Penn State University. A study they published last year was the first to incorporate the latest understanding of marine ice-cliff instability into a continent-scale model of Antarctica. Their results drove estimates for how high the seas could rise this century sharply higher. "Antarctic model raises the prospect of unstoppable ice collapse," read the headline in the scientific journal Nature, a publication not known for hyperbole. Instead of a three-foot increase in ocean levels by the end of the century, six feet was more likely, according to DeConto and Pollard's findings. But if carbon emissions continue to track on something resembling a worst-case scenario, the full 11 feet of ice locked in West Antarctica might be freed up, their study showed. Three feet of sea-level rise would be bad, leading to more frequent flooding of U.S. cities such as New Orleans, Houston, New York, and Miami. Pacific Island nations, like the Marshall Islands, would lose most of their territory. Unfortunately, it now seems like three feet is possible only under the rosiest of scenarios. At six feet, though, around 12 million people in the United States would be displaced, and the world's most vulnerable megacities, like Shanghai, Mumbai, and Ho Chi Minh City, could be wiped off the map. At 11 feet, land currently inhabited by hundreds of millions of people worldwide would wind up underwater. Twice-a-month Hurricane Sandys South Florida would be largely uninhabitable; floods on the scale of Hurricane Sandy would strike twice a month in New York and New Jersey, as the tug of the moon alone would be enough to send tidewaters into homes and buildings. DeConto and Pollard's breakthrough came from trying to match observations of ancient sea levels at shorelines around the world with current ice sheet behavior. Around 3 million years ago, when global temperatures were about as warm as they're expected to be later this century, oceans were dozens of feet higher than today. Previous models suggested that it would take hundreds or thousands of years for sea-level rise of that magnitude to occur. But once they accounted for marine ice-cliff instability, DeConto and Pollard's model pointed toward a catastrophe if the world maintains a "business as usual" path meaning we don't dramatically reduce carbon emissions. Rapid cuts in greenhouse gases, however, showed Antarctica remaining almost completely intact for hundreds of years. glacier NASA Pollard and DeConto are the first to admit that their model is still crude, but its results have pushed the entire scientific community into emergency mode. The entire scientific community is in emergency mode "It could happen faster or slower, I don't think we really know yet," says Jeremy Bassis, a leading ice sheet scientist at the University of Michigan. "But it's within the realm of possibility, and that's kind of a scary thing." Scientists used to think that ice sheets could take millennia to respond to changing climates. These are, after all, mile-thick chunks of ice. The new evidence, though, says that once a certain temperature threshold is reached, ice shelves of glaciers that extend into the sea, like those near Pine Island Bay, will begin to melt from both above and below, weakening their structure and hastening their demise, and paving the way for ice-cliff instability to kick in. In a new study out last month in the journal Nature, a team of scientists from Cambridge and Sweden point to evidence from thousands of scratches left by ancient icebergs on the ocean floor, indicating that Pine Island's glaciers shattered in a relatively short amount of time at the end of the last ice age. The only place in the world where you can see ice-cliff instability in action today is at Jakobshavn glacier in Greenland, one of the fastest-collapsing glaciers in the world. DeConto says that to construct their model, they took the collapse rate of Jakobshavn, cut it in half to be extra conservative, then applied it to Thwaites and Pine Island. thwaites glacier NASA But there's reason to think Thwaites and Pine Island could go even faster than Jakobshavn. Right now, there's a floating ice shelf protecting the two glaciers, helping to hold back the flow of ice into the sea. But recent examples from other regions, like the rapidly collapsing Larsen B ice shelf on the Antarctic Peninsula, show that once ice shelves break apart as a result of warming, their parent glaciers start to flow faster toward the sea, an effect that can weaken the stability of ice further inland, too. "If you remove the ice shelf, there's a potential that not just ice-cliff instabilities will start occurring, but a process called marine ice-sheet instabilities," says Matthew Wise, a polar scientist at the University of Cambridge. This signals the possible rapid destabilization of the entire West Antarctic ice sheet in this century. "Once the stresses exceed the strength of the ice," Wise says, "it just falls off." And, it's not just Pine Island Bay. On our current course, other glaciers around Antarctica will be similarly vulnerable. And then there's Greenland, which could contribute as much as 20 feet of sea-level rise if it melts. Next to a meteor strike, rapid sea-level rise from collapsing ice cliffs is one of the quickest ways our world can remake itself. This is about as fast as climate change gets Still, some scientists aren't fully convinced the alarm is warranted. Ted Scambos, a lead scientist at the National Snow and Ice Data Center in Colorado, says the new research by Wise and his colleagues, which identified ice-cliff instabilities in Pine Island Bay 11,000 years ago, is "tantalizing evidence." But he says that research doesn't establish how quickly it happened. "There's a whole lot more to understand if we're going to use this mechanism to predict how far Thwaites glacier and the other glaciers are going to retreat," he says. "The question boils down to, what are the brakes on this process?" Scambos thinks it is unlikely that Thwaites or Pine Island would collapse all at once. For one thing, if rapid collapse did happen, it would produce a pile of icebergs that could act like a temporary ice shelf, slowing down the rate of retreat. Despite the differences of opinion, however, there's growing agreement within the scientific community that we need to do much more to determine the risk of rapid sea-level rise. In 2015, the U.S. and U.K. governments began to plan a rare and urgent joint research program to study Thwaites glacier. Called "How much, how fast?," the effort is set to begin early next year and run for five years. Seeing the two governments pooling their resources is "really a sign of the importance of research like this," NASA's Poinar says. Given what's at stake, the research program at Thwaites isn't enough, but it might be the most researchers can get. "Realistically, it's probably all that can be done in the next five years in the current funding environment," says Pollard. He's referring, of course, to the Trump administration's disregard for science and adequate scientific funding; the White House's 2018 budget proposal includes the first-ever cut to the National Science Foundation, which typically funds research in Antarctica. "It would be sensible to put a huge effort into this, from my perspective," Pollard says. Structural engineers need to study Antarctica's key glaciers as though they were analyzing a building, he says, probing for weak spots and understanding how exactly they might fail. "If you vastly increase the research now, [the cost] would still be trivial compared to the losses that might happen." NOW WATCH: The world's largest pyramid is not in Egypt See Also: SWNS

Feeling under the weather? Try the rom-com remedy three in five Americans say its their go-to movie genre when down for the count.

Thats according to a new poll of 2,000 millennial parents of kids ages 4-12, where theyre also watching action and adventure movies (37%) and series like Harry Potter or the Hunger Games (36%).

When sickness strikes, more than four in five (82%) spend most of their time in their bedroom, with 42% staying put on the couch in their living room.

This may contribute to the fact that the average parent watches five hours of TV or movies each sick day.

Conducted by OnePoll on behalf of Delsym, results showed how respondents are optimizing comfort with their favorite things.

Results revealed that respondents get sick about three times per year.

Respondents were more likely to prefer old favorites than to wrap their heads around new content when feeling ill. (23% vs 15%).

When parents are sick with their children, the most popular movies to watch are the Harry Potter series (32%) and the Toy Story series (32%).

They also watch movies like Frozen (30%), Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (28%) and Moana (25%).

More than half (56%) of respondents have a go-to or favorite feel-better comfort movie, with the average person saying they can watch it four times in a row without getting sick of it

In fact, 45% of those admit they can watch it more than four times and one in 10 of those (11%) even say they can watch it an infinite amount of times.

In total, respondents have watched their feel-better movie about 34 different times.

This movie has been respondents favorite for about six years, perhaps because it reminds them of good times (61%) and makes them laugh (53%).

Parents report feeling relaxed (54%), happy (48%) and calm (40%) after watching their favorite movie.

Almost two-thirds (63%) of parents agree that theyve passed their love of their favorite movie along to their child.

Nothing brings a family together quite like movie night, and nothing makes movie night better than a feel-good flick that fills you with warm, fuzzy feelings especially when youre sick. We understand that feeling better means more than just relieving your cough symptoms its about cozying up on the couch as you and your family work to feel better together, said Albert So, Marketing Director, Upper Respiratory Brands at Reckitt, including Delsym.

The survey also delved into how respondents are remedying their ailments by caring for their five senses.

In order to alleviate their symptoms, parents tend to want to taste soup (42%) and hot beverages like tea or coffee (26%).

They also want to touch things like their favorite blanket (40%), their significant other (19%) and their pet (14%).

When it comes to smell, respondents like to breathe in something clean like fresh linens (42%), medicine (36%) and something cooking in the kitchen (26%).

And while trying to feel better, respondents like to listen to music (58%) and their friends and family talking (29%).

When a family member is under the weather, the entire household is caught in the storm and that daily routine can be thrown off course, bringing with it discomfort and chaos. Families not only need fast-acting relief, but they need comforting remedies to help them navigate that storm, said So. Whether its moms chicken soup, your go-to feel better movie or cozying up with your kids, whatever it is that makes you feel better can go a long way.

Survey methodology:

This random double-opt-in survey of 2,000 millennial parents of kids aged 4-12 was commissioned by Delsym between October 6 and October 10, 2022. It was conducted by market research company OnePoll, whose team members are members of the Market Research Society and have corporate membership to the American Association for Public Opinion Research (AAPOR) and the European Society for Opinion and Marketing Research (ESOMAR).

AMSTERDAM (Reuters) - Two men suspected of having fought for an al Qaeda-linked group in Syria were among four Syrian migrants arrested in the Netherlands, Dutch authorities said on Friday. The national prosecutor's office said in a statement that the two men were from 2012-2015 members of the Nusra Front, which the Dutch government designates as a terrorist group, and had travelled to the Netherlands as "refugees" in 2015. A third Syrian man was arrested in possession of four kilograms of marijuana while the fourth had travelled to the Netherlands using fake documents in 2017. All four remain in custody, the statement said. (Reporting by Toby Sterling; Editing by Catherine Evans) Auto Trader: Barclays stays at equal-weight with a target price of 340p. Dignity: Berenberg reiterates buy with a 2825p target. Dixons Carphone: HSBC keeps at buy with a target price of 400p. Mitchels & Butlers: JP Morgan downgrades to neutral with a target of 240p. Diageo: Berenberg reiterates buy with a target price of 2350p. MoneySupermarket: Barclays downgrades to equal weight with a 260p target. Burberry: HSBC stays at hold with a target of 1330p. Tullow Oil: UBS reiterates neutral with a 240p target. Johnson Matthey: Berenberg keeps at buy with a target price of 3250p. Bae Systems: Goldman Sachs reiterates buy with a target of 653p. Rightmove: Barclays downgrades to underweight with a 3300p target. Tesco: Credit Suisse reiterates underperform with a target price of 115p. WPP: Barclays reiterates overweight with a 1800p target. Rio Tinto confirmed the completion of the sale of its wholly-owned subsidiary Coal & Allied Industries Limited to Yancoal Australia on Friday. The FTSE 100 company said that from Friday, Yancoal was taking over management of Rio Tinto's thermal coal business in the Hunter Valley region of New South Wales. It said it would receive total consideration of $2.69bn for the sale, together with customary adjustments for net debt and net working capital at completion. The $2.69bn comprises $2.45bn in cash paid today and a further $240m of unconditional guaranteed royalty payments, the companys board said in its statement, The first royalty payment of $10m was made on Friday and an additional $100m would be received by the end of the year, Rio Tinto said. A further $90m was expected before the end of 2018, and under the terms of the sale, Rio Tinto may also receive an additional royalty linked to the coal price capped at $410m. Rio Tinto will use the consideration received for general corporate purposes and the Group's capital allocation framework will be applied, the board said in a statement. With production from all Hunter Valley coal operations transferring to Yancoal from today, the group's guidance for thermal coal production in 2017 has been revised to 13-14 million tonnes, from 17-18 million tonnes previously. Rio Tinto said the taxable gain on the disposal of the assets was expected to be largely offset by carried forward capital losses in Australia. Therefore the cash tax payable is expected to be relatively low compared to the quantum of the taxable gain. Sainsburys and Dansk Supermarked Group said on Monday that following a comprehensive review, they will end their joint venture of trial Netto UK stores that was launched in June 2014. It is expected that the 16 stores will continue to trade throughout July and will close during August. The Netto UK JV was aimed at exploring the fast-growing discount grocery retail segment in the UK. However, DSG and Sainsbury's have decided to call it a day after assessing trading data, customer and operational insights, expansion costs, the evolving food retail market and long-term strategies for each business. Sainsburys chief executive Mike Coupe said the company would now focus on its acquisition of Home Retail. "Netto is an excellent retailer with talented leaders and colleagues and we have learnt a great deal about the discount grocery retail market from this trial venture. Since we first envisaged the trial, almost three years ago, the grocery sector has evolved significantly and we launched our strategy 18 months ago to address these changing dynamics, said Coupe. "Against this backdrop, as planned, we carried out a detailed review with DSG on the future of Netto. To be successful over the long-term, Netto would need to grow at pace and scale, requiring significant investment and the rapid expansion of the store estate in a challenging property market. Consequently, we have made the difficult decision not to pursue the opportunity further and instead focus on our core business and on the opportunities we will have following our proposed acquisition of Home Retail Group. Our learnings from the trial will undoubtedly benefit the rest of our business as we move forward." The companies said they are working together to minimise the impact of this decision on Netto colleagues. The current carrying value of the investment in the Netto JV within J Sainsbury consolidated group accounts is 20m, which will be written down to zero. The UK supermarket operator is also expecting cash costs of around 10m to wind down the business and said these amounts will be excluded from underlying results. At 1106 BST, Sainsburys shares were down 0.6% to 234.60p. The Salvation Army is looking for volunteers to help with its annual bell-ringing campaign in Vernon County. The bell-ringing takes place at Village Market, Nelson Agri-Center and Walmart, all in Viroqua. Bells will be rung daily at all three locations through Dec. 24 from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Volunteers can take one- to two-hour time slots. Volunteers interested in scheduling a time slot at Village Market may contact Karen Dahl at kdahl@mwt.net. To set up a time to volunteer at Walmart and Nelson Agri-Center, contact Linda Gilardi at 637-2216 or gilardi2@frontiernet.net. Volunteers at Village Market ring bells indoors, and those at Walmart and Nelson Agri-Center are outdoors. A Wisconsin state board is seeking advocates for nursing home residents in long-term care, recruiting especially volunteer ombudsmen in Vernon and surrounding counties. Volunteers will be screened, trained and assigned to a nursing home in their community, under the direction of Jenny Knudson, volunteer ombudsman coordinator for La Crosse, Adams, Crawford, Grant, Jackson, Juneau, Monroe, Richland and Vernon counties. The Wisconsin Board on Aging and Long Term Care is seeking the volunteers, with the main criterion being a desire to make a difference in the lives of residents receiving long-term care. For information and to volunteer, call Knudson at 608-789-6366 or 800-815-0015. Open enrollment for the Affordable Care Act (ACA) started out with a bang, with more than 600,000 people choosing plans on the federal HealthCare.gov marketplace in the first four days, according to the Center for Medicare & Medicaid Services. Enrollment numbers are outpacing 2016, despite fears that reduced funding for outreach may have impacted sign-ups, said Wisconsin Farmers Union President Darin Von Ruden. He urged those needing to health insurance to enroll before the deadline of Dec. 15. Wisconsin Farmers Unions member-driven policy affirms that access to quality health care should be a right of all people rather than a privilege, Von Ruden noted. Though there is room for improvement in the Affordable Care Act, the impact the marketplace has had on rural Wisconsin cannot be denied it has been a game-changer for many family farmers who struggled to find insurance due to being self-employed or having preexisting conditions. Open enrollment runs through Dec. 15, allowing time for people to shop for insurance through the health insurance marketplace (www.heathcare.gov) and either renew an old plan or sign up for a new one. Eight out of 10 people are eligible for premiums under $75 thanks to financial assistance offered through the ACA. Most people who miss the Open Enrollment period will be without health insurance in 2018. Patty and Gary Edelburg and their twins own and operate a 130-cow dairy and 450 acres of corn and alfalfa in central Wisconsin. The Edelburgs get their health insurance through the ACA, and previously were unable to get health insurance. They didnt qualify for Badger Care, and were denied by traditional private health insurance companies because of very minor pre-existing conditions. Without the ACA, they would not have health insurance The Edelburgs noted there are still flaws that need to be worked out within ACA they pay $542 a month and have a $14,000 deductible for the family of four. They would have to sell cows in order to come up with that $14,000. If we were to fully need to use our health insurance in the course of a year, we would pay over $20,000, Edelburg said. There is work yet to be done to make sure the ACA truly is affordable health care for all, Von Ruden said. According to a health care cost analysis by Citizen Action of Wisconsin, there were strong variations in premiums and deductibles between Wisconsin and Minnesota, with consumers on the most common Silver plan paying 45 percent more annually on average in Wisconsin compared to Minnesota consumers. For metro areas, the second lowest cost silver plan total premiums range from 18 percent higher to more than double (144% higher) in Wisconsin, compared to the average premium in Minnesota, Citizen Action notes in the findings. These percentage differences translate into $727 to $5,676 more per person per year in premiums alone in Wisconsin depending on geography. Citizens United joined other health care advocates and consumers in raising awareness that these rate spikes would be avoidable if Wisconsin adopts the BadgerCare Public Option bill (AB 449/SB 363), which would give Wisconsinites the option of purchasing BadgerCare on the Affordable Care Act marketplace. Wisconsin Farmers supports a comprehensive single-payer system of health care. Under ACA, there is a minimum penalty of $695 for not having health insurance. Luckily, free help is available for those struggling to find a plan that fits their needs. Learn more online at Healthcare.gov, visit LocalHelp.Healthcare.gov to find a nearby agent to help you enroll, or call 1-800-318-2596 to connect with a customer service representative who can help you fill out an application, review your choices and enroll. National Farmers Union has created a portal to help provide more information. Visit www.nfu.org/GetCovered to learn more. Nabors Industries Ltd. provides drilling and drilling-related services for land-based and offshore oil and natural gas wells. The company operates through five segments: U.S. Drilling, Canada Drilling, International Drilling, Drilling Solutions, and Rig Technologies. It provides tubular running, wellbore placement, directional drilling, measurement-while-drilling (MWD), equipment manufacturing, and rig instrumentation services; and logging-while-drilling systems and services, as well as drilling optimization software. The company also offers REVit, an automated real time stick-slip mitigation system; ROCKit, a directional steering control system; SmartNAV, a collaborative guidance and advisory platform; SmartSLIDE, an advanced directional steering control system; and RigCLOUD, which provides the tools and infrastructure to integrate applications to deliver real-time insight into operations across the rig fleet. In addition, it manufactures and sells top drives, catwalks, wrenches, drawworks, and other drilling related equipment, such as robotic systems and downhole tools; and provides aftermarket sales and services for the installed base of its equipment. As of December 31, 2021, the company marketed approximately 301 rigs for land-based drilling operations in the United States, Canada, and in 20 other countries worldwide; and 29 rigs for offshore platform drilling operations in the United States and internationally. Nabors Industries Ltd. was founded in 1952 and is based in Hamilton, Bermuda. Events this week include an opera at NSU, Winterfest and Miss Aberdeen Looking for something to do this week, check out an opera at NSU, Winterfest or the Miss Aberdeen coronation. Police identified 20-year-old Marqus Chavez as the man found dead in a northeast Albuquerque park Wednesday morning. APD spokeswoman Hannah Glasgow said officers found Chavez shot to death around 8 a.m. at Mesa Verde Park and Community Center, on Marquette and Pennsylvania NE, after responding to reports of a man who was down and out. Chavez death is being investigated as a homicide, she said. Detectives are asking anyone with information to call 242-COPS or CrimeStoppers. A man died Friday morning when he crashed a stolen truck in Los Lunas, according to a New Mexico State Police spokesman. Officer Ray Wilson said police were on the lookout for the stolen vehicle when they came upon the crash. The suspect, who was not wearing his seatbelt at the time of the crash was ejected from the vehicle, he said. The suspect, who has not been identified, died at the scene and nobody else was injured. Wilson said State Police were alerted, around 8 a.m., that the truck had been stolen from a home on Meadowlake Road in Los Lunas. Soon after, an officer saw the truck traveling at a high rate of speed and turned around to stop the truck, he said. Due to the extremely dangerous driving behavior exhibited by the suspect, the officer made the decision not to initiate a pursuit because of the danger it would pose to the public, Wilson said. He said the stolen truck crashed a short time later. The New Mexico State Police Crash Reconstruction Unit was called in to assist with the investigation, Wilson said. 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 womans 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 partys 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 Kihuens, 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 womens equality, and I will continue to do so. A familiar face at Coronado Historic Site has been named the new Instructional Coordinator for the New Mexico Historic Sites. Ethan Ortega, a historic site ranger, was selected to fill the position thats been vacant since mid-June, according to a New Mexico Department of Cultural Affairs news release issued this week. In his new position, Ranger Ortega will continue to service Coronado Historic Site as well as the entire Northern Region of New Mexico Historic Sites, including Jemez Historic Site in Jemez Springs and Los Luceros property in Alcalde, the release reads. Initially, he will work on reimagining the exhibits at Jemez Historic Site and will work with Jemez Instructional Coordinator Marlon Magdalena on public outreach and digital media promoting the sites, the department said. In the past three years, Ortega has redeveloped and redesigned most of the exhibits at Coronado Historic Site in Bernalillo, including the overhaul of the core exhibit, The Good Earth: Expressions of Two Cultures, which featured the addition of displays relating to Coronados Indios Amigos or Native American auxiliaries, according to the department. Most recently, Ortega completed an Enigma Named Esteban, which explored story behind the African slave who made first contact with the Pueblo peoples a year before the coming of Francisco Vasquez de Coronado, the release reads. For his work at the Coronado site, Ortega received the Historical Society of New Mexico Edgar Lee Hewett Award in April 2017 and the Richard A. Bice Award for Archaeological Achievement by the Archaeological Society of New Mexico in May. He was also given the Cordell-Powers Prize for having the best student-run presentation at the Pecos Conference last August, the department said. On behalf of New Mexico Historic Sites, we congratulate Ethan Ortega on his new position and all of his awards over the past year, Patrick Moore, director of New Mexico Historic Sites, said in a statement. Hard work pays off! After an exhaustive search, Ethan was the clear choice for this position. Ortega replaces Sharon Walker, who left in mid-June. The New Mexico Historic Site system was established in 1931 by an Act for the Preservation of the Scientific Resources of New Mexico, the news release explains. And, under the direction of the New Mexico Department of Cultural Affairs, six of seven sites are active and open to the public. They are: Fort Sumner Historic Site/Bosque Redondo Memorial, Coronado, Fort Selden, Jemez, Fort Stanton and Lincoln. Right-to-work merely allows workers the freedom to choose union membership and pay dues or not. It does not forbid anyone from joining a union or prohibit unions from organizing. It enhances the freedom and prosperity of individuals and communities, which is why more than half of the states have passed some version of right-to-work. The Sandoval County proposed RTW ordinance does NOT impact government unions or existing union contracts. Right-to-work is about economic development. We here in New Mexico are sitting on an island of high poverty, high unemployment and lower pay between states with significant economic growth. Arizonas gross domestic product rose 3.6 percent in 2017. Texas had the fastest-growing economy in the nation in the first quarter. The Utah economy saw every major industrial sector expand in 2016. Colorados gross domestic product jumped at an annual rate of 5.1 percent in 2016. New Mexico ranks in the bottom six overall for a fourth straight year, with the worst employment growth in the United States. There are currently 28 right-to-work states. New Mexico is surrounded by them. Arizona, Utah and Texas are RTW states. Colorado is not a right-to-work state BUT its Labor Peace Law is more stringent than right-to-work laws. Business site selectors who help businesses decide where to expand or relocate say that the majority of businesses have right-to-work on their checklist as item No. 1 or 2. The fact that business site selectors wont consider non-RTW states is confirmed by the NERA Economic Consultants Economic Evidence, the Sandoval Economic Alliance CEO Steve Jenkins, the Illinois Policy Report and Mark Sweeney of McCallum Sweeney Consulting, a leading business site selector. Compare unemployment and income for neighboring states and New Mexico: 2017 unemployment rates: Arizona 5.1 percent, Colorado 2.4 percent, Texas 4.3 percent, Utah 3.5 percent and New Mexico 6.3 percent. 2017 median hourly rates: Arizona $17.05, Colorado $19.09, Texas $17.06, Utah $16.83, New Mexico $15.82. 2016 annual average income: Arizona $46,290, Colorado $52,710, Texas $47,770, Utah $45,490, New Mexico $44,190. New Mexicans make $1- to $3-an-hour less and $1,300 to over $2,600 annually less than those in neighboring states. Results from multiple studies reported by the NERA Economic Consultants Economic Evidence Report show RTW states consistently outperformed non-RTW states in private-sector employment growth, increase in manufacturing output, and increase in real personal income. Recently the 6th Federal Circuit Court ruled that local governments are political subdivisions of the state and therefore have the authority of the state concerning right-to-work. The local approach has already succeeded in other states. Kentucky counties have seen billions of dollars in new capital investment, and unemployment rates dropped from 6.9 percent to 4.6 percent. Right-to-work isnt just good for employers and employees; it can be beneficial for good unions. Last year Indiana, a RTW state, added 50,000 new union members Opponents to RTW complain about outside money supporting RTW efforts, yet the head of the NM AFL-CIO threatens lawsuits funded by the national AFL-CIO. Considering a series of failed union lawsuits in multiple states including Kentucky, wouldnt it be better for the unions to stop wasting members union dues on lawsuits and redirect those funds to benefit union members? Of course RTW is not the whole story when attracting new businesses. Other considerations are also important. But if a large majority of site selectors eliminate New Mexico because were a non-RTW state then theyll never get to appreciate our other advantages. Truth be told, the amount of tax individuals pay can be more or less at all income levels, depending on circumstances such as: number of dependents, whether or not the taxpayer owns a house, employed vs. self-employed, lives in a state with income and/or property taxes, etc. How did we get here? Our country was about 150 years old when Congress implemented an income tax around 1915 to fund the military for WWI. Once the war ended, Congress realized three critical uses of a well-implemented income tax system effectively utilized by other democratic societies, past and current. In order of importance: First, to collect information about the citizens. Think about all the information we provide on our income tax returns, especially now with 91 percent of us filing electronically. Everything from the IP address of the home computer we hit send on to our bank account information, who holds our mortgage, who we donate to, where our children go for day care, etc. Second, to dictate our behavior through legislation. Our income tax evolved during its first 50 years by a Congress made up of representatives of our greatest generation, the generation who pulled us through the Great Depression, WWII and built America into the strongest economic power on the planet. These representatives implemented tax benefits that build a strong America (via values) such as home ownership. A country made up of homeowners is a country cherished by its citizens with a vested interest in things like better schools, roads, law enforcement, etc. These citizens are more willing to fight for their country, to send their children into the military. And third, to raise money for the government. Surprised? Yes, to raise money for the government is third. How does the Trump tax plan make America weak? First, it removes the personal exemption. We no longer get to claim ourselves, our children and others we support as dependents and receive a tax deduction presently about $4,000 per person. A married couple with two kids receives a $16,000 deduction. This deduction is gone. The greatest generation of legislatures recognized the importance of encouraging its citizens to not only care for its children but also for others in need families where grandparents are raising grandchildren, aunts and uncles are raising nieces and nephews, grown children are now caring for parents, handicapped children who never leave home. All of these tax-deductible dependents are gone under the Trump plan. The Trump plan increases the child tax credit as an offset to the removal of the personal exemption. Really? The child tax credit expires at age 17, just when it can become the most expensive time to raise a child. Presently, claiming someone as a dependent can continue throughout their life, regardless of age. These various versions of a family desperately need the personal exemption. Without it what does our country look like in 20 or 30 years where theres no tax break for these types of diverse families? Our current tax code helps these families; the Trump plan ignores them and treats them the same as a married couple with no children or dependents. The Trump tax plan doubles the standard deduction, eliminates the state and local tax deduction and caps the mortgage interest deduction; this trifecta removes the tax incentives for homeownership. No longer will young Americans strive to get that first home, encouraged by the significant tax savings theyll enjoy. It was only nine years ago when Congress passed the First Time Homebuyer Tax Credit to encourage and help this critical piece of building a strong America individual home ownership. What does this country look like in 20 years if it passes? Were a country of renters? We all know renters lack of care and concern for their property, generally speaking, versus individual homeowners. Is this the America Trump wants? A few real estate owners like him and a bunch of renters? Mr. Dillavou is a 1990 Graduate of New Mexico State University where he earned his Bachelor of Accountancy. He has prepared and signed off on thousands of tax returns over his career. Former FBI Director Robert Mueller was supposed to run a narrow investigation into accusations of collusion between the Donald Trump campaign and the Russian government. But so far, Muellers work has been plagued by almost daily improper leaks e.g., sources report, it emerged, some say about investigations that seem to have little to do with his original mandate. Now, there are leaks claiming that Mueller is going after former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn for his business practices before he entered the Trump administration. Specifically, Mueller is reportedly investigating Flynns security assessment and intelligence work for the Turkish government and other Turkish interests. Yet possible unethical lobbying on behalf of a NATO ally was not the reason Mueller was appointed. The Roman satirist Juvenal famously once asked how one could guard against marital infidelity when the moral guardians were themselves immoral. His famous quip, translated roughly as Who will police the police? is applicable to all supposedly saintly investigators. Independent counsel Ken Starr was supposed to look into Bill Clintons supposed shady Whitewater dealings in Arkansas. He ended up investigating every aspect of Clintons life, including his many sexual escapades. No doubt Clinton was a philanderer. But it was not Starrs mission to prove to the nation what it had already suspected when it voted Clinton into the Oval Office. In 2003, Patrick Fitzgerald was appointed as special counsel by now-notorious former FBI Director James Comey to determine whether Lewis Scooter Libby, Vice President Dick Cheneys chief of staff, had illegally exposed the allegedly covert status of CIA operative Valerie Plame. As with the Starr investigation, Fitzgerald soon presided over a media circus. When the investigation was over, Libby was charged on five counts, even though Plame may not have been a covert CIA agent at all. Also, it was reported early in the investigation that Fitzgerald knew someone other than Libby was almost surely guilty of first leaking Plames status Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage. But Fitzgerald was desperate for a big administration scalp. So he continued to lead an investigation that resulted in Libbys conviction on four charges in part based on Libbys supposed disclosures to journalist Judith Miller. In her memoir, Miller later disavowed that Libby had ever given her classified information. Special counsel investigations are only as good as the society at large that orders them. The idea that a godly inquisitor, invested with extralegal authority, can somehow use superior wisdom and morality to solve an unsolvable ethical problem is a stretch. Usually, these chasing-your-own-tail appointments are born out of media and political hysteria. The special counsel immediately feels enormous pressure to find anything to avoid being accused of running a whitewash or wasting time and money. If the original investigation finds little traction, the all-powerful special counsel then ventures into ever new territories apparently on the theory that everyone has at least something to hide in his past. Or the special counsel tries to trip up panicked targets in order to find inconsistent narratives that can be banked as fallback evidence of lying or hiding something that was not necessarily a crime to begin with. Yet counsels themselves are not above reproach. Starr later voiced regret about venturing into Clintons tawdry sex life. Fitzgerald did not disclose that he had targeted the wrong leaker. In unethical fashion, Fitzgerald never brought charges against Armitage, who lacked the sensational media buzz that had surrounded Libby. In predictable fashion, Mueller himself may soon be the target of inquiries. He came to the job in part because his old acquaintance and successor at the FBI, Comey, testified that he had deliberately, and perhaps illegally, leaked to the press his notes on private conversations with Trump, whom he had just assured was not under investigation. The stated aim of the Machiavellian Comey was to force the appointment of a special investigator which turned out to be none other than his friend Mueller. In the charge/countercharge swamp of Washington insider politics, Muellers prior tenure at the FBI during the Barack Obama administration may likewise come under scrutiny. Mueller was serving as FBI director when the Obama administration approved a deal allowing a Russian company, Rosatom, to buy a Canadian company that owned the rights to a large share of U.S. uranium supplies. Before the deal went through, the FBI reportedly learned that the head of a Rosatom subsidiary was corrupt, and that Rosatom officials knew about the corruption. Its unclear whether Mullers FBI alerted the administration about its findings. Did Mueller wrongly slow down the investigation, or was he sidetracked by higher-ups. Why did his investigation amount to nothing? Will officials soon be investigating for collusion the current investigator of collusion? Do we now need a special, special counsel? The point is not that Mueller may have acted unethically, but that he in theory could be policed just as easily as those he polices. If we have lost faith in our institutions, then creating starry-eyed new ones will not solve the problem, given that the fault is in ourselves. It has been nearly a year since Donald J. Trump assumed the office of the presidency of the United States. So, wheres that wall he promised voters? Back in 1986, an audacious young Trump boldly told the City of New York to step aside from a long-stalled plan to renovate a skating rink in the heart of Central Park. Wollman Rink had been neglected for so long the city earmarked almost $5 million to renovate it. Five years later, the project was $12 million over budget and still not done. The rink wasnt level and the braintrust in charge couldnt figure out how to make and keep ice. Trump grandly stepped in, used his own money, and finished the project not only in record time but $750,000 under budget. The city reimbursed him. So, when I heard candidate Trumps oft-repeated campaign promise about building a wall along the U.S./Mexican border and his declaration that, It will go up so fast your head will spin I figured within the first year of a Trump administration we, the taxpayers, would have something tangible to look at. We do not. Chalk it up to the naive candidate having no idea about the intricacies of governing and the incredible amount of red-taped delay thats involved in government projects. And, the most preposterous part of the wall project promise the idea that Mexico would pay for it? Fuhgeddaboudit. They will not. We will. President Trump now says we really need to build the wall along just 700 miles to 900 miles of the 2,000-mile border with Mexico. Rugged mountain terrain and violent and vicious rivers dont need to be fenced in, he says. So, just how much will said wall cost in the end? There seems to be no definitive answer. The president has asked Congress to approve a down payment of $1.6 billion. But that could be just the beginning. So far, $20 million has been spent for a prototype program. Six companies were awarded contracts to build 8 different samples of wall panels. Four are of concrete, four are made of other materials, and all are between 18 and 30 feet high. The companies promise their wall prototype will be immune to breaching, scaling, climbing, digging underneath and will be able to maintain an impedance and denial of traffic. In September, the president told a cheering crowd, Im going to go out and look at them personally, (Im) going to pick the right one, he said about the final design choice. But theres no indication Mr. Trump has gone to the construction area outside San Diego to inspect the panels, even though the deadline for completion was the end of October. The president has also made it clear he thinks the finished wall must be see-though so border patrol agents can observe whats happening on the Mexican side. Really? Then why did we spend up to $500,000 each on solid concrete prototypes? Online videos clearly show several of the prototypes are definitely not transparent. Sure leaves the impression that the right hand doesnt know what the left hand is doing. Of course, the goals for the wall are laudable: to keep out more people, from all sorts of foreign countries, from crossing into our country illegally and to help stem the flood of drugs coming into the U.S. from Mexico. But, lets pause here for a reality check. Common sense and the theory of supply and demand tells us if there were fewer drug addicts in America, the supply stream would begin to dry up. When you consider that we lose almost 1,000 people a week to drug overdoses and that the U.S. consumes more than 80 percent of the worlds opioid pills, even though we have less than 5 percent of the globes population, doesnt spending more money on drug treatment, anti-drug education and crime prevention make sense? And the L.A. Times reported earlier this year that the number of immigrants caught trying to cross the U.S.-Mexico border has plunged 40 percent under the tough-talking Trump administration. Some might conclude this makes the need to spend a couple of billion dollars on a border barrier questionable. Look, Im not against the wall in principle. Measures to fight illegal immigration, and drug flow and drug-spurred crimes are long overdue. But the pie-in-the-sky belief that a tall wall will automatically solve both those problems is a foolish notion. About as foolish as saying it could be built so fast your head will spin or that we, the taxpayers, wont have to pay for it. www.DianeDimond.com; email to Diane@DianeDimond.com. Its been three days since NBC fired Today host Matt Lauer. Three days since Minnesota Public Radio fired Garrison Keillor. Three days since Rep. John Conyers, D-Mich., announced he will not seek re-election next year in the wake of sexual harassment claims. Five days since Sen. Al Franken, D-Minn., apologized after multiple women came forward to say he groped them. A month since Netflix dropped Kevin Spacey amid sexual misconduct allegations. A month since women came forward and said U.S. Senate candidate Roy Moore of Alabama groped them when they were teens. More than a month since the New York Times and New Yorker reported dozens of women have alleged sexual misconduct by mega-producer Harvey Weinstein. More than two months since Fox News fired Bill OReilly after paying out millions to women who accused him of sexual misconduct. A year since Fox fired founder Roger Ailes for sexual harassment. More than a year since NBC News fired Billy Bush after an Access Hollywood tape was leaked that had Bush giggling at then-candidate Donald Trump bragging he could grab women by the genitals. More than two decades since Bill and Hillary Clinton downplayed his sexual misconduct as bimbo eruptions during his campaign for president. These are just a few recent lowlights. Yet today, too many women and men will still be sexually harassed at work. Because unless and until there is zero tolerance for such behavior, it will continue to be a spectator sport in famous circles and a grim reality in non-famous ones. And that should start with our elected officials. It is essential that Congress shed light on the $17 million paid out to 264 individuals for workplace violations, including sexual harassment, and ban the practice of these secret settlements going forward. Twenty years of gag orders have allowed unacceptable behavior to flourish in the dark. New Mexicos congressional delegation concurs. (See Michael Colemans story on A1.) And it is essential Congress, New Mexico, county and municipal governments as well as private businesses establish clear lines of what constitutes harassment and misconduct. N.M. Rep. Sarah Maestas Barnes, R-Albuquerque, is urging Legislative leadership to address physical and verbal harassment along with the sexual kind. Thats important for protecting both potential victims and accused harassers. The need for such clear lines is exemplified in the case of Senate Majority Whip Michael Padilla, now considering dropping out of the 2018 race for lieutenant governor as city payouts for allegations of him creating a sexually hostile work environment resurface. Like Sen. Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., first defending then decrying Conyers, Rep. Michelle Lujan Grisham, a New Mexico Democrat who is running for governor in 2018, has sent mixed signals on Padilla, dancing with him at a fundraiser, then telling him to leave the race. (And if Padillas too damaged to run for lieutenant governor, how can he remain in a leadership position in the state Senate?) Its these mixed signals and blurred lines that have helped make unacceptable behavior accepted in society, and for victims allegations to be discouraged and dismissed. And yet it is also all too easy to see a pat on the back, an off-color joke, a well-intentioned compliment being used to ruin careers and lives because someone wanted to jump on the #MeToo bandwagon. In the coming days its clear more famous individuals will join the aforementioned celebrities in the sexual misconduct spotlight. Whats not clear is if our government leaders and employers can establish clear policies that help ensure such behavior is unacceptable in the workplace, whether youre famous or not. This editorial first appeared in the Albuquerque Journal. It was written by members of the editorial board and is unsigned as it represents the opinion of the newspaper rather than the writers. Copyright 2017 Albuquerque Journal WASHINGTON With Congress facing intense pressure to confront sexual harassment in its midst, New Mexicos congressional delegation is calling for an end to secret settlements of Capitol Hill complaints that leave taxpayers footing the bill. The U.S. House and Senate are mulling legislation that would make public any financial settlements for harassment by members of Congress and force them to pay for many of those past settlements. The identity of the person lodging the complaint would remain private. All five members of New Mexicos congressional delegation told the Journal this week that they support such legislation. The U.S. House and Senate also this month with support from New Mexicos delegation voted to make sexual harassment training mandatory for all congressional members and staffers. Congress is not above the law, said Rep. Steve Pearce, R-N.M. Victims and whistleblowers must be protected from retaliation and no member of Congress should be allowed to cover up settlements or hide their guilt. Taxpayers have a right to know how their money is being spent and why. This includes past spending on settlements. The action on Capitol Hill comes as a slew of powerful men, including current and would-be members of Congress, are facing accusations of sexual impropriety. Democratic Rep. John Conyers of Michigan this week stepped down from his post as the ranking member on the House Judiciary Committee amid allegations that he tried to coerce sex from staffers. New Mexicos Democratic Reps. Ben Ray Lujan and Michelle Lujan Grisham on Thursday both called on Conyers to resign. Democratic Sen. Al Franken of Minnesota also is under fire for allegedly groping women without their consent. Democratic Sens. Martin Heinrich and Tom Udall of New Mexico have urged a Senate ethics investigation of Frankens conduct but have stopped short of calling for his ouster. Meanwhile, Senate candidate Roy Moore of Alabama, the Republican candidate in a special election on Dec. 12, is accused of preying on underage girls decades ago. Pearce, the New Mexico delegations only Republican, declined to comment on the Moore controversy when asked about it by the Journal on Thursday. He provided a statement that said in part: No person is above the law anywhere in this country for any office or in any walk of life. All five members of New Mexicos congressional delegation told the Journal they have written sexual harassment policies in place for their employees. According to a Politico report this week, not all congressional offices have such policies. Since 1997, the little-known Office of Congressional Compliance has paid out more than $15 million to settle a wide variety of claims, an unknown number for sexual harassment. Taxpayers currently pay the tab for the secretive settlements. Were at an important moment in our country when victims of sexual harassment and violence feel they can reveal truths and experiences they never felt safe to talk about before, Udall told the Journal. Hostile workplaces are far too common in this country, and many people in positions of authority have gotten away with harassment and intimidation for far too long. This behavior is never OK, never acceptable in any setting, and we should all be committed to making it stop. In addition to the House and Senate resolutions that require sexual harassment training for members of Congress and their staffs, both chambers are looking at broader bills that would overhaul how Congress handles harassment claims. Rep. Jackie Speier, a California Democrat, and Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, a New York Democrat, have introduced companion bills in their respective chambers. In addition to unmasking settlements, the legislation would allow congressional interns to use the same system for filing harassment cases as full-time employees, and mandate that every congressional office publicly post information about employees rights. All of New Mexicos congressional Democrats have co-sponsored those House and Senate bills. Pearce has co-sponsored a similar Republican bill introduced by Rep. Ron DeSantis of Florida this week that would require the Office of Compliance to disclose on its website all payments to settle sexual assault claims, including all past claims. The legislation specifies that the victims names could not be made public. Also under the DeSantis bill, any member of Congress who has used the confidential Office of Compliance fund to settle sexual harassment claims since 1995 would be required to reimburse the government, with interest. Lujan Grisham, the New Mexico congressional delegations only woman, said changes to congressional procedures for handling sexual harassment are long overdue. For too long, the current system has undermined victim rights and kept the American people in the dark, she said. These changes will shine a light on how sexual assault and misconduct cases are handled in order to promote a positive, productive work environment that will facilitate culture change in Congress. Copyright 2017 Albuquerque Journal President Donald Trump isnt the only one making claims of fake news. The American Atheists organization is also sounding the alarm but its Christmas season target is religion. Earlier this week, a large billboard went up next to Interstate 25, south of Montgomery. Located on the west side of the interstate but facing northbound traffic, the billboard contains a Nativity scene with a crescent moon and star above it. Large lettering to the right reads: Just skip church. Its all fake news! Along the bottom of the billboard, in smaller lettering, is the message, Happy holidays from American Atheists! Nick Fish, national program director for American Atheists, which has headquarters in New Jersey and Washington, D.C., told the Journal on Friday that he understands some people believe the billboard message is a slap in the face of people of faith. That, however, is not the intention. People are rightly skeptical about some of the news they see on social media, hear from family or friends, or are told by elected officials. But too often, they dont extend that skepticism to their religious views and what their religious leaders are telling them, Fish said. Fake news has been a topic of conversation for two years now, and the best way to fight against fake news is to think critically and look at the evidence. We want people to do that in all aspects of their lives and not shut off that part of their brain that does critical thinking for two hours when they attend their houses of worship each week. Critical thinking is not whats being advanced by the billboard, said the Rev. Richard Mansfield, senior pastor of the New Beginning Church, which is less than a quarter mile from the highway billboard. Theyre not promoting conversation; theyre just saying Christianity is false, the Nativity is a farce, the church and everything we stand for is fake, the Bible is a lie and we are all liars. The billboard is mocking everything that Christians around the world believe in and theyre saying skip church because it delivers fake news, he said. They are attacking the church. The billboard will remain up through December. The Nativity scene and the reference to church were used because this is the holiday season and because most Americans who profess to be religious are affiliated with a Christian denomination, Fish said. However, the message of the billboard is meant for all religions, he added. Rabbi Harry Rosenfeld of Congregation Albert said he was offended by the billboard. If it said, There is no god; happy holidays, I would not be offended, because thats an issue of free speech and freedom of religion, he said. Because the billboard uses the Nativity image and tells people to skip church because churches promote fake news, the message is, None of this is real; youre all being fooled; dont do it. Thats a different message than think critically. Further, Rosenfeld said, the term fake news is a pejorative that is now being used to put others down and shut off discussion and debate. The billboard demonstrates a lack of sensitivity to people of faith, particularly coming at this time of the year, said Mostafa Amini, general secretary of the Islamic Center of New Mexico. At the same time, we support freedom of speech and recognize that atheists have the right to express themselves as they will, he said. The Islamic faith also supports, in fact commands, critical thinking, Amini said. Islam tries to argue rationally for the existence of God, and that is not fake news to people of faith. Richard Wood, a University of New Mexico professor of sociology specializing in religion, says he detects a type of dishonesty in the billboards message. I have deep respect for principled humanism, he said, but that billboard expresses a certain kind of secular fundamentalism thats a mirror image of religious fundamentalism in that it denies all truths except their own. That kind of secular fundamentalism is just as ethically bankrupt as religious fundamentalism, he said. If the message is think critically about everything, Im on board. But thats not what the billboard says, which is, Religion is fake news. SVF, eastern Indias largest movie production house, today launched the trailer of their upcoming movie Amazon Obhijaan - the most expensive film ever produced in Bengali language. Launching the trailer in multiple languages namely - Bengali, Hindi, Oriya, Assamese, Tamil & Telugu, SVF has achieved yet another industry first with Amazon Obhijaan set to become the only Bengali movie to be released in six languages. After unveiling the biggest movie poster for a Bengali film and becoming the first production house to make the story board public before the movie release, SVF has left no stone unturned to promote its mega production Amazon Obhijaan, releasing on 22ND December 2017. Mahendra Soni, Co-Founder & Director SVF, said, This is probably the first time in Indian film history that any movie trailer is being released simultaneously in six languages, and this is another step in our efforts to take Bengali cinema to newer heights, and reach a wider audience. The two minute trailer showcases the eternal saga of an explorer's quest for adventure. Two years after Marco Florian, an Italian adventurer fails in his mission, his daughter Anna approaches the Bengali explorer Shankar Choudhury, requesting him to join for an expedition. Shankar readily accepts Anna's request and from there on, an enthralling yet long and arduous journey to the heart of Amazon, to discover the hidden city of gold, El Dorado begins. The trailer goes on to capture how the explorers travel thousands of miles to reach the mythical city the journey is laden with natural difficulties, wild animals, savage tribes, and vicious gold digger. Shankar on his way single-handedly overcomes every odd and fights off every danger ranging from a menacing Black Caiman to a gigantic Anaconda. Here are the links to the 6 trailers: Bengali- bit.ly/AmazonObhijaanOfficialTrailer Hindi- bit.ly/AmazonObhijaanHindiOfficialTrailer Tamil- bit.ly/AmazonObhijaanTamilOfficialTrailer Telugu- bit.ly/AmazonObhijaanTeluguOfficialTrailer Oriya- bit.ly/AmazonObhijaanOriyaOfficialTrailer Assamese- bit.ly/AmazonObhijaanAssameseOfficialTrailer Genesis Burson-Marsteller, a leading public relations and public affairs consultancy that has been pushing boundaries for 25 years and delivering integrated communications services to some of the best global and Indian companies, continued its winning streak by bagging two awards at prestigious international forums. Genesis Burson-Marsteller was named the Consultancy of the Year India and South Asia at the Public Affairs Gold Standard Awards 2017, held in Hong Kong last evening. The consultancy also won the ICCO Worlds Best Campaign Award for its Back to Work campaign for Medela in the Healthcare category. The ICCO Global Awards were held a day earlier on November 29 in London. Coveted by PR trade associations representing 55 countries worldwide, ICCO Global Awards recognize excellence and effectiveness in PR at the global level, while the Public Affairs Gold Standard Awards recognize communications and public affairs professionals operating across Asia Pacific and the Middle East. Prema Sagar, Vice Chair, Burson-Marsteller Asia Pacific & Founder, Genesis Burson-Marsteller, said Winning at such prestigious platforms is a testament to our 25 years of pushing boundaries of communicationwhether it is for our clients, the industry, our people or the community at large. Our win as the Consultancy of the Year India and South Asia at the Gold Standard Awards is a true reflection of our teams collective hard work and integrated approach towards delivering award-winning work. Medela has won several awards and accolades for us this year, and to win at the global level is extremely gratifying. We are truly proud of the work done by the team. Congratulations all! Vishwanath Kannan, Marketing Manager, Medela India, commented on winning at the ICCO Global Awards We are extremely happy to be recognized for our work at this coveted platform. At Medela, we strongly believe that breastfeeding is the best feeding and has endless benefits for the mother and baby. The Back to Work campaign is at the core of our vision and mission of supporting mothers in their breastfeeding journey through our research and evidence-based products. We have been empowering mothers across the world to initiate and sustain breastfeeding while maintaining work-life balance. We would like to thank the esteemed jury for recognising our efforts and initiatives in helping mothers take the breastfeeding decision. Recently, Genesis Burson-Marsteller also won the coveted India Consultancy of the Year at the SABRE Asia Pacific Awards, while Prema Sagar, Vice Chair, Asia Pacific for Burson-Marsteller and Founder/Principal, Genesis Burson-Marsteller, was conferred the prestigious Outstanding Individual Achievement SABRE award for her contribution to the industry. The consultancy also won three Gold awards for its campaigns at the SABRE Asia-Pacific 2017 held in Hong Kong in September 2017. Genesis Burson-Marstellers Back to Work campaign for Medela India was ranked 9th among the Top 40 campaigns at the Global SABRE Awards 2017. Sonakshi Sinhas latest movie is all set for World Television Premiere on Sony MAX, the leading Hindi movies channel from Sony Pictures Networks, on Friday 8th December 2017 at 8:00 PM. Noor features Sonakshi Sinha in never seen before avatar of investigative journalist along with Purab Kohli, Shibani Dandekar, Suchitra Pillai and Kanan Gill in pivotal roles. Noor narrates the story of Noor Roy Choudhary (Sonakshi Sinha), a 28-year-old clumsy journalist who is trying to cope up with her day-to-day issues like weight gain, EMIs and negligible love life. While Noor is struggling with her life and job, she meets Ayanaka Banerjee (Purab Kohli) a former CNN reporter and war correspondent and instantly fall for him. On one hand her personal life is at a beautiful juncture, and on the other hand her professional life takes a dramatic turn as her boss Shekar (Manish Chaudhary) sends her to interview famous doctor, who treats poor people for free. During the course of interview, Noor comes across an eye-opening investigative news story as she finds out from her house-maid that the doctor is into the business of organ harvesting. While she is struggling to unleash this truth, Ayanaka cheats on her and presents her story as his investigation in front of entire world. A series of events changes Noors outlook towards her profession making her a responsible journalist of the country. Will Noor be able to successfully expose the doctor and break the organ harvesting racket? Comments: Sonakshi Sinha: Noor is the most organized, fastest and the most real film I have done so far. Noor is a very relatable character; she is an ordinary girl who wants to achieve everything in the world. Despite being an actors daughter I have lived the life of a normal girl. I have grown up in city like Mumbai, gone to regular school and college, travelled in train and autos. But now I miss that kind of stuff so it was nice to be back to normal life with Noors character. To find out, watch Noor only on Sony MAX on Friday, 8th December at 8pm Amazons latest Fire TV model, that was announced just a couple of months ago, has finally gotten its first price drop, after Black Friday. The Fire TV typically goes for $69.99, but Amazon has dropped $20 off of the price, bringing it down to just $49.99. The Amazon Fire TV isnt quite a set-top box, but more of a pendant that hangs from your TV. Its in the middle of a typical HDMI stick and a set-top box, but its still pretty powerful. The Amazon Fire TV does support both 4K and HDR technologies, so no matter what content you are watching on the Fire TV, youre going to get a great picture. Of course, the Fire TV does have Alexa built-in, so using the microphone button on the remote, you are able to do a variety of things, like asking Alexa to play a movie on Netflix, or asking for the weather and much more. The Fire TV does support many of the more popular apps, like Netflix, Hulu, Sling TV, DIRECTV NOW and many others out there. This is also eligible for Amazon Primes free shipping. Which includes free two-day shipping, and pretty cheap next-day shipping if you need it here extra fast. If you are not an Amazon Prime member yet, you can sign up for a free trial of Amazon Prime by hitting the link below. Youll get 30 days free (if youre a student, you get 6 months), and then its $99/year. Prime members do get a whole lot more than just free shipping though, so be sure to check out the full benefits. This week Microsoft officially confirmed that it is working on Office Android app support for Chromebooks. The confirmation came through in a New in November blog posting from the company which details a number of new Office-related features and updates. Buried within the many announcements though, was the acknowledgement that the support is being readied. This follows on from the reports that have come through in the past few days noting how a number of different Chromebook models were suddenly compatible with the Office suite of Android apps on the Google Play Store. At the time there had been little in the way of any official announcement on this, with the support just suddenly noted as live for an increasing number of devices. Interestingly, the confirmation was not specifically detailed and did not provide any real substance on when solid Chromebook support will become available. Instead, the short statement confirmed that Microsoft had released a preview version of the Office Mobile apps for Chromebooks earlier in the week. While also pointing out that these apps are essentially the previously available Android apps. Which in spite of having now been made available to work with Chromebooks, they have yet to be fully optimized for the Chromebook form. With the suggestion being those who do decide to download the apps on a Chromebook should expect some bugs, or incompatibility issues to be present. On that note, the short statement does also point out how Microsoft is looking to get feedback from users who do decide to try the apps out. For those interested however, it does also have to be pointed out how accessing the apps is not quite as simple as downloading them from the Google Play Store. As the posting does reiterate a user must have an active Office 365 subscription to be able to make use of the apps full potential in the first place. At least on devices that are greater in size than 10-inches which in the Chromebook world is pretty much all Chromebooks. That is, in addition to also being a Chromebook that has gained support for Android apps in general. Two real-life images depicting a device thats said to be the Samsung Galaxy A8 Plus (stylized as the Galaxy A8+) emerged online on Saturday, having been shared by one user of Chinese social media network Weibo. According to latest rumors, the Galaxy A8 Plus will be the official moniker of the follow-up to the Galaxy A7 (2017) which was previously thought to be called the Galaxy A7 (2018). Its presently unclear what prompted Samsung to opt for such a minor rebranding, provided that the information is accurate, though the newly uncovered device appears to be relatively similar to most previous supposed depictions of the Galaxy A7 (2018). According to the same source, the successor to the Galaxy A5 (2017) will be marketed as the Galaxy A8 (2018) and feature a smaller screen than the Galaxy A8 Plus but otherwise be mostly identical to the larger device. The two photographs that can be seen above show a relatively bezel-free handset that appears to take advantage of Samsungs Infinity Display panel with a tall aspect ratio of 18.5:9. The most expensive member of the upcoming mid-range family will bear the model number SM-A730F, the leak suggests. Unlike Samsungs premium offerings, the Infinity Display of the supposed Galaxy A8 Plus doesnt wrap around the long edges of the handset and instead appears to be more similar to the flat Super AMOLED screen found on the Galaxy S8 Active. A front-facing dual-camera setup also seems to be part of the package, with the device lacking a physical Home button. Regardless of its official moniker, the top member of the Galaxy A (2018) series is expected to be available in limited territories, with Samsung now seeking to streamline its mid-range offerings and employ a more targeted product release strategy better tailored for individual markets, according to recent reports. The South Korean tech giant is rumored to only make the Galaxy A8 Plus (2018) available in Germany, Poland, and Russia as far as Europe is concerned, whereas most Asian markets may also miss out on this particular model and instead receive new Galaxy C-series handsets. The Galaxy A (2018) lineup may only entail two models instead of the traditional trio of devices, insiders said earlier this week, suggesting that the Galaxy A3 (2018) may not exist. Samsungs upcoming Android smartphones should launch in early 2018 and start retailing by late winter. Googles Daydream platform is many things, but now Google is keen on using the platform to help make change through its recently announced Daydream Impact initiative, a program which Google is using to take Daydream and turn it into a foundation for projects that will help make meaningful impacts on global citizens for any number of various reasons. Google wouldnt be the first company to use virtual reality technology to fulfill a noble cause and change the world for the better, as Samsung has been an advocate quite consistently for using its Gear VR platform in numerous ways that were designed to make an impact, such as providing students with headsets to study the human body, but Googles new initiative can help incite social change because its attempting o do things on a grander scale, and its doing so by placing the initiative into the hands of developers, third-parties, and creators. In fact, groups of creators and changemakers as Google refers to them on its Daydream Impact landing page, have already started making waves. Projects like the East Congo Initiative aim to display the types of hardships that the people in the Congo have to go through every day by using 360-degree camera equipment (specifically the Yi Halo Cameras and the Jump Assembler Expeditions Kit) to make a film and a VR content that immerses people in the experience. Another organization called Springbok Cares is using virtual reality to help patients divert their focus from whatever is ailing them to a more pleasant experience. Advertisement These are just a couple of the handful of projects that are already in motion and quite a few more are coming and listed on the website as coming soon, and while using VR to help treat patients is nothing new per se, what makes the use of it here through Googles Daydream Impact program is that it isnt Google itself doing all of the work for all of these projects. This opens up the possibility for a lot more possible change and impactful movements because more people with more causes are able to put forth their efforts and use Googles Daydream VR platform to make peoples lives better. On the scale of what Google is looking to achieve here, which is to affect the lives of people for the better globally and not just on a local level, it would perhaps be almost impossible to handle the tasks all by itself. Daydream Impact makes things easier by essentially letting creators do the work, with Google simply providing a platform or springboard as it were for creators to launch their projects and get things moving. The reason why this has the potential to be so effective is because of Googles reach. Google is a big company that has the means to lay bits and pieces of the groundwork for those looking to push a social change agenda who may not have otherwise been able to do so without Googles initiative. While Google already has a number of different groups of creators that are set to push out their own projects in the future, Google is also still accepting applications from new creators that are interested in getting a hold of a Daydream Impact equipment loan with which to create their project. Google doesnt specify how many applicants its loaning out equipment to but the fact that its still taking applications is kind of a big deal as it means more possibilities for social change to come about, and the more creators which start projects with the goal of helping change peoples lives for the better means potential for others to help do what they can to make positive changes for others too. Michael Flynn, who pleaded guilty today to lying to the FBI, has reportedly promised "full cooperation" with Special Counsel Robert Mueller's team, per ABC. Flynn is prepared to testify that Donald Trump directed him to contact the Russians as president-elect, not as a candidate, ABC News reports, correcting their earlier report. Why it matters: Trump has denied having, or being aware of, any contact with the Russians during the campaign. A former senior aide to Flynn and ABC contributor, Richard Frankel, said "if there are bodies buried so to speak, General Flynn would know about them." After feeling "abandoned by Trump in recent weeks," Flynn decided to make the plea deal out of concern over the mounting legal costs of contesting the charges, per ABC. He reportedly "plans to sell his house to help defray costs." On the charge of lying to the FBI, he could face up to five years in prison, ABC reports. He has to check in with authorities weekly, and sentencing has been postponed. Federal Judge Rudolph Contreras noted that Flynn "is agreeing to cooperate with authorities in other matters." Correction: An earlier version of this article stated that Flynn was "also prepared to testify that as a candidate, Donald Trump 'directed [Flynn] to make contact with the Russians,'" per an earlier ABC report that the organization has since changed. Local law enforcement in Charlottesville, Virginia, was "woefully inadequate" and "didn't have adequate" measures in place to protect people who participated in the white nationalist rally last summer, according to an independent review by a former federal prosecutor released on Friday. Why it matters: Not only did the violent protest result in the death of one woman (who was there as a counter-protestor), but Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe defended the law enforcement response saying that they had done "great work" in a "very delicate situation." Key findings of report by Timothy J. Heaphy, a former United States attorney: Charlottesville Police Department officers didn't have adequate protective gears to keep protesters and counter-protesters separate. Several CPD lieutenants said they were uncomfortable directing officers from another agency given the lack of introduction, training and prior preparation. p.p1 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px 'Helvetica Neue'; color: #454545} Law enforcement allowed white nationalists and counter-protesters to arm themselves with deadly weapons. "When violence was most prevalent, CPD commanders pulled officers back to a protected area of the park, where they remained for over an hour as people in the large crowd fought on Market Street," the report said. p.p1 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px 'Helvetica Neue'; color: #454545} City officials sent conflicting messages about the protest, with some, including the mayor, consistently discouraging attendance. Others said it was important for residents to visibly voice their opposition to the white supremacist groups. Their response to the Friday night torchlight event was woefully inadequate, even for a small campus police department. The University of Virginia police department was "woefully inadequate, even for a small campus police department" during the Friday night rally where white nationalists were wielding torches and chanting "Jews will not replace us." Key quote: "This represents a failure of one of government's core functionsthe protection of fundamental rights. Law enforcement also failed to maintain order and protect citizens from harm, injury, and death. Charlottesville preserved neither of those principles on August 12, which has led to deep distrust of government within this community." At least one Alabama resident has received a robocall from someone posing as a Washington Post reporter and looking for women willing to make damaging remarks about Roy Moore for cash rewards, per WKRG, a local TV affiliate. The message: "Hi, this is Bernie Bernstein, I'm a reporter for the Washington Post calling to find out if anyone at this address is a female between the ages of 54 to 57 years old willing to make damaging remarks about candidate Roy Moore for a reward of between $5000 and $7000 dollars. We will not be fully investigating these claims however we will make a written report. I can be reached by email at [email protected] Thank you." That's from a voicemail left for Pastor Al Moore of Creola, Alabama. Post's Editor-in-Chief Marty Baron: "The call's description of our reporting methods bears no relationship to reality. We are shocked and appalled that anyone would stoop to this level to discredit real journalism." Jared Kushner, son-in-law of President Trump and senior White House adviser, has been identified as the "very senior" official who told former National Security Advisor Michael Flynn to contact foreign government officials. Why it matters: This revelation brings Special Counsel Bob Mueller's investigation even closer to President Trump by way of Kushner. Background: A court document signed by Flynn, who pleaded guilty on Friday to lying to the FBI, says "a very senior members of the Presidential Transition team directed FLYNN to contact officials from foreign governments, including Russia." Go deeper: How the FBI probe got to Jared. The issue of moral conduct is weighing heavily on Alabama voters, according to a new Washington Post poll. By the numbers: Currently, Doug Jones has a narrow lead on Roy Moore, with 50% of the vote compared to Moore's 47%. In line with that, 53% of voters believe Jones has "higher standards of personal moral conduct," compared to one-third of voters who believe the same about Moore. Why it matters: If Jones wins the Senate seat in less than two weeks, the GOP will have only a 51-49 hold on the chamber, per WashPost. And, the sexual harassment allegations against Moore have caused a split in the Republican party, with many establishment lawmakers calling for him to step aside, while the President and Alabama's Republican Party disagree. Sen. Susan Collins released a statement Friday afternoon in support of the Senate's tax reform bill, raising confidence that the bill will pass through the senate Friday evening. Key quote: "I will cast my vote in support of the Senate tax reform bill. 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." Go deeper: Here are the new changes to the Senate tax bill. President Trump is holding a rally in Pensacola, Florida next week, just miles from Alabama, Bloomberg reports. The rally will be four days before Alabama's special U.S. Senate election featuring Roy Moore and Doug Jones. Why it matters: Steve Bannon plans to campaign for Republican Roy Moore next week as well. Trump's visit may draw more attention to Moore, who is under intense scrutiny for a number of sexual harassment allegations, without explicitly campaigning for him. 2 December 2017 10:47 (UTC+04:00) By Trend Over the past 24 hours, Armenias armed forces have 126 times violated the ceasefire along the line of contact between Azerbaijani and Armenian troops, the Azerbaijani Defense Ministry said on December 2. Armenians were using large-caliber machine guns. The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. As a result of the ensuing war, in 1992 Armenian armed forces occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven surrounding districts. The 1994 ceasefire agreement was followed by peace negotiations. Armenia has not yet implemented four UN Security Council resolutions on withdrawal of its armed forces from the Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding districts. --- Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz 2 December 2017 11:44 (UTC+04:00) By Trend The Azerbaijani army is the strongest army in the South Caucasus, and this is obvious from a new law, which is being discussed, Azerbaijani MP Siyavush Novruzov said. He made the remarks on December 1 at a plenary session of the Azerbaijani Parliament during the discussion of the draft law On Azerbaijans Armed Forces in the first reading. He said that the draft law is perfect from the conceptual point of view. The draft law reflects issues of activity, social security of the Armed Forces and other issues, the MP said. Novruzov added that it is necessary to quickly adopt this law. A few days ago, at a session of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO), a decision was made to create new armed formations, Novruzov said. As is known, Armenia is a member of the CSTO. On the one hand, Armenia is joining the EU troops, and on the other hand, the troops of the CSTO. This shows hypocrisy of both Armenia and those who create conditions for it. --- Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz 2 December 2017 10:46 (UTC+04:00) By Trend Russian Export Center JSC is considering the possibility of supporting 20 projects on export of products to Azerbaijan, Elmira Kachayeva, the centers project manager on work with exporters, told Trend. She said that almost all projects envisage provision of non-financial services. If the projects are implemented, the total volume of exports support may exceed $200 million, Kachayeva added. To date, the center has supported exports worth over $500 million to Azerbaijan. The Russian Export Center JSC offers a specialized one stop shop for exporters, providing financial and non-financial support, and interacting with relevant ministries and agencies. The center has been established to provide a specialized service for exporters. Its areas of expertise include export transactions, providing consultations on issues related to exports, assistance in organizing exports, and providing support related to export procedures. Among other things, the center focuses on supporting requests made by exporters working with relevant ministries, agencies and government services. --- Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz 2 December 2017 10:15 (UTC+04:00) By Trend Saudi Arabia has expressed interest in Azerbaijans oil refining and petrochemical sectors and is considering opportunities for cooperation in these areas, Khalid Abdulaziz Al-Falih, Saudi Arabias minister of energy, industry and mineral resources, said. Khalid Abdulaziz Al-Falih, who is also president of the OPEC Conference, made the remarks at a meeting with Azerbaijani Energy Minister Parviz Shahbazov in Vienna within the third meeting of OPEC members and countries outside the cartel, Azerbaijans Energy Ministry said in a message on December 1. At the meeting, the sides discussed the results of the oil production cut agreement, the situation on world markets, as well as cooperation with Azerbaijan within the OPEC+ deal. The Saudi minister noted that OPECs cooperation with countries outside the cartel is accompanied by consistent achievements. He assessed positive trends towards stabilization of oil prices as the results of joint activity. Azerbaijans support for this process and commitment to fulfilling obligations are important factors for achieving a common goal, he said. At the meeting, the sides also touched upon the oil situation in the world energy balance. It was noted that despite the strengthening of new trends in the energy sector, oil as a kind of fuel will remain relevant for a long time. Issues of bilateral cooperation in the energy sector between Saudi Arabia and Azerbaijan were also discussed. --- Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz 2 December 2017 10:00 (UTC+04:00) By Trend European Union finance ministers will decide on Tuesday on the composition of an EU blacklist of tax havens that now includes about 20 jurisdictions but could end up with far fewer names after political horse-trading, Reuters reports. Following multiple disclosures of offshore tax avoidance schemes by companies and wealthy individuals, EU states launched a process in February to list tax havens in a bid to discourage setting up shell structures abroad which are themselves in many cases legal but could hide illicit activities. After almost a year of screening 92 jurisdictions seen as possible tax havens, EU experts have prepared a draft blacklist of those falling short of EU standards on tax transparency and cooperation. The list contains about 20 jurisdictions, a senior EU official said on Friday, adding that the number might be reduced when finance ministers meet on Tuesday in Brussels as some EU governments could oppose the inclusion of some jurisdictions. The adoption of the list is deemed a certainty by many EU officials, especially after renewed public pressure triggered by the so-called Paradise Papers, the most recent revelations of widespread offshore investment by the wealthiest. But the listing was far from a sure thing just a few weeks ago, and the official said ministers could still decide to postpone its adoption. Divisions also remain over sanctions. To win over skeptical governments, the most effective countermeasures, such as a levy on transactions to tax havens, could be left to national discretion, a move that might create loopholes. Other EU sanctions, such as the freezing of European funding, cause less controversy but are regarded as much less effective in persuading the richest tax havens to change course. The official said a second grey list had been drawn up to include jurisdictions who are not compliant with EU standards but have committed to change their tax rules. --- Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz 2 December 2017 11:00 (UTC+04:00) By Trend The volume of trade turnover between Kazakhstan and Romania increased by more than $200 million in three quarters of 2017. This figure was announced during the meeting between Kazakhstan's Deputy Foreign Minister Roman Vasilenko and State Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Romania Dan Neculaescu in Astana. The sides agreed to intensify political, economic, cultural and humanitarian contacts, interparliamentary, interdepartmental and business ties, relations in education, science and tourism. Neculaescu noted that Romania highly appreciates Kazakhstan's contribution to the strengthening of international and regional security and stability, as well as the development of intercultural and inter-confessional dialogue. They highlighted the great prospects for mutually beneficial economic cooperation and implementation of the transit and transport potential of both countries in the light of the implementation of the large-scale international initiative "One Belt - One Way" launched by China. The diplomats also discussed cooperation within the framework of the European Union, noting the importance of a qualitative implementation of the process initiated this year for the preparation of the new EU strategy for Central Asia, which should be approved in 2019 during Romania's presidency at the EU. --- Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz 2 December 2017 11:13 (UTC+04:00) By Trend Irans non-oil trade turnover increased by 8 percent to $60.907 billion during the first eight months of the current fiscal year (started March 20, 2017), meanwhile the trade balance was negative and accounted to $3.9 billion. Iran's non-oil exports, including gas condensate, reached $28.488 billion during the 8-month period. The figure indicates a fall by 1.21 percent, compared to the same period of the preceding year, Iran's Customs Administration said in a statement on November 27. Iran includes gas condensate and some raw hydrocarbon products, like propane, butane, etc. in its non-oil export basket. The volume of the exported goods had reached 78.812 million tons in the 8-month period. During the period, the country exported $4.586 billion worth of condensates. Liquefied propane (worth $897 million), light oils and products (excluding gasoline) - (worth $764 million), methanol (worth $752 million) and film grade polyethylene (worth $750 million) were the other top exported goods in the 8-month period (March 20-Nov. 22). The average price for each ton of Iran's non-oil goods in the mentioned period was around $363, indicating a rise of 8.04 percent, year on year. China was the main importer of the Iranian goods during the 8-month period. Irans non-oil exports to China registered a rise by 13.51 percent and stood at $5.784 billion. Iraq ($4.351 billion, increase of 6.51 percent), the United Arab Emirates ($3.893 billion, fall of 18.7 percent), South Korea ($2.747 billion, an increase of 28.12 percent) and Afghanistan ($1.849 billion, rise of 12.11 percent) were other top importers of Iranian non-oil goods during the first eight months of current Iranian fiscal year. --- Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz 2 December 2017 12:24 (UTC+04:00) By Trend The oil revenues of Iran are predicted to stay stable over the coming year, thanks to a recent OPEC agreement to keep supply low. Iranian Oil Minister Bijan Zanganeh was quick in announcing the agreement on Thursday before the oil producing bloc announced it in an official statement. Iran has been loose of sanctions for nearly two years now, seeing its oil export boom from 1 mbpd to 2.3 mbpd. The incumbent government is going to hand over its first annual budget bill to the Parliament in December with some ease of mind now, able to focus on a specific range of oil price, crude being its major source of income. The recent OPEC agreement departs the message that there will be balance between demand and supply and that we will have a stable market, Mohammad Ali Khatibi, former Iranian representative at OPEC told Trend. OPEC and non-OPEC producers led by Russia agreed on Thursday to extend oil output cuts until the end of 2018 as they try to finish clearing a global glut of crude while signaling a possible early exit from the deal if the market overheats. OPEC also decided to cap the combined output of Nigeria and Libya at 2017 levels below 2.8 million bpd. Both countries have been exempt from cuts due to unrest and lower-than-normal production. This new decision shows that no matter how they vary in political positions, oil exporters share interests regarding crude revenues. They want prices to stay at some middle ground between 60 and 70 dollars per barrel, Khatibi noted. Iran just last year managed to make Saudi Arabia resign from a self-initiated production race that was driving prices head-on to the 30-dollars per barrel. The Iranian crude was dealt at around $60 per barrel in November, up 50 percent from about a year earlier. --- Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz 2 December 2017 13:17 (UTC+04:00) By Trend Chinese Premier Li Keqiang said Friday that China is willing to play a constructive role in Afghanistan's peaceful reconstruction, Xinhua reported. Li made the pledge when meeting with Afghan government Chief Executive Abdullah Abdullah on the sidelines of the 16th meeting of the Council of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Heads of Government (Prime Ministers). He said China supports a wide and inclusive political reconciliation process led and owned by the Afghan people, and is ready to assist Afghanistan in realizing its domestic political stability and economic development. Expanding pragmatic cooperation between China and Afghanistan on economy and trade can not be done without a safe and stable external environment, said Li, adding that China will enhance dialogue and cooperation with Afghanistan and Pakistan with the goal of achieving long-term regional stability and security in an early date. Abdullah called China a good neighbor of Afghanistan, saying developing ties with China conforms with the common interests of the two countries. Afghanistan appreciates China's efforts to promote the reconciliation process in Afghanistan, as well as its positive role in promoting the country's economic reconstruction, capacity-building and livelihood improvement and its assistance within multilateral frameworks, said Abdullah. Afghanistan is ready to make joint efforts with China to take Afghanistan-China relations to a new height, he said. The SCO has China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, India and Pakistan as its full members. It has four observer states, namely Iran, Afghanistan, Belarus and Mongolia, and six dialogue partners, namely Armenia, Azerbaijan, Cambodia, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Turkey. --- Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz 2 December 2017 18:10 (UTC+04:00) By Trend The UAE is one of the top five trade partners of Turkmenistan, and the volume of trade turnover between the two countries continues to grow, the UAE ambassador Hassan Abdullah Al Adab said in an interview with Neutral Turkmenistan newspaper. The diplomat noted that if in 2015 the trade turnover amounted to $1.33 billion and it reached $1.432 billion in 2016. Meanwhile, the share of exports from the UAE to Turkmenistan totaled $1.375 billion. I would like to take this opportunity to note the good dynamics of interaction between the UAE and Turkmenistan, which is based on the principles of mutual respect and trust, and has reached the level of strategic partnership, added the envoy. --- Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz The GOP Tax Legislation could have an impact on healthcare coverage and organizations. The current House and Senate bill include items that would make sweeping changes to the healthcare system, according to NPR. Here are three things to know: 1. The Senate's version of the bill would repeal the individual mandate that requires all Americans to purchase health insurance or pay a tax penalty under the ACA. If the requirement is dropped, the Congressional Budget Office estimates 13 million fewer people would have insurance in the next decade. 2. The medical expense deduction is repealed in the House bill, but does not appear in the Senate's current version. The repeal would take away deductions for medical expenses above 10 percent of an individual's adjusted gross income. 3. Vox reports the Senate tax bill could trigger a $25 billion annual cut to Medicare, according to CBO estimates, through sequestration because the tax bill would increase the deficit. https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2017/11/29/16712430/senate-tax-bill-change-federal-health-care Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) has been a party hold-out on voting for ACA repeal and the GOP bill. Yesterday, she spoke at the Christian Science Monitor Breakfast, telling the audience that she expected Congress to pass legislation to lower premiums for health insurance before a final vote on tax reform with the removal of the individual mandate, according to The Hill. http://thehill.com/homenews/senate/362537-collins-health-care-fix-will-pass-before-tax-bill Sioux Falls (S.D.) Urgent Care Specialty Hospital, a physician-owned facility, is expected to open its doors next week, according to KSFY. Here are five things to know: 1. The facility accommodates walk-in patients and services those who don't require an emergency room visit. The hospital will be open 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. during the week and 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. on the weekends. 2. The physicians of Sioux Falls (S.D.) Specialty Hospital, led by Blake Curd, MD, opened the facility. While the ACA prohibits physician-owned hospitals from expanding within the facility, they have been able to open remote locations such as the urgent care hospital. 3. The hospital will accept most insurances and offers a short wait time for patients. 4. Sioux Falls Specialty Hospital includes an imaging facility and family care practice in addition to pain specialists. The hospital's physicians focus on orthopedics, cardiology, dental and oral surgery, gastroenterology, general surgery and neurosurgery. Health IT leaders have been eagerly awaiting a multibillion-dollar contract between the Department of Veterans Affairs and EHR vendor Cerner since the agency announced the North Kansas City, Mo.-based supplier would replace its homegrown VistA software in June, but they'll have to wait even longer. November has come to a close without a publicized contract, meaning VA has missed its self-imposed deadline of early November to strike a deal, in part because Congress has reportedly yet to OK the project's funding. Here is a breakdown of the saga so far, as reported by Becker's Hospital Review. March 21: VA Secretary David Shulkin, MD, said he planned to decide whether the VA would move its EHR to a commercial platform in July. June 5: Ahead of schedule, Dr Shulkin announced Cerner would replace VistA as the agency's EHR. This decision marked the first time VA and the Department of Defense would be on the same EHR. Dr. Shulkin signed a "determination and findings" form for the no-bid decision. The VA may still keep its contract with Epic, which it signed in 2015 for online medical appointment scheduling. Under the contract, Epic receives $624 million over five years. A pilot had already rolled out. A VA spokesperson told Becker's Hospital Review June 7 there is no connection between the VA's existing contract with Epic and the recent Cerner EHR announcement. June 7: Dr. Shulkin told the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee in a hearing the VA may need "approximately three to six months to come up with a plan [to acquire and implement Cerner EHRs]." His written testimony referenced the Veterans Choice Program Improvement Act, which enables the VA to use $10 billion allocated toward veterans care. However, he did not say how that money would be divided within the VA. July 13: The Senate Appropriations Committee passed its fiscal year 2018 Military Construction, Veterans Affairs and Related Agencies Appropriations Bill. The bill failed to allocate additional funding for the VA's transition to the Cerner EHR because, according to the committee, Dr. Shulkin's announcement did not provide it enough time to ascertain how the cost of a new EHR will compare to the cost of the agency's current system. July 31: In a leaked hour-long address to Congressional interns, White House Adviser Jared Kushner said the deal with Cerner is "one of the great successes we've had so far" in reforming the VA. During his remarks, Mr. Kushner detailed how the decision came about, noting he, Dr. Shulkin and Secretary of Defense James Mattis were discussing the VA's EHR during meetings with EHR experts. He said they gave the experts a two-week deadline to solve the VA's EHR issue, which the group accomplished. Aug. 18: CliniComp, a San Diego-based EHR provider, filed a lawsuit against the VA for its decision to tap Cerner as its systemwide EHR in a no-bid contract. The lawsuit alleged Dr. Shulkin violated federal contracting law by announcing Cerner's contract without first conducting adequate market research. Sept. 27: Dr. Shulkin told lawmakers VA was on track with his original timeline. "We released to Congress, to you, a 30-day notice of award of a contract," he said. He also provided senators an update on the VA's strategic IT plan at a Senate Veterans Affairs Committee hearing that included migrating or halting 240 of the department's 299 ongoing projects. After ending these projects, which comprise 80 percent of the department's IT development portfolio, the VA will shift surplus funding to the EHR project. Oct. 18: A Court of Federal Claims judge dismissed CliniComp's lawsuit over lack of jurisdiction. However, CliniComp officials later attempted to appeal the decision. In November, CliniComp offered to enter into a settlement with the VA if the agency agrees to review the company's EHR. Late October: The VA reportedly told Congress its contract with Cerner could be awarded within the first two weeks of November, and its estimated cost would be around $18 billion. Other sources said the VA and Cerner agreed to a $10 billion price tag, significantly less than previously reported estimates. The Cerner EHR is expected to be implemented across the VA system in 48 phases, including site visits, user training and onsite support. Nov. 13: Kamal Narang, head of CSRA's Federal Health Group, said the VA had awarded CSRA a $158 million contract to help digitize patient health records before the agency begins its transition to a Cerner EHR. The contract with CSRA, a Falls Church, Va.-based IT company, would task its subsidiary, SRA International, with digitizing more than 7 million veterans' health records over the course of 36 months. The following hospital and health system credit rating and outlook changes and affirmations took place in the last week, beginning with the most recent. 1. Fitch affirms 'AA-' rating on Bryan Health's bonds Fitch Ratings affirmed its "AA-" rating on Lincoln, Neb.-based Bryan Health's series 2008A, 2008B-1, 2008B-2 and 2008C revenue bonds, affecting a total of $78.5 million of debt. 2. Fitch assigns 'AA' rating to Children's Health System of Texas's bonds Fitch Ratings assigned its "AA" rating to Dallas-based Children's Health System of Texas' proposed $327.66 million series 2017A revenue bonds and $25.32 million series 2017A taxable bonds. 3. Moody's affirms 'Aa3' on Yale New Haven Health Moody's Investors Service affirmed its "Aa3" rating on Yale New Haven (Conn.) Health, affecting $1.1 billion of outstanding debt. 4. S&P assigns 'A' to Overlake Hospital Medical Center S&P Global Ratings assigned its "A" rating to Bellevue, Wash.-based Overlake Hospital Medical Center's proposed $94.2 million series 2017A and $84.7 million series 2017B revenue bonds. 5. Moody's assigns 'A3' to Washington Regional Medical Center Moody's Investors Service assigned its "A3" rating to Fayetteville, Ark.-based Washington Regional Medical Center's proposed $30.7 million series 2017 revenue bonds. 6. Moody's assigns 'Aa2' to Northwestern Memorial HealthCare Moody's Investors Service assigned its "Aa2" rating to Chicago-based Northwestern Memorial HealthCare's proposed $525 million series 2017A and $162 million series 2017B bonds. 7. Moody's assigns 'Baa2' to Boston Medical Center's bonds Moody's Investors Service assigned its "Baa2" rating to Boston Medical Center's proposed $50 million series 2017F and $100 million proposed taxable series 2017 bonds. 8. Fitch downgrades University of Maryland Medical System to 'A-' Fitch Ratings downgraded Baltimore-based University of Maryland Medical System's outstanding bonds to "A-" from "A." 9. Fitch affirms 'A+' rating on Heritage Valley Health System Fitch Ratings affirmed its "A+" rating on Beaver, Pa.-based Heritage Valley Health System's series 2012 revenue bonds, affecting $51.6 million of debt. 10. Fitch assigns 'A+' rating to Lexington Medical Center Fitch Ratings assigned its "A+" rating to Lexington (S.C.) Medical Center's proposed $142.2 million series 2017A bonds. A bankruptcy judge has approved an amended plan that keeps Girard Medical Center in Philadelphia open. After selling St. Joseph's Hospital in early 2017, North Philadelphia Health System, which filed for bankruptcy in December 2016, only operates Girard Medical Center, a behavioral health and drug treatment facility. In August, the bankruptcy court tentatively approved a plan that allowed Ironstone Real Estate Partners of Philadelphia to acquire most of NPHS' assets for $8.5 million. Under the plan, the city was to lease Girard Medical Center from Ironstone for one year, and NHS Human Services in Lafayette Hill, Pa., was to operate the facility. However, the city was unable to finalize an agreement with NHS. City officials subsequently began talks with NPHS leaders about managing Girard Medical Center. Under the revised plan, Girard Medical Center will be sold to Ironstone. The city will lease the facility from Ironstone for $2.2 million a year, and NPHS will sublease the hospital from the city and run the facility until a permanent operator is secured, according to the Philadelphia Business Journal. In addition, NPHS negotiated a 15 percent payment rate increase with Community Behavioral Health, which contracts with the city to manage mental health services for Philadelphia Medicaid recipients. Community Behavioral Health has also agreed to subsidize Girard Medical Center's losses over the next three months while a final reorganization plan is put into place, according to the report. To reduce operating costs, Community Behavioral Health is requiring NPHS CEO George Walmsley III and other executives to resign once the sale is completed. "I can leave with my head high because all 550 employees will remain under the NPHS plan," Mr. Walmsley said Thursday, according to the Philadelphia Business Journal. "I can also leave knowing that the mission to care for the most neediest patients will remain at the Girard Medical Center campus." More articles on healthcare finance: Healthcare bankruptcies more than triple in 2017 Cleveland Clinic's operating income tumbles 32% in Q3 5 healthcare CFOs in the headlines A U.K. group called "Google You Owe Us" declared legal action against Google, claiming the tech giant unlawfully harvested iPhone users' personal data, The Guardian reports. Here are four things to know about the lawsuit. 1. The group led by Richard Lloyd, former executive director of the consumer body Which?, and advised by law firm Mishcon de Reya alleged Google breached privacy principles outlined in the U.K.'s data protection laws by bypassing privacy settings on users' iPhones between June 2011 and February 2012. 2. Mr. Lloyd accused Google of unlawfully using data stored in Safari, the iPhone's default internet browser, according to The Independent. The class-action lawsuit, which is expected to start next year, seeks at least 1 billion ($1.3 billion) in compensation for the 5.4 million people in Britain who used iPhones during the period between June 2011 and February 2012. "I believe that what Google did was simply against the law. Their actions have affected millions, and we'll be asking the courts to remedy this major breach of trust," Mr. Lloyd told The Guardian. "Through this action, we will send a strong message to Google and other tech giants in Silicon Valley that we're not afraid to fight back if our laws are broken." 3. In August 2012, Google agreed to a civil penalty of $22.5 million under a settlement with the U.S. Federal Trade Commission. The FTC alleged Google misrepresented whether it would place tracking cookies or allow targeted advertisements to users on the Safari browser, according to The Independent. 4. A Google spokesperson told The Guardian, "This [type of case] is not new. We have defended similar cases before. We don't believe it has any merit and we will contest it." Editor's note: Becker's Hospital Review reached out to Google for comment and will update as more information becomes available. Foley, Ala.-based South Baldwin Regional Medical Center CEO Keith Newton is leaving for a new job opportunity, according to a GulfCoastNewsToday.com report. Here are four things to know: 1. Mr. Newton will take on a new role at CHSPSC, where he will work with a group of hospitals affiliated with Franklin, Tenn.-based Community Health Systems. 2. He came to South Baldwin Regional in 2010 as CFO. 3. He assumed the CEO role in 2012. 4. Keith Granger, regional president and market CEO for CHS' Alabama region, will work with the hospital's leadership until a CEO replacement is identified. CHI Memorial in Chattanooga, Tenn., part of Englewood, Colo.-based Catholic Health Initiatives, has signed a definitive agreement to acquire Cornerstone Medical Center in Fort Oglethorpe, Ga., formerly known as Hutcheson Medical Center. CHI Memorial began managing Cornerstone Medical Center in August at the request of the hospital's owner, Atlanta-based ValorBridge. ValorBridge purchased the hospital out of bankruptcy in 2015. Larry Schumacher, CHI Memorial CEO and senior vice president of operations of CHI's Southeast Division, expressed excitement about the deal Friday. "With this acquisition, Cornerstone will become part of an integrated health system with more than 3,500 employees and 661 medical staff members. This will enable physicians and associates at Cornerstone and CHI Memorial to collaborate and innovate in order to improve the delivery of efficient and effective inpatient and outpatient care across a broad geographical region," he said. CHI Memorial's definitive agreement to acquire the hospital has an effective date of Dec. 29. At the same time, CHI Memorial has acquired the former Hutcheson on the Parkway, an ambulatory surgery center in Ringgold, Ga. Under the deal, Cornerstone Medical Center has been renamed CHI Memorial Hospital Georgia, and the ambulatory surgery center has been renamed CHI Memorial Parkway. More articles on healthcare industry transactions: Jay County Hospital to join IU Health in March 12 recent hospital transactions and partnerships HCA, Cleveland Clinic among finalists to take over Florida hospital Within the next year to 18 months, one Dallas dentist plans to use the up to $1.2 million in investor funding she won to reopen the former South Dallas-based Forest Avenue Hospital, the Dallas Morning News reports. For Michelle Morgan, DDS, renovating the hospital was a personal decision. The 18,000-square-foot hospital, which closed in 1984, served as one of six Dallas facilities that employed black physicians and offered healthcare services to black patients at the beginning of the 20th century during and during segregation. As a black physician herself, Dr. Morgan, 57, told the Dallas Morning News she's on a mission to improve South Dallas patients' access to care. She said the area has become a "medical desert" during the past few years due to a severe shortage of practicing physicians in the neighborhood, which also maintains one of Dallas County's highest rates of chronic disease. "It's not just about business. This is home to me," Dr. Morgan said. "My goal is to first understand the community's overall health condition and then to make resources available by bringing doctors in to address those specific needs." Dr. Morgan, who also owns a chain of Dallas-based dental clinics under the brand the Art of Dentistry, purchased the shuttered hospital for $200,000 in 2016, and said she plans to bring in a suite of specialists to offer services such as dental, urgent care, podiatry and gerontology, among other services, according to the report. Her project also caught the eye of several investors, leading her to win an initial $500,000 in funding from the Dallas-based nonprofit The Real Estate Council, which hosted a competition for funding modeled after the ABC television show "Shark Tank." Dr. Morgan's bid was one of 30 entries submitted to the contest, in which five investors seeking to revitalize the South Dallas community reviewed proposals from local entrepreneurs. As the winner of the competition, Dr. Morgan received $100,000 investments from each investor. The five entrepreneurs also also promised an additional $700,000 in funding to cover cost overruns during construction, if needed. As part of the investment deal, Dr. Morgan must aim to complete the project within the 12 to 18 months. Officials will also track her progress, the report states. To read the full report, click here. SynerMed, a Monterey Park, Calif.-based company that manages physician practices and administers managed-care contracts, improperly denied care to thousands of patients and falsified documents to hide the scheme, according to a confidential report that was sent to California health officials. Here are eight things to know about SynerMed's conduct and the state's investigation. 1. The allegations were originally made in a 20-page report written by a SynerMed executive. The company's senior director of compliance, Christine Babu, then performed an internal investigation and outlined the violations in a confidential Oct. 5 report, which was obtained by Kaiser Health News. 2. The report was anonymously sent to California health officials in October. State regulators subsequently launched an investigation, and health insurance companies performed surprise audits. 3. According to the whistle-blower's report, a small team at SynerMed routinely falsified denial letters without supervision from physicians or other clinicians. Ms. Babu's internal investigation revealed the falsified denial letters often were not sent to patients, and were written solely to satisfy auditors. The only explanation given for falsifying the letters was that employees felt extreme pressure from management to clear a backlog of paperwork, according to Kaiser Health News. 4. Within two days of a decision to deny coverage for services, Medicaid managed care companies and commercial health plans are required to provide members with a written denial notice. The notice gives the patients the ability to appeal the decision with their health plan and then with regulators. However, SynerMed's compliance department determined the company did not properly inform patients, leaving "thousands of members unaware of their appeal rights going back years past. As such, members may experience delays in care, lapse in coverage, delay in access to care and or financial hardship." 5. In November, SynerMed said it was closing. Company CEO James Mason wrote in a Nov. 6 internal email, obtained by Becker's Hospital Review, that the company was shutting down after audits by health plans revealed "several system and control failures within medical management and other departments." 6. California Medicaid officials issued a notice to insurers Nov. 17 informing them of the widespread deficiencies at SynerMed. "Members are currently in imminent danger of not receiving medically necessary healthcare services," as a result of SynerMed's conduct, the notice stated. State officials ordered health insurers to figure out how many enrollees experienced delayed care or unfulfilled services, according to Kaiser Health News. 7. On Wednesday, Mr. Mason said SynerMed took all of the allegations seriously and investigated them fully. "It is unfortunate that one of our employees jumped the gun and disclosed confidential information regarding our clients and members," he told Kaiser Health News. 8. SynerMed is a subsidiary of PAMC, which also owns Los Angeles-based Pacific Alliance Medical Center. The hospital agreedin June to pay $31.9 million to the federal government and an additional $10 million to the state of California to resolve allegations it violated the False Claims Act, the Anti-Kickback Statute and Stark Law. Read the full Kaiser Health News article here. More articles on legal and regulatory issues: 69 Indiana hospitals accused of retaining $324M in fraudulent EHR incentive payments Ex-WellCare general counsel gets prison time for role in $35M fraud scheme Physician used fake identity to treat patients at Maryland hospital Belfast City Council's planning chief has left his top post as it is understood he was nearing the end of his contract. It's understood Phil Williams is no longer in his role as Director of Planning and Place - a job which he has held since joining the council in 2015. A senior planning manager is taking the lead on a temporary basis while recruitment for a new role is under way. And Belfast City Council has confirmed it is "to reform its planning service" after bringing in Scotland's ex-chief planner Jim Mackinnon, to investigate and carry out a high-level review of the entire planning system, following complaints to council bosses. That includes recruiting for a number of senior roles, and a new Director for Planning and Building Control. And Mr Mackinnon is also continuing to work with the council in "an expert advisory capacity to help move the service forward". A Belfast City Council spokesman said it is introducing measures to improve the quality and speed of the application process. "Belfast City Council can confirm it is to reform its planning service with a renewed focus on customer relations following recommendations contained in a report it commissioned by Scotland's former Chief Planner, Jim Mackinnon CBE," the spokesman said. "As Belfast continues to experience an unprecedented level of growth, the new measures have been designed to improve the quality and speed of the application process. "It is too early to release details as the draft recommendations have yet to be shared with elected members but will be shared in due course. "As part of a longer term corporate change plan, Belfast City Council is currently recruiting for a number of appointments to its new senior management team including a Director for Planning and Building Control. "That process has been under way for some time. Mr Mackinnon continues to act in an expert advisory capacity to help move the service forward. "It has been confirmed that Keith Sutherland, a senior planning manager with the department is going to take a lead role in planning on an interim basis until the new director role is in place." Last month it was revealed Belfast City Council is shaking up its planning department in a bid to tackle long-running delays for major developments across the city. The council is failing to meet "statutory targets" for planning application decisions, with major applications taking an average of 125 weeks to decide on - more than four times the 30-week target. The details of the revamp were included in a briefing to members of the council's planning committee. It said that "measures have been put in place to both significantly reduce the number of long-standing applications in the system". Jayne Wisener reached two personal milestones in life this year. On May 19, the Coleraine-born actress, who still gets asked to show her ID when buying wine, became 30 years old. Two months later, she marked the fifth anniversary of her marriage to Wayne Austin, a banker from Bromley - a union which would give her a stand-out stage name on her actor's equity card, if she chose to change it. But she's sticking to Wisener, which comes from her father John's German ancestors, although she's Jayne Austin (nice ring to that) on the driving licence she's required to show in the off-licence. When we met at the Grand Opera House last December, she admitted that she was dreading turning 30. "Yeah, thanks for reminding me," she deadpans, down the line from Dartford, her panto venue this year. "I don't feel any different but I did have a real fear of going into my thirties, thinking I didn't achieve enough in my twenties. "I assumed I'd be settled and have kids by now, but it hasn't felt 100 per cent right yet, because of work. It has to feel right. My sister Gillian's baby makes me so broody. I could eat him. I'd still like to come home and have kids." To celebrate her birthday, Wayne whisked Jayne off to Lake Como in Italy. "Everybody asks me did I see George Clooney," she laughs. "He didn't reach out to me - mustn't have known I was coming. "Lake Como is beautiful and it was romantic, although we're not overly romantic ourselves - that makes me a little uncomfortable. We're best friends. We get on with each other and have a laugh, and we want the same things. "I'm on Property Pal every day, dreaming about buying a house back home, then someone else buys it. But it will happen in the next couple of years. Wayne loves Northern Ireland, too. He thinks we have a great quality of life. "In London, it's a whole different culture. It's hard to catch up with friends. People are stressed and living in their bubble." Based in Kent, the couple didn't get to celebrate their fifth wedding anniversary in July, due to tragic circumstances. Jayne's 76-year-old grandfather, Noel, died in Coleraine on July 1. A father of five, Mr Wisener had been diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease in 2010, at 70. "It's only been for the last four years that he's had to go into care," says Jayne. "He's been in different homes and in and out of hospital. It's a very sad illness. "In the end, he didn't look like himself, like he was in the pictures from our wedding five years ago. He didn't recognise me when I went to see him. He thought I was just a nice wee girl who had come to visit him. He'd flirt and wink at me and tell me I looked well. "He didn't lose that part of his personality but he lost a lot of himself." The voice on the line falters, the grief still weighing as she recalls that her grandfather was unable to attend her brother John's wedding last year. His funeral took place at St Patrick's Church in Coleraine, where Jayne was married in July 2012 with the Belfast Gospel Choir providing the wedding music. "He would have been 77 on December 5, that's not old," she emphasises. "But it was a release for him. He was such a lovely man. "His partner, Edith, is a really strong woman. She got her driving licence when she was 70, when grandad couldn't drive any more. She's coping." In an attempt to help spread awareness of Alzheimer's disease, Jayne attended the launch in March of the Alzheimer's Association offices in Coleraine, her father John's hometown. Her mother Margaret, nee Twadell, a former psychiatric nurse, is now working as a classroom assistant, while her dad is a retired civil servant. A self-confessed homebird, Jayne admits she'll miss spending Christmas at home this year. She's starring as Cinderella, opposite Michelle Collins, Louis Spence and Paul Nicholls, in the Dartford panto, reprising her role from Belfast's Grand Opera House this time last year. "We don't live that far away so I get to spend Christmas with my husband and Dougie, our cat, in Kent for a change, but I don't cook and I've never made a Christmas dinner in my life," she giggles. "We're going over to his sister's house this year. I've generally been going to mum and dad's and have got spoiled rotten. "I've been lucky to have been working in Belfast at Christmas in the past and I'll miss it this year. I love the Grand Opera House; even the dancers all love going back there. "I miss John Linehan (May McFettridge) every day! He's just the best." Jayne landed her first major film role at 18, as Johanna in Sweeney Todd, The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, alongside Hollywood superstar Johnny Depp who she described as "absolutely beautiful and very, very lovely to me". She went on to star in the Channel 4 comedy The Inbetweeners, and in the BBC Northern Ireland drama 6 Degrees. Nowhere along the line has she encountered the sexual harassment now being reported with alarming regularity by actors and actresses, in the wake of the Harvey Weinstein and Kevin Spacey scandals. "I knew it went on; fortunately, I've never been in put in a situation where I've felt uncomfortable. No-one ever disrespected me. I heard rumours about all sorts of actresses. "If it happened to me, I'd come right out and say it. But I don't think people should be bashed for not speaking out. I'd be terrified, too." Still hoping to work in Hollywood some day, she auditions for the US pilot season by video link. In the meantime, she'll be back home to appear in the Thru'penny Opera at the Lyric Theatre in Belfast, which opens on February. "I'm flying back on New Year's Day for rehearsals and gate-crashing with John and his wife and their new Labrador in Belfast," she says. "Wayne will come over to see the show but he has to mind Dougie back home in Kent. "He enjoys having me out of the house, anyway. "I like my space, too. We FaceTime every day though. It's nice to see his face but we don't have very meaningful conversations " She admits she fancied her Cinderella co-star, Paul Nicholls, back in his EastEnders days. And she's enjoying working with Michelle Collins, another former EastEnder. As she says: "I met Michelle before in Casualty - she played my mum. She's nice. Very friendly and fun. Louis Spence? He's crazy. He's mostly in scenes with the prince, though. It's weird: it's the same role, same songs as last year in Belfast, but with a different cast in a different location. The script's the same but the jokes are tailored to the locality - I don't get them." At last year's Grand Opera House panto, Cinderella was unmistakably Coleraine, with an authentic north-western twang. For the Dartford version, Jayne is suitably English in her delivery. "Over here they think my accent is the best thing ever; they love it, whereas back home I'm a culchie. It's not the most beautiful of sounds," she concludes. "I can do an English accent that's not too clipped or fake. I want to make it real. I can do RP (received pronunciation) quite easily but I'd rather not. The thing is, the kids at the panto will freak out if they come to meet us afterwards and I slip into my culchie Coleraine. "They think my character is real, so I'll have to keep the English accent going. But don't worry, it won't stick!" Mark Sarratt, complex manager for Lexingtons Tyson Fresh Meats, to retire Dec. 31 LEXINGTON What started out as a summer job stint in Emporia, Kansas with Tyson Fresh Meats, Inc., then known as IBP, grew into a life-long career for Mark Sarratt. Originally from eastern Kansas, Sarratt graduated from Emporia State College with a degree in environmental biology in 1977. He started working with IBP in 1974 before he was 19. His early job duties were to lug beef as a part-timer, then he worked full-time in processing. Sarratt was able to work his way up to a supervisory position before he left to do other things in 1982. By 1985, Sarratt returned to the company to work as a supervisor. When a promotion to general supervisor of the plant in Josselyn, Illinois came in 1988 came he took it. In Josselyn, Sarratt managed all the supervisors during his shift. During the launch of the IBP beef plant in Lexington in 1990, the company was looking for someone to train for the supervisor of quality assurance and Sarratt accepted the new position. "I was responsible for everything related to food, safety, product quality coming out of the Lexington plant," he said. In 1997, Sarratt accepted a position in the corporate office of the company as the director of beef quality assurance for eight processing plants. Sarratt said the company has been very good to people like him who wanted to further their careers and who were willing to move. "My family and wife have been good about moving. We have moved a number of times. If you start as an hourly employee like I did, you can further your career. This is a good company to do that," he said. Another move was in store for Sarratt. In 2001, he relocated to Brooks, Alberta, Canada to take on the position of operations manager at a plant there. He spent three years there. Taking the position in Canada allowed him to work in the operations side of the business, where he was responsible for food safety, product specifications, total plant operations, safety, cost, chain speed with a broad range of duties. A work day in upper management varies from day to day, he said. Often it feels like he is going from tackling one pressing issue, like a weather difficulty, to another issue in the plant, such as a mechanical breakdown, Sarratt said. "In big plants, its almost like running a small city. Weve got an accounting group, shipping, marketing, waste water treatment people," he said. Sarratt returned to the Lexington meat plant in 2004 when he accepted the operations manager position. Three months later, he accepted a promotion as the complex manager. After a 40-year career, with 11 to 12 hour days in management, which are "very demanding" days, Sarratt said he felt it was a good time to retire. "You reach a certain point in time when youve done everything youve wanted to in your career," he said. Sarratt said he wanted to retire while he could still do the things he enjoys to do. His last day on the job at Tyson Fresh Meats in Lexington will be Dec. 31, 2017. When he is retired, the biggest adjustment will be not seeing his co-workers on a daily basis, he said. "This business is about relationships. Having good people to work with makes my job a lot easier, especially the hourly workforce. I really appreciate them. They do a great job for us," Sarratt said. He said future stability and prosperity at the Lexington plant was assured given the plants niche markets, like hormone free beef to Europe and growing market for natural beef, and beef exports to China. 'Prosecuting counsel Philip Henry told Belfast Crown Court that Chain Reaction Cycles noticed 'a significant loss of its stock' from its warehouse in Carrickfergus' (stock photo) Two Co Antrim brothers have been sentenced for selling over 100,000 worth of stolen parts and accessories from a leading Northern Ireland bicycle retail outlet. Brian James Bowen (36), of Oakwood Road, Carrickfergus, was jailed for six months after he admitted selling more than 88,000 worth of bike parts online over a six-month period from October 2012. His younger brother Alan Bowen (33), of Sunningdale Crescent in Carrickfergus, was handed an eight-month prison sentence, suspended for two years, for selling almost 14,000 of the stolen goods over a four-month period up to August 2013. Prosecuting counsel Philip Henry told Belfast Crown Court that Chain Reaction Cycles noticed "a significant loss of its stock" from its warehouse in Carrickfergus. The company discovered that four traders on eBay were selling bicycle parts similar to those it believed to be missing from its stock and a company director decided to do a test purchase. After the matter was reported to police, Alan Bowen's fingerprints were found on the bubble wrap of the packaging. Detectives discovered that 88,645 had been deposited via PayPal into the Halifax bank account of Brian Bowen's mother Valerie. When she returned from holiday and was interviewed by police, she denied all knowledge of the money. Her son later told police that she was acting "under duress" by him who "put her under pressure" to use her account and he would then withdraw the money. Belfast Recorder Judge David McFarland heard that Alan Bowen also used two trade names on eBay and used his girlfriend's bank account to have the money from sales deposited into it from PayPal. Mr Henry said that in the case of Brian Bowen, the aggravating factors included the "high value" of the transactions and loss to Chain Reaction Cycles and the "repetitive nature of the transactions", saying the goods stolen were in a price range from 10 up to 245 for a set of bicycle pedals. Brian Bowen's defence counsel Johnny Brown said his client made the case that he bought the stolen goods at a "car boot sale" and said all the items he bought were in plain packaging with no barcodes. "He should not have got involved in this and should have realised after a while that the items were stolen. It was not a sophisticated form of offending and was easily detected by Chain Reaction Cycles and the police." Mr Brown added that during "candid" admissions to the Probation Service, Bowen said that he made a profit of one-third on the 88,000 that flowed through his mother's bank account. Defence barrister Paul Bacon said Alan Bowen told probation that he made around 10,000 profit on the 14,000 deposited into his girlfriend's bank account. "There is no evidence to suggest that he was close to anyone involved in the thefts of these items," added Mr Bacon. Judge McFarland told the brothers: "I am satisfied there is sufficient proximity between you and the sale of these stolen goods. "I just don't accept that these items were randomly purchased at a car boot sale. I don't know the exact relationship between you and the person who stole the items but it is clear it was a mutually beneficial relationship." Jailing Brian Bowen for six months, the judge said he would spend a further six months on supervised licence following his release. Suspending Alan Bowen's eight-month sentence, Judge McFarland warned him that if he committed any further offences in the next two years he would be brought back to court and the "eight month sentence may be put into operation". Another shot of the Charlene's Project team in Uganda Charlene with one of the African children she wanted to help A fundraising drive in memory of a young Northern Ireland woman who died after a battle with cystic fibrosis has passed the 1m mark. The initiative has been taken forward by the parents of Charlene Barr. Charlene, from Lurgan, died at the age of 20 while waiting for a double lung transplant. She had suffered from cystic fibrosis and other health issues since birth, spending the first year of her life in Belfast's Royal Victoria Hospital. The charity in her memory - Charlene's Project - has now raised more than 1m for impoverished children in developing countries. The fundraising was begun by Charlene herself. Her father Dr Dickie Barr recalled how she decided to build a school in Uganda on the day she was told she needed the lung transplant. She had been inspired by the poverty-stricken village she had visited with her family at Christmas 2008. Mr Barr explained: "When her mum Janice and I told her it was too ambitious a plan, she asked: 'Do you not believe in the power of God and do you not believe in the generosity of the people of Northern Ireland?'. "Charlene was right, and five months later the 70,000 needed was raised. We never could have imagined that, at this stage, we could have raised over 1m. "Charlene didn't see the school built, she passed away at the end of October 2010, the very weekend the ground was broken to begin the school build. But the project she started has continued and is fulfilling all the hopes and dreams she had written down in her diaries before she died. "Over 1m has been spent on education and health projects in the very needy areas where Charlene's Project works. "We will just keep going as long as we are supported." Mr Barr praised the generosity of the local people who have funded Charlene's Project over the years. "People have given us so much support, it is just incredible what people here have achieved," he added. "Charlene was wise beyond her years. "I would want her to be proud of what has been accomplished." Charlene's Project has extended beyond Uganda to Guatemala in Central America, and to work with Syrian refugees in Jordan and Turkey. In Uganda, the initiative has raised funds for the building of the Hidden Treasure Primary School and provided a borehole and clean water at Kahara Primary School, as well as a community hall at the school the following year. Survivors of the 1992 Manchester IRA attack say they've been forgotten A service to mark the 25th anniversary of the IRA's Manchester bombings will be held tomorrow. Two bombs exploded on the morning of December 3, 1992, injuring 65 people. The service will be held in St Ann's Church in the city followed by a reception event in The Mechanics Centre complex. Victims and survivors of the bombing will be attending the ceremony. Neil Tattersall (48), who sustained severe shrapnel wounds to his spine in the attack, will give a reading. "It is a significant day for me," he said. "A couple of days ago it started to hit me, the realisation of it coming up. "On the day it is going to be a big strain for me." He added: "I have still got the physical injuries from that day and I have post-traumatic stress disorder. The problem is that over here (England) we have had nobody to support us. "For 25 years I have basically been on my own." Lisnaskea-based South East Fermanagh Foundation (SEFF) will use the anniversary to formally launch its support service for victims and survivors of IRA terrorism in Britain. Kenny Donaldson from the group said the 1992 bombings had largely been forgotten, with more attention on the 1996 IRA attack on the city, which caused damage estimated at 700 million. "The latter bomb was the economic or 'money' bomb," Mr Donaldson said. "However, the greatest human cost occurred as a result of the 1992 attack when more than 60 people were injured, with some receiving very serious and life-changing injuries. We have sought to encourage those impacted by that day and who may be struggling in silence to come forward and receive the necessary support for what they have endured." Mr Donaldson added: "It is important that the 'forgotten bomb' and its legacy is remembered. "Earlier this year 22 innocents were murdered through Islamic State-inspired terrorism in the Manchester Arena attack. "In 1992 and 1996 the Provisional IRA also carried out acts of terrorism, which only by the grace of God failed to result in death tolls; there nevertheless was a cost to those bombs with many civilians suffering physical and psychological injury. "That needs recognised and belatedly those impacted must receive the necessary support that they have been denied thus far." A solicitor who helped transform the Public Prosecution Service has been appointed as its new head. Stephen Herron will succeed Barra McGrory as Northern Ireland's Director of Public Prosecutions. Mr Herron, a solicitor with extensive experience in criminal law, currently serves as acting deputy DPP. He will take over on January 2. He became senior assistant director in 2013, taking the lead on a range of criminal justice reform initiatives and overall responsibility for the prosecution of 50,000 cases annually. He said: "I am delighted to accept the post of DPP. I have worked in the service for the last 15 years and it is an honour to have the opportunity to take on this role." Attorney General John Larkin said: "I have already had the pleasure of working with Stephen in his current role and in other senior roles within the PPS and I look forward to working with him as he shapes the Public Prosecution Service of the future. "It is an agreeable duty to pay tribute to Barra McGrory on his retirement as director and to thank him for generous and committed public service in that role." Mr Herron played a leading part in the transformation programme for the PPS. This involved the roll-out of a digital programme across courts, creation of specialist prosecutors for murder and serious offences, the streamlining of regional services, and redesigning the support provided to victims and witnesses. He will now have to tackle legacy issues that plagued Mr McGrory during his six years in the role. The outgoing DPP said this week that any amnesty for soldiers and policeman involved in crimes during the Troubles would be "questionable". The UK Government has inserted a question regarding an amnesty in a consultation on legacy issues here, leading to a backlash from Sinn Fein. Mr McGrory also received heavy criticism from unionist and Tory politicians after reopening cases against soldiers involved in killings during the Troubles. Separately yesterday, Eileen Ewing was appointed as new president of the Law Society. Ms Ewing is an experienced family law solicitor who has been practising in Belfast for more than 30 years. The Law Society acts as the regulatory authority governing the professional conduct of solicitors. Ms Ewing said: "I'm honoured to accept the office of president of the Law Society of Northern Ireland and I am eagerly anticipating my new role. "Having served as a council member of the Law Society since 2009, I fully understand the important role the society plays in regulating and representing the interests of solicitors and clients as well as the invaluable contribution the solicitor profession makes to the local community and business throughout Northern Ireland. "As I take up my presidency I do so during a period of great change and uncertainty, not least regarding the impact of Brexit. "As president, my priority will be to ensure that the Law Society remains at the very forefront of justice issues in Northern Ireland, working on behalf of our members and in the public interest. "As president, I will continue to promote the legal services which our members offer and in particular to local businesses who will require legal advice." Devenish Island near Enniskillen, close to where the tragedy occured. Picture: Ronan McGrade/Pacemaker Press Police have been given more time to question a man arrested on suspicion of the murder of a mother on a boating holiday in Northern Ireland. Lu Na McKinney, aged 35 and from Co Donegal in the Irish Republic, was in a hired cruiser in Co Fermanagh with her husband and their two young children when the incident happened early in the morning last April. After a review of the circumstances police arrested a 41-year-old on suspicion of murder on Thursday. After a court hearing on Friday night, police were granted a further 36 hours to question the suspect. The boat was moored at Devenish Island, a popular visitor attraction near Enniskillen, Co Fermanagh. Emergency services found her body but intensive attempts to resuscitate her failed. The PSNI is working with the Garda in the Republic to investigate the death. They have appealed for anyone with information to contact their officers. Police are hunting two men who carried out a mid-morning raid on a Belfast supermarket. The pair entered the Iceland shop in the Castle Street area just before 10.30am on Saturday before threatening staff with a knife and demanding money. They then fled the scene with cash from a till. One of the suspects is described as being in his late teens or early 20s, around 62 tall and of slim build. He was wearing track bottoms, grey and black coat a black monkey hat and black trainers. The second male is described as being in his late teens or early 20s, approximately 58 tall and of slim build. He was wearing track bottoms, grey and black coat, cap with a monkey hat over the top and dark blue trainers. Detective Sergeant Keith Wilson is appealing for anyone who witnessed this incident or anyone with any information that can assist with the investigation to contact Detectives in Musgrave Police Station on 101 quoting reference number 447 of 02/12/17. Alternatively, information can also be provided to the independent charity Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111 which is 100% anonymous and gives people the power to speak up and stop crime. Some of the damage caused during the burglary A grandmother whose home was ransacked "in 15 minutes" has branded the thieves "scum of the earth" after they made off with Christmas money and priceless jewellery. Mary Montgomery left her home in Hamiltonsbawn, Co Armagh, at around 6.40pm on Wednesday night at the same time her husband Wilbert went to help a neighbour. "He was only away for 15 minutes and I returned within half an hour, it all happened so quickly," Mary told the Belfast Telegraph. The couple, who are aged in their 60s, were horrified to discover that burglars had forced their way through a front window of the property on Ratarnet Road and raided the house. "I kept expensive jewellery in a secured cabinet which was bolted to a wall, but they got everything," Mary explained. Her own wedding and engagement rings, a range of valuables inherited from her late mother and a pair of ruby earrings she received as a gift from her husband on their 40th wedding anniversary in 2015 were among the items stolen. "My mum didn't have much but everything she did have was mine, I was her only daughter. That jewellery has huge sentimental value and can never be replaced," she said. Mary, who never keeps cash in the house, had just returned from a winter holiday last week and had spent the weekend with her son, who lives in England. "There was 1,000 in the house which my husband had withdrawn from the bank to buy Christmas presents and I had 120 and 500 from my trips - but it's all gone now," she added. The traumatised grandmother believes her husband interrupted the intruders. "They must have seen Wilbert coming back and then fled because there was only one room left intact and there was an additional sum of money which wasn't taken," she said. "It's obvious that they had hammers and who knows what else, it doesn't bear thinking about." The couple's nine-year-old grandson had been in the house earlier in the day but his grandad had taken him home before the burglary happened. "They could have beaten us with those weapons and it must have been a group because one person couldn't have done this. "I'm just so grateful that my grandson wasn't there and no one was hurt." Mary was left so distraught after the incident that she was unable to stay in her own house. She added: "I worry now about returning home from work on evenings when Wilbert is out playing bowls - I don't know if I'll be able to do it." She worries that the thieves will strike again. "I keep thinking they might return, even though we have nothing left for them to take. You hear about this happening to other people and it's awful, but when it happens to you it's something else entirely." The mum-of-four said the burglary, reported first by ArmaghI, couldn't have happened at a worse time. "They are scum of the earth, I wouldn't like to think that I would raise a child who would put someone through this. "They will have a good Christmas, but they have ruined mine," she said. DUP MLA William Irwin slammed those responsible and urged residents to be vigilant following a spate of burglaries in the area on Wednesday evening. A consultant has been questioned over why issues with the tiering system in the Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI) scheme which pushed the initiative over budget were not spotted earlier. It is estimated that RHI will eventually cost the taxpayer more than 500m due to errors in its design. Junior counsel to the RHI Inquiry Donal Lunny asked Mark Cockburn, director of Cambridge Economic Policy Associates Ltd (CEPA), why consultants at his organisation did not appear to have made clear to the former Stormont Department of Enterprise, Trade and Investment (DETI) how changes to certain key variables would affect the calculation of the subsidy tariff on offer through the scheme. CEPA is the London-based consultancy that was contracted to design the RHI scheme. Mr Cockburn responded that it was assumed DETI had an understanding of how it would work "because they're running policy". The inquiry heard that consultants did not carry out an analysis of the risk of RHI claimants being overcompensated because they considered it to be a "remote possibility". Mr Lunny put it to Mr Cockburn that it was CEPA's job to look at risks and ways of mitigating them. However, Mr Cockburn responded: "There was no evidential track record of these things happening." Mr Cockburn also told the inquiry that CEPA was unable to go into a deep level of analysis of details of RHI because of the limited budget it was given by DETI. "You're assuming that we had some kind of endless budget to go and think of every eventuality," he said, responding to Mr Lunny's questioning about why certain analysis was not done. Mr Lunny also said there was an important question about whether the need for tiering in the Northern Ireland scheme should have been spotted by CEPA and DETI in 2012. Mr Cockburn said it was "not ultimately clear" that it was within CEPA's remit, but he could understand why it could have been seen that way and accepted that there ought to have been tiering of the 5.9p tariff in 2012. On missing tiering, he added: "That was human error - all we needed was for someone to just say: 'Are you sure about that?'" RHI was established to incentivise businesses to shift to renewable energy sources by offering a proportion of the costs to run eco-friendly boilers. But in Northern Ireland the subsidy tariffs were set too high and without a cap, so it is ending up paying out significantly more than the price of the fuel. It sparked a political row that resulted in the collapse of Stormont in January. The inquiry into the issue was set up earlier this year to establish facts and probe why costs spiralled. The inquiry, which is chaired by retired judge Sir Patrick Coghlin, will resume on Tuesday. A British man allegedly tortured in jail by Indian police has been sentenced to a further two days in custody in Punjab, according to reports. Jagtar Singh Johal, from Dumbarton, West Dunbartonshire, travelled to Punjab on October 2 and has been held in custody in Punjab since November 4 after being accused of conspiracy to murder Hindu leaders in the state. On Saturday, the BBC reported he had his jail sentence extended for a further two days and would reappear at court in Ludhiana on Monday. The Sikh Federation UK has started a new phase of its Free Jaggi Now campaign, which urges people to contact their MP about Mr Johal. We need your consent to load this Social Media content We use a number of different Social Media outlets to manage extra content that can set cookies on your device and collect data about your activity. Please review their details and accept them to load the content. Manage Preference In a letter to the public, it urged people to demand action from British authorities. It says: I am deeply concerned and worried that despite the profile of this case the British authorities have been repeatedly prevented by the Indian authorities from obtaining private access to a British citizen alleged to have been tortured. The British authorities must take direct action to safeguard Jagtar by demanding an independent and full medical assessment that can detect the torture he has been subject to. The extension of Mr Johals sentence comes as John Swinney, Scotlands Deputy First Minister, said he would raise the issue with authorities while he is on a four-day visit to India, which began on Saturday. Expand Close Deputy First Minister John Swinney (Danny Lawson/PA) PA Archive/PA Images / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Deputy First Minister John Swinney (Danny Lawson/PA) A Scottish Government spokesman said: We are deeply concerned about the detention of Jagtar Singh Johal. Scottish Government officials have been in regular contact with the Foreign and Commonwealth Office about this case. The Deputy First Minister will raise this issue while he is in India on a four-day trip to strengthen education and business links. A spokesman for the Foreign and Commonwealth Office said: Our consular staff in New Delhi have visited a British man who has been detained in Punjab. We have met his family to update them, and have confirmed that he now has access to his lawyer. We will continue to press the authorities for further access to ensure he can receive the necessary consular assistance. LEXINGTON - The Lexington Police Department and the Lexington Volunteer Fire Department's Rescue Unit responded to a rescue call at 7:11 p.m. Thursday evening. A 22-year-old Lexington man reported that he was stabbed at PlumCreekPark. The man was able to walk from the park to his residence at Cottonwood Apartments, located at 2100 N. Adams St. Lexington Police Chief Tracy Wolf said first responders were called to Cottonwood Apartments. The information provided by the victim allowed police to identify and arrest the suspect, 21-year-old Yusuf Hassan, in the 1300 block of N. Lincoln St. The suspect was brought into the Lexington Police Department, questioned and transported to LexingtonRegionalHealthCenter for a medical clearance to be able to be taken to the Dawson County Jail, Wolf said. Hassan was booked for second degree assault and use of a weapon to commit a felony, Wolf said. Lexington Police determined that the victim was struck in the head by a brick and had received defensive knife wounds from the struggle, he said. Wolf said the victim was also transported to LexingtonRegionalHealthCenter, where it was discovered he had received a severe cut on the hand and was later released. Ulster-born Labour MP Kate Hoey described the situation embattled cabinet Minister Damian Green has been placed in by police claims about porn on his House of Commons computer as fishy. I remember the time when his office was raided, the Labour MP told a BBC Any Questions audience in Newry last night. The police behaved wrongly then, and some of them have felt very aggrieved. I just think the whole thing is a little fishy, and I feel that we shouldnt jump to conclusions. Friends of Mr Green, who appeared at the DUP annual conference in Belfast last weekend, spoke out yesterday, among them DUP MP Nigel Dodds. Also speaking on BBC Any Questions, Mr Dodds said that if Mr Green was forced to resign over the police claims, it would set a very dangerous precedent. Every single individual is entitled to due process under the law. If we get into a situation where Damian Green is forced to resign, then this sets a very, very dangerous precedent indeed. When that happens to a senior politician, then nobody is going to speak up for the ordinary individual in future, if thats what happens. Mr Dodds criticised the decision of retired Scotland Yard detective Neil Lewis to tell the BBC he was shocked at the volume of porn found in a 2008 raid on Mr Greens Westminster office, and had no doubt whatsoever it was amassed by the Tory MP. Mr Green, who is the subject of a Cabinet Office inquiry into alleged inappropriate behaviour towards a young female activist, has denied looking at or downloading porn on the computer. Mr Dodds said: It is totally wrong that an individual police officer should go out and make public statements like this. People are entitled to privacy, so long as they are not breaking the law. It is not for individual police officers to decide what should or should not be deemed worthy of publication. The Metropolitan Police Service said it was launching its own inquiry into how information gathered during an investigation was made public. Nicola Sturgeon said Theresa May should agree to a transition period inside the single market and customs union (PA) Scotlands First Minister has called on the UK Government to negotiate a Brexit deal that limits the damage as much as possible. Nicola Sturgeon said that Prime Minister Theresa May should agree to a transition period inside the single market and customs union. Writing in The Guardian she also said that transition must not just be a two-year postponement of falling over a Brexit cliff edge. Ms Sturgeon called on the EU and UK Government to confirm citizens rights even if talks in the next 10 days fail to progress sufficiently to move on to trade negotiations. We need your consent to load this Social Media content We use a number of different Social Media outlets to manage extra content that can set cookies on your device and collect data about your activity. Please review their details and accept them to load the content. Manage Preference We need your consent to load this Social Media content We use a number of different Social Media outlets to manage extra content that can set cookies on your device and collect data about your activity. Please review their details and accept them to load the content. Manage Preference The First Minister said that following US President Donald Trumps completely unacceptable retweets of anti-Muslim videos posted by Britain First, Mrs May must accept the enormous folly of hoping that a trade deal with the US could replace the trade, jobs and investment lost by taking Britain out of the EU single market and the customs union. She said it is time to banish language that characterises the EU as our enemy and approach the next phase of talks in a spirit of co-operation and solidarity. Ms Sturgeon remains firmly opposed to Britain leaving the EU, describing Brexit as a monumental act of social, economic and diplomatic harm, adding: But 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 have been taken in the interests of appeasing Tory Brexiter backbenchers but said that it is now time for the economy to come first. We need your consent to load this Social Media content We use a number of different Social Media outlets to manage extra content that can set cookies on your device and collect data about your activity. Please review their details and accept them to load the content. Manage Preference European Council president Donald Tusk has given Mrs 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 wrote: 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. She said that in the new year the Scottish Government will publish updated analysis that sets out the benefits of the single market, and the impact of choosing not to be in the single market. The First Minister wrote: While it isnt perfect, the single market protects workers and environmental rights; allows us to work, study, and live in other countries; brings investment; and at a stroke solves the challenges on the island of Ireland. It is without a doubt still, after all these months, the best way forward. Scotland did not vote to leave the EU. The decision is one that many in Scotland have not reconciled ourselves to, and cannot. As we head into another year of Brexit talks, its time to banish the language that characterises the EU as our enemy, and instead approach the next phase of talks in a spirit of cooperation and solidarity of benefit to us all. Slobodan Praljak puts the bottle to his lips during the hearing in The Hague (ICTY/AP) A former Croatian general who died after swallowing a liquid at a war crimes hearing in the Netherlands had cyanide in his system, a post-mortem found. Preliminary results from a toxicological test revealed "a concentration of potassium cyanide" in Slobodan Praljak's blood, the Hague Public Prosecutor's Office said. The cyanide caused heart failure, which investigators said was the 72-year-old's "suspected cause of death". On Wednesday, Praljak drank from a small bottle that he said contained poison seconds after an appeals judge at the UN's International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia confirmed his 20-year sentence for crimes during the 1992-95 Bosnian war. 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 UN's Rwanda war crimes tribunal. It aims to file a report by December 31 when the tribunal formally closes its doors, having completed all its cases. The court says Mr 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," Mr Golcevski said, referring to the former Yugoslav president who died in his tribunal cell in 2006 before judges could deliver verdicts in his trial. Two Croatian experts observed the autopsy on Praljak's body at the tribunal's request. Croatian Justice Minister Drazen Bosnjakovic said the country would ask Dutch authorities to be included in the ongoing investigation into Praljak's death. Mr 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 defence 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," the lawyer said. "He would not want to live for one day with handcuffs on his hands, and (the) stigma of war criminal on his back." AP A man carries a boy as they cross a burning barricade erected by supporters of presidential candidate Salvador Nasralla in Honduras (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd) At least one opposition protester has died in shootings in Honduras after the country announced a curfew and suspended some constitutional rights in the face of unrest over a disputed election. As the ballot count entered its sixth day on Saturday, the national police force said a 19-year-old woman was shot dead at a protest supporting opposition candidate Salvador Nasralla by gunmen who witnesses say were police. Police said another man was seriously wounded in the same shooting but his whereabouts are unclear, and he is also believed to have died. "We still do not know if the assailants were police officers or not, but the case is being thoroughly investigated," a statement from the police said. The protests were reminiscent of the 2009 coup that ousted former president Manuel Zelaya, whose Libre party is part of the coalition led by Mr Nasralla that formed in a bid to unseat President Juan Orlando Hernandez. The country's electoral court had finished counting nearly 95% of the ballot boxes from the November 26 presidential election by late on Friday and said it would conduct a hand count of 1,031 other boxes that presented "inconsistencies". Mr Hernandez held a lead of more than 46,000 votes over Mr Nasralla before the last-stage count. It was not immediately clear how many votes could be at play in the uncounted boxes. But mistrust mounted amid strange delays in the vote count and the sudden reversal of Mr Nasralla's early lead. Rock-wielding protesters have increasingly taken to the streets against riot police armed with tear gas, batons and water cannons. National police spokesman Jair Meza said 12 people had been wounded in clashes between police and protesters. The Coalition Against Impunity, a network of human rights organisations, said in a report that security forces had used lethal ammunition and that four other protesters are believed to have been killed during clashes. Mr Meza said numerous businesses were damaged and looted in the capital and in San Pedro Sula, where local press reported that protesters had set a bank branch on fire. By Saturday, Mr Meza said more than 300 people had been detained for looting as they streamed out of shopping centres with electronics and other goods in Tegucigalpa and San Pedro Sula. Groups of demonstrators also continued blocking highways with burning tyres and other debris, in some cases forcing parents to carry their children through the smoking barriers. In a decree read out on radio and television, the government's Cabinet chief Jorge Hernandez said late on Friday that some constitutional guarantees would be suspended for 10 days to allow the army and police to control the situation. The government declared a curfew from 6pm to 6am across the country. "The curfew is to safeguard the security of the country," President Hernandez said as he left a hotel in the capital after meeting with observers from the Organisation of American States and the European Union. "This is the time for the people to feel supported by their armed forces and their police because it cannot be that somebody decides to loot or rob." AP Two female suicide bombers have attacked a market in Nigeria leaving at least 13 people dead. Mohammed Maliya, who is part of the rescue effort in the town of Biu, said the victims were killed when one of the women detonated her explosives at a food distribution point run by a non-governmental organisation. She appeared relaxed and was eating a banana while waiting in line with others, he said. The other bomber killed only herself but wounded a number of people. Saturday's attack took place about 185km (115 miles) from Maiduguri city, where the Islamic extremist group Boko Haram was formed. The group has increasingly used women and children to carry out attacks. Many of them are kidnapped and indoctrinated in extremism. AP Every picture tells a story - and this one showing off a handshake between me and Cliff Richard is the illustration of a promise he made to me a long time ago when we met up one afternoon in Killarney. The Young One as he is still known, never mind that he's well into his 70s, gave me his word that he would be back singing in Belfast on his next tour. And now that all the troubles that overtook him are well behind him the promise is going to come true, later rather than sooner, I have to admit. Sir Cliff, to give him his full title, will be on stage at the SSE Arena on September 30 next year. And I will be there to greet him and shake his hand again. One of my happy journalistic memories is the night I took a two-year-old girl (and her mum) to meet Cliff backstage at the King's Hall. It came about like this. Wendy, the child's mother, a loyal Cliff fan, always put a video of her pop hero on while she was ironing and the two-year-old watched too and became an even more devoted fan than mum. So we took her to see Cliff in the King's Hall dressing room just before his concert. And what a reaction. The little girl recognised him right away and held out her arms for him to give her a nurse. Where is that young baby fan today? Perhaps that grown up child will get in touch. Wouldn't it be lovely if she and her mum turned up at the gig. Cliff and I have something in common. He launched his singing career in 1957 at 17 on a 27 guitar his father bought for him. And I launched my own career in journalism that year too as a trainee reporter on the Belfast Telegraph. The young one and I have met up many times since 1957 and I remember joining him at a rehearsal in Birmingham back in the summer of 1988. It was a hot summer afternoon in July with the festive season far distant. But Cliff was singing Mistletoe and Wine and told me (several times) it would be that year's Christmas number one. Was he right? Of course he was right. That time when I spent a few days with Cliff (and the Shadows too) in Killarney I was actually allowed to join in a couple of songs during rehearsals. ein Google-Unternehmen Google-Dienste anzubieten und zu betreiben Ausfalle zu prufen und Manahmen gegen Spam, Betrug und Missbrauch zu ergreifen Daten zu Zielgruppeninteraktionen und Websitestatistiken zu erheben. 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Sofern relevant, verwenden wir Cookies und Daten auerdem, um Inhalte und Werbung altersgerecht zu gestalten. Wir verwenden Cookies und Daten, umWenn Sie Alle akzeptieren auswahlen, verwenden wir Cookies und Daten auch, umWahlen Sie Weitere Optionen aus, um sich zusatzliche Informationen anzusehen, einschlielich Details zum Verwalten Ihrer Datenschutzeinstellungen. Sie konnen auch jederzeit g.co/privacytools besuchen. Is AMR Modern-day FRANKENSTEINS MONSTER? Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) continues to pose a significant public health problem in terms of mortality and economic loss. The rising AMR is a matter of huge concern that needs to be tactfully handled and health authorities of several countries, including India, have formulated action plans for its containment. Significant efforts by the government, an active involvement of startups and diagnostic players is a good start. The question remains, whether this will be enough. For Feedback, please email us at: communications@mmactiv.com If you thought your electricity bill was high during the past year, you're not the only one. New figures from the Australian Energy Regulator show electricity prices jumped by up to 11 per cent during the 2016-17 financial year. A new report has found electricity bills in Canberra have risen as much as 11 per cent. Credit:Darren Pateman In its most recent annual report, the regulator found the annual electricity bill in Canberra on a market offer - a bill with tailored terms and conditions - rose 5.2 per cent to $1266, while those on a standing offer - a standard contract - increased by 11.5 per cent to $1387. In some relief to energy customers, gas bills on both market and standing offers fell during the time period by 1.2 per cent to $1514 and 6.3 per cent to $1581 respectively. When you first think of programs aimed at inspiring people to take a new direction, thoughts usually go towards middle-aged business people looking to make a career change. You probably wouldn't expect those in attendance to be a group of teenagers. Caroline Gangotena said the Empower U program had the potential to be genuinely life-changing. Credit:Sitthixay Ditthavong Yet that's exactly the premise behind the Empower U program, a weekend seminar for young people run by the organisation Tomorrow's Youth, which is coming to Canberra next weekend. The program, which focuses on boosting confidence, self-esteem, goal setting and managing finances, started in 2001, and since then has reached out to more than 23,000 teenagers in six countries. Woden Westfield Coles will become the first supermarket in the ACT to launch a Quiet Hour initiative, following a successful trial in other stores across the country. The initiative, which involves creating a low-sensory environment in the normally busy supermarket to help people on the autism spectrum, will launch on December 5, running every Tuesday between 10.30 and 11.30am. Woden Coles will be the first store in the ACT to launch a 'Quiet Hour'. Credit:Bloomberg As part of the Quiet Hour, lighting in the store is dimmed by 50 per cent, radios are switched off and no PA announcements are made unless in an emergency. Cash registers and scanners are also reduced to their lowest noise level, with no trolley collections taking place during the hour. Police have arrested two teenagers over what is believed to have been a random attack on a nurse outside a Gold Coast hospital during the early hours of Friday morning. Joe Brooker - the 25-year-old nurse who was abducted from Pindara Private Hospital on the Gold Coast and assaulted during the early hours of Friday morning. Credit:Facebook Two 18-year-old men were arrested at a Como Crescent address in Southport after police raids on Saturday morning. Another teenage boy was also questioned at the home, but was later released. Detectives continue to speak with a 16-year-old Molendinar youth in hospital, after he suffered serious neck injuries when the abductors' getaway car crashed. Meanwhile, the alleged victim, 25-year-old Joe Brooker, was released from Gold Coast University Hospital on Friday evening after being treated for arm and facial injuries as a result of stab and slash wounds. Queensland was gripped by fear in the 1980s following the outbreak of HIV, so much so that then-premier Joh Bjelke-Peterson refused to curb the spread of the virus among Indigenous Australians because he believed it was "a punishment from God". However, one Brisbane nun defied the wishes of Sir Joh and helped AIDS sufferers in any way she could, including setting up secret funding to the Queensland AIDS Council by moving the money through the Mater Hospital. Sister Angela Mary Doyle speaking at TedxBrisbane on Saturday Credit:Facebook Sister Angela Mary Doyle spoke about "impact through empathy" at TedxBrisbane on Saturday morning, describing the challenges she faced in the fight for recognition and support for HIV sufferers. It seems to me that if we are to stand up and be counted, we need a great deal of love in our hearts. Theres a whole world out there desperately in need to impact through empathy," she said. Flooding from Victoria's super storm have closed parts of the Hume Freeway, while residents in two townships have been told to evacuate as rivers bloated by heavy rain threaten to burst their banks. Torrential rain hit the state's north-east overnight with residents in Myrtleford and Euroa urged to consider leaving their water-logged communities as floodwaters from nearby creeks and rivers continued to rise. While Melbourne has so far escaped the worst of the storm, city residents have been warned to expect more rain on Saturday evening, bringing the risk of flash flooding. The weather bureau is forecasting another 30 to 50 millimetres of rain in the state's north-east on Saturday evening into Sunday morning while Melbourne may see between 20 to 40mm. Washington: Donald Trump's former national security adviser Michael Flynn is now cooperating with investigators looking into Russian election meddling - an ominous sign that the US President could be implicated in the ongoing probe. Flynn, a former army general, pleaded guilty on Friday to lying to the FBI about conversations he had with Russian ambassador Sergey Kislyak, one of which occurred at Trump Tower in December 2016, with Trump's son-in-law and adviser Jared Kushner. Court papers indicate that Flynn said he was acting under instructions from senior Trump officials when he met with Kislyak to discuss sanctions imposed by former president Barack Obama in retaliation for Russia's election meddling. He told FBI investigators on January 24, four days after Trump's inauguration, that he did not ask Kislyak to "refrain from escalating the situation" in response to sanctions, a court filing said. Government of Karnataka under the Department of Backward Classes Welfare has released a notification calling out for interested and eligible candidates to apply for Research Guidance Ph.D. Fellowship for Backward Classes, Karnataka 2017-18. This is for students who are willing to pursue full-time Ph.D. program in the field of seminars, language, sociology, science and technology, agriculture and related sciences, commerce and management, technical and medical sciences. Scholarship reward Rs 5000 per month Eligibility Educational qualification To be eligible for the fellowship, an applicant must Be a permanent resident of Karnataka Be engaged in a full-time Ph.D. program under research guidance from a statutory university or subordinate institution of Karnataka Have secured at least 55 percent of marks in the master's degree program Not be more than 35 years of age Annual Income The annual family income should be less than INR 4.5 Lac for the monthly allowance. For Pre 2(A), 3(A), 3(B) and other OBC - The annual family income should be less than INR 3.5 Lac for monthly allowance.For Premium 1 - The annual family income should be less than INR 2.5 Lac for fees allotment For Propaganda 2(A), 3(A), 3(B) and other OBC - The annual family income should be less than INR 1 Lac for fees allotment. Also Read: NCERT Scholarship for Ph.D Researchers: Apply Now! Note: For male children, only two applicants of a family can apply. However, for girls, there is no such limitation. How to apply for Government of Karnataka scholarship? In order to apply for Government of Karnataka scholarship, follow the steps given here: Log on to the Government of Karnataka official website Click the relevant link Enter your details Upload all necessary documents Click to submit Complete the registration process The candidates are also required to submit a certified copy of their documents to the respective offices of the District Backwards Classes Officers by 11 December 2017. Deadline The last date to apply for the post is 7 December 2017 Government of India Offers National Overseas Scholarship for ST Candidates 2017-18 MAPFRE USA is reorganizing, with plans to pull out of five states and refocus its operations in others in order to strengthen its operations. The U.S. division of Spanish insurer MAPFRE Group will shift to four regional centers and also pull out of non-core operations. Plans call for exiting the life insurance business in the U.S. and it will pursue selling its Delaware subsidiary MAPFRE Life Insurance Company. With the changes announced, we are positioning the company for success through a more focused business strategy, MAPFRE USA President and CEO Alfredo Castelo said in prepared remarks. The strategic realignment focusing on MAPFREs core markets and lines of business will reinforce our market leadership position in our home state of Massachusetts and drive our profitable growth strategy in our remaining states of operation going forward. MAPFRE Group Antonio Huertas added that the insurers USA arm is committed to achieving the necessary scale and profitability in its operations outside of Massachusetts and strongly believes that the reorganization will accelerate the achievement of our strategic goals in the U.S. Market. Heres a rundown of MAPFRE USAs reorganization plans: MAPFRE will stop doing business in New York, New Jersey, Kentucky, Tennessee and Indiana. In New York, MAPFRE has hired an investment bank to pursue sale of its New York subsidiary, MAPFRE Insurance Company of New York. It is also pursuing an orderly withdrawal from the four other states, including the pursuit of replacement carrier transactions where possible. In the interim, it will continue to work with its customers and agents until the wind-down is completed. 11 core states have been identified where the insurer believes it can leverage its existing scale, infrastructure and independent agent network to pursue profitable growth: Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island, New Hampshire, Maine, Vermont, Ohio, California, Oregon, Washington and Idaho. In 3 other states Florida, Pennsylvania and Arizona MAPFRE USA will reinforce the companys underwriting and distribution foundation before any future expansion plans. As of Jan. 1, 2018, MAPFRE USA will be divided into four regions: the Massachusetts/Northeast Region, East Central Region, Western Region and Puerto Rico. MAPFRE noted that its Northeast region accounts for 67 percent of its US. business. This region includes the companys home state of Massachusetts, and New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Vermont and Maine. Patrick McDonald, the current executive vice president for business development at MAPFRE USA will become the divisions CEO. The East Central Region will include Ohio, Pennsylvania, Connecticut and Florda, and Greg Clark will be the divisions regional director. Headquarters are planned for Columbus, OH. MAPFRE USAs Western Region will be led by Regional Director Miguel Coello, with headquarters based in San Ramon, Calif. California, Arizona, Washington, Oregon and Idaho will be the included states. MAPFRE Puerto Rico will be led by Alexis Sanchez, who is slated to become CEO of the division on Jan. 1. The division, which will maintain its own management structure, generates 15 percent of MAPFREs U.S. business. The regional directors and Sanchez will report to Castelo. Source: MAPFRE USA Family Research Council head says Archbishop of Canterbury 'doesn't understand Christian orthodoxy' The head of the conservative lobbying group the Family Research Council (FRC), has lambasted Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby for having 'absolutely no grasp on the biblical foundations of his faith' but 'criticising Americans who do'. Justin Welby said on Monday that he couldn't understand Christians who supported Donald Trump provoking consternation from Tony Perkins, a vocal and influential evangelical Trump supporter. He challenged the Anglican leader in his Tuesday 'Washington Update' on the FRC's website, writing: 'Britain's archbishop of Canterbury is considered a "top religious authority" but after his latest interview, few understand why. 'The leader of the Church of England has absolutely no grasp on the biblical foundations of his faith, yet feels quite free criticizing Americans who do...he lashed out at US evangelicals for their enthusiastic support of President Trump -- seemingly clueless of all the administration has done to advance religious liberty and expression in America.' Welby had spoken candidly about his bafflement at the majority of US evangelicals (81 per cent in the 2016 election) backing Trump in ITV'S Peston programme on Sunday morning. 'There's two things going through my mind: do I say what I think, or do I say what I should say? And I'm going to say what I think,' he said. 'No, I don't understand it. I really genuinely do not understand where that is coming from.' Perkins hit back that 'the feeling is mutual', saying Bible-believing evangelicals were 'just as baffled by Welby's approval of same-sex marriage'. Welby had previously told Alastair Campbell that he couldn't 'give a straight answer' on whether homosexuality was sinful, and said same-sex marriage as a secular institution was 'great'. Lambeth Palace later reaffirmed the Church of England's official opposition to same-sex marriage according to Canon law. Perkins suggested that Welby 'doesn't understand Christian orthodoxy', and praised Trump in contrast. 'Listen to Trump's campaign promises, and then look at his administration's actions. He's pursuing policies on life and religious freedom that are more consistent with biblical principles than any president in decades,' he wrote. 'In all honesty, it's a sad commentary on the state of the church when politicians take positions that are more in line with biblical truth than its so-called leaders.' Welby challenged Trump again this week after the President retweeted anti-Muslim videos from the far-right political group Britain First. He said it was 'deeply disturbing' that Trump was amplifying extremist voices and called for him to remove the tweets and 'make clear his opposition to racism and hatred in all forms'. 'My 600-lb Life' news: Therapist gives update on James King's condition after Dr. Now sent him home When James King joined "My 600-lb Life" back in March, Dr. Younan Nowzaradan gave up on him and sent him home because of his stubborn attitude. Fans of the show even slammed James on social media due to his unacceptable behavior. Despite that, many are asking about the condition of James after leaving the show. James, weighing 791-lbs, first appeared on the reality show with his daughter, Bailey, and his girlfriend, Lisa. He was encouraged to lose weight when he suffered a bad fall, which made him incapable of having an active life. The fire department needed to help him during that accident so he can get up because he was so big. According to James, it was one of the lowest moments of his life. However, instead of losing weight, James' weight uncontrollably increased and he became bedridden. On the show, it featured James worrying about the life of his father, who was sent to the hospital. He felt helpless, while watching his father call an ambulance himself. This motivated him to seek the help of Dr. Now. The family of James helped him to go to Houston, Texas so Dr. Now could assess his condition. However, James refused to cooperate. Aside from that, his girlfriend Lisa supplied him unhealthy junk food, which worsened his situation. Both Lisa and James dismissed all of Dr. Now's advice. Since Dr. Now can no longer help James because of his stubborn attitude, he was sent home. After that, James visited physical therapist Rudi Pijnnaken, the president of Physical Therapy International. Although that was the last part about James that was featured on the show, Pijnnaken gave an update on James' condition. The therapist said that James has made progress on his journey to lose weight. He is no longer bedridden and he can already sit upright with one leg dangling from the bed. Lisa is already more responsible in the food choices that she gives James. Pijnnaken also revealed that James regrets his behavior on "My 600-lb Life." His current goal is to lose weight and walk again. Teenagers beat a homeless man to death in Philadelphia Philadelphia police are now looking for the teenagers who are responsible for the death of a homeless guy in the said city. The victim is said to be beaten to death while the kids tried to rob him. In a report by Philadelphia Police Department, the incident was reported on Sunday, Nov. 26. At around 6 p.m., the law enforcement was responding to a proceeding robbery at the 4200 block of Loring Street. The officers then found an unconscious guy lying on the ground near Mayfair. The victim was brought to Aria Torresdale Hospital and died before 7 a.m. on Monday, Nov. 27. He was identified as Kevin Cullen, a 57-year-old homeless guy from Philadelphia, on Tuesday, Nov. 29. His death is now being investigated by the homicide unit, and the police believe that it is caused by robbery. The suspects are a few teenagers, although they are not yet sure how many are involved. Police reports reveal that the teenagers responsible for the homeless man's death were wearing dark clothes, while the other one was wearing a grey camouflage jacket. Initially, the investigators had taken in two people for the investigation. However, they were later released in anticipation of additional investigation. As of Tuesday evening, there were no arrests made. In an interview with ABC's Philadelphia station WPVI, a woman, who named herself Donna, told the network that she had heard someone was being attacked outside her home. "They hit his head into [sic] the wall so hard that I felt it in my house, on the second floor," she said. She aslo said that the moment she went out to help the victim, she saw the homeless man's pockets turned inside out. She, too, saw some teenagers running away while laughing, and said, "We got him." The victim's brother, Tom Cullen, on the other hand, also told the network that his younger sibling was not abandoned, but "was loved deeply." "We didn't get to see him too often. He would come in and out of our lives," he said. Xiaomi Redmi 5 release date news, specs rumors: Telecom press leak reveals smartphone's 5.7-inch HD+ display The public has been hearing a lot about the Xiaomi Redmi Note 5 for the past several weeks. However, some people may have already forgotten that the Redmi Note brand has its smaller version. Based on the recent reports, the Chinese handset maker is also gearing up for the release of Xiaomi Redmi 5, which is further supported by a leaked listing from a Chinese telecommunications company. As reported by GSMArena, alleged renders of the Xiaomi Redmi 5 was spotted on a Chinese telecom network webpage. The listing was taken down immediately, although some people were able to take a screen cap of the images. It was revealed that the Redmi 5 will sport a 5.7-inch display with full HD+ resolution. While it is not yet confirmed, an HD+ screen suggests a 1,440x720 pixel resolution. It is also evident on the leaked renders that the Xiaomi Redmi 5 will have slimmer bezels, resulting to an immersive all-screen experience. The smartphone is expected to have an 18:9 aspect ratio, following the latest trend among the premium mobile devices this 2017. As per XDA Developers, the Xiaomi Redmi 5 design is comparable to a variant of the Redmi Note 4 based on the leaks. Furthermore, the upcoming smartphone is shown to have a full metal body with plastic portions on the lower top and bottom panel. In terms of the internal specs, the Xiaomi Redmi 5 is rumored to have a Qualcomm 625 SoC, similar to Redmi Note 4, Mi Max 2 and Mi A1. The mobile processor will be accompanied by a 4GB RAM and 64GB internal storage memory. The camera department features a 12MP rear-positioned image snapper and 5MP front-facing shooter. The Xiaomi Redmi 5 is packed with 3,300mAh battery. According to the latest scoop, the Xiaomi Redmi 5 will become available in the Chinese market on Dec. 10, with a CNY 1,399 price tag. This is equivalent to USD $211, although the international launch of Redmi 5 has yet to be announced. Advocates for illegal immigrants are unrepentant after yesterdays shocking acquittal on all homicide charges of an illegal-alien confessed killer. The advocates are defending the sanctuary policies that had set in motion the 2015 killing in San Francisco; they have also doubled down on their opposition to any deportation of illegal aliens, criminal or otherwise. If ever there were a clarifying moment regarding what is at stake in the battle for the immigration rule of law, this is it. Jose Ines Garcia Zarate was a poster boy not just for the folly of sanctuary policies but also for the mass low-skilled Hispanic immigration that has transformed California. A barely literate drug dealer from Mexico with a second-grade education, no English, and a penchant for criminal aliases, Garcia Zarate had been deported five times by federal immigration authorities following convictions for various crimes. Despite his record, Garcia Zarate was the sort of immigrant that the San Francisco authorities apparently believed that this country needs. Having completed a federal sentence in March 2015 for his sixth felonious reentry into the country, Garcia Zarate had been sent to the San Francisco County Jail to serve time for a marijuana charge from which he had absconded two decades ago. Immigration and Customs Enforcement requested that when the San Francisco sheriff released Garcia Zarate after his drug sentence, the sheriff would notify ICE so that the federal agents could pick him up for his sixth deportation. The sheriff, Ross Mirkarimi, ignored the marijuana charge and, most crucially, the ICE detainer request as well, instead freeing Garcia Zarate back into San Franciscos streets before ICE could pick him up. This release followed the citys sanctuary policy, which forbade local law enforcement authorities from cooperating with their federal counterparts in ICE: local authorities may not notify ICE of a criminal illegal aliens release date or hold that criminal alien for ICE to pick-up. Four months after Mirkarimi sent Garcia Zarate back into San Franciscos illegal alien subculture, the felon picked up a gun on the Embarcadero and fatally shot Kate Steinle, 32, in the heart. He then tossed the gun into the San Francisco Bay and ran off. The drug dealer changed his story several times during police interrogation, first saying that he had been aiming at a sea lion, then claiming that he didnt even know that he was handling a gun. The gun had been stolen from the parked car of a federal law enforcement agent four days earlier; Garcia Zarates story at trial was that he had picked up a rag with the gun hidden within it and that the gun had accidentally discharged. To no avail, the prosecutor contested Garcia Zarates claim that the pistol used in the crime, a Sig Sauer P239, could be fired without the trigger being deliberately pulled. Donald Trump turned the Steinle case into a powerful rallying cry for immigration enforcement during his presidential run. The illegal-alien lobby, by contrast, denied that San Franciscos sanctuary policy had anything to do with the killing. California even strengthened its status as an immigration scofflaw after the Steinle homicide. This October, Governor Jerry Brown signed SB 54, the California Values Act, which turns the entire state into an immigration-enforcement-free haven for all but the most heinous illegal-alien criminals. (Brown has been assiduously silent on the Garcia Zarate acquittal.) San Francisco imperceptibly tweaked its local sanctuary policy following the killing; today, it would again release Garcia Zarate if asked under the same conditions to hold him for ICE custody. According to Garcia Zarates attorneys and other illegal-alien advocates, the only blame in this case belongs to Donald Trump and anyone who wants to enforce the immigration laws. From day one, this case was used as a means to foment hate, to foment division and to foment a program of mass deportation, public defender Francisco Ugarte said. Ugarte manages the immigration unit at the San Francisco Public Defenders Office, where he advises criminal illegal aliens on how to avoid deportation for their crimes. Nothing about Mr. Garcia Zarates ethnicity, nothing about his immigration status, nothing about the fact that he is born in Mexico had any relevance as to what happened on July 1, 2015, Ugarte said. Actually, the case is almost exclusively about immigration policy; had this country had the ability to protect its borders and deport illegal alien criminals, Garcia Zarate would not have been sunning himself on the Embarcadero on July 1, 2015, but would have been back in Mexico. But just because Garcia Zarate was acquitted on all homicide and assault charges (the jury, which contained three immigrants, found him guilty only of illegal gun possession) doesnt mean that all is well for illegal alien criminals in the Golden Sanctuary State. The people we should really be concerned for now, according to former San Francisco Supervisor David Campos, are illegal aliens themselves. Im afraid the immigrant community is going to be made to pay for something that the jury decided appears to be a very tragic accident, said Campos, now chair of the San Francisco Democratic Party. Trump and pro-enforcement forces would react to the verdict by ramping up their rhetoric.True to form, a sitting San Francisco supervisor turned the case into a gun control matter. I always thought this is not an immigration issue, as Trump made it out to be this is a gun management issue, said Sandra Lee Fewer. A car is not a safe and secure place to keep a gun, knowing the amount of car break-ins we have in San Francisco. Now why might San Francisco have so many car break-ins? Because of Californias Proposition 47, which forbids prison sentences for most thefts, and which has led to a sharp increase in property crimes. But Supervisor Fewer treats car thefts as a fact of naturelike illegal immigrationthat society has no power to quell. Californias once-unrivalled status as the countrys most educated state has long since disintegrated under the waves of low-skilled, low-social-capital Mexican and Central American immigrants. Now, California's K-12 system rivals Mississippi and Alabama as an education backwater. The states school-age population, now majority Hispanic, lacks competitive linguistic and math skills. (Of course, defense counsel conducted part of their post-verdict press conference in Spanish, oblivious to the symbolism.) California is becoming another Brazil, divided between fabulously wealthy elites hunkered down in their own coastal sanctuaries, and a poor, Third World population. Before the rest of the country ends up in the same situation, the immigration policies that gave rise to the Steinle homicide must change. Attorney General Jeff Sessions has been conducting a largely unheralded effort to end sanctuary jurisdictions, but the illegal-alien lawyers lobby has fought him at every turn. Sessionss efforts would be immensely aided if Congress finally passed the No Sanctuary for Criminals Act sponsored by Virginia congressman Bob Goodlatte. That bill would clarify ICEs authority to enforce federal detainer requests and would confirm the attorney generals authority to withhold federal funding from scofflaw jurisdictions. Most importantly, it would allow both the federal government and victims of sanctuary policies to sue sanctuary governments. The Steinle family had sued San Francisco and former sheriff Ross Mirkarimi in 2016 for their failure to notify ICE of Garcia Zarates release, but a federal judge threw out the case earlier this year. The Goodlatte bill would have allowed their suit to proceed. The passage of Kates Law, which lengthens the federal sentences for felonious reentry following deportation, is less urgent. While building a border wall is an important part of a sound immigration policy, preserving the rule of law inside the country is even more important. The advocates agenda is clear: they want to stop all deportations and in so doing eviscerate our sovereignty once and for all. Their ultimate aim is to transform the country culturally and demographically. Sanctuary policies are one of their most powerful weapons in that crusade. Photo by Mark Wilson/Getty Images Former U.S. National Security Adviser Michael Flynn departs after a plea hearing at U.S. District Court, in Washington, U.S., December 1, 2017. ABC News on Friday corrected a stunning news report about Michael Flynn, the former White House official who pleaded guilty to giving a false statement to the FBI, which sparked a feeding frenzy and ricocheted across markets. Flynn, President Donald Trump's former national security advisor, admitted to lying to federal investigators about conversations he held with Sergey I. Kislyak, a Russian diplomat. The former general's plea was part of an ongoing probe into Russia's suspected attempts to influence the 2016 election. Earlier in the day, ABC cited an unnamed source saying Flynn was prepared to testify that he made overtures to the Russian ambassador at Trump's behest, while the heated presidential contest was underway. Yet by Friday evening, the network had backtracked, saying Flynn would likely state that Trump's instructions occurred after the election. That distinction effectively altered the timeline and lessened the significance of the discussions which according to ABC's report were meant to galvanize U.S.-Russian efforts to fight ISIS in Syria. Via Twitter, ABC initially called the updated story a "clarification," but later formally corrected the piece and deleted its original tweet. ABC tweet By that time, much of the damage had already been done. Multiple media outlets, including CNBC, pounced on the ABC report, which reverberated through markets and stirred speculation that the Trump campaign may have colluded with the Russian government. Vanderhei ABC's handling of the story drew harsh criticism from media critics and defenders of the president. For his part, Donald Trump Jr., blasted the report as "fake news" in a Twitter post on Saturday, even as his father refrained from making any immediate comment. ABC retracts their misleading "bombshell" and removes their tweet approximately 12 hours after they knew it to be false. I know it's rare for you guys to get more than 200 RTs so I guess you milk it when you can?!?! #fakenews Brian Ross, one of the network's most prominent journalists who first broke the news, was excoriated for his role in the report. Several critics recalled the time that Ross wrongly implicated the Tea Party in a 2012 mass shooting that took place in Aurora, Colorado. Under Armour : "There will be no takeover here because they have different classes of stock. What I do think will happen is, after a couple of quarters, they're going to come out of this because [CEO] Kevin Plank is re-focused. But boy, they've got a lot of personnel changes, and I can't have great conviction when I see that much personnel change. I really can't. I wish I could." IBM : "I think IBM is trying to bottom here. I think you've got Warren Buffett out there selling it. I think it's a breakout quarter because they're going to shift to new mainframes." Workday : "I actually liked the quarter. Did it deserve to sell off like this? Eh, you know what? All the high-multiple tech stocks are selling off. But I think if you had to start a position, I would start it right here." NextEra Energy : "NextEra is a great utility and I like them very much. It's a good stock." Sociedad Quimica y Minera de Chile : "Sociedad Quimica is a good company, but it's not as good as the ones that I recommended [as electric car plays]. It just really isn't." Democrats have taken to the Senate floor to attack a planned amendment to the tax bill that would give a break to a conservative college in Michigan. Pennsylvania Republican Sen. Patrick Toomey acknowledged he'd sponsored the language and said Hillsdale College would benefit from it. Toomey defended Hillsdale as "a wonderful institution" and said other schools might qualify for the tax break, too. His provision would shield schools that receive no federal aid from language in the bill that taxes the investment income of some colleges and universities. Democrats say Toomey's provision was written in a way that only Hillsdale would qualify for the reduction. They complain that some well-known conservatives have connections to the school, including Trump administration Education Secretary Betsy DeVos. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un (front) stands on the conning tower of a submarine during his inspection of the Korean People's Army (KPA) Naval Unit 167 in this undated photo released by North Korea's Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) in Pyongyang. There are signs that North Korea's submarine missile program is expanding as it prepares its second test, adding to the risk that the nuclear-armed country could one day threaten the U.S. or its Asian allies with yet another powerful weapon in its arsenal. Experts suggest North Korea having fully submersible submarines firing a nuclear ballistic missile pose a dangerous scenario because they could offer the hermit regime a better chance of survival and might be harder to detect. It comes on the heels of North Korea on Tuesday launching a new Hwasong-15 intercontinental ballistic missile, a road-mobile weapon the state-owned KCNA media claimed could carry a "super-large heavy warhead, which is capable of striking the whole mainland of the U.S." The North Koreans appear to be getting more aggressive on submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM) development and now have several shipyards active in the offshore-weapons program. The North is not believed to have the capability today to launch multiple ballistic missiles from a submarine. However, experts say the totalitarian state is working at a feverish pace and could have this submersible as early as next year. "If North Korea can deploy not only developmentally a submarine-launched ballistic missile that is effective and deploy it on ballistic missile submarines, it certainly complicates defense against missile attacks," defense analyst Joseph S. Bermudez Jr., co-founder and CEO of Colorado-based imagery analysis firm KPA Associates LLC, told CNBC in an interview Friday. In a 38 North blog post Friday, he revealed that "commercial satellite imagery from Nov. 11, 16 and 24 show that North Korea's second submersible ballistic missile test stand barge a platform that allows for underwater missile launches outside of submarines located at the Nampo Navy Shipyard is being prepared to enter service." 38 North, a project of the U.S.-Korea Institute at Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies, said the "second missile test stand barge [is] almost operational." Bermudez wrote, "Once in service, this barge will help facilitate a broader SLBM testing regime and potentially establish a SLBM capability within the West Sea fleet [of North Korea's navy]." Bermudez, a 38 North contractor, explained that the test stand barge and platform are used to simulate the weapons that would be inside the submarine because it's considered too dangerous and costly to do such early testing inside a real submarine. He also said that the North Koreans know the U.S. military is watching its SLBM and submarine development so they have been doing things to mitigate the satellite surveillance capabilities, including resorting to concealment in some cases. Still, Bermudez called the Nampo shipyard activities on the regime's west coast "a strong indicator that Pyongyang is advancing" in its SLBM program. And he said the North Koreans will need a series of tests from the submersible barge before deploying ballistic missiles on submarines. Last year, North Korea conducted a test of its SLBM technology near its port city of Sinpo and reportedly flew one missile at least 500 kilometers (or about 300 miles), according to South Korea's Yonhap news agency. Sinpo, located on the country's northeast coast, also is where the North reportedly has renovated large buildings that might be involved in the construction of a new SLBM-capable submarine. The Sinpo-class experimental submarine that the North Koreans have today is believed to be up to about 2,000 tons and have a nautical range of about 2,800 kilometers (about 1,500 miles). Yet it features just a single launch tube and Bermudez said "no one considers that an operational capability." According to Bermudez, Pyongyang is apparently building a submarine that will feature multiple tubes for ballistic missiles and greater capability at sea. He estimated the new submarine "could be launched any time next year and going forward." To be clear, though, he said just because the submarine may launch doesn't necessarily mean it's fully operational. The expert explained how it typically takes a year or two after the submarine is launched that it "truly becomes operational" because it will go through a range of sea trials and necessary crew training. Even so, having the submarine-launched ballistic missiles with nuclear capability is potentially a nightmare scenario for South Korea and Japan. That's because the submarines could potentially avoid detection by some of the most advanced defense systems. For example, missiles fired by North Korean submarines off the east coast of Japan could potentially dodge detection from Japan's Patriot anti-missile system by launching from behind radar. At present, the detection is focused on missiles coming from land-based missiles in North Korea. Similarly, the current THAAD anti-missile system deployed by the U.S. in South Korea is focused on identifying missile threats from the North. As a result, a submarine missile from the North Korean navy could be launched behind radar and perhaps evade existing defense systems. "Up to now we've only had to worry about them coming from north to south or from west to east in the case of Japan and the United States," said Bermudez. "If they deploy a ballistic missile submarine with operational missiles, it can come from almost any direction around the peninsula." Experts say U.S. bases in the Western Pacific, including Guam, also are potentially at risk if North Korea deploys submarines with SLBM weapons. At this point, though, it's not believed that the North Korean submarines have a range to reach the United States mainland. That said, if the North's submarines could reach closer to the U.S. West Coast they would not need an intercontinental ballistic missile to threaten major American cities, says Loren Thompson, a defense industry consultant and chief operating officer of the Lexington Institute, a Virginia-based public-policy think tank. "The biggest problem the U.S. faces in dealing with a North Korean nuclear launch is that you can't stop it if you don't know where it's coming from," Thompson said. "That is why the North Koreans are building mobile missile launchers on land and why they're trying to develop the ability to launch from under the seas." At the end of the day, Thompson said what the North Koreans want is something the United States has in its nuclear arsenal "a survivable retaliatory capability. If it's at sea, they might be very well obtain it." But he said technological hurdles in developing a submarine with multiple ballistic missiles is rather challenging. That may be one reason North Korean hackers last year reportedly stole blueprints from Daewoo Shipbuilding, a large South Korean maker of submarines. "You can't just launch the missile," Thompson said. "The exhaust will destroy the submarine. You have to push it into the air with gas, like compressed oxygen, and then ignite it once it's in the air. That is just more more complicated than launching from a land base." North Korea's largest submarines at present include the so-called Romeo-class submersibles that are based on an old design from the Soviet Union. The 1,800-ton vessels are considered relatively easy to detect using anti-submarine warfare technology available to the U.S. and its Asian allies. In fact, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has been featured in state-run media taking tours and riding on board the green-painted Romeo-class submarines operated by the North's navy. Some estimates are the North has around 20 of the Romeo-class submarines. The North Koreans also are known to have some 50 smaller submarines that are harder to detect and can sink ships with torpedoes. One of those submarines was believed to be responsible for sinking the South Korean Cheonan navy ship in 2010, resulting in the deaths of 46 sailors. SenseTime, which is based in Beijing but targeting an IPO in the U.S. Here's a round-up of the most important deals in venture capital from this past week. Exits Adam Neumann, co-founder and former chief executive officer of WeWork. Michael Nagle | Bloomberg | Getty Images After raising a $4.4 billion round of funding from Softbank earlier this year, co-working giant WeWork is now on a shopping spree. In its latest deal, WeWork acquired Meetup, a social network used to organize community meetings and business events offline, in a deal reportedly valued at $200 million. WeWork previously acquired The Flatiron School, a coding trade school in New York. Samsung acquired Fluenty, a South Korean start-up making chat apps like Facebook Messenger, Line or KakaoTalk easier to use. Fluenty's software generates contextually relevant text replies within a given conversation. If a user gets a message with an invitation to dinner, for example, Fluenty generates possible replies like "Yes, what do you want to eat?" or "Yes, I'll add it to my schedule." Terms weren't disclosed. Alibaba Group CEO Daniel Zhang. Source: Alibaba Group Alibaba Group is in talks to invest $227 million in SenseTime, China Money Network reports. The Chinese AI start-up is targeting an IPO in the U.S. SenseTime has worked with big corporations like Qualcomm, Nvidia, Sina Weibo and Xiaomi. It raised $410 million in a prior round of funding, and its earlier backers include Qualcomm and IDG Capital Partners. SenseTime's AI software and services enable cars, robots, appliances, mobile devices and apps to recognize faces, voices, objects or vehicles, as well as different languages. T. Rowe Price and Temasek led a $110 million investment in Farmers Business Network, a marketplace that helps farmers lock in a fair price on seeds and fertilizers. The company's site also gives farmers a way to anonymously share data about what works and doesn't work in the field. Nvidia and Wells Fargo led a $40 million investment in H2O.ai. The start-up builds tools that help companies employ machine learning, deep learning and AI in their own applications, even if they can't afford a cadre of data scientists and programmers. OrbiMed led a $40 million investment in Restorbio, a Boston biotech firm developing therapeutics to treat age-related diseases. Among other things, Restorbio is testing a treatment that can help elderly people with weakening immune systems fight off respiratory infections. The company plans to expand its therapeutics pipeline. Funds and firms Getting out of bed after a surgery is often a challenge. At Cedars-Sinai Hospital in Los Angeles, the doctors have figured out a new way to motivate patients: Fitbits. The hospital is giving out Fitbit activity trackers to its patients after knee replacements, hip replacements and other surgeries, to encourage them to start walking short distances. For healthy people, 10,000 steps a day is a typical goal. But the doctors at Cedars-Sinai found that patients that reach even 1,000 steps are usually discharged sooner than those who don't. "Patients need to walk after they've had a surgery," said Brennan Spiegel, director of health services research at Cedars-Sinai, in an interview with CNBC. "There's decades of research, so we know that." Spiegel is among the medical professionals who started working with Fitbit as the company expanded beyond the consumer market and into research and clinical studies. Fitbit told CNBC in September that it's unfazed by rivals like Apple and Samsung, in part due to the company's focus on health and medical applications. Senate Republicans narrowly passed a bill to overhaul the American tax system in the wee hours of Saturday morning, navigating party fractures to approve a plan that lawmakers were still scraping together in the hours before the vote. With the 51-49 vote, the GOP leaps closer to its promise of dramatically remaking U.S. tax law under a Republican-led government. Republicans see changing the tax code as crucial to their electoral success after GOP opposition sank attempts to repeal the Affordable Care Act. The GOP still needs to overcome significant disagreements for the House and Senate to craft a joint bill and send it to President Donald Trump's desk. Republicans hope to reach a deal by Christmas, a quick timeline considering the differences in their plans. Following the vote, Trump tweeted that Republicans were "one step closer to delivering MASSIVE tax cuts" and said he wanted to sign a bill by Christmas. Trump tweet Last-minute changes to the Senate plan won over multiple skeptical Republicans on Friday, a day after a policy roadblock threatened to slow the bill's momentum. The GOP did not release the final version of the broadly unpopular bill until Friday night. The surprise GOP "no" votes to sink the party's policy goal never surfaced, unlike in September when Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., turned his thumb down on the Senate floor to quash Republican hopes of repealing Obamacare. A GOP sprint to finish and approve the bill sparked backlash from Democrats, who shared videos of themselves parsing through the 479-page legislative text, which featured handwritten changes. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., accused his counterparts of "descending to a new low of chicanery." Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (2nd R), alongside US Senator John Barrasso (L), Republican of Wyoming; and US Senator Orrin Hatch (2nd L), Republican of Utah, speaks after a meeting between US President Donald Trump and the Republican Senate Caucus at the US Capitol in Washington, DC, November 28, 2017. Saul Loeb | AFP | Getty Images After the bill's passage, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., downplayed the Democratic concerns about the process. "You complain about process when you're losing, and that's what you heard on the floor tonight," he said. Republican leaders had to balance varying concerns within the party to approve the plan. Multiple senators had fears about the estimated $1 trillion in budget deficits an earlier version of the bill would generate, even after economic growth is taken into account. Only one of those lawmakers, outgoing Sen. Bob Corker, R-Tenn., ended up opposing the plan. After the bill's passage, McConnell said he was "totally confident" it would be revenue neutral or even increase the amount of revenue the government holds. The official congressional scorekeeper estimated it would come nowhere close to generating revenue. watch now U.S. President Donald Trump defended his disgraced former national security adviser Michael Flynn on Saturday, saying that the basis of a special prosecutor's actions against the former general were "lawful" and above board even as he acknowledged Flynn had lied to federal officials. Earlier, Trump told reporters that there was "no collusion" with Russia, in spite of Flynn entering a guilty plea on Friday for having lied to the FBI about discussions he held with a Russian ambassador. The president added that he was "very happy" about the developments, while reiterating there had been no coordination between his campaign and Moscow. However, Trump later tweeted that he was forced to fire Flynn for lying to both Vice President Mike Pence and federal investigators, adding that Flynn's discussions were "nothing to hide." If accurate, it is still unclear why Flynn felt compelled to make a false statement in the first place. Trump tweet Friday's report by ABC, which has now been corrected by the news outlet, suggested that Flynn was prepared to testify that he was directed by Trump to make overtures to a Russian diplomat. The initial report sparked a media firestorm that was quelled only after ABC clarified that Flynn's actions had occurred during the transition. Months of probing by special prosecutor Robert Mueller culminated in Flynn's guilty plea, which came days after it emerged that the former general's legal team had stopped cooperating with Trump's lawyers. Still, there appeared to be little immediate evidence that the Trump campaign made any efforts to collaborate with Russia's suspected attempts to influence the general election. Flynn's plea, combined with the recent indictment of former campaign chair Paul Manafort, has underscored a convoluted web of who said what to whom and when. Ultimately, however, the case is mostly characterized by what an Associated Press report on Saturday referred to "lots of smoke, but no smoking gun." Even the president's sharpest detractors have been unable to find concrete evidence that his campaign may have coordinated with, or was even aware of, Russian efforts to swing the election. Even Leon Panetta, former president Barack Obama's Secretary of Defense and a veteran of the Clinton administration, acknowledged that anyone trying to find criminality with the Trump transition team speaking to the Russians would be reaching. Panetta told MSNBC on Friday that it was a "stretch" to say transition officials broke the law, even though the Obama administration still held the reins of government at the time. Thank you for reading! Please purchase a subscription to read our premium content. If you have a subscription, please log in or sign up for an account on our website to continue. A University Education by David Willetts David Willetts has written a rather unusual love letter. The first words in his book are I love universities, and a vein of suppressed passion runs through the next 372 pages. He also touches on his experiences as Minister for Universities and Science, though as he remarks on page 361, even if one might suspect this is just a heavily disguised ministerial memoir, it is at least the first example which has been subject to academic peer review. As that wry remark suggests, he wants us to enjoy ourselves. He knows educational jargon is unbearable: Ministers can sound utilitarian and reductionist and unsympathetic because even when we love universities we do not express it. The White Paper I was responsible for in 2011 had some pretty dreadful bureaucratic prose and the tone of its successor in 2016 was if anything worse appearing not to appreciate the autonomy of the university and just treating higher education as another failing public service which should spend taxpayers money better I did plan a chapter for the 2011 White Paper on the value of the university. It could have been a fruity, claret-soaked Oakeshottian prose poem to these great institutions But the only significant comment from No. 10 on the draft was to remove that chapter they wanted a crisp and action-oriented document. There is no place for belles-lettres in modern Government. Nor is there much place for belles-lettres in Willettss book. The love letter never quite fulfils its early promise. The lover is respectable, and prefers policy to poetry. His appeal is to the head rather than to the heart. This is a vast pity, for he has the ability to reach out and pluck the right quotation from Confucius, Cardinal Newman, Dean Gaisford, David Hume, Lord Curzon, Sydney Smith, Einstein, Homer Simpson and a host of others. Willetts is versed in the German and American literature as well as the best things which have been written in Britain. The Germans invented the research university, the Americans carried it forward by investing prodigious sums of public money in such institutions and their associated technology clusters, and Willetts is always good at finding the illuminating comparison from another country or another age. He opens with a chapter of history. Of the 85 institutions in the Western world which were established by 1520 and still exist in recognisable form today, about 70 are universities, with Bologna, supposed to have been founded in 1088, the oldest. Oxford began in 1167, when Henry II banned English students from going to study in Paris, which was too closely associated with Thomas Becket; Cambridge in 1209, by a group of scholars who seceded from Oxford. And then, rather extraordinarily, for over 600 years no new universities were created in England, until in 1829 University College London was founded by Jeremy Bentham as a secular, fee-based alternative to the jealously guarded Oxbridge duopoly: UCL was what we would now call an alternative provider and the abuse it encountered was similar to what we hear today. Setting it up and financing it by fees was particularly shocking. Coleridge denounced it as a mere lecture bazaar. Thomas Arnold called it that godless institution in Gower Street. It was not allowed to call itself a university and one newspaper columnist said it was a humbug joint-stock subscription school for Cockney boys, without the power of granting degrees or affording honours or distinctions, got up in the bubble season. Willetts tells this history for a purpose. He wishes to show there is an inbuilt tendency by academic institutions to resist reform, dismiss new competitors as mere commercial ventures, and if possible strangle them at birth. And he wishes, as tactfully as he can, to say how wrong this is. For him the great expansion of university education which has taken place since the Second World War is a wonderful thing, and should continue, for it has transformed millions of lives. And it would be absurd and narrow-minded to suppose new institutions must simply ape the manners and education offered by Oxbridge. So he takes on Kingsley Amis, who in a famous essay in 1960 asserted that MORE will mean WORSE, and in Lucky Jim surely to this day the greatest comic novel set in a provincial university suggested students who were simply not up to it were being admitted to these new institutions, which then had a vested interest in covering up illiteracy. As Willetts points out, Lucky Jim was published in 1954, when 3.4 per cent of the population went to university, and even in 1960 the proportion was only five per cent: Amis clearly believed the rot had set in by 1954. Todays sceptics are often rather keen on the 1950s, whereas Amis is saying that things were bad even then, in the days of grammar schools and before Robbins Nor did the creation of universities like Warwick and York in the early 1960s cause a descent into barbarism as Amis feared. If Amis was wrong then it is quite possible the same argument is wrong now. Willetts goes on to mount a stout defence of the idea of a market in higher education, and of student fees, pointing out that these have not discouraged working-class applicants. It is reliance on public funding that leads to rationing: a truth borne out by the Scottish experience, but also by the training of doctors in England, which is so restricted that many perfectly good candidates are unable to obtain places. Carved in stone outside Heriot-Watt University, Willetts tells us, is Alex Salmonds statement: The rocks will melt with the sun before I allow tuition fees to be imposed on Scottish students. In Scotland, the proportion of young people from the lowest-income fifth of the population going to university has risen from 7.3 per cent in 2011 to 9.7 per cent in 2015, but in England it has gone up from 13.8 per cent to 17 per cent over the same period. There is a large amount of such information in Willettss book: too much to make it entirely attractive to the general reader. The policy wonk buries the lover of learning and beauty and jokes. He makes a strong case for a much wider education at the A-level stage, and says this should be the next big education reform. And he celebrates the international pulling power of our universities, wants this to increase and urges his successors to go on expanding: The Golden Triangle of Oxford/Cambridge/London has a strong claim to be one of the worlds great innovation clusters. There is, however, growing competition from hot areas of Europe, around, for example, Switzerlands excellent universities, and increasingly in China around Peking and Tsinghua Universities in Beijing and also Shanghai. To gain the greatest benefit from them, Oxford and Cambridge should already be much bigger cities than they are: it is a responsibility they cannot escape, especially as we saw in Chapter One that their prestige and status comes partly from centuries of blocking universities elsewhere. The biggest single constraint is planning especially in Oxford. There is an outrageous agreement between Oxford University and the city council which limits the number of students who will be placed in private rented accommodation, and so if the university or a college wishes to expand they have to build their own new accommodation first. Outrageous is a strong word for this author, but since it has been peer-reviewed, one supposes Oxford University Press knows what it is doing. For his next book, could Willetts write something much shorter and more personal? Few politicians have managed that, or thought it might be desirable. The joint project between Costa Cruises and food-bank charity Fondazione Banco Alimentare Onlus to recover surplus foods is evolving, according to a statement from the cruise line. An expanded relationship now sees surplus food not served aboard the Costa Diadema going to a local group in Rome that helps disadvantaged young people, Costa said. Five months after the program began in Savona, Costa said over 8,500 people in need have been fed. That number will only go up as the program continues in Savona and is expanded to Rome. From now on another 36 young people will benefit from very high-quality dishes, based both in taste and also nutritional value: this initiative makes us proud and repays all the efforts made to achieve this excellent result. We are ready to implement next steps of this important project, hoping that it will involve soon also the port of Palermo, said Marco Lucchini, general manager, Fondazione Banco Alimentare Onlus. Today marks another step forward in our drive against food waste. We began in Savona last summer, and now, by extending the program to Civitavecchia, we are giving a concrete sign of our commitment to roll it out to other Italian ports. We are very proud of this initiative, which is a world first in the cruise sector, and it has only been possible thanks to our partner Banco Alimentare. We will keep working to extend the program to other ships in the Costa fleet and to other Mediterranean ports of call, said Giuseppe Carino, Vice President Guest Experience at Costa Cruises. Deployed year-round in the Mediterranean, the Diadema calls in Rome (Civitavecchia) on Fridays. The day prior, all ready-to-eat dishes prepared in the restaurant areas but not served to guests will be collected, the company said. The meals will be placed in aluminum containers, which are then sealed, labeled and kept in on-board refrigerators. The next morning, after the ship moors in Civitavecchia, the containers will be unloaded and delivered to Banco Alimentare volunteers, who will take them to the charity La Repubblica dei Ragazzi, a community on the Aurelia road in Civitavecchia that provides support and education for young people. Somerset County inundated with accidents after Tuesday snowstorm Somerset County 911 dispatchers said they were inundated with emergency calls Tuesday because of the snow. Associated Banc-Corp, a bank holding company, provides various banking and nonbanking products to individuals and businesses in Wisconsin, Illinois, and Minnesota. The company operates through three segments: Corporate and Commercial Specialty; Community, Consumer, and Business; and Risk Management and Shared Services. Its Corporate and Commercial Specialty segment offers lending solutions, including commercial loans and lines of credit, commercial real estate financing, construction loans, letters of credit, leasing, asset based lending, and loan syndications; deposit and cash management solutions, such as commercial checking and interest-bearing deposit products, cash vault and night depository services, liquidity solutions, payables and receivables solutions, and information services; specialized financial services such as interest rate risk management, foreign exchange solutions, and commodity hedging; fiduciary services such as administration of pension, profit-sharing and other employee benefit plans, fiduciary and corporate agency services, and institutional asset management; and investable funds solutions such as savings, money market deposit accounts, IRA accounts, CDs, fixed and variable annuities, full-service, discount and online investment brokerage; investment advisory services; and trust and investment management accounts. The company's Community, Consumer, and Business segment offers lending solutions, such as residential mortgages, home equity loans and lines of credit, personal and installment loans, auto loans, business loans, and business lines of credit; and deposit and transactional solutions such as checking, credit, debit and pre-paid cards, online banking and bill pay; and money transfer services. As of December 31, 2021, the company operated 215 banking branches. Associated Banc-Corp was founded in 1861 and is headquartered in Green Bay, Wisconsin. General Mills, Inc. manufactures and markets branded consumer foods worldwide. The company operates in five segments: North America Retail; Convenience Stores & Foodservice; Europe & Australia; Asia & Latin America; and Pet. It offers ready-to-eat cereals, refrigerated yogurt, soup, meal kits, refrigerated and frozen dough products, dessert and baking mixes, bakery flour, frozen pizza and pizza snacks, snack bars, fruit and salty snacks, ice cream, nutrition bars, wellness beverages, and savory and grain snacks, as well as various organic products, including frozen and shelf-stable vegetables. It also supplies branded and unbranded food products to the North American foodservice and commercial baking industries; and manufactures and markets pet food products, including dog and cat food. The company markets its products under the Annie's, Betty Crocker, Bisquick, Blue Buffalo, Blue Basics, Blue Freedom, Bugles, Cascadian Farm, Cheerios, Chex, Cinnamon Toast Crunch, Cocoa Puffs, Cookie Crisp, EPIC, Fiber One, Food Should Taste Good, Fruit by the Foot, Fruit Gushers, Fruit Roll-Ups, Gardetto's, Go-Gurt, Gold Medal, Golden Grahams, Haagen-Dazs, Helpers, Jus-Rol, Kitano, Kix, Larabar, Latina, Liberte, Lucky Charms, Muir Glen, Nature Valley, Oatmeal Crisp, Old El Paso, Oui, Pillsbury, Progresso, Raisin Nut Bran, Total, Totino's, Trix, Wanchai Ferry, Wheaties, Wilderness, Yoki, and Yoplait trademarks. It sells its products directly, as well as through broker and distribution arrangements to grocery stores, mass merchandisers, membership stores, natural food chains, e-commerce retailers, commercial and noncommercial foodservice distributors and operators, restaurants, convenience stores, and pet specialty stores, as well as drug, dollar, and discount chains. The company operates 466 leased and 392 franchise ice cream parlors. General Mills, Inc. was founded in 1866 and is headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Boston Scientific Corporation develops, manufactures, and markets medical devices for use in various interventional medical specialties worldwide. It operates through three segments: MedSurg, Rhythm and Neuro, and Cardiovascular. The company offers devices to diagnose and treat gastrointestinal and pulmonary conditions; devices to treat various urological and pelvic conditions; implantable cardioverter and implantable cardiac resynchronization therapy defibrillators; pacemakers and implantable cardiac resynchronization therapy pacemakers; and remote patient management systems. It also provides medical technologies to diagnose and treat rate and rhythm disorders of the heart comprising 3-D cardiac mapping and navigation solutions, ablation catheters, diagnostic catheters, mapping catheters, intracardiac ultrasound catheters, delivery sheaths, and other accessories; spinal cord stimulator systems for the management of chronic pain; indirect decompression systems; and deep brain stimulation systems. In addition, the company offers interventional cardiology products, including drug-eluting coronary stent systems used in the treatment of coronary artery disease; percutaneous coronary interventions products to treat atherosclerosis; intravascular catheter-directed ultrasound imaging catheters, fractional flow reserve devices, and systems for use in coronary arteries and heart chambers, as well as various peripheral vessels; and structural heart therapies. Further, it provides stents, balloon catheters, wires, and atherectomy systems to treat arterial diseases; thrombectomy and acoustic pulse thrombolysis systems, wires, and stents to treat venous diseases; and peripheral embolization devices, radioactive microspheres, ablation systems, cryotherapy ablation systems, and micro and drainage catheters to treat cancer. The company was incorporated in 1979 and is headquartered in Marlborough, Massachusetts. Telefonica, S.A., together with its subsidiaries, provides telecommunications services in Europe and Latin America. The company's mobile and related services and products comprise mobile voice, value added, mobile data and Internet, wholesale, corporate, roaming, fixed wireless, and trunking and paging services. Its fixed telecommunication services include PSTN lines; ISDN accesses; public telephone services; local, domestic, and international long-distance and fixed-to-mobile communications; corporate communications; supplementary value-added services; video telephony; intelligent network; and telephony information services, as well as leases and sells handset equipment. The company also provides Internet and broadband multimedia services comprising Internet service provider, portal and network, retail and wholesale broadband access, narrowband switched access, high-speed Internet through fibre to the home, and voice over Internet protocol services. In addition, it offers leased line, virtual private network, fibre optics, web hosting and application, outsourcing and consultancy, desktop, and system integration and professional services. Further, the company offers wholesale services for telecommunication operators, including domestic interconnection and international wholesale services; leased lines for other operators; and local loop leasing services, as well as bit stream services, wholesale line rental accesses, and leased ducts for other operators' fiber deployment. Additionally, it provides video/TV services; smart connectivity and services, and consumer IoT products; financial and other payment, security, cloud computing, advertising, big data, and digital telco experience services; virtual assistants; digital home platforms; and Movistar Home devices. It also offers online telemedicine, home insurance, music streaming, and consumer loan services. The company was incorporated in 1924 and is headquartered in Madrid, Spain. VMware, Inc. provides software solutions in the areas of modern applications, cloud management and infrastructure, networking, security, and digital workspaces in the United States and internationally. It offers VMware multi-cloud solutions, including VMware vSphere, a data center infrastructure that provides the fundamental compute layer; vSAN and VxRail, which offers holistic data storage and protection options to applications running on vSphere; and vRealize Cloud Management solutions that manages hybrid and multi-cloud environments running in virtual machines and containers, as well as VMware Cloud Foundation, a cloud platform that combines its vSphere, vSAN, and NSX with vRealize Cloud Management into an integrated stack and delivers enterprise-ready cloud infrastructure for private and public clouds. The company also provides networking solutions, such as VMware NSX, NSX Distributed and Gateway Firewalls, NSX Network Detection and Response Engine, NSX Advanced Load Balancer, Tanzu Service Mesh, and VMware SASE; security solutions consisting of VMware Carbon Black Endpoint, Workload, and Container; and digital workspace solutions comprising Workspace ONE Unified Endpoint Management, Access, Intelligent Hub, and Horizon. In addition, it offers application modernization solutions, such as Tanzu Application and Operations Platform, Tanzu Application Service Platform, Tanzu Observability, Tanzu Community Edition, and Tanzu Labs; and cloud management solutions, including vRealize Cloud Management, vCloud Suite, and CloudHealth by VMware Suite. The company sells its products through distributors, resellers, system vendors, and systems integrators. VMware, Inc. has a strategic alliance with Amazon Web Services to build and deliver an integrated hybrid solution. The company was incorporated in 1998 and is headquartered in Palo Alto, California. Corning Incorporated engages in display technologies, optical communications, environmental technologies, specialty materials, and life sciences businesses worldwide. The company's Display Technologies segment offers glass substrates for liquid crystal displays and organic light-emitting diodes used in televisions, notebook computers, desktop monitors, tablets, and handheld devices. Its Optical Communications segment provides optical fibers and cables; and hardware and equipment products, including cable assemblies, fiber optic hardware and connectors, optical components and couplers, closures, network interface devices, and other accessories. This segment also offers its products to businesses, governments, and individuals. Its Specialty Materials segment manufactures products that provide material formulations for glass, glass ceramics, crystals, precision metrology instruments, software; as well as ultra-thin and ultra-flat glass wafers, substrates, tinted sunglasses, and radiation shielding products. This segment serves various industries, including mobile consumer electronics, semiconductor equipment optics and consumables; aerospace and defense optics; radiation shielding products, sunglasses, and telecommunications components. The company's Environmental Technologies segment offers ceramic substrates and filter products for emissions control in mobile, gasoline, and diesel applications. The company's Life Sciences segment offers laboratory products comprising consumables, such as plastic vessels, liquid handling plastics, specialty surfaces, cell culture media, and serum, as well as general labware and equipment under the Corning, Falcon, Pyrex, and Axygen brands. The company was formerly known as Corning Glass Works and changed its name to Corning Incorporated in April 1989. Corning Incorporated was founded in 1851 and is headquartered in Corning, New York. Sally Beauty Holdings, Inc. operates as a specialty retailer and distributor of professional beauty supplies. The company operates through two segments, Sally Beauty Supply and Beauty Systems Group. The Sally Beauty Supply segment offers beauty products, including hair color and care products, skin and nail care products, styling tools, and other beauty products for retail customers, salons, and salon professionals. This segment also provides products under third-party brands, such as Wella, Clairol, OPI, Conair, and L'Oreal, as well as exclusive-label brand merchandise. The Beauty Systems Group segment offers professional beauty products, such as hair color and care products, skin and nail care products, styling tools, and other beauty items directly to salons and salon professionals through its professional-only stores, e-commerce platforms, and sales force, as well as through franchised stores under the Armstrong McCall store name. This segment also sells products under third-party brands, such as Paul Mitchell, Wella, Matrix, Schwarzkopf, Kenra, Goldwell, Joico, and Olaplex. As of September 30, 2021, the company operated 4,777 stores, including 134 franchised units in the United States, Puerto Rico, Canada, Mexico, Chile, Peru, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Belgium, France, the Netherlands, Spain, and Germany. It also distributes its products through full-service/exclusive distributors, open-line distributors, direct sales, and mega-salon stores. Sally Beauty Holdings, Inc. was founded in 1964 and is headquartered in Denton, Texas. Morgan Stanley is the 6th largest financial institution in the US. The company is ranked 61st on the Forbes Fortune 500 list and is the 39th largest bank in the world. A financial holding company, Morgan Stanley provides a full range of financial services to clients around the world. Morgan Stanley was formed in 1935 as a result of the Glass-Steagall Act. Glass-Steagall separated commercial and investment banking in a way that forced the then-largest bank J.P. Morgan & Co to split into two groups. J.P. Morgan & Co. chose to retain the commercial side of the business while partners Henry S. Morga, grandson of J.P., and Harold Stanley took the investment end. In its first year, Morgan Stanley did 24% of the IPO business and maintains a lions share of the market to this day. The original company existed and grew through acquisitions until 1987 when it merged with Dean Witter Discover & Co. The new Morgan Stanley Dean Witter Discover & Co existed for 14 years until 2001 when the name was shortened back to Morgan Stanley. The bank is credited in part with both beginning and ending the financial crisis of 2007/2008. The Process Driven Trading unit lost $300 million in one day due to a short-squeeze that popped the bubble in the housing market. After teetering on the brink of failure Morgan Stanley agreed to become a bank holding company regulated by the Federal Reserve, a key factor in the original decision to split from parent J.P. Morgan & Co. Ironically when given the chance, present-day J.P. Morgan refused to buy Morgan Stanley but that was for the better. Today, Morgan Stanley operates through three segments via offices in 41 countries and employs more than 75,000 people. Revenue in 2021 topped $49 billion and total assets topped $1.15 trillion. The operating segments are Institutional Securities, Wealth Management, and Investment Management segments. The Institutional Securities segment is by far the largest and most profitable. It offers a range of services and products for businesses, institutions, and entities that include capital raising, strategic advisory, underwriting, advice on M&A, restructuring, and real estate. The Wealth Management segment provides brokerage and investment advisory services for individuals and employers. The services include brokerage, financial planning, company stock-plan administration, insurance, mortgage loans, lines of credit, and retirement planning. The Investment Management segment provides investment products to a range of institutions, organizations, corporations, and governments. EnPro Industries, Inc. engages in the design, development, manufacture, marketing, and service of engineered industrial products in the United States, Europe, and internationally. It operates through three segments: Sealing Technologies, Advanced Surface Technologies, and Engineered Materials. The Sealing Technologies segment offers single-use hygienic seals, tubing, components and assemblies; metallic, non-metallic, and composite material gaskets; compression packing products; hydraulic components; expansion joints; wall penetration products; and dynamic, flange, resilient metal, elastomeric, and custom-engineered mechanical seals for chemical and petrochemical processing, pulp and paper processing, power generation, food and pharmaceutical processing, primary metal manufacturing, mining, water and waste treatment, heavy-duty trucking, aerospace, medical, filtration, and semiconductor fabrication industries. This segment also provides aseptic fluid transfer products for the pharmaceutical and biopharmaceutical industries. The Advanced Surface Technologies segment offers cleaning, coating, testing, refurbishment, and verification services for critical components and assemblies used in semiconductor manufacturing equipment, as well as for critical applications in the space, aerospace, and defense markets; and specialized optical filters and thin-film coatings for various applications in the industrial technology, life sciences, and semiconductor markets. The Engineered Materials segment provides self-lubricating, non-rolling, metal polymer, engineered plastics, and fiber reinforced composite bearing products for various applications in the automotive, pharmaceutical, pulp and paper, natural gas, health, power generation, machine tools, air treatment, refining, petrochemical, and general industrial markets. The company was incorporated in 2002 and is headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina. The following companies are subsidiares of Illinois Tool Works: A V Co 1 Limited, A V Co 2 Limited, A V Co 3 Limited, ACCU-LUBE Manufacturing GmbH - Schmiermittel und -gerate -, AIP/BI Holdings Inc., Accessories Marketing Holding Corp., Advanced Molding Company Inc., Allen France SAS, Alpine Engineered Products, Alpine Systems Corporation, Anaerobicos S.r.l., AppliChem GmbH, Avery Berkel France, Avery India Limited, Avery Malaysia Sdn Bhd, Avery Weigh Tronix, Avery Weigh-Tronix Finance Limited, Avery Weigh-Tronix International Limited, Avery Weigh-Tronix LLC, Avery Weigh-Tronix Limited, Avery Weigh-Tronix Properties Limited, Avery Weigh-Tronix Suzhou Weighing Technology Co. Ltd., Azon Limited, B.C. Immo, Beijing Miller Electric Manufacturing Co. Ltd., Berkel Ireland Limited, Berrington UK, Brapenta Eletronica Ltda., Brooks Instrument B.V., Brooks Instrument GmbH, Brooks Instrument KFT, Brooks Instrument Korea Ltd., Brooks Instrument LLC, Brooks Instrument Shanghai Co. Ltd, Buell Industries Inc., CCI Realty Company, CFC Europe GmbH, CS Australia Pty Limited, CS Mexico Holding Company S DE RL DE CV, Calvia Spolka z Ograniczona Odpowiedzialnosci, Capital Ventures Australasia S.a r.l, Capmax Logistica S.A. de C.V., Celeste Industries Corporation, Coeur, Coeur Asia Limited, Coeur Holding Company, Coeur Inc., Coeur Shanghai Medical Appliance Trading Co. Ltd, Compagnie Hobart, Compagnie de Materiel et d'Equipements Techniques-Comet, Constructions Isothermiques Bontami C.I.B., Crane Carrier Company, Denison Mayes Group Limited, Despatch Industries, Diagraph Corporation Sdn. Bhd, Diagraph ITW Mexico S. de R.L. De C.V., Diagraph Mexico S.A. DE C.V., Dongguan Ark-Les Electric Components Co. Ltd., Dongguan CK Branding Co. Ltd., Duo Fast de Espana S.A.U., Duo-Fast Korea Co. Ltd., Duo-Fast LLC, E.C.S. d.o.o., E2M Production B.V.., E2M Technologies B.V.., E2M Technologies Inc.., ECS Cable Protection Sp. Zoo, ELRO Grosskuchen GmbH, ELRO Holding AG, ELRO-WERKE AG, Elro Group, Eltex-Elektrostatik-Gesellschaft mit beschrankter Haftung, Envases Multipac S.A. de C.V., Eurotec Srl, Exhibit 21, FEG Investments L.L.C., Filtertek De Mexico Holding Inc., Filtertek De Mexico S.A. de C.V., Filtertek SAS, GC Financement SA, Gamko B.V., Gun Hwa Platech Taicang Co. Ltd., HOBART Gesellschaft mit beschrankter Haftung, Hartness International, Hobart Andina S.A.S., Hobart Belgium B.V., Hobart Brothers International Chile Limitada, Hobart Brothers LLC, Hobart Dayton Mexicana S. de R.L. de C.V., Hobart Food Equipment Co. Ltd., Hobart International Singapore Pte. Ltd., Hobart Japan K.K., Hobart Korea LLC, Hobart LLC, Hobart Nederland B.V., Hobart Sales & Service Inc., Hobart Scandinavia ApS, Hobart Techniek B.V., Horis, ILC Investments Holdings Inc., ITW AEP LLC, ITW AOC LLC, ITW Aircraft Investments Inc., ITW Ampang Industries Philippines Inc., ITW Appliance Components EOOD, ITW Appliance Components S.A. de C.V., ITW Appliance Components S.r.l.a, ITW Appliance Components d.o.o., ITW Australia Holdings Pty Ltd, ITW Australia Property Holdings Pty Ltd., ITW Australia Pty Ltd, ITW Automotive Components Chongqing Co. Ltd., ITW Automotive Components Langfang Co. Ltd., ITW Automotive Japan K.K., ITW Automotive Korea LLC, ITW Automotive Parts Shanghai Co. Ltd, ITW Automotive Products GmbH, ITW Automotive Products Mexico S. de R.L. de C.V., ITW Bailly Comte, ITW Befestigungssysteme GmbH, ITW Belgium B.V., ITW Brazilian Nominee L.L.C., ITW Building Components Group Inc., ITW CER, ITW CP Distribution Center Holland BV, ITW CS UK Ltd., ITW Canada Inc., ITW Celeste Inc., ITW Chemical Products Ltda, ITW Chemical Products Scandinavia ApS, ITW China Investment Company Limited, ITW Colombia S.A.S., ITW Construction Products AB, ITW Construction Products AS, ITW Construction Products ApS, ITW Construction Products CZ s.r.o., ITW Construction Products Italy Srl, ITW Construction Products OU, ITW Construction Products OY, ITW Construction Products Shanghai Co. Ltd., ITW Construction Products Singapore Pte. Ltd., ITW Construction Services Manila Inc., ITW Contamination Control B.V., ITW Contamination Control Wujiang Co. Ltd., ITW Covid Security Group Inc., ITW DS Investments Inc., ITW DelFast do Brasil Ltda., ITW Denmark ApS, ITW Deutschland GmbH, ITW Diagraph GmbH, ITW Dynatec, ITW Dynatec Adhesive Equipment Suzhou Co. Ltd., ITW Dynatec GmbH, ITW Dynatec Kabushiki Kaisha, ITW EAE B.V., ITW EAE Mexico S de RL de CV, ITW EF&C France SAS, ITW EF&C Selb GmbH, ITW EU Holdings Ltd., ITW Electronic Business Asia Co. Limited, ITW Electronic Components/Products Shanghai Co. Ltd., ITW Electronics Suzhou Co. Ltd., ITW Epsilon Sarl, ITW Espana S.L., ITW European Finance Co. Ltd., ITW European Finance II Co. Ltd., ITW European Finance III Co. Ltd., ITW FEG Hong Kong Limited, ITW FEG do Brasil Industria e Comercio Ltda., ITW Fastener Products GmbH, ITW Fluids and Hygiene Solutions Ltda., ITW Food Equipment Group LLC, ITW GH LLC, ITW GSE ApS, ITW GSE Inc., ITW Gamma Sarl, ITW German Management LLC, ITW Global Investments Holdings LLC, ITW Global Investments Holdings Y Compania Sociedad en Comandita por Acciones, ITW Global Investments Inc., ITW Global Tire Repair Europe GmbH, ITW Global Tire Repair Inc., ITW Global Tire Repair Japan K.K., ITW Graphics Asia Limited, ITW Graphics Thailand Ltd., ITW Great Britain Investment & Licensing Holding Company, ITW Group France Luxembourg S.ar.l., ITW HLP Thailand Co. Ltd., ITW Holding Quimica B.C. S.L. Sole Shareholder Company, ITW Holdings Australia L.P., ITW Holdings I Limited, ITW Holdings II Limited, ITW Holdings III Limited, ITW Holdings IV Limited, ITW Holdings IX Limited, ITW Holdings Inc., ITW Holdings V Limited, ITW Holdings VI Limited, ITW Holdings VII Limited, ITW Holdings VIII Limited, ITW Holdings X Limited, ITW Holdings XI Limited, ITW ILC Holdings I Inc., ITW IPG Investments LLC, ITW Imaden Industria e Comercio Ltda., ITW India Private Limited, ITW International Holdings LLC, ITW Invest Holding GmbH, ITW Ireland Holdings Unlimited Company, ITW Ireland Unlimited Company, ITW Italy Holding Srl, ITW Japan Ltd., ITW Korea LLC, ITW LLC & Co. KG, ITW Limited, ITW Lys Fusion S.r.l., ITW Materials Technology Shanghai Co. Ltd., ITW Meritex Sdn. Bhd., ITW Metal Fasteners S.L., ITW Mexico Holding Company S. De R.L. de C.V., ITW Mexico Holdings LLC, ITW Morlock GmbH, ITW Mortgage Investments II Inc., ITW Mortgage Investments III Inc., ITW Mortgage Investments IV Inc., ITW Netherlands Administration BV, ITW Netherlands Beta B.V., ITW Netherlands Finance Alpha BV, ITW New Universal LLC, ITW New Zealand, ITW Ningbo Components & Fastenings Systems Co. Ltd., ITW Novadan Sp. Z.o.o., ITW PPF Brasil Adesivos Ltda., ITW Packaging Technology China Co. Ltd., ITW Participations S.a r.l., ITW Pension Funds Trustee Company, ITW Performance Polymers & Fluids Japan Co. Ltd., ITW Performance Polymers & Fluids Korea Limited, ITW Performance Polymers & Fluids OOO, ITW Performance Polymers ApS, ITW Performance Polymers Wujiang Co. Ltd., ITW Performance Polymers and Fluids Group FZE, ITW Peru S.A.C., ITW Poly Mex S. de R.L. de C.V., ITW Polymers Sealants North America Inc., ITW Pronovia s.r.o., ITW Pte. Ltd., ITW Qufu Automotive Cooling Systems Co. Ltd., ITW Real Estate Germany GmbH, ITW Residuals III L.L.C., ITW Residuals IV L.L.C., ITW Rivex, ITW SMPI, ITW SPG Mexico S. de R.L. de C.V., ITW Simco-Ion Shenzhen Co. Ltd., ITW Slovakia s.r.o., ITW Spain Holdings S.L., ITW Specialty Film LLC, ITW Specialty Films France, ITW Specialty Materials Suzhou Co. Ltd., ITW Sverige AB, ITW Sweden Holding AB, ITW Test & Measurement Equipment Shanghai Co. Ltd, ITW Test & Measurement GmbH, ITW Test and Measurement Italia Srl, ITW Test and Measurement Services Industry and Trade Ltd., ITW Texwipe Philippines Inc., ITW Thermal Films Shanghai Co. Ltd., ITW UK, ITW UK Finance Beta Limited, ITW UK Finance Delta Limited, ITW UK Finance Gamma Limited, ITW UK Finance Limited, ITW UK Finance Zeta Ltd., ITW UK II Limited, ITW Universal II LLC, ITW Welding, ITW Welding AB, ITW Welding GmbH, ITW Welding Products B.V., ITW Welding Products Group FZE, ITW Welding Products Group S. DE R.L. De C.V., ITW Welding Products Italy Srl, ITW Welding Products Limited Liability Company, ITW Welding Produtos Para Solgdagem Ltda., ITW Welding Singapore Pte. Ltd., ITW de France, ITW do Brasil Industrial e Comercial Ltda., Illinois Tool Works Chile Limitada, Illinois Tool Works ITW Nederland B.V., Illinois Tool Works Inc., Impar Comercio E Representacoes Ltda., Industrie Plastic Elsasser GmbH, Inmobiliaria Cit. S.A. de C.F., Innova Temperlite Servicios S.A. de C.V., Innovacion y Transformacion Automotriz S.A. de C.V., Instron Brasil Equipamentos Cientificos Ltda., Instron Foreign Sales Corp. Limited, Instron France S.A.S., Instron GmbH, Instron Japan Company Ltd., Instron Korea LLC, Instron Shanghai Ltd., Instron Thailand Limited, International Leasing Company LLC, Isolenge - ITW Sistemas de Isolamento Termico Ltda., Itw Spraytec, KCPL Mauritius Holdings, Kester, Kleinmann GmbH, Krafft S.L., Loma Systems, Loma Systems BV, Loma Systems Canada Inc., Loma Systems sro, Lombard Pressings Limited, Lumex Inc., Lys Fusion Poland Sp. z.o.o., M&C Specialties Co., MAGNAFLUX GmbH, MEHB Holdings Limited, MGHG Property LLC, MTS 2 LLC., MTS 3 LLC., MTS China Holdings LLC, MTS Europe Holdings LLC, MTS Holdings France S.a.r.l., MTS Japan Ltd.., MTS Korea Inc.., MTS Systems China Co. Ltd., MTS Systems Corporation, MTS Systems Danmark ApS., MTS Systems Europe B.V., MTS Systems Finance C.V.., MTS Systems Germany GmbH, MTS Systems Holding B.V.., MTS Systems Hong Kong Incorporated, MTS Systems Limited, MTS Systems Norden Aktiebolag, MTS Systems S.r.l, MTS Systems., MTS Systems.., MTS Sytems Do Brazil, MTS Testing Solutions India Private Limited., MTS Testing Systems Canada Ltd., Manufacturing Avancee S.A., Meritex Technology Suzhou Co. Ltd., Meurer Verpackungssysteme GmbH, Miller Electric Mfg. LLC, Miller Insurance Ltd., NDT Holding LLC, NOVADAN APS, North Star Imaging Inc., Nova Chimica S.r.l., Orbitalum Tools GmbH, PENTA-91 OOO, PR. A. I. Srl, PT ITW Construction Products Indonesia, Pacific Concept Industries Limited Enping, Panreac Quimica S.L., Paslode Fasteners Shanghai Co. Ltd., Peerless Machinery Corp., Polyrey, Premark FEG L.L.C., Premark HII Holdings LLC, Premark International, Premark International LLC, Prolex Sociedad Anonima, QSA Global Inc., Quimica Industrial Mediterranea S.L., R&D Engineering A/S., R&D Prague s.r.o., R&D Steel ApS., R&D Test Systems A/S., R&D Tools and Structures A/S., RDGDK Engineering Private Limited, Ramset Fasteners Hong Kong Ltd., Rapid Cook LLC, Refrigeration France, S.E.E. Sistemas Industria E Comercio Ltda., ST Mexico Holdings LLC, Sealant Systems International Inc., Sentinel Asia Yuhan Hoesa, Shanghai ITW Plastic & Metal Co. Ltd, Simco Japan Inc., Simco Nederland B.V., Societe de Prospection et dInventions Techniques SPIT, Speedline Holdings I Inc., Speedline Holdings I LLC, Speedline Technologies GmbH, Speedline Technologies Mexico S. de R.L. de C.V., Speedline Technologies Mexico Services S. de R.L. de C.V., Stokvis Celix Portugal Unipessoal LDA, Stokvis Danmark ApS, Stokvis Holdings S.A.R.L., Stokvis Promi s.r.o, Stokvis Prostick Tapes Private Limited, Stokvis Tapes B.V., Stokvis Tapes Benelux B.V., Stokvis Tapes Deutschland GmbH, Stokvis Tapes France, Stokvis Tapes Hong Kong Co. Limited, Stokvis Tapes Italia s.r.l., Stokvis Tapes Limited, Stokvis Tapes Limited Liability Company, Stokvis Tapes Norge AS, Stokvis Tapes Oy, Stokvis Tapes Polska Sp Z.O.O., Stokvis Tapes Shanghai Co. Ltd., Stokvis Tapes Sverige AB, Stokvis Tapes Taiwan Co. Ltd., Stokvis Tapes Tianjin Co. Ltd., Stolvis Holdings II S.A.R.L., Subsidiaries, Technopack Industria Comercio Consultoria e Representacoes Ltda., Teknek China Limited, Teknek Japan Limited, Teksaleco Ltd., The Miller Group Ltd, Thirode Grandes Cuisines Poligny, Tien Tai Electrode Co. Ltd., Tien Tai Electrode Kunshan Co. Ltd., Unichemicals Industria e Comercio Ltda., VR-Leasing Sarita GmbH & Co. Immobilien KG, VS European Holdco BV, Valeron Strength Films B.V., Veneta Decalcogomme S.r.l., Versachem Chile S.A., Vesta, Vesta Global Limited, Vesta Guangzhou Catering Equipment Co. Ltd, Viltronics Soltec, Vitronics Soltec B.V., Wachs Canada Ltd., Wachs Subsea LLC, Weigh-Tronix Canada ULC, Weigh-Tronix UK Limited, Wilsonart International Holdings LLC, Wynn Oil South Africa Pty Ltd., Wynn's Automotive France, Wynn's Belgium BVBA, Wynn's Italia Srl, Wynn's Mekuba India Pvt Ltd, and Zip-Pak International B.V.. Read More United Technologies Corporation provides technology products and services to building systems and aerospace industries worldwide. Its Otis segment designs, manufactures, sells, and installs passenger and freight elevators, escalators, and moving walkways; and offers modernization products to upgrade elevators and escalators, as well as maintenance and repair services. The company's Carrier segment provides heating, ventilating, air conditioning, refrigeration, fire, security, and building automation products, solutions, and services for commercial, government, infrastructure, residential, and refrigeration and transportation applications. This segment also offers building services, including audit, design, installation, system integration, repair, maintenance, and monitoring. Its Pratt & Whitney segment supplies aircraft engines for commercial, military, business jet, and general aviation markets; and provides aftermarket maintenance, repair, and overhaul, as well as fleet management services. The company's Collins Aerospace Systems segment provides electric power generation, power management, and distribution systems; air data and aircraft sensing systems; engine control, intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance systems; engine components; environmental control systems; fire and ice detection, and protection systems; propeller systems; engine nacelle systems; aircraft lighting, seating, and cargo systems; actuation and landing systems; space products and subsystems; avionics systems; flight controls, communications, navigation, oxygen, and training systems; food and beverage preparation, and storage and galley systems; and lavatory and wastewater management systems. The company offers its services through manufacturers' representatives, distributors, wholesalers, dealers, retail outlets, and sales representatives, as well as directly to customers. United Technologies Corporation was founded in 1934 and is headquartered in Farmington, Connecticut. Tyler Technologies, Inc. provides integrated information management solutions and services for the public sector. The company operates in three segments: Enterprise Software; Appraisal and Tax; and NIC. It offers financial management solutions, including modular fund accounting systems for government agencies or not-for-profit entities; utility billing systems for the billing and collection of metered and non-metered services; products to automate city and county functions, such as municipal courts, parking tickets, equipment and project costing, animal and business licenses, permits and inspections, code enforcement, citizen complaint tracking, ambulance billing, fleet maintenance, and cemetery records management; and student information and transportation solutions for K-12 schools. The company also provides a suite of judicial solutions comprising court case management, court and law enforcement, prosecutor, and supervision systems to handle multi-jurisdictional county or statewide implementations, and single county systems; public safety software solutions; systems and software to automate the appraisal and assessment of real and personal property, as well as tax applications for agencies that bill and collect taxes; planning, regulatory, and maintenance software solutions for public sector agencies; software applications to enhance and automate operations involving records and document management; and data and insights solutions. In addition, it offers software as a service arrangements and electronic document filing solutions for courts and law offices; software and hardware installation, data conversion, training, product modification, and maintenance and support services; and property appraisal outsourcing services for taxing jurisdictions. The company has a strategic collaboration agreement with Amazon Web Services for cloud hosting services. Tyler Technologies, Inc. was founded in 1966 and is headquartered in Plano, Texas. Juniper Networks, Inc. designs, develops, and sells network products and services worldwide. The company offers routing products, such as ACX series universal access routers to deploy high-bandwidth services; MX series Ethernet routers that function as a universal edge platform; PTX series packet transport routers; wide-area network SDN controllers; and session smart routers. It also provides switching products, including EX series Ethernet switches to address the access, aggregation, and core layer switching requirements of micro branch, branch office, and campus environments; QFX series of core, spine, and top-of-rack data center switches; and juniper access points, which provide Wi-Fi access and performance. In addition, the company offers security products comprising SRX series services gateways for the data center; Branch SRX family provides an integrated and next-generation firewall; virtual firewall that delivers various features of physical firewalls; and advanced malware protection, a cloud-based service and Juniper ATP. Further, it offers Junos OS, a network operating system; Contrail networking, which provides an open-source and standards-based platform for SDN; Mist AI-driven Wired, Wireless, and WAN assurance solutions to set and measure key metrics; Mist AI-driven Marvis Virtual Network Assistant, which identifies the root cause of issues; Juniper Paragon Automation, a modular portfolio of cloud-native software applications; and Juniper Apstra to automate the network lifecycle in a single system. Additionally, the company provides software-as-a-service, technical support, maintenance, and professional services, as well as education and training programs. It sells its products through direct sales, distributors, value-added resellers, and original equipment manufacturers to end-users in the cloud, service provider, and enterprise markets. The company was incorporated in 1996 and is headquartered in Sunnyvale, California. Kinder Morgan, Inc. operates as an energy infrastructure company in North America. The company operates through four segments: Natural Gas Pipelines, Products Pipelines, Terminals, and CO2. The Natural Gas Pipelines segment owns and operates interstate and intrastate natural gas pipeline, and underground storage systems; natural gas gathering systems and natural gas processing and treating facilities; natural gas liquids fractionation facilities and transportation systems; and liquefied natural gas liquefaction and storage facilities. The Products Pipelines segment owns and operates refined petroleum products, and crude oil and condensate pipelines; and associated product terminals and petroleum pipeline transmix facilities. The Terminals segment owns and/or operates liquids and bulk terminals that stores and handles various commodities, including gasoline, diesel fuel, chemicals, ethanol, metals, and petroleum coke; and owns tankers. The CO2 segment produces, transports, and markets CO2 to recovery and production crude oil from mature oil fields; owns interests in/or operates oil fields and gasoline processing plants; and operates a crude oil pipeline system in West Texas, as well as owns and operates RNG and LNG facilities. It owns and operates approximately 83,000 miles of pipelines and 143 terminals. The company was formerly known as Kinder Morgan Holdco LLC and changed its name to Kinder Morgan, Inc. in February 2011. Kinder Morgan, Inc. was founded in 1936 and is headquartered in Houston, Texas. Greenhill & Co., Inc., an independent investment bank, provides financial and strategic advisory services to corporations, partnerships, institutional investors, and governments worldwide. The company offers advisory services related to mergers and acquisitions, divestitures, restructurings, financings, private capital raising, and other similar transactions. It also advises clients on strategic matters, including activist shareholder defense, special committee projects, licensing deals, and joint ventures; and valuation, negotiation tactics, industry dynamics, structuring alternatives, and timing and pricing of transactions, as well as financing alternatives. In addition, the company provides restructuring advisory services to debtors, creditors, governments, and other stakeholders, and acquirers of distressed companies and assets; and advice on restructuring alternatives, capital structures, and sales or recapitalizations. Further, it assists clients in identifying and capitalizing on incremental sources of value; and on court-assisted reorganizations by developing and seeking approval for plans of reorganization, as well as the implementation of such plans. Additionally, the company advises on private placements of debt and structured equity, refinancing of existing debt facilities, negotiating the modification, and amendment of covenants, as well as acts as an independent advisor. It also offers financial advisory services to pension funds, endowments, and other institutional investors on transactions involving alternative assets; and advice to alternative asset fund sponsors for private capital raising, financing, restructuring, liquidity options, valuation, and related services. The company was founded in 1996 and is headquartered in New York, New York. IG Design Group plc designs, manufactures, and distributes celebrations, craft and creative play, stationery, gifting, and not for re-sale consumable products in the Americas, the United Kingdom, and internationally. It provides celebrations products, including greetings cards, gift wraps, Christmas crackers, gift bags, and partyware products, as well as gift accessories, such as tags, strings, ribbons, and bows; and gifting products comprise frames, albums, calendars and diaries, as well as food and non-food gifts. The company also offers ribbons and trims, sewing patterns, buttons, needlecrafts, and kids craft lines; stationery products, including pencils, pens, notebooks, pencil cases, clips, journals, etc. for use in education, commercial, and home settings; and bin liners, refuse sacks, food bags, and other collateral products, as well as paper twist handle bags. It serves retailers, other manufacturers and wholesalers of greetings products, service merchandisers, and trading companies. The company was formerly known as International Greetings plc and changed its name to IG Design Group plc in June 2016. IG Design Group plc was incorporated in 1978 and is based in Newport Pagnell, the United Kingdom. Olin Corporation manufactures and distributes chemical products in the United States, Europe, and internationally. It operates through three segments: Chlor Alkali Products and Vinyls; Epoxy; and Winchester. The Chlor Alkali Products and Vinyls segment offers chlorine and caustic soda, ethylene dichloride and vinyl chloride monomers, methyl chloride, methylene chloride, chloroform, carbon tetrachloride, perchloroethylene, hydrochloric acid, hydrogen, bleach products, potassium hydroxide, chlorinated organics intermediates and solvents, and sodium hypochlorite. The Epoxy segment provides epoxy materials and precursors, including aromatics, such as acetone, bisphenol, cumene, and phenol, as well as allyl chloride, epichlorohydrin, and glycerin used for the manufacturers of polymers, resins and other plastic materials, and water purification; liquid and solid epoxy resins that are used in adhesives, marines, protective coatings, composites, and flooring; and converted epoxy resins and additives for use in electrical laminates, paints and coatings, wind blades, electronics, and construction. The Winchester segment offers sporting ammunition products, including shotshells, small caliber centerfire, and rimfire ammunition products for hunters and recreational shooters, and law enforcement agencies; small caliber military ammunition products for use in infantry and mounted weapons; and industrial products comprising gauge loads and powder-actuated tool loads for maintenance applications in power and concrete industries, and powder-actuated tools in construction industry. The company markets its products through its sales force, as well as directly to various industrial customers, mass merchants, retailers, wholesalers, other distributors, and the U.S. Government and its prime contractors. Olin Corporation was incorporated in 1892 and is based in Clayton, Missouri. PLDT Inc. provides telecommunications and digital services in the Philippines. It operates through three segments: Wireless, Fixed Line, and Others. The company offers cellular mobile, Internet broadband distribution, operations support, software development, and satellite information and messaging services; and sells Wi-Fi access equipment. It also provides fixed line telecommunications services; business infrastructure and solutions; intelligent data processing and implementation, and data analytics insight generation services; and information and communications infrastructure for Internet-based services, e-commerce, customer relationship management, and information technology (IT) related services. In addition, the company offers managed IT outsourcing, Internet-based purchasing, IT consulting and professional, bills printing and other related value-added, and air transportation services; distributes Filipino channels and content services; and provides full-services customer rewards and loyalty programs. Further, it engages in the sale of mobile handsets, broadband data routers, tablets, and accessories, as well as provides domestic leased lines and alternative messaging solutions, such as over-the-top services, social media, and messenger application. As of December 31, 2021, it had 71,221,952 mobile broadband subscribers; 3,619,372 fixed line subscribers; and 2.8 million broadband subscribers. The company was formerly known as Philippine Long Distance Telephone Company and changed its name to PLDT Inc. in July 2016. PLDT Inc. was incorporated in 1928 and is headquartered in Makati City, the Philippines. Principal Financial Group, Inc. provides retirement, asset management, and insurance products and services to businesses, individuals, and institutional clients worldwide. The company operates through Retirement and Income Solutions, Principal Global Investors, Principal International, and U.S. Insurance Solutions segments. The Retirement and Income Solutions segment provides a portfolio of asset accumulation products and services for retirement savings and income. It offers products and services for defined contribution plans, including 401(k) and 403(b) plans, defined benefit pension plans, nonqualified executive benefit plans, employee stock ownership plans, equity compensation, and pension risk transfer services; individual retirement accounts; investment only products; and mutual funds, individual variable annuities, and bank products. The Principal Global Investors segment provides equity, fixed income, real estate, and other alternative investments, as well as asset allocation, stable value management, and other structured investment strategies. The Principal International segment offers pension accumulation products and services, mutual funds, asset management, income annuities, and life insurance accumulation products, as well as voluntary savings plans in Brazil, Chile, Mexico, China, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, India, and Southeast Asia. The U.S. Insurance Solutions segment provides specialty benefits, such as group dental and vision insurance, group life insurance, and group and individual disability insurance, as well as administers group dental, disability, and vision benefits; and individual life insurance products comprising universal, variable universal, indexed universal, and term life insurance products in the United States. It also offers insurance solutions for small and medium-sized businesses and their owners, as well as executives. Principal Financial Group, Inc. was founded in 1879 and is based in Des Moines, Iowa. This is a current list of the top 250 companies by market capitalization on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE). Learn more . The New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) is one of the largest, and most recognizable, stock exchanges in the world. The NYSE is in New York City, New York at 11 Wall Street. The NYSE has been in existence since the earliest days of the United States becoming a nation, in 1792 and is primarily made up of blue-chip companies with large market capitalizations. In fact, many of the stocks that make up the Dow Jones Composite Index (i.e. The Dow) are listed on the NYSE. This article gives a brief history of the New York Stock Exchange. In addition, it covers topics such as what kind of stocks trade on the exchange, what are the listing requirements, how trading is performed, and what the daily price movement of the NYSE tells investors about investor sentiment. What Were the Origins of the NYSE? Today, the New York Stock Exchange is known as the center of the financial universe. However, the exchanges origin is far more humble. On May 17, 1792, 24 stockbrokers signed the Buttonwood Agreement creating a centralized exchange to help provide order to the securities market in what was still a young nation. The "Buttonwood Agreement comes from the tree of the same name under which the founders signed the agreement. An initial benefit of the exchange was how it removed the need for auctioneers when trading commodities like wheat and tobacco and to set a commission rate. The exchange initially focused on government bonds. However, the exchange had no formal home. Business was usually conducted informally in the local coffeehouses. In 1817, the exchange changed its name to the New York Stock & Exchange Board which later became the New York Stock Exchange. At this time, the exchange adopted a constitution that set the rules for trading. A group of stockbrokers met twice a day at 40 Wall Street to trade 30 stocks and bonds. Over time, the exchange moved became the financial hub of the country and moved to its current location in 1865. What Kind of Stocks Trade on the NYSE? As of June 2022, the NYSE includes approximately 2,400 companies with a market capitalization of over $28.2 trillion. Although the NYSE trades stocks of all market capitalizations, its best known for trading the stocks of large cap companies. These have the benefit of being mature companies in mature industries. And many of these companies reward shareholders with dividends. However, that also means that many of these companies are better suited for value investors as opposed to growth investors. In bear markets this stability can be a benefit for investors as these stocks tend to perform less bad than more volatile stocks. But in a bull market, these stocks are not likely to provide investors with the growth that they look for. An interesting fact about how the NYSE and NASDAQ operate is that the companies with the five largest market caps on the NYSE are also listed on the NASDAQ exchange. What Are the Listing Requirements For the NYSE? The NYSE has strict guidelines that govern the types of companies that can list on the exchange. Here are the major requirements that all companies must meet: The company must have at least 2,200 shareholders The company must trade over 100,000 shares per month The company must have a market valuation of over $100 million The company must generate more than $75 million in annual revenue However, there is at least one advantage of having such stringent requirements. That is the companies that meet the requirements generally find it easier to get more investors funds when they hold their initial public offering (IPO). Once a company begins trading on the NYSE, it must continue to meet these requirements. If it doesnt it can be delisted. In addition to these requirements, the stock must continue to trade above $1. If the price of a stock drops below $1 for more than 29 consecutive trading days, the stock receives an Initial Price Violation Notice. At that point, the company has 10 days to provide the exchange with a plan for bringing their shares above $1. How are Trades Executed on the NYSE? For over a century, the floor of the NYSE was the place for investors to be. This meant trades were conducted by traders who ran buy and sell orders across the trading floor looking to broker a deal for their clients. But with the birth of the NASDAQ exchange in 1971, the New York Stock Exchange began conducting electronic trading. However, the NYSE continues to conduct trades in an auction style. Brokers purchase stocks on behalf of their clients or firms. Every order features a broker who will enter the order electronically and a specialist who serves as the market maker for that stock. The specialist posts bid and ask prices and manages the actual execution of the trades. And there are still a handful of stockbrokers who still traffic buy and sell orders physically on the floor of the exchange. How Does the NYSE Signal Investor Sentiment? Like its counterpart, the NASDAQ, the NYSE measures the risk appetite of investors. When the NYSE is moving higher over a length of time, it signals that a risk on environment. Conversely when the NYSE moves lower over a significant period, it signals that investors are moving to a risk off position. Some Final Thoughts on the NYSE Financial news networks plan their programming schedule around the opening and closing bell of the New York Stock Exchange. Its still considered a distinguished honor when individuals or groups are invited to ring the opening bell. In fact, Warren Buffett is attributed with saying that in the short term, the stock market acts like a voting machine. A fact that many U.S. presidents will attest to. The NYSE is the oldest and most recognizable of all the stock exchanges. It also has the most stringent requirements for inclusion. And those requirements must be maintained even after a stock begins publicly trading on the exchange. Although the NYSE still has a small in-person Trading Floor, much of the trading is done electronically to provide traders with the speed to execute trades. The following companies are subsidiares of Marsh & McLennan Companies: 8WORKS INC., 8WORKS LTD, A. Constantinidi & CIA. S.C., A.C.N. 000 951 146 Pty Limited, A.C.N. 001 572 961 Pty Limited, A.C.N. 076 935 683 Pty Limited, A.C.N. 102 322 574 Pty Limited, ACE Insurance Agents Limited, ACE Insurance Consultants Limited, ACE Insurance and Reinsurance Brokers Limited, AD Corretora de Seguros, AFCO Premium Acceptance Inc., AFCO Premium Credit LLC, Access Equity Enhanced Fund GP LLC, Admiral Holdings Limited, Agnew Higgins Pickering & Co. (Bermuda) Ltd, Aldgate Investments Limited, Aldgate Trustees Ltd, Alexander Forbes Group Holdings Limited, Alpha Consultants Limited, Alta SA, Altius Real Assets (GP) LLC, Amal Insurance Brokers Limited (in liquidation), Anda Insurance Agencies Pte Ltd, AssetVal Pty Ltd, Assur Conseils Marsh S.A., Assurance Capital Corporation, Assurance Services Corporation, Australian Insurance Brokers Pty Ltd, Australian World Underwriters Pty Ltd., BBPS Limited, Barney & Barney Orange County LLC, Beaumonts (Leeds) Limited (in liquidation), Beaumonts Insurance Brokers Limited (in liquidation), Beaumonts Insurance Services Limited, Beneficios Integrales Oportunos SA, Benefitfocus Inc., Blue Marble Micro Limited, Blue Marble Microinsurance Inc., Bluefin, Bluefin Insurance Group Limited, Bluefin Insurance Services Limited, Boulder Claims LLC, Bowring (Bermuda) Investments Ltd., Bowring Marine Limited, Bowring Marsh (Bermuda) Ltd., Bowring Marsh (Hong Kong) Limited, Bowring Marsh Asia Pte. Ltd., Bowring Marsh Corretora de Resseguros Ltda., Bowring Marsh Limited, Broderick Piller Pty Ltd, Broker 2 Broker Limited, BuildPay LLC, Burke Ford Trustees (Leicester) Limited, C.T. Bowring Limited, CMC-Belgibo NV, CPRM Limited, CPSG Partners LLC, Carpenter Marsh Fac Chile Corredores de Reaseguros Limitada, Carpenter Marsh Fac Colombia Corredores de Reaseguros S.A., Carpenter Marsh Fac Peru Corredores de Reaseguros S.A.C., Carpenter Marsh Fac Re LLC, Carpenter Turner Cyprus Ltd, Carpenter Turner S.A., Cascade International Holdings C.V., Cascade Regional Holdings Limited, Central Insurance Services Limited, Charter Risk Management Services LLC, Chartwell Healthcare Limited, Chronos Insurance Brokers Pty Limited, Claims and Recovery Management (Australia) Pty Limited, Clark Thomson Insurance Brokers Limited, Client Provide Limited, Colombian Insurance Broking Wholesale Limited, Consultores 2020 C.A., Cronin & Co Insurance Services Limited, DVA - Deutsche Verkehrs-Assekuranz-Vermittlungs GmbH, Dawson Insurance, DeLima Marsh S.A. - Los Corredores de Seguros S.A., Dovetail Insurance Corp., Dovetail Insurance Corp., Dovetail Managing General Agency Corporation, Dovetail Technology Service India Private Limited, Draw Connect Limited, Draw Create Limited, Draw Group London Limited, Eagle & Crown Limited, Echelon Australia Pty Limited, Echelon Claims Consultants Sdn Bhd, Echelon New Zealand Limited, EnBW Versicherungs Vermittlung GmbH, Encompass Insurance Agency Pty Ltd., English Pension Trustees Limited, Epsilon (US) Insurance Company, Epsilon Insurance Company Ltd., Eustis Insurance & Benefits, Evolution Management Ltd, Exchange Insurance Services Limited (in liquidation), Exmoor Management Company Limited, Faulkner & Flynn LLC, Freedom Trust Services Limited, GC Genesis LLC, GCube Insurance Services Inc, GCube Underwriting Limited, Gama Consultores Associados Ltda., Gem Insurance Company Limited, Global Premium Finance Company, GrECo International Holding AG, Gracechurch Trustees Limited, Gresham Pension Trustees Limited, Group Promoters Pty Limited, Guy Carpenter & Cia (Mexico) S.A. de C.V., Guy Carpenter & Cia. S.A., Guy Carpenter & Co. Labuan Ltd., Guy Carpenter & Company AB, Guy Carpenter & Company Corredores de Reaseguros Limitada, Guy Carpenter & Company Corretora de Resseguros Ltda., Guy Carpenter & Company GmbH, Guy Carpenter & Company LLC, Guy Carpenter & Company Limited, Guy Carpenter & Company Limited, Guy Carpenter & Company Ltd./Guy Carpenter & Compagnie Ltee, Guy Carpenter & Company Participacoes Ltda., Guy Carpenter & Company Peru Corredores de Reaseguros S.A., Guy Carpenter & Company Private Limited, Guy Carpenter & Company Proprietary Limited, Guy Carpenter & Company Pty. Ltd., Guy Carpenter & Company S.A., Guy Carpenter & Company S.A. (Uruguay), Guy Carpenter & Company S.A.S., Guy Carpenter & Company S.r.l., Guy Carpenter (Middle East) Limited, Guy Carpenter Bermuda Ltd., Guy Carpenter Broking Inc., Guy Carpenter Colombia Corredores de Reaseguros Ltda., Guy Carpenter Insurance Brokers (Beijing) Co. Ltd., Guy Carpenter Japan Inc., Guy Carpenter Mexico Intermediario de Reaseguro S.A. de C.V., Guy Carpenter Reasurans Brokerligi Anonim Sirketi, HAPIP GP 2009 LLC, HAPIP GP LLC, HSBC Insurance Brokers International (Abu Dhabi) LLC (in liquidation), Hamilton Bond Limited, Hansen International Limited, Hayward Aviation Limited, INSIA Europe SE, INSIA SK s.r.o., INSIA a.s., INSURANCE BROKERS OF NIGERIA LIMITED, IRC Asia Insurance Brokers Limited, InSolutions Limited, Industrial Risks Protection Consultants, Ingeseg S. A., Ingeseg S.A., Insbrokers Ltda., InsurTech Alliance LLC, Insure Direct (Brokers) LLC, Insure Direct (Brokers) LLC [BAHRAIN BRANCH], Insure Direct - Jardine Lloyd Thompson Limited, International Catastrophe Insurance Managers LLC, International Loss Control Services Limited, International Risk Consultants (Asia) Limited, Invercol Limited, Irish Pensions Trust Limited, Isosceles Insurance (Barbados) Limited, Isosceles Insurance Company Limited, Isosceles Insurance Ltd, Isosceles PCC Limited, J&H Marsh & McLennan Limited, J.W. Terrill Benefit Administrators Inc., JI Holdings Limited, JIB Group Holdings Limited, JIB Group Limited, JIB Holdings (Pacific) Limited, JIB Overseas Holdings Limited, JIB UK Holdings Limited, JL Marine Insurance-Brokers GmbH & Co. KG, JLM Verwaltungs GmbH, JLT (Insurance Brokers) Limited, JLT Actuaries and Consultants Limited, JLT Advisory Limited, JLT Affinity Colombia Solutions SAS, JLT Agencies Limited, JLT Asesorias Ltda, JLT Asia Holdings BV, JLT Asia Shared Services Sdn Bhd, JLT Belgibo, JLT Benefit Consultants Limited, JLT Benefit Solutions Limited, JLT Benefit Solutions SA (Pty) Ltd, JLT Bermuda Ltd, JLT Brasil Holdings Participacoes Ltd, JLT Chile Holdings SpA, JLT Colombia Retail Limited, JLT Colombia Wholesale Limited, JLT Consultants & Actuaries Limited, JLT EB Holdings Limited, JLT EB Services Limited, JLT Employee Benefits Holding Company (PTY) LTD, JLT Employee Benefits SA (Pty) Ltd, JLT Financial Planning Limited, JLT France Holdings, JLT Group Services Pty Limited, JLT Holdings (Barbados) Ltd, JLT Holdings (NZ) Limited, JLT Independent Insurance Brokers Private Limited, JLT Insurance Agencies Limited, JLT Insurance Brokers Co. Limited, JLT Insurance Brokers Co. Limited ( Shanghai Branch), JLT Insurance Brokers Co. Limited (Beijing Branch), JLT Insurance Brokers Co. Limited (Guangzhou Branch), JLT Insurance Brokers Ireland Limited, JLT Insurance Brokers SA, JLT Insurance Group Holdings Ltd, JLT Insurance Management Malta Limited, JLT Intellectual Property Limited, JLT Intellectual Property [UK Branch], JLT Interactive Pte. Ltd., JLT Investment Management Limited, JLT LATAM (Southern Cone) Wholesale Limited, JLT Latin American Holdings Limited, JLT Life Assurance Brokers Limited, JLT Management Services Limited, JLT Marine (Pty) Ltd, JLT Mexico Holdings Limited, JLT Mexico Intermediario de Reaseguro S.A. de C.V., JLT Netherlands BV, JLT Norway AS, JLT PLA, JLT Pension Trustees Limited, JLT Pensions Administration Holdings Limited, JLT Pensions Administration Limited, JLT Peru Reinsurance Solutions Limited, JLT Peru Retail Limited, JLT Peru Wholesale Limited, JLT QFM Services Limited, JLT RE Brasil Administracao e Corretagem de Resseguros Ltda, JLT Re (French Branch), JLT Re (Northern Europe) AB, JLT Re Argentina Corredores de Reaseguros S.A.U., JLT Re Labuan Limited, JLT Re Limited, JLT Re Pty Ltd, JLT Reinsurance Brokers GmbH, JLT Reinsurance Brokers Limited, JLT Reinsurance Brokers Limited [French Branch], JLT Risk Management Limited, JLT Risk Solutions AB, JLT Risk Solutions AB Branch - Germany, JLT SA IB Holdings Company (Pty) Limited, JLT SCK Affinity Administracao e Corretora de Seguros Ltda., JLT SCK Corretora e Administradora de Seguros, JLT Secretaries Limited, JLT Sigorta ve Reasurans Brokerlii A.., JLT Singapore Holdings Pte. Ltd., JLT Specialty France, JLT Specialty Insurance Broker A/S, JLT Specialty Limited, JLT Specialty Limited [DUBAI BRANCH], JLT Specialty Pte. Ltd., JLT Towner Insurance Management (Anguilla) Limited, JLT Trust Services (Barbados) Ltd, JLT Trustees (Southern) Limited, JLT Trustees Limited, JLT UK Investment Holdings Limited, JLT Vantage Risk and Benefit Consulting Private Limited, JLT Wealth Management Limited, JLT do Brasil Corretagem de Seguros Ltda, JLTPCS Holdings Pte. Ltd., JMIB Holdings BV, JSL Securities Inc., Japan Affinity Marketing Inc., Jardine IBR Limited, Jardine Lloyd Thompson (Proprietary) Limited, Jardine Lloyd Thompson Asia Pte Ltd, Jardine Lloyd Thompson Australia Pty Limited, Jardine Lloyd Thompson Canada Inc, Jardine Lloyd Thompson Group Ltd, Jardine Lloyd Thompson Group plc, Jardine Lloyd Thompson India Private Limited, Jardine Lloyd Thompson India Private Limited (UK Branch Office), Jardine Lloyd Thompson Insurance Consultants Limited, Jardine Lloyd Thompson Insurance and Reinsurance Brokers Inc., Jardine Lloyd Thompson Ireland Holdings Limited, Jardine Lloyd Thompson Ireland Unlimited Company, Jardine Lloyd Thompson Korea Limited, Jardine Lloyd Thompson Limited, Jardine Lloyd Thompson Limited [Macao Branch], Jardine Lloyd Thompson PCS (Dubai) Limited, Jardine Lloyd Thompson PCS Limited, Jardine Lloyd Thompson PCS Pte Ltd, Jardine Lloyd Thompson PCS SA, Jardine Lloyd Thompson Private Limited, Jardine Lloyd Thompson Pty Limited, Jardine Lloyd Thompson Sdn Bhd, Jardine Lloyd Thompson Valencia y Iragorri Corredores de Seguros SA, Jardine Pension Trustees Ireland Limited, Jardine Risk Consulting Co. Limited, Jardine ShunTak Insurance Brokers Limited, Jardine ShunTak Insurance Brokers Limited [Macao Branch], Jardines PF- Consultoria Em Gestao De Risco Limitada, Jelf, Jelf Commercial Finance Limited, Jelf Financial Planning Limited, Jelf Insurance Brokers Limited, Jelf Limited, Jelf Risk Management Limited, Jelf Wellbeing Limited, John Lampier & Son Ltd, Johnson & Higgins (Bermuda) Limited, Johnson & Higgins Limited, KESSLER & CO AG, Kepler Associates Limited, Kessler & Co Inc., Kessler Consulting Inc., Kessler Prevoyance Inc., Key Underwriting Pty Limited, Kroll, Lambert Brothers Holdings Limited, Lambert Brothers Insurance Brokers (Employee Benefits) Limited, Lambert Brothers Insurance Brokers (Hong Kong) Ltd, Laterlife.com Limited (in liquidation), Lavaretus Underwriting AB, Lavaretus Underwriting AB (BRANCH - Denmark), Libra Insurance Services Limited (in liquidation), Lloyd & Partners Limited, Local Government Insurance Brokers Pty Limited, Lomond Macdonald Limited, Lynch Insurance Brokers Limited, M&M Vehicle L.P., M.P. Bolshaw and Company Limited, MAG JLT SpA, MERCER ALTERNATIVES LIMITED, MM Risk Services Pty Ltd (for dissolution), MMA Mid-Atlantic Employee LLC, MMA Securities LLC, MMB Consultores S.A., MMC (Singapore) Holdings Pte. Ltd., MMC 28 State Street Holdings Inc., MMC Borrower LLC, MMC Brazilian Holdings B.V., MMC Capital Inc., MMC Cascade Regional Holdings LLC, MMC FINANCE (EUROPE) LIMITED, MMC FINANCE HOLDINGS LTD, MMC Finance (Australia) Limited, MMC Finance (Singapore) Limited, MMC France Holdings (Luxembourg) S.a.r.l., MMC GP III Inc., MMC Group Services sp. z o.o., MMC Holdings (Australia) Pty Ltd, MMC Holdings (New Zealand) ULC, MMC Holdings (UK) Limited, MMC International Finance (Barbados) SRL, MMC International Holdings LLC, MMC International Limited, MMC International Treasury Centre Limited, MMC Middle East Holdings Limited, MMC Poland Holdings B.V., MMC Realty Inc., MMC Regional Asia Holdings B.V., MMC Regional Caribbean Holdings Ltd., MMC Regional Europe Holdings B.V., MMC Regional LATAM Holdings B.V., MMC Securities (Europe) Limited, MMC Securities LLC, MMC Treasury Holdings (UK) Limited, MMC UK Group Limited, MMC UK Pension Fund Trustee Limited, MMOW Limited, MMRC LLC, MOW Holding LLC, MPIP III GP LLC, MPIP IV GP LLC, MPIP V GP LLC, MPIP VI GP LLC, Mangrove Insurance Europe PCC Limited, Mangrove Insurance Solutions PCC, Mangrove Insurance Solutions PCC Limited, Manoel Management Services Ltd, Marchant McKechnie Insurance Brokers Limited, Marine Aviation & General (London) Limited, Marsh & McLennan (PNG) Limited, Marsh & McLennan Agencies AS, Marsh & McLennan Agencies Limited, Marsh & McLennan Agency A/S, Marsh & McLennan Agency LLC, Marsh & McLennan Agency Limited, Marsh & McLennan Agency Pty Ltd., Marsh & McLennan Argentina SA Corredores de Reaseguros, Marsh & McLennan Colombia S.A., Marsh & McLennan Companies Acquisition Funding Limited, Marsh & McLennan Companies Acquisition Limited, Marsh & McLennan Companies Asia Pacific Treasury Center Limited, Marsh & McLennan Companies BVBA/SPRL, Marsh & McLennan Companies Finance Center (Luxembourg) S.a.r.l., Marsh & McLennan Companies France S.A.S., Marsh & McLennan Companies Holdings (Luxembourg) S.a.r.l., Marsh & McLennan Companies Inc., Marsh & McLennan Companies Regional Holdings S.a.r.l., Marsh & McLennan Companies Services B.V., Marsh & McLennan Companies UK Limited, Marsh & McLennan Europe S.a.r.l., Marsh & McLennan GP I Inc., Marsh & McLennan Global Broking (Bermuda) Ltd., Marsh & McLennan Holding GmbH, Marsh & McLennan Holdings (Canada) ULC, Marsh & McLennan Holdings Inc., Marsh & McLennan Incorporated (for dissolution), Marsh & McLennan Innovation Centre Holdings II, Marsh & McLennan Innovation Centre Holdings S.a.r.l., Marsh & McLennan Innovation Centre Limited, Marsh & McLennan Insurance Services Limited, Marsh & McLennan Ireland Limited, Marsh & McLennan Management Services (Bermuda) Limited, Marsh & McLennan Risk Capital Holdings Ltd., Marsh & McLennan Servicios S.A. De C.V., Marsh & McLennan Shared Services Canada Limited, Marsh & McLennan Shared Services Corporation, Marsh (Bahrain) Company SPC, Marsh (Beijing) Risk Management Consulting Co. Ltd., Marsh (China) Insurance Brokers Co. Ltd., Marsh (Hong Kong) Limited, Marsh (Insurance Brokers) LLP, Marsh (Insurance Services) Limited, Marsh (Malawi) Limited, Marsh (Middle East) Limited, Marsh (Namibia) (Proprietary) Limited, Marsh (Pty) Ltd, Marsh (Risk Consulting) LLP, Marsh (Singapore) Pte. Ltd., Marsh A/S, Marsh AB, Marsh AG, Marsh AS, Marsh Advantage Insurance Holdings Pty Ltd, Marsh Advantage Insurance Pty Ltd., Marsh Africa (Pty) Ltd, Marsh Argentina S.R.L., Marsh Associates (Pty) Ltd, Marsh Austria G.m.b.H., Marsh Aviation Insurance Broking Pty Ltd (for dissolution), Marsh B.V., Marsh Botswana (Proprietary) Limited, Marsh Brockman y Schuh Agente de Seguros y de Fianzas S.A. de C.V., Marsh Broker Japan Inc., Marsh Broker de Asigurare-Reasigurare S.R.L., Marsh Brokers (Hong Kong) Limited, Marsh Brokers Limited, Marsh Canada Limited/Marsh Canada Limitee, Marsh Company Management Services Cayman Ltd., Marsh Compensation Technologies Administration (Pty) Ltd, Marsh Corporate Services (Barbados) Limited, Marsh Corporate Services Isle of Man Ltd, Marsh Corporate Services Limited, Marsh Corporate Services Malta Limited, Marsh Corretora de Seguros Ltda., Marsh EOOD, Marsh Egypt LLC, Marsh Emirates Consultancy LLC, Marsh Emirates Insurance Brokerage LLC, Marsh Employee Benefits Limited, Marsh Employee Benefits Zimbabwe (Private) Ltd, Marsh Eurofinance B.V., Marsh Europe S.A., Marsh FJC International Insurance Brokers Limited, Marsh For Insurance Services S.A.E., Marsh Franco Acra S.A., Marsh GSC Servicos e Administracao de Seguros Ltda., Marsh GmbH, Marsh Holding AB, Marsh Holdings (Pty) Ltd, Marsh India Insurance Brokers Private Limited, Marsh Insurance & Investments LLC, Marsh Insurance Brokers, Marsh Insurance Brokers (Macao) Limited, Marsh Insurance Brokers (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd, Marsh Insurance Brokers (Private) Limited, Marsh Insurance Brokers AO, Marsh Insurance Brokers Limited, Marsh Insurance Consulting Saudi Arabia (in liquidation), Marsh Insurance and Reinsurance Brokers LLC, Marsh Intermediaries Inc., Marsh International Broking Holdings Limited, Marsh International Holdings II Inc., Marsh International Holdings Inc., Marsh Investment B.V., Marsh Ireland Brokers Limited, Marsh Ireland Brokers Limited (UK Branch), Marsh Ireland Holdings Limited, Marsh Israel (1999) Ltd., Marsh Israel (Holdings) Ltd., Marsh Israel Consultants Ltd., Marsh Israel Insurance Agency Ltd., Marsh Israel International Brokers Ltd. (in liquidation), Marsh JCS Inc., Marsh Japan Inc., Marsh Kft., Marsh Kindlustusmaakler AS, Marsh Korea Inc., Marsh LLC, Marsh LLC Insurance Brokers, Marsh LLC [Ukraine], Marsh Lda., Marsh Limited, Marsh Limited [Fiji], Marsh Limited [New Zealand], Marsh Limited [PNG], Marsh Ltd. [Wisconsin], Marsh Management Services (Bahamas) Ltd., Marsh Management Services (Barbados) Limited, Marsh Management Services (Bermuda) Ltd., Marsh Management Services (Dublin) Limited, Marsh Management Services (Labuan) Limited, Marsh Management Services (MENA) Limited, Marsh Management Services (USVI) Ltd., Marsh Management Services Cayman Ltd., Marsh Management Services Guernsey Limited, Marsh Management Services Inc., Marsh Management Services Isle of Man Limited, Marsh Management Services Luxembourg S.a.r.l., Marsh Management Services Malta Limited, Marsh Management Services Singapore Pte. Ltd., Marsh Management Services Sweden AB, Marsh Marine & Energy AB, Marsh Marine Nederland B.V., Marsh Medical Consulting GmbH, Marsh Mercer Holdings (Australia) Pty Ltd, Marsh Nest Inc., Marsh Oman LLC, Marsh Oy, Marsh PB Co. Ltd., Marsh Philippines Inc., Marsh Privat A.I.E., Marsh Private Client Life Insurance Services, Marsh Pty. Ltd., Marsh Qatar LLC, Marsh RE S.A.C. Corredores de Reaseguros, Marsh Rehder Consultoria S.A. (MRC), Marsh Rehder S.A. Corredores de Seguros, Marsh Resolutions Pty Limited, Marsh Risk Consulting B.V., Marsh Risk Consulting Limitada, Marsh Risk Consulting Ltda., Marsh Risk Consulting S.L., Marsh Risk Consulting Services S.r.L., Marsh Risk and Consulting Services (Pty) Ltd, Marsh S.A. Corredores De Seguros, Marsh S.A. Mediadores de Seguros, Marsh S.A.S., Marsh S.p.A., Marsh SA [Argentina], Marsh SA [Belgium], Marsh SA [Luxembourg], Marsh SA [Uruguay], Marsh SIA, Marsh Saldana Inc., Marsh Saudi Arabia Insurance & Reinsurance Brokers, Marsh Secretarial Services Limited, Marsh Semusa S.A., Marsh Services Limited, Marsh Services Spolka z.o.o., Marsh Sigorta ve Reasurans Brokerligi Anonim Sirketi, Marsh Spolka z.o.o., Marsh Szolgaltato Kft., Marsh Takaful Brokers (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd, Marsh Treasury Services (Dublin) Limited (in liquidation), Marsh Treasury Services Limited, Marsh Tunisia S.a.r.l., Marsh UK Limited, Marsh USA (India) Inc., Marsh USA Borrower LLC, Marsh USA Inc., Marsh Uganda Limited, Marsh Venezuela C.A. Sociedad de Corretaje de Seguros, Marsh Vietnam Insurance Broking Company Ltd, Marsh Zambia Limited, Marsh Zimbabwe Holdings (Private) Limited, Marsh d.o.o. Beograd, Marsh d.o.o. za posredovanje u osiguranju, Marsh for Insurance Services - Jordan, Marsh i-Connect (Pty) Ltd, Marsh s.r.o., Matthiessen Assurans AB, Mercer (Argentina) S.A., Mercer (Australia) Pty Ltd, Mercer (Austria) GmbH, Mercer (Belgium) SA-NV, Mercer (Canada) Limited/Mercer (Canada) Limitee, Mercer (China) Limited, Mercer (Colombia) Ltda., Mercer (Danmark) A/S, Mercer (Finland) OY, Mercer (France) SAS, Mercer (Hong Kong) Limited, Mercer (Ireland) Limited, Mercer (Malaysia) Sdn. Bhd., Mercer (N.Z.) Limited, Mercer (Nederland) B.V., Mercer (Norge) AS, Mercer (Polska) Sp.z o.o., Mercer (Portugal) Lda, Mercer (Singapore) Pte. Ltd., Mercer (Sweden) AB, Mercer (Taiwan) Ltd., Mercer (Thailand) Ltd., Mercer (US) Inc., Mercer Administration Services (Australia) Pty Limited, Mercer Africa Limited, Mercer Agente de Seguros S.A. de C.V., Mercer Asesores de Seguros S.A., Mercer Asesores es Inversion Independientes S.A. de C.V., Mercer Broking Ltd., Mercer Career Unipessoal Lda, Mercer Consultation (Quebec) Ltee., Mercer Consulting (Australia) Pty Ltd, Mercer Consulting (Chile) Limitada, Mercer Consulting (France) SAS, Mercer Consulting (India) Private Limited, Mercer Consulting B.V., Mercer Consulting Group Inc., Mercer Consulting Holdings Sdn. Bhd., Mercer Consulting Limited, Mercer Consulting Middle East Limited, Mercer Consulting S.L.U., Mercer Consulting Venezuela C.A., Mercer Corredores de Seguros Limitada, Mercer Corretora de Seguros Ltda, Mercer Danismanlik Anonim Sirketi, Mercer Deutschland GmbH, Mercer Employee Benefits - Medicacao de Seguros Unipessoal Lda., Mercer Employee Benefits Limited, Mercer Financial Advice (Australia) Pty Ltd, Mercer Financial Services Limited, Mercer Financial Services Limited liability company, Mercer Financial Services Middle East Limited, Mercer Global Investments Europe Limited, Mercer Global Investments Management Limited, Mercer HR Consulting Borrower LLC, Mercer HR Services LLC, Mercer Health & Benefits (Singapore) Pte. Ltd., Mercer Health & Benefits Administration LLC, Mercer Health & Benefits LLC, Mercer Holdings Inc., Mercer Holdings Inc. [Philippines], Mercer Human Resource Consulting Ltda, Mercer Human Resource Consulting S.A. de C.V., Mercer ICC Limited, Mercer Investment Consulting Limited, Mercer Investment Management (Shanghai) Co. Ltd, Mercer Investment Solutions (Singapore) Pte. Ltd., Mercer Investments (Australia) Limited, Mercer Investments (Hong Kong) Limited, Mercer Investments (Japan) Ltd, Mercer Investments (New Zealand) Limited, Mercer Investments LLC, Mercer Ireland Holdings Limited, Mercer Italia Srl Socio Unico, Mercer Japan Ltd., Mercer Korea Co. Ltd., Mercer LLC, Mercer Limited, Mercer MC Consulting Borrower LLC, Mercer Master Trustees Limited, Mercer Mauritius Ltd., Mercer Oliver Wyman Holding B.V., Mercer Outsourcing (Australia) Pty Ltd, Mercer Outsourcing S.L.U., Mercer Pensionsfonds AG, Mercer Pensionsraadgivning A/S, Mercer Philippines Inc., Mercer Private Investment Partners IV General Partner S.a.r.l., Mercer Private Markets AG, Mercer Private Markets Advisers (US) AG, Mercer Services Poland Sp. z.o.o., Mercer Sigorta Brokerligi Anonim Sirketi, Mercer South Africa (Pty) Limited, Mercer Superannuation (Australia) Limited, Mercer Switzerland Inc., Mercer System Services LLC, Mercer Technology Acquisitions Limited, Mercer Treuhand GmbH, Mercer Trust Company LLC, Mercer Trustees Limited, Mercer WorkforcePro LLC, Mercury Insurance Services Pty Ltd, Moola Systems Limited, Mountlodge Limited, Muir Beddal (Zimbabwe) Limited, NERA Australia Pty. Ltd., NERA Economic Consulting GmbH, NERA Economic Consulting Limited, NERA S.R.L., NERA SAS, NERA UK Limited, NERA do Brasil Ltda. (for dissolution), National Economic Research Associates Inc., NetComp Insurance Corp., Neuburger Noble Lowndes GmbH, Normandy Reinsurance Company Limited, Northern Alliance Brokers Limited (in liquidation), OWL Marine Insurance-Brokers GmbH & Co.KG, OWL Marine Verwaltungs GmbH, Oliver Wyman (Bermuda) Limited, Oliver Wyman (Hong Kong) Limited, Oliver Wyman AB, Oliver Wyman AG, Oliver Wyman Actuarial Consulting Inc., Oliver Wyman B.V., Oliver Wyman Consulting (Shanghai) Ltd, Oliver Wyman Consultoria em Estrategia de Negocios Ltda., Oliver Wyman Energy Consulting Limited, Oliver Wyman FZ-LLC, Oliver Wyman Group KK, Oliver Wyman Inc., Oliver Wyman LLC, Oliver Wyman Limited, Oliver Wyman Limited Liability Company, Oliver Wyman Limited/Oliver Wyman limitee, Oliver Wyman Ltd., Oliver Wyman Pte. Ltd., Oliver Wyman Pty. Ltd., Oliver Wyman S. de R.L. de C.V., Oliver Wyman S.A.S., Oliver Wyman S.L., Oliver Wyman S.r.l., Oliver Wyman SNC, Oliver Wyman SPRL/BVBA, Oliver Wyman Sdn. Bhd., Oliver Wyman Services Limited, Oliver Wyman Servicios S. de R.L. de C.V., Oliver Wyman sp. z o.o., Omega Indemnity (Bermuda) Limited, Organizacion Brockman y Schuh S.A. de C.V., Osbornes Insurances Oxford Limited (in liquidation), PFT Limited, PI Indemnity Company Designated Activity Company, PT JLT Reinsurance Brokers, PT Jardine Lloyd Thompson, PT Marsh Indonesia, PT Marsh Reinsurance Brokers Indonesia, PT Mercer Indonesia, PT Nexus Asia Pacific, PT Oliver Wyman Indonesia, PT Quantum Computing Services, PT Quantum Investments, PT Quantum Support Services, Pallas Marsh Servicos Ltda., Pavilion Alternatives Group (Singapore) PTE. Ltd, Pavilion Financial Corporation Holdings UK Limited, Pavilion U.S. Investments Holdco LLC, Pension Trustees Limited, Pensionsservice Benefit Network Sverige AB, Perils AG, Personal Pension Trustees Limited, Pet Animal Welfare Scheme Limited, Portsoken Trustees (No. 2) Limited, Portsoken Trustees Limited, Potomac Insurance Managers Inc., Premier Pension Trustees Limited, Premium Services Australia Pty Limited, Professional Claims Handling Limited (in liquidation), Profund Solutions Limited, Promerit AG, Promerit Hungary Kft, Promerit Schweiz AG, Pymetrics Inc., R G Ford Brokers Limited, R R B Beratungsgesellschaft fuer Altersversorgung mbh, R. Mees & Zoonen Holdings B.V., Renewable Energy Loss Adjusters LLC, Renewable Energy Loss Adjusters Limited, Resource Benefit Associates, Rightpath Reinsurance SPC Ltd., Risk Management Australia Pty Limited, Rivers Group Limited, Rockefeller Risk Advisors Inc., Rutherfoord International Inc., SAFCAR-Marsh, SBJ Holdings Limited, SCIB (Bermuda) Limited, SCM Global Real Estate Select GP LLC, SCM Infrastructure General Partner S.a r.l., SCM International Private Equity Select III GP LLC, SCM LT General Partner S.a.r.l., SCM PE General Partner S.a.r.l., SCM PE II GP Ltd., SCM PE II Scotland GP Ltd, SCM Strategic Capital Management (Luxembourg) S.a.r.l., SICAR Marsh S.a.r.l., SME Insurance Services Limited, Sail Insurance Company Limited, Scalene Re Ltd, Seabury & Smith Borrower LLC, Seabury & Smith LLC, Secure Limited, Sedgwick (Holdings) Pty. Limited, Sedgwick Consulting Group Limited, Sedgwick Dineen Group Limited, Sedgwick Financial Services Limited, Sedgwick Forbes Middle East Limited, Sedgwick Group, Sedgwick Group (Australia) Pty. Limited, Sedgwick Group (Bermuda) Limited, Sedgwick Group (Zimbabwe) Limited, Sedgwick Group Limited, Sedgwick Internationaal B.V., Sedgwick Limited, Sedgwick Management Services (Barbados) Limited, Sedgwick Management Services (Singapore) Pte Limited, Sedgwick Noble Lowndes (UK) Limited, Sedgwick Noble Lowndes Group Limited, Sedgwick Noble Lowndes Limited, Sedgwick Overseas Investments Limited, Sedgwick Private Limited, Sedgwick Re Asia Pacific (Consultants) Pte Ltd (for dissolution), Sedgwick Trustees Limited, Sedgwick UK Risk Services Limited, Sedgwick Ulster Pension Trustees Limited, Settlement Trustees Limited, Shanghai Mercer Insurance Brokers Company Ltd., Shorewest Insurance Associates LLC, Sirota Asia Pacific Pte. Ltd., Sirota Consulting UK Limited, Smith Long Term Disability Management Group Inc., Societe d'Assurances et de Participation Guian SA, Software Underwriting Systems Limited (in liquidation), Southern Marine & Aviation Inc., Southern Marine & Aviation Underwriters Inc., Sudzucker Versicherungs-Vermittlungs GmbH, Sumitomo Life Insurance Agency America Inc., Sylvite Financial Services, TBX Solutions Limited, Talent Tech Labs LLC, The Benefit Express Holdings Limited, The Benefit Express Limited, The Carpenter Management Corporation, The Insurance Partnership Holdings Limited, The Insurance Partnership Services Limited, The Positive Ageing Company Limited, The Purple Partnership Limited, The Recovre Group Pty Ltd, Thomsons Online Benefits (HK) Ltd., Thomsons Online Benefits Inc., Thomsons Online Benefits Limited, Thomsons Online Benefits Pte Ltd., Thomsons Online Benefits S.R.L, Torrent Government Contracting Services LLC, Torrent Insurance Services LLC, Torrent Technologies, Torrent Technologies Inc., Tower Hill Limited, Tower Place Developments (West) Limited, Tower Place Developments Limited, U.T.E. AMG, U.T.E. Marsh - Caja Castilla La Mancha Junta de Comunidades, U.T.E. Marsh - Salvado Reus (in liquidation), U.T.E. Marsh - Salvado Reus 2012, U.T.E. Marsh - Salvado Vila-Seca 2010, UAD BB Marsh Lietuva, Vezina & Associes Inc., Vezina Assurances Inc., Victor Insurance Europe B.V., Victor Insurance Holdings Inc., Victor Insurance Italia S.r.l., Victor Insurance Managers Inc., Victor Insurance Managers Inc./Gestionnaires d'assurance Victor inc., Victor O. Schinnerer & Co. (Bermuda) Ltd., Victor O. Schinnerer & Company Limited, Victoria Hall Company Limited, Wellnz Limited, William M. Mercer (Canada) Limited/William M. Mercer (Canada) Limitee, William M. Mercer AB, William M. Mercer Comercio Consultoria e Servicos Ltda., Wortham Insurance & Risk Management, everBe SAS, and realright GmbH. Read More AstraZeneca PLC, a biopharmaceutical company, focuses on the discovery, development, manufacturing, and commercialization of prescription medicines. Its marketed products include Calquence, Enhertu, Faslodex, Imfinzi, Iressa, Koselugo, Lumoxiti, Lynparza, Orpathys, Tagrisso, and Zoladex for oncology; Brilinta/Brilique, Bydureon/Byetta, BCise, Byetta, Crestor, Evrenzo, Farxiga/Forxiga, Komboglyze/Kombiglyze XR, Lokelma, Onglyza, Qtern, and Xigduo/Xigduo XR for cardiovascular, renal, and metabolism diseases; Bevespi Aerosphere, Breztri Aerosphere, Daliresp/Daxas, Duaklir Genuair, Fasenra, Pulmicort, Saphnelo, Symbicort, and Tudorza/Eklira/Bretaris for respiratory and immunology; and Andexxa/Ondexxya, Kanuma, Soliris, Strensiq, and Ultomiris for rare diseases. The company's marketed products also comprise Synagis for respiratory syncytial virus; Fluenz Tetra/FluMist Quadrivalent for Influenza; Seroquel IR/Seroquel XR for schizophrenia bipolar disease; Nexium, and Losec/Prilosec for gastroenterology; and Vaxzevria and Evusheld for covid-19. The company serves primary care and specialty care physicians through distributors and local representative offices in the United Kingdom, rest of Europe, the Americas, Asia, Africa, and Australasia. It has a collaboration agreement with Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc. to research, develop, and commercialize small molecule medicines for obesity; Neurimmune AG to develop and commercialize NI006; Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. to develop eplontersen, a liver-targeted antisense therapy in Phase III development for the treatment of transthyretin amyloidosis; Proteros Biostructures GmbH to jointly discover novel small molecules for the treatment of hematological cancers; Sierra Oncology, Inc. to develop and commercialize AZD5153. The company was formerly known as Zeneca Group PLC and changed its name to AstraZeneca PLC in April 1999. AstraZeneca PLC was incorporated in 1992 and is headquartered in Cambridge, the United Kingdom. Box, Inc. provides a cloud content management platform that enables organizations of various sizes to manage and share their content from anywhere on any device. The company's Software-as-a-Service platform enables users to collaborate on content internally and with external parties, automate content-driven business processes, develop custom applications, and implement data protection, security, and compliance features to comply with legal and regulatory requirements, internal policies, and industry standards and regulations. It offers web, mobile, and desktop applications for cloud content management on a platform for developing custom applications, as well as industry-specific capabilities. As of January 31, 2022, the company had approximately 100,000 paying organizations, and its solution was offered in 25 languages. It serves financial services, health care, government, and legal services industries in the United States and internationally. The company was formerly known as Box.net, Inc. and changed its name to Box, Inc. in November 2011. Box, Inc. was incorporated in 2005 and is headquartered in San Francisco Bay Area, California. W. R. Berkley Corporation was founded in 1967 by W.R. Berkley with the goal of creating sustainable, long-term value. As of November 2022, Mr. Berkley remained as executive chairman with his son W.R. Berkley Jr. in the CEO's office. The company is based in Greenwich, Connecticut, and operates as an insurance holding company in the U.S. and internationally. It is one of the largest commercial lines insurers in the US and has more than 190 offices worldwide. The companys operations have grown steadily since its founding, including several key acquisitions. The company now operates in two segments which are Insurance and Reinsurance & Monoline Excess. The Insurance segment underwrites commercial insurance businesses of all varieties. The Reinsurance & Monoline Excess segment provides reinsurance services to other insurance agencies and self-insured organizations. W. R. Berkley Corporation went public in 1973 and is now listed 397th on the Forbes Fortune 500 list. There are more than 50 businesses operating under the Berkley umbrella. They each capitalize on niche markets that require specialized knowledge about industries, regions, or business structures. The companys goal is to create peace of mind, both by simplifying the insurance buying process and by providing the insurance products its customers need. W. R. Berkley was added to the S&P 500 in 2019. The companys market cap grew more than 20% or over $1 billion in the first year alone. As of November 2022, the company is worth upwards of $19.5 billion or more than a 200% increase since its launch. The companys underlying insurance businesses are all rated A+ by Standard & Poors and A.M. Best. Some of the key businesses and industries served by W.R. Berkley include but are not limited to agribusiness, cannabis, energy, environmental, hospitality, manufacturing, public entity, retail, and transportation. Some of the products offered include but are not limited to workers' compensation, general liability, commercial auto & trucking, accident & health, cyber, and property. In 2021, the company brought in more than $9.5 billion in revenue and produced a 16.2% return on stockholders' equity. Eagle Materials Inc., through its subsidiaries, produces and supplies heavy construction materials and light building materials in the United States. It operates through Cement, Concrete and Aggregates, Gypsum Wallboard, and Recycled Paperboard segments. The company engages in the mining of limestone for the manufacture, production, distribution, and sale of Portland cement; grinding and sale of slag; and mining of gypsum for the manufacture and sale of gypsum wallboards used to finish the interior walls and ceilings in residential, commercial, and industrial structures. It also manufactures and sells recycled paperboard to gypsum wallboard industry and other paperboard converters, as well as containerboard and lightweight packaging grades. In addition, the company engages in the sale of ready-mix concrete; and mining, extracting, production, and sale of aggregates, including crushed stones, sand, and gravel. Its products are used in commercial and residential construction; public construction projects; and projects to build, expand, and repair roads and highways. The company was formerly known as Centex Construction Products, Inc. and changed its name to Eagle Materials, Inc. in January 2004. Eagle Materials Inc. was founded in 1963 and is headquartered in Dallas, Texas. Berkshire Hathaway Inc., through its subsidiaries, engages in the insurance, freight rail transportation, and utility businesses worldwide. It provides property, casualty, life, accident, and health insurance and reinsurance; and operates railroad systems in North America. The company also generates, transmits, stores, and distributes electricity from natural gas, coal, wind, solar, hydro, nuclear, and geothermal sources; operates natural gas distribution and storage facilities, interstate pipelines, liquefied natural gas facilities, and compressor and meter stations; and holds interest in coal mining assets. In addition, the company manufactures boxed chocolates and other confectionery products; specialty chemicals, metal cutting tools, and components for aerospace and power generation applications; and flooring, insulation, roofing and engineered, building and engineered components, paints and coatings, and bricks and masonry products, as well as offers manufactured and site-built home construction, and related lending and financial services; and recreational vehicles, apparel products, jewelry, and custom picture framing products, and alkaline batteries. Further, it manufactures castings, forgings, fasteners/fastener systems, and aerostructures; and seamless pipes, fittings, downhole casing and tubing, and various mill forms. Additionally, the company distributes televisions and information; franchises and services quick service restaurants; distributes electronic components; and offers logistics services, grocery and foodservice distribution services, and professional aviation training and shared aircraft ownership programs. It also retails automobiles; furniture, bedding, and accessories; household appliances, electronics, and computers; jewelry, watches, crystal, china, stemware, flatware, gifts, and collectibles; kitchenware; and motorcycle apparel and equipment. The company was incorporated in 1998 and is headquartered in Omaha, Nebraska. TWIN FALLS Two Twin Falls teens have been charged with marijuana trafficking after police caught them in a sting operation. Kannon Dawn McKinster, 18, and Fernando Fregoso-Cuevas, 19, were arrested Thursday night after agreeing to sell 10 pounds of marijuana for $15,000, according to court documents. McKinster reportedly told an Idaho State Police detective in an interview that he had planned to use the profits of the sale to move to Washington. Preliminary hearings for both men were scheduled for Dec. 8. Benchmark Electronics, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, provides product design, engineering services, technology solutions, and manufacturing services in the Americas, Asia, and Europe. The company offers engineering services and technology solutions, including new product design, prototype, testing, and related engineering services; and custom testing and technology solutions, as well as automation equipment design and build services. It also provides electronics manufacturing and testing services, such as printed circuit board assembly and test solutions, assembly of subsystems, circuitry and functionality testing of printed assemblies, environmental and stress testing, and component reliability testing; component engineering services; manufacturing defect analysis, in-circuit testing, functional testing, and life cycle testing services, as well as environmental stress tests of assemblies of boards or systems; and failure analysis. In addition, the company offers precision machining and electromechanical assembly services; and subsystem and system integration services, including assembly, configuration, and testing for various industries. Further, it provides value-added support systems; supply chain management solutions; direct order fulfillment; and aftermarket non-warranty services, including repair, replacement, refurbishment, remanufacturing, exchange, systems upgrade, and spare parts manufacturing throughout a product's life cycle. The company serves original equipment manufacturers in the aerospace and defense, medical technologies, complex industrials, semiconductor capital equipment, telecommunications, and advanced computing industries. It markets its services and solutions primarily through a direct sales force. The company was formerly known as Electronics, Inc. Benchmark Electronics, Inc. was founded in 1979 and is headquartered in Tempe, Arizona. TWIN FALLS The Twin Falls School District has a new radio system that allows school administrators to more easily communicate during emergencies. The topic came up Wednesday during the school district and Twin Falls Area Chamber of Commerces yearly legislative tour. School security has also been a hot topic nationwide, particularly in light of school shootings such as in 2012 in Newtown, Conn. Here in Twin Falls, improving security was identified as a key priority during a school district safety audit in 2014 and has been an ongoing project since then. This school year, the latest upgrade is a school district-wide radio system. The driving force behind it was to create a system where schools could communicate with each other, director of operations Ryan Bowman said Friday. Its among a handful of changes, including identification badges for employees and a new computer program, Raptor, that runs school visitors through law enforcement databases. Before the districtwide radio system, school administrators called each other on their cell phones. But that wasnt convenient for communicating with multiple people quickly. Some schools had their own radio system, but only for talking within their own building. Now, with the new system, this creates uniformity throughout the school district, Bowman said. Its a digital system with 100 Kenwood radios throughout the school district. The district is paying $20,000 annually over five years using voter-approved plant facilities levy money and bought the equipment through White Cloud Communications in Twin Falls. The district bought the radios in the spring and programmed them. School employees started using them in August at the beginning of the school year. Each school has its own radio channel that allows administrators, front office employees and custodial workers to communicate about safety issues or other topics. Thats particularly helpful at campuses such as Twin Falls High School, which is spread out in different buildings. Theres also a shared channel across all school campuses and the school district office. If Twin Falls High has a lockdown, for instance, that would allow nearby Sawtooth Elementary School to hear the announcement and make a decision in a timely manner, Bowman said. Another option is to communicate directly with the school district office. It lets us know immediately that somethings going on, Bowman said. Another big security initiative for the school district is building access control. For the three newest campuses Rock Creek Elementary School, Pillar Falls Elementary School and South Hills Middle School theres a vestibule in the front entrance that directs visitors into the front office. Theres a similar setup at Twin Falls High Schools newly remodeled front entrance. Now, the district wants to look at a way to funnel visitors into school offices at all campuses, allowing for better monitoring of whos coming and going. Thats one of the big things that were going to continue over the next several years, Bowman said. But it wont be a simple process. Its going to be a challenge at some of our older buildings, Bowman said, especially at Morningside and Harrison elementary schools, where the school office isnt right next to the front entrance. Improvements could be made using the plant facilities levy money. But a timeline for projects or how much theyd cost is unknown at this point. Its going to take time because some of these buildings are going to be expensive to do, Bowman said. Of a nearly $74 million bond voters approved in 2014, $1.3 million was used for security upgrades to existing campuses. That included high-definition security cameras and electronic key card readers. More upgrades will be coming in future years, likely paid for using plant facilities levy money. The current measure, $3.3 million annually for 10 years, is set to expire this year. The district is considering bringing a renewal request to voters during the March 2018 election. School trustees are slated to hear a recommendation in December from a budget advisory committee which includes community members about whether to pursue a new levy and how much money to ask for. The following companies are subsidiares of PepsiCo: Alimentos Quaker Oats y Compania Limitada, Alimentos del Istmo S.A., Amavale Agricola Ltda., Anderson Hill Insurance Limited, Asia Bottlers Limited, BAESA Capital Corporation Ltd., BFY Brands, BFY Brands LLC, BFY Brands Limited, BUG de Mexico S.A. de C.V., Balmoral Industries LLC, Bare Foods Co., Barrhead LLC, Be & Cheery, Beaman Bottling Company, Bebidas Sudamerica S.A., Beech Limited, Bell Taco Funding Syndicate, Bendler Investments II Ltd, Bendler Investments S.a r.l, Beverage Services Limited, Beverages Foods & Service Industries Inc., Bishkeksut OJSC, Blaue NC S. de R.L. de C.V., Blue Cloud Distribution Inc., Blue Cloud Distribution of Arizona Inc., Blue Cloud Distribution of Arkansas Inc., Blue Cloud Distribution of Colorado Inc., Blue Cloud Distribution of Florida Inc., Blue Cloud Distribution of Georgia Inc., Blue Cloud Distribution of Illinois Inc., Blue Cloud Distribution of Indiana Inc., Blue Cloud Distribution of Iowa Inc., Blue Cloud Distribution of Kentucky Inc., Blue Cloud Distribution of Louisiana Inc., Blue Cloud Distribution of Minnesota Inc., Blue Cloud Distribution of Mississippi Inc., Blue Cloud Distribution of Missouri Inc., Blue Cloud Distribution of Nebraska Inc., Blue Cloud Distribution of Nevada Inc., Blue Cloud Distribution of North Carolina Inc., Blue Cloud Distribution of Ohio Inc., Blue Cloud Distribution of Oklahoma Inc., Blue Cloud Distribution of Pennsylvania Inc., Blue Cloud Distribution of South Carolina Inc., Blue Cloud Distribution of Tennessee Inc., Blue Cloud Distribution of Texas Inc., Blue Cloud Distribution of Virginia Inc., Blue Cloud Distribution of Wisconsin Inc., Blue Ridge Sales LLC, Bluebird Foods Limited, Bluecan Holdings Unlimited Company, Bokomo Zambia Limited, Bolsherechensky Molkombinat JSC, Boquitas Fiestas LLC, Boquitas Fiestas S.R.L., Bottling Group Financing LLC, Bottling Group Holdings LLC, Bottling Group LLC, Bronte Industries Ltd, C & I Leasing Inc., CB Manufacturing Company Inc., CEME Holdings LLC, CMC Investment Company, Caroni Investments LLC, Centro-Mediterranea de Bebidas Carbonicas PepsiCo S.L., Ceres Fruit Juices Pty Ltd, ChampBev Inc., China Concentrate Holdings Hong Kong Limited, Chipsy International for Food Industries S.A.E., Chipsy for Food Industries S.A.E., Chitos Internacional y Cia Ltda, Cipa Industrial de Produtos Alimentares Ltda., Cipa Nordeste Industrial de Produtos Alimentares Ltda., Cocina Autentica Inc., Comercializadora CMC Investment y Compania Limitada, Comercializadora Nacional SAS Ltda., Comercializadora PepsiCo Mexico S de R.L. de C.V., Compania de Bebidas PepsiCo S.L., Concentrate Holding Uruguay Pte. Ltd., Concentrate Manufacturing Singapore Pte. Ltd., Confiteria Alegro S. de R.L. de C.V., Copella Fruit Juices Limited, Copper Beech International LLC, Corina Snacks Limited, Corporativo Internacional Mexicano S. de R.L. de C.V., CytoSport Holdings Inc., CytoSport Inc., Davlyn Realty Corporation, Defosto Holdings Limited, Desarrollo Inmobiliario Gamesa S. de R.L. de C.V., Dilexis S.A., Donon Holdings Limited, Drinkfinity USA Inc., Drinkstation Inc., Drinkstation Innovation Co. Ltd., Drinkstation Limited, Dutch Snacks Holding S.A. de C.V., Duyvis Production B.V., EPIC Enterprises Inc., Echo Bay Holdings Inc., Elaboradora Argentina de Cereales S.R.L., Enter Logistica LLC, Environ at Inverrary Partnership, Environ of Inverrary Inc., Eridanus Investments S.a r.l, Evercrisp Snack Productos de Chile S.A., FL Transportation Inc., FLI Andean LLC, FLI Colombia LLC, FLI Snacks Andean GP LLC, Fabrica PepsiCo Mexicali S. de R.L. de C.V., Fabrica de Productos Alimenticios Rene y Cia S.C.A., Fairlight International SRL, Far East Bottlers Hong Kong Limited, Food Concepts Pioneer Ltd., Forest Akers Nederland B.V., Forty-Six Peaks Holding Inc., Fovarosi Asvanyviz es Uditoipari Zartkoruen Mukodo Reszvenytarsasag, Freshwater International B.V., Frito Lay Gida Sanayi Ve Ticaret Anonim Sirketi, Frito Lay Poland Sp. z o.o., Frito Lay Sp. z o.o., Frito Lay de Guatemala y Compania Limitada, Frito-Lay Australia Holdings Pty Limited, Frito-Lay Dip Company Inc., Frito-Lay Dominicana S.A., Frito-Lay Global Investments B.V., Frito-Lay Inc., Frito-Lay Investments B.V., Frito-Lay Manufacturing LLC, Frito-Lay Netherlands Holding B.V., Frito-Lay North America Inc., Frito-Lay Sales Inc., Frito-Lay Trading Company Europe GmbH, Frito-Lay Trading Company GmbH, Frito-Lay Trading Company Poland GmbH, Frito-Lay Trinidad Unlimited, Fruko Mesrubat Sanayi Limited Sirketi, GB Czech LLC, GB International Inc., GB Russia LLC, GB Slovak LLC, GMP Manufacturing Inc., Gambrinus Investments Limited, Gamesa LLC, Gamesa S. de R.L. de C.V., Gas Natural de Merida S. A. de C. V., Gatorade Puerto Rico Company, General Bottlers of Hungary Inc., Golden Grain Company, Goveh S.R.L., Grayhawk Leasing LLC, Green Hemlock International LLC, Grupo Frito Lay y Compania Limitada, Grupo Gamesa S. de R.L. de C.V., Grupo Mabel, Grupo Sabritas S. de R.L. de C.V., Gulkevichskiy Maslozavod JSC, Hangzhou Baicaowei Corporate Management Consulting Co. Ltd., Hangzhou Haomusi Food Co, Hangzhou Haomusi Food Co. Ltd., Hangzhou Tao Dao Technology Co. Ltd., Health Warrior, Health Warrior Inc., Heathland LP, Helioscope Limited, Hillbrook Inc., Hillgrove Inc., Hillwood Bottling LLC, Hogganfield Limited Partnership, Holding Company "Opolie" JSC, Homefinding Company of Texas, Hudson Valley Insurance Company, IC Equities Inc., IZZE Beverage Co., Inmobiliaria Interamericana S.A. De C.V., Integrated Beverage Services Bangladesh Limited, Integrated Foods & Beverages Pvt. Ltd., International Bottlers Management Co. LLC, International KAS Aktiengesellschaft, Inversiones Borneo S.R.L., Inversiones PFI Chile Limitada, Inviting Foods Holdings Inc., Inviting Foods LLC, KAS Anorthosis S.a r.l, KAS S.L., KFC, Kevita Inc., Kinvara LLC, Kungursky Molkombinat JSC, Larragana S.L., Latin American Holdings Ltd., Latin American Snack Foods ApS, Latin Foods International LLC, Lebedyansky, Lebedyansky Holdings LLC, Lebedyansky LLC, Limited Liability Company "Sandora", Linkbay Limited, Lithuanian Snacks UAB, Mabel, Marbo Product d.o.o. Beograd, Marbo d.o.o. Laktasi, Matudis - Comercio de Produtos Alimentares Limitada, Matutano - Sociedade de Produtos Alimentares Lda., Mid-America Improvement Corporation, Mountainview Insurance Company Inc., Muscle Milk, NCJV LLC, New Bern Transport Corporation, New Century Beverage Company LLC, Noble Leasing LLC, Northeast Hot-Fill Co-op Inc., Office at Solyanka LLC, Onbiso Inversiones S.L., One World Enterprises LLC, One World Investors Inc., P-A Barbados Bottling Company LLC, P-A Bottlers Barbados SRL, P-Americas LLC, PAS Luxembourg S.a r.l, PAS Netherlands B.V., PBG Canada Holdings II LLC, PBG Canada Holdings Inc., PBG Cyprus Holdings Limited, PBG Investment Partnership, PBG Midwest Holdings S.a r.l, PBG Soda Can Holdings S.a r.l, PCBL LLC, PCNA Manufacturing Inc., PR Beverages Cyprus Holding Limited, PR Beverages Cyprus Russia Holding Limited, PRB Luxembourg S.a r.l, PRS Inc., PSAS Inversiones LLC, PSE Logistica S.R.L., PT Quaker Indonesia, Papas Chips S.A., Pei N.V., Pep Trade LLC, Pepsi B.V., Pepsi Beverages Holdings Inc., Pepsi Bottling Group Global Finance LLC, Pepsi Bottling Group GmbH, Pepsi Bottling Group Hoosiers B.V., Pepsi Bottling Holdings Inc., Pepsi Bugshan Investments S.A.E., Pepsi Cola Colombia Ltda, Pepsi Cola Egypt S.A.E., Pepsi Cola Panamericana S.R.L., Pepsi Cola Servis Ve Dagitim Limited Sirketi, Pepsi Cola Trading Ireland, Pepsi Logistics Company Inc., Pepsi Northwest Beverages LLC, Pepsi Overseas Investments Partnership, Pepsi Promotions Inc., Pepsi-Cola Advertising and Marketing Inc., Pepsi-Cola Bermuda Limited, Pepsi-Cola Bottlers Holding C.V., Pepsi-Cola Bottling Company Of St. Louis Inc., Pepsi-Cola Bottling Company of Ft. Lauderdale-Palm Beach LLC, Pepsi-Cola Company, Pepsi-Cola Ecuador Cia. Ltda., Pepsi-Cola Far East Trade Development Co. Inc., Pepsi-Cola Finance LLC, Pepsi-Cola General Bottlers Poland Sp. z o.o., Pepsi-Cola Industrial da Amazonia Ltda., Pepsi-Cola International Cork, Pepsi-Cola International LLC, Pepsi-Cola International Limited, Pepsi-Cola International Limited U.S.A., Pepsi-Cola International Private Limited, Pepsi-Cola Korea Co. Ltd., Pepsi-Cola Management and Administrative Services Inc., Pepsi-Cola Manufacturing Company Of Uruguay S.R.L., Pepsi-Cola Manufacturing International Limited, Pepsi-Cola Manufacturing Mediterranean Limited, Pepsi-Cola Marketing Corp. Of P.R. Inc., Pepsi-Cola Mediterranean Ltd., Pepsi-Cola Metropolitan Bottling Company Inc., Pepsi-Cola Mexicana Holdings LLC, Pepsi-Cola Mexicana S. de R.L. de C.V., Pepsi-Cola National Marketing LLC, Pepsi-Cola Operating Company Of Chesapeake And Indianapolis, Pepsi-Cola Sales and Distribution Inc., Pepsi-Cola Technical Operations Inc., Pepsi-Cola Thai Trading Co. Ltd., Pepsi-Cola de Honduras S.R.L., Pepsi-Cola of Corvallis Inc., PepsiAmericas Nemzetkozi Szolgaltato Korlatolt Felelossegu Tarsasag, PepsiCo ANZ Holdings Pty Ltd, PepsiCo Alimentos Antioquia Ltda., PepsiCo Alimentos Colombia Ltda., PepsiCo Alimentos Ecuador Cia. Ltda., PepsiCo Alimentos Z.F. Ltda., PepsiCo Alimentos de Bolivia S.R.L., PepsiCo Amacoco Bebidas Do Brasil Ltda., PepsiCo Asia Research & Development Center Company Limited, PepsiCo Australia Financing Cyprus Limited, PepsiCo Australia Financing Limited Partnership, PepsiCo Australia Financing Partner 1 LLC, PepsiCo Australia Financing Partner 2 LLC, PepsiCo Australia Financing Pty Ltd, PepsiCo Australia Holdings Pty Limited, PepsiCo Australia International, PepsiCo Austria Services GmbH, PepsiCo Azerbaijan Limited Liability Company, PepsiCo BeLux BV, PepsiCo Beverage Sales LLC, PepsiCo Beverage Singapore Pty Ltd, PepsiCo Beverages Bermuda Limited, PepsiCo Beverages Hong Kong Limited, PepsiCo Beverages International Limited, PepsiCo Beverages Italia Societa' A Responsabilita' Limitata, PepsiCo Canada Finance LLC, PepsiCo Canada Holdings ULC, PepsiCo Canada Investment ULC, PepsiCo Canada ULC, PepsiCo Captive Holdings Inc., PepsiCo Caribbean Inc., PepsiCo China Limited, PepsiCo Consulting Polska Sp. z o.o., PepsiCo De Bolivia S.R.L., PepsiCo Del Paraguay S.R.L., PepsiCo Deutschland GmbH, PepsiCo Eesti AS, PepsiCo Euro Bermuda Limited, PepsiCo Euro Finance Antilles B.V., PepsiCo Europe Support Center S.L., PepsiCo Finance Americas Company, PepsiCo Finance Antilles A N.V., PepsiCo Finance Antilles B N.V., PepsiCo Finance South Africa Proprietary Limited, PepsiCo Financial Shared Services Inc., PepsiCo Food & Beverage Holdings Hong Kong Limited, PepsiCo Foods A.I.E., PepsiCo Foods China Company Limited, PepsiCo Foods Group Pty Ltd, PepsiCo Foods Guangdong Co. Ltd., PepsiCo Foods Nigeria Limited, PepsiCo Foods Private Limited, PepsiCo Foods Sichuan Co. Ltd., PepsiCo Foods Taiwan Co. Ltd., PepsiCo Foods Vietnam Company, PepsiCo France SAS, PepsiCo Global Business Services India LLP, PepsiCo Global Business Services Poland Sp. z o.o., PepsiCo Global Holdings Limited, PepsiCo Global Investments B.V., PepsiCo Global Investments S.a r.l, PepsiCo Global Mobility LLC, PepsiCo Global Real Estate Inc., PepsiCo Global Trading Solutions Unlimited Company, PepsiCo Golden Holdings Inc., PepsiCo Group Finance International B.V., PepsiCo Group Holdings International B.V., PepsiCo Group Spotswood Holdings S.a r.l, PepsiCo Gulf International FZE, PepsiCo Hellas Single Member Industrial and Commercial Societe Anonyme, PepsiCo Holding de Espana S.L., PepsiCo Holdings, PepsiCo Holdings LLC, PepsiCo Holdings Toshkent LLC, PepsiCo Hong Kong LLC, PepsiCo Iberia Servicios Centrales S.L., PepsiCo India Holdings Private Limited, PepsiCo India Sales Private Limited, PepsiCo Internacional Mexico S. de R. L. de C. V., PepsiCo International Hong Kong Limited, PepsiCo International Limited, PepsiCo International Pte Ltd., PepsiCo Investments Europe I B.V., PepsiCo Investments Ltd., PepsiCo Ireland Food & Beverages Unlimited Company, PepsiCo Japan Co. Ltd., PepsiCo Light B.V., PepsiCo Logistyka Sp. z o.o., PepsiCo Malaysia Sdn. Bhd., PepsiCo Management Services SAS, PepsiCo Manufacturing A.I.E., PepsiCo Max B.V., PepsiCo Mexico Holdings S. de R.L. de C.V., PepsiCo Nederland B.V., PepsiCo Nordic Denmark ApS, PepsiCo Nordic Finland Oy, PepsiCo Nordic Norway AS, PepsiCo Nutrition Trading DMCC, PepsiCo One B.V., PepsiCo Overseas Corporation, PepsiCo Overseas Financing Partnership, PepsiCo Panimex Inc, PepsiCo Products B.V., PepsiCo Products FLLC, PepsiCo Puerto Rico Inc., PepsiCo Sales Inc., PepsiCo Sales LLC, PepsiCo Services Asia Ltd., PepsiCo Services CZ s.r.o., PepsiCo Services LLC, PepsiCo Twist B.V., PepsiCo UK Pension Plan Trustee Limited, PepsiCo Ventures B.V., PepsiCo Wave Holdings LLC, PepsiCo World Trading Company Inc., PepsiCo Y LLC, PepsiCo de Argentina S.R.L., PepsiCo de Mexico S. de R.L. de C.V., PepsiCo do Brasil Industria e Comercio de Alimentos Ltda., PepsiCo do Brasil Ltda., PepsiCola Interamericana de Guatemala S.A., Pet Iberia S.L., Pete & Johnny Limited, Pine International LLC, Pine International Limited, Pinstripe Leasing LLC, Pioneer Food Group Pty Ltd, Pioneer Foods Groceries Pty Ltd, Pioneer Foods Group Ltd., Pioneer Foods Holdings Pty Ltd, Pioneer Foods Pty Ltd, Pioneer Foods UK Ltd, Pioneer Foods Wellingtons Pty Ltd, Pipers Crisps Limited, PlayCo Inc., Pop corners, PopCorners Holdings Inc., Portfolio Concentrate Solutions Unlimited Company, Premier Nutrition Trading L.L.C., Prestwick LLC, Prev PepsiCo Sociedade Previdenciaria, Productos Alimenticios Rene LLC, Productos S.A.S. C.V., Productos SAS Management B.V., Punch N.V., Punica Getranke GmbH, Q O Puerto Rico Inc., QFL OHQ Sdn. Bhd., QTG Development Inc., QTG Services Inc., Quadrant - Amroq Beverages S.R.L., Quaker Development B.V., Quaker European Beverages LLC, Quaker European Investments B.V., Quaker Foods, Quaker Global Investments B.V., Quaker Holdings UK Limited, Quaker Manufacturing LLC, Quaker Oats Asia Inc., Quaker Oats Australia Pty Ltd, Quaker Oats B.V., Quaker Oats Capital Corporation, Quaker Oats Europe Inc., Quaker Oats Europe LLC, Quaker Oats Limited, Quaker Sales & Distribution Inc, Raptas Finance S.a r.l., Rare Fare Foods LLC, Rare Fare Holdings Inc., Reading Industries Ltd, Real Estate Holdings LLC, Rockstar Energy Drink, Rolling Frito-Lay Sales LP, S & T of Mississippi Inc., SIH International LLC, SVC Logistics Inc., SVC Manufacturing Inc., SVE Russia Holdings GmbH, Sabritas LLC, Sabritas S. de R.L. de C.V., Sabritas Snacks America Latina de Nicaragua y Cia Ltda, Sabritas de Costa Rica S. de R.L., Sabritas y Cia. S en C de C.V., Sakata Rice Snacks Australia Pty Ltd, Sandora Holdings B.V., Saudi Snack Foods Company Limited, Sea Eagle International SRL, Seepoint Holdings Ltd., Senselet Food Processing PLC, Senselet Holding B.V., Servicios GBF Sociedad de Responsabilidad Limitada, Servicios GFLG y Compania Limitada, Servicios Gamesa Puerto Rico L.L.C., Servicios SYC S. de R.L. de C.V., Seven-Up Asia Inc., Seven-Up Light B.V., Seven-Up Nederland B.V., Shanghai PepsiCo Snack Company Limited, Shanghai YuHo Agricultural Development Co. Ltd, Shoebill LLC, Simba (Proprietary) Limited, Simba Proprietary Limited, Sitka Spruce, Smartfoods Inc., Smiles and Bites Holdings S.de R.L. de C.V., Smiths Crisps Limited, Snack Food Investments GmbH, Snack Food Investments II GmbH, Snack Food Investments Limited, Snack Food-Beverage Asia Products Limited, Snacks America Latina S.R.L., Snacks Guatemala Ltd., So Spark Ltd., Soda-Club CO2 Atlantic GmbH, Soda-Club CO2 GmbH, Soda-Club CO2 Ltd., Soda-Club Switzerland GmbH, Soda-Club Worldwide B.V., SodaStream, SodaStream Australia Pty Ltd, SodaStream CO2 SA, SodaStream Canada Ltd., SodaStream Enterprises N.V., SodaStream France SAS, SodaStream GmbH, SodaStream Iberia S.L., SodaStream Industries Ltd., SodaStream International B.V., SodaStream International Ltd., SodaStream Israel Ltd., SodaStream K.K., SodaStream New Zealand Ltd., SodaStream Nordics AB, SodaStream Poland Sp. z o.o., SodaStream SA Pty Ltd., SodaStream Switzerland GmbH, SodaStream USA Inc., SodaStream Osterreich GmbH, South Beach Beverage Company Inc., South Properties Inc., Spitz International Inc., Sportmex Internacional S.A. de C.V., Springboig Industries Ltd, Spruce Limited, Stacy's Pita Chip Company Incorporated, Star Foods E.M. S.R.L., Stokely-Van Camp Inc., Stratosphere Communications Pty Ltd, Stratosphere Holdings 2018 Limited, Streamfoods Ltd, TFL Holdings LLC, Tasman Finance S.a r.l, The Gatorade Company, The Good Carb Food Company Ltd., The Pepsi Bottling Group Canada ULC, The Quaker Oats Company, The Smith's Snackfood Company Pty Limited, Thomond Group Holdings Limited, Tobago Snack Holdings LLC, Tropicana Alvalle S.L., Tropicana Beverages Limited, Tropicana Europe N.V., Tropicana United Kingdom Limited, Troya-Ultra LLC, United Foods Companies Restaurantes S.A., V-Water, VentureCo Israel Ltd, Veurne Snack Foods BV, Vitamin Brands Ltd., Walkers Crisps Limited, Walkers Group Limited, Walkers Snack Foods Limited, Walkers Snacks Distribution Limited, Walkers Snacks Limited, Whitman Corporation, Whitman Insurance Co. Ltd., Wimm-Bill-Dann Beverages JSC, Wimm-Bill-Dann Brands Co. Ltd., Wimm-Bill-Dann Central Asia-Almaty LLP, Wimm-Bill-Dann Foods LLC, Wimm-Bill-Dann Georgia Ltd., Wimm-Bill-Dann JSC, and Wimm-Bill-Dann Ukraine PJSC. Read More The following companies are subsidiares of Pfizer: AH Robins LLC, AHP Holdings B.V., AHP Manufacturing B.V., Agouron Pharmaceuticals LLC, Alacer, Alpharma Holdings LLC, Alpharma Pharmaceuticals LLC, Alpharma Specialty Pharma LLC, Alpharma USHP LLC, American Food Industries LLC, Anacor Pharmaceuticals, Anacor Pharmaceuticals Inc., Angiosyn, Array BioPharma, Ayerst-Wyeth Pharmaceuticals LLC, BIND Therapeutics Inc., BINESA 2002 S.L., Bamboo Therapeutics, Bamboo Therapeutics Inc., Baxter International - Marketed Vaccines, BioRexis, Bioren, Bioren LLC, Blue Whale Re Ltd., C.E. Commercial Holdings C.V., C.E. Commercial Investments C.V., C.P. Pharmaceuticals International C.V., CICL Corporation, COC I Corporation, Catapult Genetics, Coley Pharmaceutical GmbH, Coley Pharmaceutical Group, Coley Pharmaceutical Group Inc., Continental Pharma Inc., Covx, Covx Technologies Ireland Limited, Cyanamid Inter-American Corporation, Cyanamid de Argentina S.A., Cyanamid de Colombia S.A., Distribuidora Mercantil Centro Americana S.A., Encysive Pharmaceuticals, Encysive Pharmaceuticals Inc., Esperion LUV Development Inc., Esperion Therapeutics, Excaliard Pharmaceuticals, Excaliard Pharmaceuticals Inc., Farminova Produtos Farmaceuticos de Inovacao Lda., Farmogene Productos Farmaceuticos Lda, Ferrosan A/S, Ferrosan International A/S, Ferrosan S.R.L., FoldRx Pharmaceuticals Inc., Foldrx Pharmaceuticals, Fort Dodge Manufatura Ltda., G. D. Searle & Co. Limited, G. D. Searle International Capital LLC, G. D. Searle LLC, GI Europe Inc., GI Japan Inc., GenTrac Inc., Genetics Institute LLC, Greenstone LLC, Haptogen Limited, Hospira, Hospira (China) Enterprise Management Co. Ltd., Hospira Adelaide Pty Ltd, Hospira Aseptic Services Limited, Hospira Australia Pty Ltd, Hospira Benelux BVBA, Hospira Chile Limitada, Hospira Deutschland GmbH, Hospira Enterprises B.V., Hospira France SAS, Hospira Healthcare B.V., Hospira Healthcare Corporation, Hospira Healthcare India Private Limited, Hospira Holdings (S.A.) Pty Ltd, Hospira Inc., Hospira Invicta S.A., Hospira Ireland Holdings Unlimited Company, Hospira Ireland Sales Limited, Hospira Japan G.K., Hospira Limited, Hospira Malaysia Sdn Bhd, Hospira NZ Limited, Hospira Nordic AB, Hospira Philippines Inc., Hospira Portugal LDA, Hospira Produtos Hospitalares Ltda., Hospira Pte. Ltd., Hospira Pty Limited, Hospira Puerto Rico LLC, Hospira Singapore Pte Ltd, Hospira UK Limited, Hospira Worldwide LLC, Hospira Zagreb d.o.o., ICAgen, Idun Pharmaceuticals, Industrial Santa Agape S.A., InnoPharma, InnoPharma Inc., International Affiliated Corporation LLC, JMI-Daniels Pharmaceuticals Inc., John Wyeth & Brother Limited, Kiinteisto oy Espoon Pellavaniementie 14, King Pharmaceuticals Holdings LLC, King Pharmaceuticals LLC, King Pharmaceuticals Research and Development LLC, Korea Pharma Holding Company Limited, Laboratoires Pfizer S.A., Laboratorios Parke Davis S.L., Laboratorios Pfizer Ltda., Laboratorios Wyeth LLC, Laboratorios Wyeth S.A., Laboratorios Pfizer Lda., MTG Divestitures LLC, Mayne Pharma IP Holdings (Euro) Pty Ltd, Medivation, Medivation Field Solutions LLC, Medivation LLC, Medivation Neurology LLC, Medivation Prostate Therapeutics LLC, Medivation Services LLC, Medivation Technologies LLC, Meridian Medical Technologies Inc., Meridian Medical Technologies Limited, Monarch Pharmaceuticals LLC, Neusentis Limited, NextWave Pharmaceuticals, NextWave Pharmaceuticals Incorporated, P-D Co. LLC, PAH USA IN8 LLC, PF Americas Holding C.V., PF Asia Manufacturing B.V., PF PR Holdings C.V., PF PRISM C.V., PF PRISM Holdings S.a.r.l., PF Prism S.a.r.l., PFE Holdings G.K., PFE PHAC Holdings 1 LLC, PFE Pfizer Holdings 1 LLC, PFE Wyeth Holdings LLC, PFE Wyeth-Ayerst (Asia) LLC, PHILCO Holdings S.a r.l., PHIVCO Corp., PHIVCO Holdco S.a r.l., PHIVCO Luxembourg S.a r.l., PN Mexico LLC, PT. Pfizer Parke Davis, Parke Davis & Company LLC, Parke Davis Limited, Parke Davis Productos Farmaceuticos Lda, Parke-Davis Manufacturing Corp., Parkedale Pharmaceuticals Inc., Peak Enterprises LLC, Pfizer, Pfizer (China) Research and Development Co. Ltd., Pfizer (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd, Pfizer (Perth) Pty Limited, Pfizer (Thailand) Limited, Pfizer (Wuhan) Research and Development Co. Ltd., Pfizer AB, Pfizer AG, Pfizer AS, Pfizer Africa & Middle East for Pharmaceuticals Veterinarian Products & Chemicals S.A.E., Pfizer Anti-Infectives AB, Pfizer ApS, Pfizer Asia Manufacturing Pte. Ltd., Pfizer Asia Pacific Pte Ltd., Pfizer Atlantic Holdings S.a.r.l., Pfizer Australia Holdings B.V., Pfizer Australia Holdings Pty Limited, Pfizer Australia Investments Pty. Ltd., Pfizer Australia Pty Limited, Pfizer B.V., Pfizer BH D.o.o., Pfizer Baltic Holdings B.V., Pfizer Biofarmaceutica Sociedade Unipessoal Lda, Pfizer Biologics (Hangzhou) Co. Ltd, Pfizer Biologics Ireland Holdings Limited, Pfizer Biotech Corporation, Pfizer Bolivia S.A., Pfizer Canada Inc., Pfizer CentreSource Asia Pacific Pte. Ltd., Pfizer Chile S.A., Pfizer Cia. Ltda., Pfizer Colombia Spinco I LLC, Pfizer Commercial Holdings Cooperatief U.A., Pfizer Commercial Holdings TRAE Kft., Pfizer Commercial TRAE Trading Kft., Pfizer Consumer Healthcare AB, Pfizer Consumer Healthcare GmbH, Pfizer Consumer Healthcare Ltd., Pfizer Consumer Manufacturing Italy S.r.l., Pfizer Corporation, Pfizer Corporation Austria Gesellschaft m.b.H., Pfizer Corporation Hong Kong Limited, Pfizer Croatia d.o.o., Pfizer Deutschland GmbH, Pfizer Development LP, Pfizer Development Services (UK) Limited, Pfizer Domestic Ventures Limited, Pfizer Dominicana S.R.L, Pfizer ESP Pty Ltd, Pfizer East India B.V., Pfizer Eastern Investments B.V., Pfizer Egypt S.A.E., Pfizer Enterprise Holdings B.V., Pfizer Enterprises LLC, Pfizer Enterprises SARL, Pfizer Europe Finance B.V., Pfizer Export B.V., Pfizer Export Company, Pfizer Export Holding Company B.V, Pfizer Finance Share Service (Dalian) Co. Ltd., Pfizer Financial Services N.V./S.A., Pfizer France International Investments, Pfizer Free Zone Panama S. de R.L., Pfizer GEP S.L., Pfizer Global Holdings B.V., Pfizer Global Supply Japan Inc., Pfizer Global Trading, Pfizer Group Luxembourg Sarl, Pfizer Gulf FZ-LLC, Pfizer H.C.P. Corporation, Pfizer HK Service Company Limited, Pfizer Health AB, Pfizer Health Solutions Inc., Pfizer Healthcare Ireland, Pfizer Hellas A.E., Pfizer Himalaya Holdings Cooperatief U.A., Pfizer Holding France, Pfizer Holding Ventures, Pfizer Holdings Corporation, Pfizer Holdings Europe Unlimited Company, Pfizer Holdings G.K., Pfizer Holdings International Corporation, Pfizer Holdings International Luxembourg (PHIL) Sarl, Pfizer Holdings North America SARL, Pfizer Hungary Holdings TRAE Kft., Pfizer Inc., Pfizer Innovations AB, Pfizer Innovations LLC, Pfizer Innovative Supply Point International BVBA, Pfizer International LLC, Pfizer International Markets Cooperatief U.A., Pfizer International Operations, Pfizer International S. de R.L., Pfizer International Trading (Shanghai) Limited, Pfizer Investment Capital Unlimited Company, Pfizer Investment Co. Ltd., Pfizer Investment Holdings S.a.r.l., Pfizer Ireland Investments Limited, Pfizer Ireland PFE Holding 1 LLC, Pfizer Ireland PFE Holding 2 LLC, Pfizer Ireland Pharmaceuticals, Pfizer Ireland Ventures Unlimited Company, Pfizer Italia S.r.l., Pfizer Italy Group Holding S.r.l., Pfizer Japan Inc., Pfizer LLC, Pfizer Laboratories (Pty) Limited, Pfizer Laboratories Limited, Pfizer Laboratories PFE (Pty) Ltd, Pfizer Leasing Ireland Limited, Pfizer Leasing UK Limited, Pfizer Limitada, Pfizer Limited, Pfizer Luxco Holdings SARL, Pfizer Luxembourg Global Holdings S.a r.l., Pfizer Luxembourg SARL, Pfizer MAP Holding Inc., Pfizer Manufacturing Austria G.m.b.H., Pfizer Manufacturing Belgium N.V., Pfizer Manufacturing Deutschland GmbH, Pfizer Manufacturing Deutschland Grundbesitz GmbH & Co. KG, Pfizer Manufacturing Holdings LLC, Pfizer Manufacturing Ireland Unlimited Company, Pfizer Manufacturing LLC, Pfizer Manufacturing Services, Pfizer Medical Technology Group (Belgium) N.V., Pfizer Medicamentos Genericos e Participacoes Ltda., Pfizer Mexico Luxco SARL, Pfizer Mexico S.A. de C.V., Pfizer Middle East for Pharmaceuticals Animal Health and Chemicals S.A.E., Pfizer New Zealand Limited, Pfizer Norge AS, Pfizer North American Holdings Inc., Pfizer OTC B.V., Pfizer Overseas LLC, Pfizer Oy, Pfizer PFE ApS, Pfizer PFE AsiaPac Holding B.V., Pfizer PFE Australia Holding B.V., Pfizer PFE Australia Pty Ltd, Pfizer PFE B.V., Pfizer PFE Baltic Holdings B.V., Pfizer PFE Belgium SPRL, Pfizer PFE Brazil Holding S.a r.l., Pfizer PFE CIA. Ltda., Pfizer PFE Chile Holding LLC, Pfizer PFE Colombia Holding Corp., Pfizer PFE Colombia S.A.S, Pfizer PFE Commercial Holdings LLC, Pfizer PFE Croatia Holding B.V., Pfizer PFE Eastern Investments B.V., Pfizer PFE Finland Oy, Pfizer PFE France, Pfizer PFE Global Holdings B.V., Pfizer PFE Ireland Pharmaceuticals Holding 1 B.V., Pfizer PFE Italy Holdco 2 S.a r.l., Pfizer PFE Italy Holdco S.a r.l., Pfizer PFE Korlatolt Felelossegu Tarsasag, Pfizer PFE Limited, Pfizer PFE Luxembourg S.a r.l., Pfizer PFE Mexico Holding 3 LLC, Pfizer PFE Netherlands Holding 1 C.V., Pfizer PFE New Zealand, Pfizer PFE New Zealand Holding B.V., Pfizer PFE Norway Holding S.a r.l., Pfizer PFE PILSA Holdco S.a r.l., Pfizer PFE Peru Holding LLC, Pfizer PFE Peru S.R.L., Pfizer PFE Pharmaceuticals Israel Holding LLC, Pfizer PFE Pharmaceuticals Israel Ltd., Pfizer PFE Private Limited, Pfizer PFE S.R.L, Pfizer PFE Service Company Holding Cooperatief U.A., Pfizer PFE Singapore Holding B.V., Pfizer PFE Singapore Pte. Ltd., Pfizer PFE Spain B.V., Pfizer PFE Spain Holding S.L., Pfizer PFE Sweden Holding 2 S.a.r.l., Pfizer PFE Sweden Holding S.a.r.l., Pfizer PFE Switzerland GmbH, Pfizer PFE Turkey Holding 1 B.V., Pfizer PFE Turkey Holding 2 B.V., Pfizer PFE UK Holding 4 LP, Pfizer PFE US Holdings 1 LLC, Pfizer PFE US Holdings 2 LLC, Pfizer PFE US Holdings 3 LLC, Pfizer PFE US Holdings 4 LLC, Pfizer PFE US Holdings 5 LLC, Pfizer PFE spol. s r.o., Pfizer PFE Ilaclar Anonim Sirketi, Pfizer Pakistan Limited, Pfizer Parke Davis (Thailand) Ltd., Pfizer Parke Davis Inc., Pfizer Parke Davis Sdn. Bhd., Pfizer Pharm Algerie, Pfizer Pharma GmbH, Pfizer Pharma PFE GmbH, Pfizer Pharmaceutical (Wuxi) Co. Ltd., Pfizer Pharmaceutical Trading Limited Liability Company (a/k/a Pfizer Kft. or Pfizer LLC), Pfizer Pharmaceuticals B.V., Pfizer Pharmaceuticals Global B.V., Pfizer Pharmaceuticals Israel Ltd., Pfizer Pharmaceuticals Korea Limited, Pfizer Pharmaceuticals LLC, Pfizer Pharmaceuticals Ltd., Pfizer Pigments Inc., Pfizer Polska Sp. z.o.o., Pfizer Private Limited, Pfizer Production LLC, Pfizer Products Inc., Pfizer Products India Private Limited, Pfizer Research (NC) Inc., Pfizer Romania SRL, Pfizer S.A., Pfizer S.A., Pfizer S.A. (Belgium), Pfizer S.A. de C.V., Pfizer S.A.S., Pfizer S.G.P.S. Lda., Pfizer S.L., Pfizer S.R.L., Pfizer SRB d.o.o., Pfizer Saidal Manufacturing, Pfizer Sante Familiale, Pfizer Saudi Limited, Pfizer Seiyaku K.K., Pfizer Service Company BVBA, Pfizer Service Company Ireland Unlimited Company, Pfizer Services 1, Pfizer Services LLC, Pfizer Shared Services Unlimited Company, Pfizer Shareholdings Intermediate SARL, Pfizer Singapore Holding Pte. Ltd., Pfizer Singapore Trading Pte. Ltd., Pfizer Spain Holdings Cooperatief U.A., Pfizer Specialties Limited, Pfizer Strategic Investment Holdings LLC, Pfizer Sweden Partnership KB, Pfizer TRAE Holdings Kft., Pfizer Trading Polska sp.z.o.o., Pfizer Transactions Ireland Unlimited Company, Pfizer Transactions LLC, Pfizer Transactions Luxembourg SARL, Pfizer Transport LLC, Pfizer Ukraine LLC, Pfizer Vaccines LLC, Pfizer Venezuela S.A., Pfizer Venture Investments LLC, Pfizer Ventures LLC, Pfizer Worldwide Services Unlimited Company, Pfizer Zona Franca S.A., Pfizer spol. s r.o., Pharmacia, Pharmacia & Upjohn Company Inc., Pharmacia & Upjohn Company LLC, Pharmacia & Upjohn LLC, Pharmacia & Upjohn S.A. de C.V., Pharmacia Brasil Ltda., Pharmacia Hepar LLC, Pharmacia Holding AB, Pharmacia Inter-American LLC, Pharmacia International B.V., Pharmacia LLC, Pharmacia Limited, Pharmacia Nostrum S.A., Pharmacia South Africa (Pty) Ltd, PowderJect Research Limited, PowderMed, Purepac Pharmaceutical Holdings LLC, Redvax, Renrall LLC, Rinat Neuroscience, Rinat Neuroscience Corp., Roerig Produtos Farmaceuticos Lda., Roerig S.A., Sao Cristovao Participacoes Ltda., Searle Laboratorios Lda., Serenex, Servicios P&U S. de R.L. de C.V., Shiley LLC, Sinergis Farma-Produtos Farmaceuticos Lda., Site Realty Inc., Solinor LLC, Sugen LLC, Tabor LLC, The Pfizer Incubator LLC, Therachon, Thiakis Limited, Treerly Health Co. Ltd, US Oral Pharmaceuticals Pty Ltd, Upjohn Laboratorios Lda., Vesteralens Naturprodukter A/S, Vesteralens Naturprodukter AB, Vesteralens Naturprodukter AS, Vesteralens Naturprodukter OY, Vicuron Holdings LLC, Vinci Farma S.A., W-L LLC, Warner Lambert, Warner Lambert Ilac Sanayi ve Ticaret Limited Sirketi, Warner Lambert del Uruguay S.A., Warner-Lambert (Thailand) Limited, Warner-Lambert Company AG, Warner-Lambert Company LLC, Warner-Lambert Guatemala Sociedad Anonima, Warner-Lambert S.A., Whitehall International Inc., Whitehall Laboratories Inc., Wyeth (Thailand) Ltd., Wyeth AB, Wyeth Australia Pty. Limited, Wyeth Ayerst Inc., Wyeth Ayerst S.a r.l., Wyeth Biopharma, Wyeth Canada ULC, Wyeth Consumer Healthcare LLC, Wyeth Europa Limited, Wyeth Farma S.A., Wyeth Holdings LLC, Wyeth Industria Farmaceutica Ltda., Wyeth KFT., Wyeth LLC, Wyeth Lederle S.r.l., Wyeth Lederle Vaccines S.A., Wyeth Pakistan Limited, Wyeth Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd., Wyeth Pharmaceuticals Company, Wyeth Pharmaceuticals FZ-LLC, Wyeth Pharmaceuticals LLC, Wyeth Pharmaceuticals Limited, Wyeth Puerto Rico Inc., Wyeth S.A.S, Wyeth Subsidiary Illinois Corporation, Wyeth Whitehall Export GmbH, Wyeth Whitehall SARL, Wyeth-Ayerst (Asia) Limited, Wyeth-Ayerst International LLC, and Wyeth-Ayerst Promotions Limited. Read More PulteGroup, Inc., through its subsidiaries, primarily engages in the homebuilding business in the United States. It acquires and develops land primarily for residential purposes; and constructs housing on such land. The company also offers various home designs, including single-family detached, townhomes, condominiums, and duplexes under the Centex, Pulte Homes, Del Webb, DiVosta Homes, American West, and John Wieland Homes and Neighborhoods brand names. As of December 31, 2021, it controlled 228,296 lots, of which 109,078 were owned and 119,218 were under land option agreements. In addition, the company arranges financing through the origination of mortgage loans primarily for homebuyers; sells the servicing rights for the originated loans; and provides title insurance policies, and examination and closing services to homebuyers. PulteGroup, Inc. was formerly known as Pulte Homes, Inc. and changed its name to PulteGroup, Inc. in March 2010. The company was founded in 1950 and is headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia. TWIN FALLS They didnt get it right on the money. If you walked along Main Avenue recently outside the future downtown plaza, you may have noticed a sponsor brick that read The Brass Money. What it should have read was The Brass Monkey the name of a clothing boutique just down the street. As it turns out, this was actually one of 15 bricks the Urban Renewal Agency had to replace this week because they had misspellings or were illegible. Another six bricks had to be replaced with engraved ones that were paid for, but were missing altogether. One of the funniest ones they misspelled the mayors name, and it made me laugh, URA Executive Director Nathan Murray said. Mayor Shawn Barigar had noticed the misspelling of his name as Bariger while he was wandering around the block looking at the bricks. He snapped a photo, sent and email and got a quick response that the brick would be replaced with one that had the correct spelling of his last name. The new one is there and it is spelled correctly, Barigar said on Friday. How did the mistake happen? Its actually a bit complicated. The Rotary Club of Twin Falls had sold about 300 engraved bricks to the public for $100 each, or two for $250. The funds went toward the downtown plaza, which will include a splash pad. The club had to transcribe handwritten forms into a spreadsheet, which then was sent to Guho Corp. the general contractor and on to the Boise engraving company, Rockitecture. After the list passed through that many hands, Murray said the URA didnt know who made the errors. The bricks were laid before a thorough proofreading had been done. After the fact, they went through and did a whole review, he said. We ended up having to redo 21 bricks. Barigar said that in the grand scheme of things it wasnt a big deal that his name was misspelled. Murray, however, told the mayor that hed planned on using the brick as a paperweight. Many of the mistakes were small, but important to identifying the sponsors Michele became Michelle and Jody became Judy, for example. And The Brass Monkey became The Brass Money. One brick in the section along Main Avenue and Hansen Street contains several peoples names, followed by a random series of letters. That brick, however, isnt a mistake, Murray clarified. Apparently, the person who purchased it created some kind of secret code as a scavenger hunt for his or her children. The following companies are subsidiares of Clean Harbors: Ace/Allwaste Environmental Services of Indiana LLC, Altair Disposal Services LLC, Aquilex Finance LLC, Aquilex Intermediate Corporate Holdings LLC, Aquilex Intermediate Holdings LLC, Aquilex LLC, Baton Rouge Disposal LLC, Bridgeport Disposal LLC, CARBER Holdings Inc., CB Canada Acquisition Inc., CB Canada Holdings Inc., CB US Holdings Inc., CH International Holdings LLC, Car-Ber Investments Inc., Clean Harbors Andover LLC, Clean Harbors Aragonite LLC, Clean Harbors Arizona LLC, Clean Harbors BDT LLC, Clean Harbors Baton Rouge LLC, Clean Harbors Buttonwillow LLC, Clean Harbors Canada Inc., Clean Harbors Caribe Inc., Clean Harbors Chattanooga LLC, Clean Harbors Clive LLC, Clean Harbors Coffeyville LLC, Clean Harbors Colfax LLC, Clean Harbors Deer Park LLC, Clean Harbors Deer Trail LLC, Clean Harbors Development LLC, Clean Harbors Disposal Services Inc., Clean Harbors El Dorado LLC, Clean Harbors Energy Services ULC, Clean Harbors Energy and Industrial Services Corp., Clean Harbors Energy and Industrial Services LP, Clean Harbors Energy and Industrial Western Ltd., Clean Harbors Environmental Services Inc., Clean Harbors Exploration Services Inc., Clean Harbors Exploration Services LP, Clean Harbors Exploration Services ULC, Clean Harbors Florida LLC, Clean Harbors Grassy Mountain LLC, Clean Harbors India LLP, Clean Harbors Industrial Services Canada Inc., Clean Harbors Industrial Services Inc., Clean Harbors Innu Environmental Services Inc., Clean Harbors Kansas LLC, Clean Harbors Kingston Facility Corporation, Clean Harbors LaPorte LLC, Clean Harbors Laurel LLC, Clean Harbors Lodging Services LP, Clean Harbors Lodging Services ULC, Clean Harbors Lone Mountain LLC, Clean Harbors Mercier Inc., Clean Harbors Pecatonica LLC, Clean Harbors Production Services ULC, Clean Harbors Quebec Inc., Clean Harbors Recycling Services of Chicago LLC, Clean Harbors Recycling Services of Ohio LLC, Clean Harbors Reidsville LLC, Clean Harbors San Jose LLC, Clean Harbors San Leon Inc., Clean Harbors Services Inc., Clean Harbors Surface Rentals Partnership, Clean Harbors Surface Rentals ULC, Clean Harbors Surface Rentals USA Inc., Clean Harbors Tennessee LLC, Clean Harbors Westmorland LLC, Clean Harbors White Castle LLC, Clean Harbors Wichita LLC, Clean Harbors Wilmington LLC, Clean Harbors of Baltimore Inc. (DE Corp.), Clean Harbors of Braintree Inc., Clean Harbors of Connecticut Inc. (DE), Confined Space Services L.L.C., Cousins Waste Control LLC, Crowley Disposal LLC, Cyn Oil Corporation, Debusk Industrial Services Company LLC, Disposal Properties LLC, Emerald Services Inc., EnviroSORT Inc., EnviroSORT Inc., Eveready, Evergreen Holdings, GSX Disposal LLC, Global Vapor Control Inc., Green View Technologies Inc., HPC PetroServ Inc., Hilliard Disposal LLC, HydroChem Canada ULC, HydroChem Industrial Cleaning LLC, HydroChem LLC, HydroChemPSC, IISG Central Region LLC, IISG Gulf Coast LLC, IISG Real Estate LLC, Industrial Service Oil Company Inc., Inland Industrial Services Group LLC, Inland Waters Pollution Control Services LLC, Inland Waters of Ohio LLC, Jesco Industrial Service LLC, LJ Energy Services Holdings LLC, LJ Energy Services Intermediate Holding Corp., Lonestar Sylvan Inc., Lonestar Vacuum Inc., Lonestar West, Lonestar West Enterprises LLC, Lonestar West Inc., Lonestar West Services LLC, Murphy's Waste Oil Service Inc., Northeast Casualty Insurance Company, Omnichem LLC, PMS Industrial Services LLC, PSC Industrial Holdings Corp., PSC Industrial Inc., PSC Industrial Outsourcing LP, PSC Industrial Outsourcing of Michigan LLC, PSC LDAR Services LLC, Peak Energy Services, Philip Services/North Central LLC, Plaquemine Remediation Services LLC, Power Vac Construction L.L.C., RMF Aquilex Corp., Roebuck Disposal LLC, Romic Environmental Technologies, Rosemead Oil Products Inc., SK D'Incineration Inc., Safety-Kleen, Safety-Kleen Canada Inc., Safety-Kleen Envirosystems Company, Safety-Kleen Envirosystems Company of Puerto Rico Inc., Safety-Kleen Inc., Safety-Kleen International Inc., Safety-Kleen Systems Inc., Safety-Kleen of California Inc., Sawyer Disposal Services LLC, Seaport Environmental LLC, Service Chemical LLC, Speed Industrial Corporate LLC, Speed Industrial Service Catalyst LLC, Speed Industrial Service LLC, Speed Industrial Service of Beaumont LLC, Speed Industrial Services of Lake Charles LLC, Speed Industrial Services of Louisiana LLC, Speed Industrial Services of Texas LLC, Spring Grove Resource Recovery Inc., The Solvents Recovery Service of New Jersey Inc., Thermo Fluids, Thermo Fluids Inc., Tri-vax Enterprises Ltd., Tulsa Disposal LLC, Universal Environmental, Veolia North Americas U.S. Industrial Cleaning Services Division, Versant Energy Services Inc., Versant Energy Services LP, and Vulsay Industries Ltd.. Read More Schlumberger Limited provides technology for the energy industry worldwide. The company operates through four divisions: Digital & Integration, Reservoir Performance, Well Construction, and Production Systems. It offers software, information management, and IT infrastructure services; consulting services for reservoir characterization, field development planning, and production enhancement; petro technical data services and training solutions; reservoir interpretation and data processing services; asset performance solutions; open and cased-hole services; exploration and production pressure and flow-rate measurement services; pressure pumping, well stimulation, and coiled tubing equipment for downhole mechanical well intervention, reservoir monitoring, and downhole data acquisition; and integrated production systems. The company also provides mud logging and engineering support services; drilling equipment and services for shipyards, drilling contractors, energy companies, and rental tool companies; land drilling rigs and related services; drilling tools; well cementing products and services; and well planning and drilling, engineering, supervision, logistics, procurement, contracting, and drilling rig management services, as well as supplies engineered drilling fluid systems; and designs, manufactures, and markets roller cone and fixed cutter drill bits. In addition, it offers well completion services and equipment; artificial lift production equipment and optimization services; valves; process systems; and integrated subsea production systems comprising wellheads, subsea trees, manifolds and flowline connectors, control systems, connectors, and services, as well as designs and manufactures onshore and offshore platform wellhead systems and processing solutions. The company was formerly known as Societe de Prospection Electrique. Schlumberger Limited was founded in 1926 and is based in Houston, Texas. The following companies are subsidiares of Thermo Fisher Scientific: 236 Perinton Parkway LLC, 27 Forge Parkway LLC, ABR--Affinity BioReagents, ACI Holdings Inc., ARG Services LLC, ASPEX Corporation, Abgene Inc., Abgene Limited, Acoustic Cytometry Systems Inc., AcroMetrix LLC, Acros Organics B.V.B.A., Advanced Biotechnologies Limited, Advanced Scientifics (ASI), Advanced Scientifics Inc., Advanced Scientifics International Inc., Affymetrix Biotech Participacoes Ltda., Affymetrix Biotech Shanghai Ltd, Affymetrix Inc, Affymetrix Japan K.K., Affymetrix Pte Ltd, Affymetrix UK Ltd, Afora S.A.U., Ahura Scientific, Alchematrix Inc., Alchematrix LLC, Alfa Aesar, Alfa Aesar (China) Chemical Co. Ltd., Alfa Aesar (Hong Kong) Limited, Allergon AB, Alphine Mountain Limited, Ambion Inc., Apogent Denmark ApS, Apogent Finance Company, Apogent Holding Company, Apogent Technologies Inc., Apogent Transition Corp., Apogent U.K. Limited, App-Tek International Pty Ltd, Applied Biosystems B.V., Applied Biosystems Finance B.V., Applied Biosystems International Inc., Applied Biosystems LLC, Applied Biosystems Taiwan LLC, Applied Biosystems Trading (Shanghai) Company Ltd., Applied Biosystems de Mexico S. de R.L. de C.V., Applied Scientific Corporation, Avances Cientificos de Mexico S. de R.L. de C.V., Avocado Research Chemicals Limited, B.R.A.H.M.S. Biotech GmbH, B.R.A.H.M.S. GmbH, B.R.A.H.M.S. UK Ltd, BAC BV, BAC IP BV, Barnstead Thermolyne LLC, Beijing Phadia Diagnostics Co Ltd, Bender MedSystems GmbH, BioTrove Corporation, BioTrove International Inc., Bioanalysis Labsystems S.A., Biochemical Sciences LLC, Biolab, BmT GmbH Laborprodukte, Bonsai Tecnologies - Sistemas para Biotecnologia e Industria Unipessoal Lda, Brammer Bio, Bumi-Sans Sendirian Berhad, CAC Limited, CB Diagnostics AB, CB Diagnostics Holding AB, CEPH International Corporation, CHK Holdings Inc., CRS Robotics, CTPS LLC, Capitol Scientific Products Inc., Capitol Vial Inc., Cellomics Inc., CellzDirect Inc., Cenduit GmbH, Cenduit LLC, Cezanne S.A.S., Chase Scientific Glass Inc., Chromacol Limited, Clintrak, Clintrak Clinical Labeling Services LLC, Clintrak Pharmaceutical Services LLC, Cohesive Technologies (UK) Limited, Cohesive Technologies Inc., Columbia Diagnostics Inc., Compendia Bioscience Inc., Comtest Limited, Consolidated Technologies Inc., Consultores Fisher Scientific Chile Ltd, Core Informatics, Core Informatics LLC, Core Informatics UK Ltd., D-finitive Technologies Inc., DCG Systems B.V., DCG Systems C.V., DCG Systems G.K., DCG Systems GmbH, DCG Systems Korea Ltd., DCG Systems LLC, DPI Newco LLC, DSM Pharmaceutical Products Inc., Dharmacon, Diagnostix Ltd., Dionex (China) Analytical Ltd, Dionex (Switzerland) AG, Dionex (UK) Limited, Dionex Austria GmbH, Dionex Benelux B.V., Dionex Brasil Instrumentos Cientificos Ltda, Dionex Canada Ltd., Dionex China Limited, Dionex Corporation, Dionex Denmark A/S, Dionex Holding GmbH, Dionex I LLC, Dionex Pty Ltd., Dionex S.A., Dionex S.p.A., Dionex Singapore Pte Ltd., Dionex Softron GmbH, Dionex Sweden AB, Distribution Solutions International Inc., Doe & Ingalls Investors Inc., Doe & Ingalls Limited, Doe & Ingalls Management LLC, Doe & Ingalls Properties II LLC, Doe & Ingalls Properties LLC, Doe & Ingalls of California Operating LLC, Doe & Ingalls of Florida Operating LLC, Doe & Ingalls of Maryland Operating LLC, Doe & Ingalls of Massachusetts Operating LLC, Doe & Ingalls of North Carolina Operating LLC, Doublecape Holding Limited, Doublecape Limited, Drakeside Real Estate Holding Company LLC, Duke Scientific Corporation, Dynal Biotech Beijing Limited, EGS Gauging Ltd., EGS Gauging Technical Services Company, EP Scientific Products LLC, Ecochem N.V., EnviroEquip Pty Ltd, Epsom Glass Industries Limited, Equibio Limited, Erie Electroverre S.A., Erie Finance Limited, Erie LP Holding LLC, Erie Scientific Company of Puerto Rico, Erie Scientific Hungary Kft, Erie Scientific LLC, Erie U.K. Limited, Erie UK 1 Limited, Erie UK 2 Limited, Erie UK Holding Company, Erie UK Senior Holding Limited, European Laboratory Holdings Limited, Eutech Instruments Europe B.V., Eutech Instruments Pte Ltd., Eutech Instruments Sdn Bhd, Ever Ready Thermometer Co. Inc., FEI Asia Pacific Co. Ltd., FEI Australia Pty Ltd, FEI CPD B.V., FEI Company, FEI Company Japan Ltd., FEI Company of USA (S.E.A.) Pte Ltd., FEI Czech Republic s.r.o., FEI Deutschland GmbH, FEI EFA Inc., FEI EFA International Pte. Ltd., FEI Electron Optics B.V., FEI Electron Optics International B.V., FEI Europe B.V., FEI France SAS, FEI Global Holdings C.V., FEI Hong Kong Company Limited, FEI Houston Inc., FEI Italia Srl, FEI Korea Ltd., FEI Melbourne Pty Ltd., FEI Microscopy Solutions Ltd, FEI Munich GmbH, FEI Norway Holding AS, FEI SAS, FEI Saudi Arabia LLC, FEI Servicos de Nanotecnologia Ltda., FEI Technologies Inc., FEI Technology de Mexico S.A. de C.V., FEI Trading (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., FEI Trondheim AS, FEI UK Ltd., FHP LLC, FRC Holding Inc. V, FS (Barbados) Capital Holdings Ltd., FS Casa Rocas Holdings LLC, FS Mexicana Holdings LLC, FSI Receivables Company LLC, FSII Sweden Holdings AB, FSII Sweden Holdings I AB, FSIR Holdings (UK) Limited, FSIR Holdings (US) Inc., FSUK Holdings Limited, FSWH Company LLC, FSWH II C.V., FSWH International Holdings LLC, Fermentas China Co. Ltd, Fermentas Inc., Fermentas International, Fermentas Sweden AB, Fermentas UK Limited, Fiberlite Centrifuge LLC, Finesse Scientific Equipment (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., Finesse Solutions AG, Finesse Solutions Inc., Finnzymes Oy, Fisher Alder S. de R.L. de C.V., Fisher Asia Manufacturing Ventures Inc., Fisher Bermuda Holdings Limited, Fisher BioImage ApS, Fisher BioPharma Services (India) Private Limited, Fisher BioSciences Japan G.K., Fisher BioServices Inc., Fisher Bioblock Holding II SNC, Fisher CLP Holding Limited Partnership, Fisher Canada Holding ULC 1, Fisher Canada Holding ULC 2, Fisher Canada Holding ULC 3, Fisher Canada Limited Partnership, Fisher Chimica BVBA, Fisher Clinical Logistics LLC, Fisher Clinical Services (Beijing) Co. Ltd., Fisher Clinical Services (Bristol) LLC, Fisher Clinical Services (Colombia) LLC, Fisher Clinical Services (Korea) Co. Ltd, Fisher Clinical Services (Mexico) LLC, Fisher Clinical Services (Peru) LLC, Fisher Clinical Services (Suzhou) Co. Ltd., Fisher Clinical Services Colombia S.A.S., Fisher Clinical Services GmbH, Fisher Clinical Services Inc., Fisher Clinical Services Japan K.K., Fisher Clinical Services Latin America S.R.L., Fisher Clinical Services Limited Liability Company, Fisher Clinical Services Mexico S. de R.L. de C.V., Fisher Clinical Services Peru S.R.L, Fisher Clinical Services Pte Ltd., Fisher Clinical Services U.K. Limited, Fisher Emergo B.V., Fisher Germany Holdings GmbH, Fisher Hamilton China Inc., Fisher Hamilton Mexico LLC, Fisher Holdings ApS, Fisher Internet Minority Holdings L.L.C., Fisher Laboratory Products Manufacturing (Shanghai) Co. Ltd, Fisher Luxembourg Danish Holdings SARL, Fisher Manufacturing (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd, Fisher Maybridge Holdings Limited, Fisher Mexico S. de R.L. de C.V., Fisher Scientific (Austria) GmbH, Fisher Scientific (Hong Kong) Limited, Fisher Scientific (M) Sdn Bhd, Fisher Scientific (SEA) Pte. Ltd., Fisher Scientific A/S, Fisher Scientific AG, Fisher Scientific Australia Pty Limited, Fisher Scientific Biotech Line ApS, Fisher Scientific Brazil Inc., Fisher Scientific Central America Inc., Fisher Scientific Chile Inc., Fisher Scientific Colombia Inc., Fisher Scientific Company, Fisher Scientific Company L.L.C., Fisher Scientific Costa Rica Sociedad de Responsabilidad Limitada, Fisher Scientific Europe Holdings B.V., Fisher Scientific GTF AB, Fisher Scientific Germany Beteiligungs GmbH, Fisher Scientific GmbH, Fisher Scientific Holding Company LLC, Fisher Scientific Holding HK Limited, Fisher Scientific Holding U.K. Limited, Fisher Scientific Holdings (M) Sdn Bhd, Fisher Scientific Holdings (S) Pte Ltd, Fisher Scientific International LLC, Fisher Scientific Investments (Cayman) Ltd., Fisher Scientific Ireland Investments Unlimited, Fisher Scientific Ireland Limited, Fisher Scientific Japan Ltd., Fisher Scientific Jersey Island Limited, Fisher Scientific Korea Ltd, Fisher Scientific Latin America Inc., Fisher Scientific Luxembourg S.a.r.l., Fisher Scientific Mexicana S. de R.L. de C.V., Fisher Scientific Mexico Inc., Fisher Scientific Middle East and Africa Inc., Fisher Scientific Norway AS, Fisher Scientific Operating Company, Fisher Scientific Oxoid Holdings Ltd., Fisher Scientific Oy, Fisher Scientific Pte. Ltd., Fisher Scientific S.A.S., Fisher Scientific S.L., Fisher Scientific SPRL, Fisher Scientific The Hague I B.V., Fisher Scientific The Hague II B.V., Fisher Scientific The Hague III B.V., Fisher Scientific The Hague IV B.V., Fisher Scientific The Hague V B.V., Fisher Scientific U.K. Limited, Fisher Scientific UK Holding Company 2, Fisher Scientific UK Holding Company Limited, Fisher Scientific Unipessoal Lda., Fisher Scientific Venezuela Inc., Fisher Scientific Worldwide (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., Fisher Scientific Worldwide Holdings I C.V., Fisher Scientific Worldwide Inc., Fisher Scientific de Mexico S.A., Fisher Scientific of the Netherlands B.V., Fisher Scientific spol. S.r.o, Fisher Servicios Clinicos (Chile) LLC, Fisher Servicios Clinicos Chile Ltda, Fisher WWD Holding L.L.C., Fisher Worldwide Distribution SPV, Fisher Worldwide Gene Distribution SPV, Flux Instruments, Fuji Partnership, G & M Procter Limited, G V Instruments Limited, GV Instruments Canada Ltd., GV Instruments Inc, Gatan Inc, General Scientific Company Sdn Bhd (M), Genomed molekularbiologische und diagnostische Produkte GmbH, Gerhard Menzel B.V. & Co. KG, Gold Cattle Standard Testing Labs Inc., Golden West Indemnity Company Limited, Goring Kerr Detection Limited, Greenville Service Company Inc., HENO GmbH i.L., Hangar 215 Inc., Helmet Securities Limited, Henogen, HighChem, HyClone International Trade (Tianjin) Co. Ltd, Hybaid Limited, I.Q. (BIO) Limited, IDnostics AG, ILS Laboratories Scandinavia AB, Inel Inc., Inel SAS, InnaPhase Inc., InnaPhase Limited, IntegenX, Intrinsic BioProbes Inc., Intrinsic Bioprobes Inc., Invitrogen (Shanghai) Investment Co. Ltd., Invitrogen Argentina SA, Invitrogen BioServices India Private Limited, Invitrogen Europe Limited, Invitrogen Finance Corp., Invitrogen Holdings LLC, Invitrogen Holdings Ltd., Invitrogen Hong Kong Limited, Invitrogen IP Holdings Inc., Invitrogen Trading (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., Ion Torrent Systems Inc., Ionalytics Corporation, JSC Thermo Fisher Scientific, Jouan LLC, Jouan Limited, Jouan SA, Kendro Containment & Services Limited, Kendro Laboratory Products Ltd, Kettlebrook Insurance Co. ltd., Keystone Scientific, KonTEM GmbH, Kyle Jordan Investments LLC, LIFE TECHNOLOGIES CORPORATION, LTC Tech South Africa PTY Ltd., La-Pha-Pack GmbH, Lab Vision (UK) Limited, Lab Vision Corporation, Lab-Chrom-Pack LLC, Lab-Line Instruments Inc., Labomex MBP S. de R. L. De C.V., Laboratoire Service International - L.S.I, Laboratory Management Systems Inc., Laboratory Specialties Proprietary Ltd., LambTrack Limited, Laser Analytical Systems Inc., Liberty Lane Investment LLC, Liberty Lane Real Estate Holding Company LLC, Life Sciences International (Poland) SP z O.O, Life Sciences International Holdings BV, Life Sciences International LLC, Life Sciences International Limited, Life Technologies AS, Life Technologies Australia PTY Ltd., Life Technologies BPD AB, Life Technologies BPD UK Limited, Life Technologies Brasil Comercio e Industria de Produtos para Biotecnologia Ltda, Life Technologies Chile SpA, Life Technologies Clinical Services Lab Inc., Life Technologies Co. Ltd., Life Technologies Czech Republic s.r.o., Life Technologies DaAn Diagnostic (Guangzhou) Co. Ltd., Life Technologies Europe B.V., Life Technologies Finance Ltd., Life Technologies Finland Oy, Life Technologies GmbH, Life Technologies Holdings PTE Ltd., Life Technologies Inc., Life Technologies International B.V., Life Technologies Japan Ltd., Life Technologies Korea LLC, Life Technologies Limited, Life Technologies Magyarorszag Kft, Life Technologies New Zealand Ltd., Life Technologies Norway Investments US LLC, Life Technologies Polska Sp z.o.o., Life Technologies SA, Life Technologies SAS, Life Technologies s.r.o, Linkage Biosciences Inc., Linkage Biosciences S.a.r.l., Loftus Furnace Company, Lomb Scientific, Lomb Scientific (Aust) Pty Limited, MTI-GlobalStem, Marketbase International Limited, Matrix MicroScience Inc., Matrix MicroScience Ltd., Matrix Technologies Corporation Limited, Matrix Technologies LLC, Maybridge Chemical Company Limited, Maybridge Chemical Holdings Limited, Maybridge Limited, Medical Analysis Systems Inc., Medical Analysis Systems International Inc., Medical Diagnostics Systems Inc., Metavac LLC, Microgenics Corporation, Microgenics Diagnostics Pty Limited, Microgenics GmbH, Microm International GmbH, Microm Laborgerate S.L.U, Molecular BioProducts Inc., Molecular Probes Inc., Molecular Transfer Inc., NAPCO Inc., NERL Diagnostics LLC, NOVODIRECT GmbH Labor- und Industrie- Megerate, Nalge (Europe) Limited, Nalge Nunc International (Monterrey) LLC, Nalge Nunc International Corporation, Nanjing WeiKangLe Trading Industrial Co Ltd, NanoDrop Technologies LLC, National Scientific Company, Navaho Acquisition Corp., Neomarkers Inc., New FS Holdings Inc., NewcoGen PE LLC, Nihon Dynal K.K., Niton Asia Limited, NovaWave Technologies Inc., Nunc A/S, ONIX Systems Inc., OXOID CZ s.r.o., Odyssey Holdings Corporation, Odyssey Luxembourg Holdings S.a r.l., Odyssey Luxembourg IP Holdings 1 S.a r.l., Odyssey Luxembourg IP Holdings 2 S.a r.l., Odyssey Venture Corporation, Omega Data Systems, One Lambda Inc, Onix Holdings Limited, Orme Scientific Limited, Owl Separation Systems LLC, Oxoid (ELY) Limited, Oxoid 2000 Limited, Oxoid AS, Oxoid Australia Pty. Limited, Oxoid Company, Oxoid Deutschland GmbH, Oxoid Holding SAS, Oxoid Holdings Limited, Oxoid Inc., Oxoid International Limited, Oxoid Investments GmbH, Oxoid Limited, Oxoid N.V., Oxoid New Zealand Limited, Oxoid Pension Trustees Limited, Oxoid Senior Holdings Limited, Oxoid UKH LLC, PAX - DSI Acquisition LLC, PE AG, Pacific Rim Far East Industries LLC, Pacific Rim Investment LLC, Panomics L.L.C., Panomics S.R.L., Patheon, Patheon API Inc., Patheon API Manufacturing Inc., Patheon API Services Inc., Patheon Austria GmbH & Co KG, Patheon B.V., Patheon Banner U.S. Holdings Inc., Patheon Biologics (NJ) LLC, Patheon Biologics Australia Pty Ltd, Patheon Biologics B.V., Patheon Biologics LLC, Patheon Calculus Merger LLC, Patheon Cooperatief U.A., Patheon Development Services Inc., Patheon Finance LLC, Patheon France SAS, Patheon Holdings B.V., Patheon Holdings I B.V., Patheon Holdings II B.V., Patheon Holdings SAS, Patheon I B.V., Patheon I Holding GmbH, Patheon Inc., Patheon International AG, Patheon Italia S.p.A., Patheon KK, Patheon Life Science Products International GmbH, Patheon Manufacturing Services LLC, Patheon Pharmaceuticals Inc., Patheon Pharmaceuticals Services Inc., Patheon Puerto Rico Acquisitions Corporation, Patheon Puerto Rico Inc., Patheon Regensburg GmbH, Patheon Softgels B.V., Patheon Softgels Inc., Patheon U.S. Holdings Inc., Patheon U.S. Holdings LLC, Patheon UK Limited, Patheon UK Pension Trustees Limited, Pelican Acquisition Corporation, Perbio Science (Canada) Company, Perbio Science AB, Perbio Science BVBA, Perbio Science France SAS, Perbio Science Inc., Perbio Science International Netherlands B.V., Perbio Science Invest AB, Perbio Science Nederland B.V., Perbio Science Projekt AB, Perbio Science Sweden Holdings AB, Perbio Science Switzerland SA, Perbio Science UK Limited, Phadia AB, Phadia Diagnosticos Ltda, Phadia GmbH, Phadia Holding AB, Phadia International Holdings C.V., Phadia Korea Co. Ltd, Phadia Luxembourg Holdings S.a.r.l., Phadia Malta Holdings Limited, Phadia Oy, Phadia Real Property AB, Phadia Sweden AB, Phadia Taiwan Inc., Phadia US Inc., Phadia s.r.o., Pharmacaps Mexicana SA de CV, Phenom-World B.V., Phenom-World Holding B.V, Phenom-World Innovations B.V., Phinotex, Pierce Biotechnology Inc., Pierce Milwaukee Holding Corp., Pierce Milwaukee Inc., Polychromix, Power Sweden Holdings I AB, Power Sweden Holdings II AB, Power Sweden Holdings III Aktiebolag, Princeton Gamma-Tech Instruments LLC, Princeton Security Technologies, Prionics AG, Prionics Asia Ltd., Prionics Deutschland GmbH, Prionics France SAS, Prionics Italia S.r.l., Prionics Lelystad B.V., Prionics USA Inc., Priority Air Express LLC, Priority Air Express Pte. Ltd., Priority Air Express UK Limited, Priority Air Holdings Corp, Priority Solutions International, Promedica Pty Limited, Proxeon, Proxeon Biosystems ApS, Qiagen, REP GBP I-B Blocker Inc., Raymond A Lamb Limited, Remel Europe Limited, Remel Inc., Richard-Allan Scientific Company, Robbins Scientific LLC, Robocon Labor- und Industrieroboter Gesellschaft m.b.H, Rupprecht and Patashnick, Rupprecht and Patashnick (R&P), Russell pH Limited, S.C.I. du 10 rue Dugay Trouin, SCI Inno 92, STC Bio Manufacturing Inc., Samco Scientific (Monterrey) LLC, Samco Scientific LLC, Saroph Sweden AB, Schantz Road LLC, Seradyn Inc., Shanghai Life Technologies Biotechnology Co. Limited, Shanghai Thermo Fisher (C-I) Trading Co. Ltd, Shanghai Thermo Fisher (S) Trading Co. Ltd, Southern Trials (Pty) Ltd., Specialty (SMI) Inc., Spectra-Physics AB, Spectra-Physics Holdings Limited, Spectra-Physics Holdings USA LLC, Spectronex, Staten Island Cogeneration Corporation, Sterilin Limited, Stokes Bio Ltd., Sweden DIA (Sweden) AB, SwissAnalytic Group GmbH, Systems Manufacturing Corporation, TFLP LLC, TFS Breda B.V., TFS LLC, TFS Singapore HK Limited, TFSL Financing GP LLC, TFSL Senior GP Holdings 2 LLC, TK Partnership, TKA Wasseraufbereitungssysteme, TMOI Inc., TPI Real Estate Holdings LLC, TSP Holdings I LLC, TWX LLC, Technology Design Solutions Pty Ltd, Thermedics Detection de Argentina S.R.L, Thermo Allen Coding Limited, Thermo Asset Management Services Inc., Thermo BioAnalysis LLC, Thermo BioAnalysis Limited, Thermo BioSciences Holdings LLC, Thermo CIDTEC, Thermo CRS Holdings Ltd., Thermo CRS Ltd., Thermo Cambridge Limited, Thermo Cayman Holdings Ltd., Thermo Corporation, Thermo DMA Inc., Thermo Detection de Mexico S. de R.L. de C.V., Thermo Dutch Holdings Limited Partnership, Thermo EGS Gauging LLC, Thermo Eberline Holdings I LLC, Thermo Eberline Holdings II LLC, Thermo Eberline LLC, Thermo Electron (Calgary) Limited, Thermo Electron (Chile) S.p.A., Thermo Electron (Karlsruhe) GmbH, Thermo Electron (Management Services) Limited, Thermo Electron (Proprietary) Limited, Thermo Electron A/S, Thermo Electron Australia Pty Limited, Thermo Electron Export Inc., Thermo Electron Holdings SAS, Thermo Electron Industries, Thermo Electron LED GmbH, Thermo Electron LED S.A.S., Thermo Electron Limited, Thermo Electron Manufacturing Limited, Thermo Electron Metallurgical Services Inc., Thermo Electron North America LLC, Thermo Electron Pension Trust GmbH, Thermo Electron Puerto Rico Inc., Thermo Electron SAS, Thermo Electron Scientific Instruments LLC, Thermo Electron Sweden AB, Thermo Electron Sweden Forvaltning AB, Thermo Electron Weighing & Inspection Limited, Thermo Elemental Limited, Thermo Environmental Instruments LLC, Thermo Fast U.K. Limited, Thermo Finland Holdings LLC, Thermo Finland Holdings MT1 B.V., Thermo Finland Holdings MT2 B.V., Thermo Finnigan LLC, Thermo Finnigan Limited, Thermo Fisher (CN) Luxembourg Holding S.a.r.l., Thermo Fisher (CN) Luxembourg S.a.r.l., Thermo Fisher (CN) Malta Holdings Limited, Thermo Fisher (CN-I) Luxembourg LLC, Thermo Fisher (CN-II) Luxembourg LLC, Thermo Fisher (Cayman) Holdings I Ltd., Thermo Fisher (Cayman) Holdings II Ltd., Thermo Fisher (Finland Holdings 2) LLC, Thermo Fisher (Finland Holdings) Limited Partnership, Thermo Fisher (Gibraltar) II Limited, Thermo Fisher (Gibraltar) Limited, Thermo Fisher (Heysham) Limited, Thermo Fisher (Kandel) GmbH, Thermo Fisher CHK Holding LLC, Thermo Fisher China Business Trust, Thermo Fisher China Business Trust II, Thermo Fisher Costa Rica Sociedad de Responsabilidad Limitada, Thermo Fisher Cyprus Holdings LLC, Thermo Fisher Detection Mexico LLC, Thermo Fisher Diagnostics (Ireland) Limited, Thermo Fisher Diagnostics AB, Thermo Fisher Diagnostics AG, Thermo Fisher Diagnostics AS, Thermo Fisher Diagnostics Aps, Thermo Fisher Diagnostics Austria GmbH, Thermo Fisher Diagnostics B.V., Thermo Fisher Diagnostics GmbH, Thermo Fisher Diagnostics K.K., Thermo Fisher Diagnostics Limited, Thermo Fisher Diagnostics NV, Thermo Fisher Diagnostics S.L.U., Thermo Fisher Diagnostics S.p.A. , Thermo Fisher Diagnostics SAS, Thermo Fisher Diagnostics Sociedade Unipessoal Lda, Thermo Fisher Eurobonds Ltd., Thermo Fisher Financial Services Inc., Thermo Fisher GP LLC, Thermo Fisher German Holdings LLC, Thermo Fisher Germany B.V., Thermo Fisher India Divestco Private Limited, Thermo Fisher India Holding B.V., Thermo Fisher Insurance Holdings Inc., Thermo Fisher Insurance Holdings LLC, Thermo Fisher Investments (Cayman) Ltd., Thermo Fisher Israel Ltd., Thermo Fisher Production et Services SAS, Thermo Fisher Project Cyprus LLC, Thermo Fisher Re Ltd., Thermo Fisher Scientific (Asheville) LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific (Australia) C.V., Thermo Fisher Scientific (Barbados) Holdings Ltd., Thermo Fisher Scientific (Breda) Holding BV, Thermo Fisher Scientific (Bremen) GmbH, Thermo Fisher Scientific (CN) Limited Partnership, Thermo Fisher Scientific (China) Co. Ltd., Thermo Fisher Scientific (China) Holding Limited, Thermo Fisher Scientific (China-HK) Holding Limited, Thermo Fisher Scientific (DE) Holding S.a.r.l., Thermo Fisher Scientific (Ecublens) SARL, Thermo Fisher Scientific (Finance I) B.V., Thermo Fisher Scientific (Finance I) S.a.r.l., Thermo Fisher Scientific (Finance II) S.a.r.l., Thermo Fisher Scientific (Finance III) LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific (Finance III) S.a.r.l., Thermo Fisher Scientific (Fuji) LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific (Guangzhou) Co. Ltd, Thermo Fisher Scientific (Holding II) B.V. & Co. KG, Thermo Fisher Scientific (Hong Kong) Limited, Thermo Fisher Scientific (IVGN) B.V., Thermo Fisher Scientific (IVGN) Limited, Thermo Fisher Scientific (Johannesburg) (Proprietary) Limited, Thermo Fisher Scientific (Mexico City) LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific (Milwaukee) LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific (Mississauga) Inc., Thermo Fisher Scientific (Monterrey) S. De R.L. De C.V., Thermo Fisher Scientific (NK) LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific (PN) Austria Holding GmbH, Thermo Fisher Scientific (PN) UK LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific (PN) UK Limited Partnership, Thermo Fisher Scientific (PN-I) SRL, Thermo Fisher Scientific (PN-II) SRL, Thermo Fisher Scientific (PN1) UK Ltd, Thermo Fisher Scientific (Panama) B.V., Thermo Fisher Scientific (Panama) Dutch LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific (Praha) s.r.o., Thermo Fisher Scientific (Real Estate 1) GmbH & Co. KG, Thermo Fisher Scientific (Real Estate 1) S.a.r.l., Thermo Fisher Scientific (Schweiz) AG, Thermo Fisher Scientific (Shanghai) Instruments Co. Ltd., Thermo Fisher Scientific (Shanghai) Management Co. Ltd., Thermo Fisher Scientific (Suzhou) Instruments Co. Ltd, Thermo Fisher Scientific (Thailand) Co. Ltd., Thermo Fisher Scientific AL-1 LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific AU C.V., Thermo Fisher Scientific AU II Limited, Thermo Fisher Scientific AU LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific AU Limited, Thermo Fisher Scientific Africa Proprietary Ltd, Thermo Fisher Scientific Aquasensors LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific Australia Pty Ltd, Thermo Fisher Scientific B.V., Thermo Fisher Scientific B.V.B.A., Thermo Fisher Scientific BHK (I) Limited, Thermo Fisher Scientific BHK (II) Limited, Thermo Fisher Scientific Baltics UAB, Thermo Fisher Scientific Beteiligungsverwaltungs GmbH, Thermo Fisher Scientific Biosciences Corp., Thermo Fisher Scientific Brahms LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific Brasil Instrumentos de Processo Ltda., Thermo Fisher Scientific Brasil Servicos de Logistica Ltda, Thermo Fisher Scientific C.V., Thermo Fisher Scientific Cayman Investments LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific Chemicals Inc., Thermo Fisher Scientific China (C-I) LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific China (S) LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific China Holdings I B.V., Thermo Fisher Scientific China Holdings II B.V., Thermo Fisher Scientific China Holdings III B.V., Thermo Fisher Scientific China Holdings IV B.V., Thermo Fisher Scientific Chromatography Holdings Aps, Thermo Fisher Scientific Chromatography Holdings S.a r.l., Thermo Fisher Scientific Cyprus I C.V., Thermo Fisher Scientific Cyprus I Ltd, Thermo Fisher Scientific Cyprus II C.V., Thermo Fisher Scientific Cyprus II Ltd, Thermo Fisher Scientific Cyprus III C.V., Thermo Fisher Scientific Cyprus III Ltd, Thermo Fisher Scientific Cyprus IV C.V., Thermo Fisher Scientific Cyprus V C.V., Thermo Fisher Scientific Denmark Senior Holdings ApS, Thermo Fisher Scientific Erie 1 Financing (Barbados) SRL, Thermo Fisher Scientific Erie Financing (Barbados) SRL, Thermo Fisher Scientific Erie Financing S.a r.l, Thermo Fisher Scientific Europe GmbH, Thermo Fisher Scientific FLC B.V., Thermo Fisher Scientific FLC Finance C.V., Thermo Fisher Scientific FLC II B.V., Thermo Fisher Scientific FLC LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific FSIR Financing (Barbados) SRL, Thermo Fisher Scientific FSIR Financing S.a.r.l, Thermo Fisher Scientific FSUKHCO Financing (Barbados) SRL, Thermo Fisher Scientific Falcon Senior Holdings Inc., Thermo Fisher Scientific Finance Company BV, Thermo Fisher Scientific GENEART GmbH, Thermo Fisher Scientific Germany BV & Co. KG, Thermo Fisher Scientific GmbH, Thermo Fisher Scientific HR Services Mexico S. de R.L. de C.V., Thermo Fisher Scientific Holdings (Cayman) I, Thermo Fisher Scientific Holdings (Cayman) II , Thermo Fisher Scientific Holdings Europe Limited, Thermo Fisher Scientific IT Services GmbH, Thermo Fisher Scientific India Holding LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific India Pvt Ltd, Thermo Fisher Scientific Investments (Luxembourg) S.a.r.l., Thermo Fisher Scientific Investments (Malta) Limited, Thermo Fisher Scientific Investments (Sweden) LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific Investments (Sweden) S.a.r.l., Thermo Fisher Scientific Investments Malta (Sweden Financing) Limited, Thermo Fisher Scientific Invitrogen Financing (Barbados) SRL, Thermo Fisher Scientific Japan Holdings I B.V., Thermo Fisher Scientific Japan Holdings II B.V., Thermo Fisher Scientific Japan Holdings III B.V., Thermo Fisher Scientific K.K., Thermo Fisher Scientific Korea Ltd., Thermo Fisher Scientific LSI Financing (Barbados) SRL, Thermo Fisher Scientific Life CV GP Holdings II LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific Life CV GP Holdings LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific Life Enterprises C.V., Thermo Fisher Scientific Life Enterprises GP LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific Life Financing (Barbados) SRL, Thermo Fisher Scientific Life Financing (Cayman), Thermo Fisher Scientific Life Financing C.V., Thermo Fisher Scientific Life Financing Limited, Thermo Fisher Scientific Life Holdings I C.V., Thermo Fisher Scientific Life Holdings II C.V., Thermo Fisher Scientific Life Holdings III C.V., Thermo Fisher Scientific Life Holdings Limited, Thermo Fisher Scientific Life International GP Holdings LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific Life International Holdings I C.V., Thermo Fisher Scientific Life International Holdings II C.V., Thermo Fisher Scientific Life Investments C.V., Thermo Fisher Scientific Life Investments GP LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific Life Investments I S.a.r.l., Thermo Fisher Scientific Life Investments II S.a r.l., Thermo Fisher Scientific Life Investments III S.a.r.l., Thermo Fisher Scientific Life Investments IV S.a.r.l, Thermo Fisher Scientific Life Investments Malta Holding I LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific Life Investments Malta Holding II LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific Life Investments Malta I Limited, Thermo Fisher Scientific Life Investments Malta II Limited, Thermo Fisher Scientific Life Investments US Financing I LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific Life Investments US Financing II LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific Life NL Holdings GP LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific Life Netherlands Holding C.V., Thermo Fisher Scientific Life Senior GP Holdings II LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific Life Senior GP Holdings LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific Life Senior Holdings C.V., Thermo Fisher Scientific Life Senior Holdings II C.V., Thermo Fisher Scientific Life Senior Holdings Inc., Thermo Fisher Scientific Life Switzerland Holdings GP LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific Life Tech Korea Holdings LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific Life Technologies Enterprise Holding Limited, Thermo Fisher Scientific Life Technologies Investment I LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific Life Technologies Investment II LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific Life Technologies Investment UK I Limited, Thermo Fisher Scientific Life Technologies Investment UK II Limited, Thermo Fisher Scientific Life Technologies Investments Holding LP, Thermo Fisher Scientific Life Technologies Israel Investment I Limited, Thermo Fisher Scientific Life Technologies Israel Investment II Limited, Thermo Fisher Scientific Life Technologies Luxembourg Holding LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific Luxembourg Enterprise Holdings S.a r.l., Thermo Fisher Scientific Luxembourg German Holdings S.a.r.l., Thermo Fisher Scientific Luxembourg Life Technologies UK Holding S.a r.l, Thermo Fisher Scientific Luxembourg Sweden Holdings I S.a r.l, Thermo Fisher Scientific Luxembourg Sweden Holdings II S.a r.l., Thermo Fisher Scientific Luxembourg Venture Holdings I S.a.r.l., Thermo Fisher Scientific Luxembourg Venture Holdings II S.a.r.l., Thermo Fisher Scientific Malaysia Sdn. Bhd., Thermo Fisher Scientific Malta Holdings LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific Messtechnik GmbH, Thermo Fisher Scientific Mexico City S. de R.L. de C.V., Thermo Fisher Scientific Middle East Holdings Inc., Thermo Fisher Scientific Milano Srl, Thermo Fisher Scientific NHK Limited, Thermo Fisher Scientific New Zealand Holdings, Thermo Fisher Scientific New Zealand Limited, Thermo Fisher Scientific Norway Holdings AS, Thermo Fisher Scientific Norway US Investments LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific Odyssey Financing (Barbados) SRL, Thermo Fisher Scientific Odyssey Holdings Limited, Thermo Fisher Scientific Operating Company LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific Oy, Thermo Fisher Scientific PN2 C.V, Thermo Fisher Scientific PN2 LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific PRB LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific PRB Malta Limited, Thermo Fisher Scientific PRB S.a.r.l., Thermo Fisher Scientific Panama I Cayman Ltd, Thermo Fisher Scientific Peru S.R.L., Thermo Fisher Scientific Pte. Ltd., Thermo Fisher Scientific Re Ltd., Thermo Fisher Scientific SL, Thermo Fisher Scientific Senior Financing LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific Senior Holdings Australia LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific South Africa Proprietary Ltd, Thermo Fisher Scientific SpA, Thermo Fisher Scientific Spectra LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific Spectra Malta Limited, Thermo Fisher Scientific Spectra S.a.r.l., Thermo Fisher Scientific Spectra-Physics Holdings Luxembourg I S.a r.l., Thermo Fisher Scientific Spectra-Physics Holdings Luxembourg II S.a r.l., Thermo Fisher Scientific Spectra-Physics Investments Malta Limited, Thermo Fisher Scientific Switzerland Holdings C.V., Thermo Fisher Scientific TR Limited, Thermo Fisher Scientific Taiwan Co. Ltd., Thermo Fisher Scientific Vermogensverwaltungs GmbH, Thermo Fisher Scientific West Palm Holdings LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific Wissenschaftliche Gerate GmbH, Thermo Fisher Scientific Worldwide Investments (Cayman), Thermo Fisher Scientific eCommerce Solutions LLC , Thermo Fisher Senior Canada Holdings LLC, Thermo Foundation Inc., Thermo Gamma-Metrics Holdings Pty Ltd., Thermo Gamma-Metrics LLC, Thermo Gamma-Metrics Pty Ltd, Thermo Holding European Operations LLC, Thermo Hypersil Ltd, Thermo Hypersil-Keystone LLC, Thermo Informatics Asia Pacific Pty Ltd., Thermo Instrument Controls de Mexico S.A. de C.V., Thermo Kevex X-Ray LLC, Thermo Keytek LLC, Thermo LabSystems Inc., Thermo LabSystems S.A., Thermo Life Science International Trading (Tianjin) Co. Ltd., Thermo Life Sciences AB, Thermo Luxembourg Holding S.a.r.l., Thermo Luxembourg S.a.r.l., Thermo MF Physics LLC, Thermo Measurement Ltd, Thermo Measuretech Canada Inc., Thermo Neslab LLC, Thermo Nicolet Limited, Thermo Onix Limited, Thermo Optek (Australia) Pty Ltd., Thermo Optek Limited, Thermo Optek S.A., Thermo Orion Inc., Thermo Portable Holdings LLC, Thermo Power Corporation, Thermo Process Instruments GP LLC, Thermo Process Instruments L.P., Thermo Projects Limited, Thermo Quest S.A., Thermo Radiometrie Limited, Thermo Ramsey Italia S.r.l., Thermo Ramsey LLC, Thermo Ramsey S.A., Thermo Re Ltd., Thermo Scientific Microbiology Pte Ltd., Thermo Scientific Microbiology Sdn Bhd, Thermo Scientific Portable Analytical Instruments Inc., Thermo Scientific Services Inc., Thermo Securities Corporation, Thermo Sentron Canada Inc., Thermo Sentron Limited, Thermo Shandon Inc., Thermo Shandon Limited, Thermo Suomi Holding B.V., Thermo TLH (UK) Limited, Thermo TLH L.P., Thermo Trace Pty Ltd., Thermo-Fisher Biochemical Product (Beijing) Co. Ltd., ThermoLase LLC, ThermoSpectra Limited, Trek Diagnostic Systems LLC, Trek Diagnostic Systems Ltd., Trek Holding Company II Ltd., Trek Holding Company Ltd., Trex Medical Corporation, USB Corporation, Union Lab Supplies Limited, United Diagnostics Inc., VG Systems Limited, Westover Scientific Inc., ZAO PE Biosystems, eBioscience GmbH, eBioscience Ltd, eBioscience SAS, and picoSpin LLC. Read More Spirit AeroSystems Holdings, Inc. designs, engineers, manufactures, and markets commercial aerostructures worldwide. It operates through three segments: Commercial, Defense & Space, and Aftermarket. The Commercial segment offers forward, mid, and rear fuselage sections and systems, struts/pylons, nacelles, and related engine structural components; and wings and wing components, including flight control surfaces, as well as other structural parts. This segment primarily serves the aircraft original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) or engine OEMs of large commercial aircraft and/or business/regional jet programs. The Defense & Space segment provides fuselage, strut, nacelle, and wing aerostructures primarily for U.S. Government defense programs, including Boeing P-8, C40, and KC-46 Tanker. This segment also engages in the fabrication, bonding, assembly, testing, tooling, processing, engineering analysis, and training on fixed wing aircraft aerostructures, missiles, and hypersonics works, such as solid rocket motor throats, nozzles, re-entry vehicle thermal protections systems, forward cockpit and cabin, and fuselage work on rotorcraft aerostructures. The Aftermarket segment offers spare parts and MRO services, repairs for flight control surfaces and nacelles, radome repairs, rotable assets, engineering services, advanced composite repairs, and other repair and overhaul services. Spirit AeroSystems Holdings, Inc. has a strategic partnership with Sierra Space to enhance access to commercial space economy of the future. The company was formerly known as Mid-Western Aircraft Systems Holdings, Inc. Spirit AeroSystems Holdings, Inc. was founded in 1927 and is headquartered in Wichita, Kansas. Its very likely that President Donald Trumps former national security adviser and close confidante is now a confidante of an investigation into whether the Trump campaign coordinated with the Russians to meddle in the election. Theres one reason one criminal charge, actually that lets us safely assume Michael Flynn switched sides: He pleaded guilty to one charge of lying to the FBI, when theres so much more the special counsel could have potentially nabbed him for. [It] suggests a bombshell of a deal with prosecutors, said Jens Ohlin, vice dean of law at Cornell, in an email. The best explanation for why Special Counsel Robert S. Mueller III would agree to it is that Flynn has something very valuable to offer in exchange: damaging testimony on someone else. One doesnt plead guilty unless you hope to get something out of it, said Jack Sharman, who was special counsel to Congress during the Whitewater investigations into Bill and Hillary Clintons real estate affairs. Its easy to see how Flynn benefited: He could have been hit with much more serious charges, and they might have gone after his family. The special counsel had convened a grand jury to look at a range of things Flynn had allegedly done wrong. His failure to register his work lobbying for foreign governments is one of the big ones. The special counsel was even looking into Flynns son to see whether they could pressure Flynn to talk. And the government hopes to get something out of it, Sharman said, which is cooperation. The independent investigation looking into whether the Trump campaign helped Russia meddle in the 2016 presidential election seems to have a pretty good idea about how Flynn could be helpful, even if publicly, we dont. The Posts national security team reports that Flynns lawyers met with Muellers team before this deal and broke down what information Flynn could provide. After that, Flynn started meeting with Muellers team. After that, Flynn was charged with just one crime. Contrast that with Muellers aggressive tactics in other aspects of this investigation. He has signaled hes willing to throw the book at people who dont cooperate. He showed up at the home of Trumps former campaign chairman, Paul Manafort, in a predawn raid this summer, and hes charged Manafort with money-laundering and fraud. Manafort recently put up four homes worth $11.6 million as collateral to the government just so he could get out from under house arrest. By contrast, Flynn pleaded guilty to the same crime that a much lower-level campaign aide, George Papadopoulos, pleaded guilty to: Lying to investigators. Legal experts said Mueller has all the leverage in this deal with Flynn. Its common in a plea deal like this for prosecutors to use the threat of more charges if the defendant doesnt cooperate, said Jeffrey Jacobovitz, a white collar lawyer. And Sharman said cooperation is entirely in the eye of Mueller. He says the conversation with Flynn and Mueller probably went something like this: Youll cooperate, youll tell us the truth. If you do all that, then at the end of the day, well say nice things about you to the judge, who is to impose a sentence on you. If you dont do those things, we wont be nice. And by the way, if you dont take this deal, let me tell you what we will charge you with in the grand jury. AXIS Capital Holdings Limited, through its subsidiaries, provides various specialty insurance and reinsurance products worldwide. It operates through two segments, Insurance and Reinsurance. The Insurance segment offers property insurance products for commercial buildings, residential premises, construction projects, and onshore energy installations; marine insurance products covering offshore energy, cargo, liability, recreational marine, fine art, specie, and hull war; and terrorism, aviation, credit and political risk, and liability insurance products. It also provides professional insurance products that cover directors' and officers' liability, errors and omissions liability, employment practices liability, fiduciary liability, crime, professional indemnity, cyber and privacy, medical malpractice, and other financial insurance related coverages for commercial enterprises, financial institutions, not-for-profit organizations, and other professional service providers. In addition, this segment offers accidental death, travel, and specialty health products for employer and affinity groups. The Reinsurance segment offers reinsurance products to insurance companies, including catastrophe reinsurance products; property reinsurance products covering property damage and related losses resulting from natural and man-made perils; professional lines; credit and surety; and motor liability products. This segment also provides agriculture reinsurance products; coverages for various types of construction risks and risks related to erection, testing, and commissioning of machinery and plants during the construction stage; marine and aviation reinsurance products; and personal accident, specialty health, accidental death, travel, life and disability reinsurance products. The company was founded in 2001 and is headquartered in Pembroke, Bermuda. The following companies are subsidiares of UnitedHealth Group: 1070715 B.C. Unlimited Liability Company, 1st Avenue Pharmacy Inc., 310 Canyon Medical LLC, 4C MSO LLC, 4C Medical Group PLC, 5995 Minnetonka LLC, ABCO International Holdings LLC, ACN Group IPA of New York Inc., ACN Group of California Inc., AHN Accountable Care Organization LLC, AHN Central Services LLC, AHN Target Holdings LLC, AMIL International S.a.r.l., APS Assistencia Personalizada a Saude Ltda., ASC Holdings of New Jersey LLC, ASC Network LLC, ASC Operators-East Bay LLC, ASC Operators-San Francisco LLC, ASC Operators-San Luis Obispo LLC, ASC Operators-Santa Rosa LLC, ASC Operators-South Bay LLC, ASV-HOPCo-SCA Cornerstone LLC, ASV-HOPCo-SCA Florida LLC, AbleTo Behavioral Health Services P.C., AbleTo Inc., Accurate Rx Pharmacy Consulting LLC, Administradora Clinica La Colina S.A.S., Administradora Country S.A.S., Administradora Medica Centromed S.A., Advanced Surgery Center of Clifton LLC, Advanced Surgical Center LLC, Advanced Surgical Hospital LLC, Advocate Condell Ambulatory Surgery Center LLC, Advocate Southwest Ambulatory Surgery Center L.L.C., Advocate-SCA Partners LLC, Aliansalud Entidad Promotora de Salud S.A., All Savers Insurance Company, All Savers Life Insurance Company of California, Alliance Surgical Center LLC, Allina Health Heart and Vascular Surgery Center LLC, Allina Health Surgery Center-Brooklyn Park LLC, Aloha Surgical Center LLC, Ambient Healthcare Inc., Ambient Holdings Inc., AmeriChoice, AmeriChoice Corporation, AmeriChoice of New Jersey Inc., American Health Network of Indiana Care Organization LLC, American Health Network of Indiana II LLC, American Health Network of Indiana LLC, American Health Network of Kentucky LLC, American Health Network of Ohio Care Organization LLC, American Health Network of Ohio II LLC, American Health Network of Ohio LLC, American Physicians Inc., Amico Saude Ltda., Amil, Amil Assistencia Medica Internacional S.A., Angiografia e Hemodinamica Madre Theodora Ltda., Anne Arundel-SCA Holdings LLC, Anne Arundel-SCA Surgicenter LLC, Antelope Valley Surgery Center L.P., Analisis Clinicos ML S.A.C., Apothecary Holdings Inc., AppleCare Medical Management LLC, Aquitania Chilean Holding SpA, Arcadia JV Holdings LLC, Arcadia Outpatient Surgery Center L.P., ArchWell Health LLC, ArchWell Health MSO LLC, ArchWell Health Professional Services Holding Co., ArchWell Health Professional Services of Alabama LLC, ArchWell Health Professional Services of North Carolina P.C., ArchWell Health Professional Services of Oklahoma LLC, Archwell Health Professional Services of Arizona LLC, Archwell Health Professional Services of Nebraska LLC, Arise Physician Group, Arizona Physicians IPA Inc., Arlington Surgery Center LLC, Aspectus Inc., Associacao Lusiadas Knowledge Center Health Education and Research, Audax Health Solutions LLC, Aurora Hospitalist P.C., Austin Center for Outpatient Surgery L.P., Avella Specialty Pharmacy, Aventura Medical Tower Surgery Center LLC, Avery Parent Holdings Inc., Aveta Inc., AxelaCare Intermediate Holdings LLC, AxelaCare LLC, B.R.A.S.S. Partnership in Commendam, BOSC Holdings LLC, BSC Holdings LLC, Ball Outpatient Surgery Center LLC, Banmedica Colombia S.A.S., Banmedica Internacional SpA, Banmedica S.A., Barranca Surgery Center LLC, Beach Surgical Holdings II LLC, Beach Surgical Holdings III LLC, Beach Surgical Holdings LLC, Beaver Medical Group P.C., Bedford Physicians Risk Retention Group Inc., Behavioral Healthcare Options Inc., Beltway Surgery Centers L.L.C., Benefit Administration for the Self Employed L.L.C., Benefitter Insurance Solutions Inc., Bergan Mercy Surgery Center LLC, Bergen-Passaic Cataract Laser and Surgery Center LLC, Bessler MD PLLC, Bind Benefits Inc., Bind LH Holdings Inc., Bind Re Inc., Birmingham Outpatient Surgery Center Ltd., Birmingham Outpatient Surgical Center LLC, Bloomfield ASC LLC, Blue Ridge Day Surgery Center L.P., Blue Ridge GP LLC, Blue Ridge Properties LLC, Boca Raton Outpatient Surgery & Laser Center LTD., Bordeaux Barbados Holdings I SRL, Bordeaux Barbados Holdings II SRL, Bordeaux Barbados Holdings III S.r.l., Bordeaux Holding SpA, Bordeaux International Holdings Inc., Bordeaux UK Holdings I Limited, Bordeaux UK Holdings II Limited, Bordeaux UK Holdings III Limited, Bosque Medical Center Ltda., Brandon Ambulatory Surgery Center LC, BriovaRx Infusion Services 102 LLC, BriovaRx of Florida Inc., BriovaRx of Maine Inc., BriovaRx of Massachusetts LLC, CCEC Anesthesia Management LLC, CDC Holdings Colombia S.A.S., CLISA Clinica de Santo Antonio S.A., CMO Centro Medico de Oftalmologia S/S Ltda., CMS Central de Manipulacao e Servicos Farmaceuticos Ltda., COI Clinicas Oncologicas Integradas S.A., Cabin Enterprises LLC, Cabin Holdings LLC, California Medical Group Insurance Company Risk Retention Group, Camp Hill Ambulatory Centers, Camp Hill-SCA Centers LLC, Capital City Medical Group L.L.C., Cardinal Holding Company LLC, Care Improvement Plus Group Management LLC, Care Improvement Plus South Central Insurance Company, Care Improvement Plus Wisconsin Insurance Company, Care Improvement Plus of Texas Insurance Company, Care Logistics LLC, CareMount Dental Member LLC, CareMount Health Solutions ACO LLC, CareMount Health Solutions Employer LLC, CareMount Health Solutions LLC, CareMount Holding LLC, CareMount Medical Foundation Inc., CareMount Value Partners IPA LLC, Carr PLLC, Casa de Saude Santa Therezinha Ltda., Castle Ambulatory Surgery Center LLC, Castle Rock SurgiCenter LLC, Catalyst360 LLC, Catamaran 2 Unlimited Company, Catamaran Finance Ireland Unlimited Company, Catamaran S.a.r.l., Cedar Park JV Partners LLC, Cedar Park Surgery Center LLC, Cemed Care Empresa de Atendimento Clinico Geral Ltda., Center for Quality Improvement LLC, Center for Restorative Surgery at Maple Grove LLC, Center for Surgery of North Coast L.P., Central Indiana Care Organization LLC, Central Ohio Care Organization LLC, CentriHealth Corporation, CentrifyHealth LLC, Centro Medico Hospitalar Pitangueiras Ltda., Centro Odontologico Americano S.A.C., Centro de Entrenamiento Capacitacion en Reanimacion y Prevencion Limitada, Centro de Servicios Compartidos Banmedica SpA, Centromed Quilpue S.A., Centros Medicos y Dentales Multimed Ltda., Centura-SCA Holdings LLC, Centurion Casualty Company, Channel Islands Surgicenter L.P., Channel Islands Surgicenter Properties LLC, Charleston Surgery Center Limited Partnership, Charleston Surgery Properties LLC, Charlotte Surgery Center LLC, Charlotte Surgery Properties LTD., Charlotte-SC LLC, Chatham Orthopaedic ASC LLC, Childrens Surgery Center LLC, Citrus Regional Surgery Center L.P., Claims Management Systems Inc., Cleburne Surgical Center LLC, Clinical Partners of Colorado Springs LLC, Clinton Partners LLC, Clinica Alameda SpA, Clinica Bio Bio SpA, Clinica Ciudad del Mar S.A., Clinica Davila y Servicios Medicos S.p.A., Clinica Iquique S.A., Clinica Medico Cirurgica de Santa Tecla S.A., Clinica Portoazul S.A., Clinica San Felipe S.A., Clinica Santa Maria S.p.A., Clinica Sanchez Ferrer S.A., Clinica Vespucio S.A., Clinica del Country S.A.S., Coachella Valley Physicians of PrimeCare Inc., Coalition for Advanced Pharmacy Services Inc., Cobranzas Banmedica SpA, Cogent Healthcare IPA of New York Inc., Cogent Healthcare Inc., Cogent Healthcare Management of New York Inc., Cogent Healthcare of Arizona P.C., Cogent Healthcare of California Prof. Corp., Cogent Healthcare of Georgia P.C., Cogent Healthcare of Illinois LLC, Cogent Healthcare of Iowa P.C., Cogent Healthcare of Jackson MS LLC, Cogent Healthcare of Jacksonville LLC, Cogent Healthcare of Mississippi Inc., Cogent Healthcare of Missouri Inc., Cogent Healthcare of Montana P.C., Cogent Healthcare of New Jersey P.C., Cogent Healthcare of North Carolina P.C., Cogent Healthcare of Oregon P.C., Cogent Healthcare of Pennsylvania Inc., Cogent Healthcare of Pensacola L.L.C., Cogent Healthcare of Tennessee P.C., Cogent Healthcare of Virginia Inc., Cogent Healthcare of Washington P.C., Cogent Medical Care P.C., Cogent Patient Safety Organization Inc., Cogent/Endion Medical Care of New York P.C., Collaborative Care Holdings LLC, Collaborative Care Services Inc., Collaborative Realty LLC, Colmedica Medicina Prepagada S.A., Colonial Outpatient Surgery Center LLC, Colorado Innovative Physician Solutions Inc., Colorado Springs Surgery Center Ltd., Comfort Care Transportation LLC, Comprehensive Hospital Physicians of Florida Inc., ConnectYourCare Inc., ConnectYourCare LLC, Connecticut Surgery Center Limited Partnership, Connecticut Surgery Properties LLC, Connecticut Surgical Center LLC, Consorcio Regenero S.A., Constructora Inmobiliaria Magapoq S.A., Consumer Wellness Solutions Inc., Continuum Physicians Group Inc., Continuum Physicians Group of Washington PLLC, Cornell Surgicenter LLC, Cornerstone Surgery Center LLC, Cornerstone Surgicare LLC, Corpus Christi Endoscopy Center L.L.P., Country Scan Ltda., Critical Care Physician of New York P.C., Critical Care Physicians of Illinois LLC, Critical Care Physicians of New Jersey PC, Critical Care Physicians of Pennsylvania P.C., Cross Timbers Surgery Center LLC, Cypress Care Inc., DBP Services of New York IPA Inc., DSP Flint Real Estate LLC, DSP-Building C LLC, DTC Surgery Center LLC, DWIC of Tampa Bay Inc., Dallas Inpatient Specialist PLLC, Danbury Surgical Center L.P., Day-Op Surgery Consulting Company LLC, Definity Health, Dental Benefit Providers Inc., Dental Benefit Providers of California Inc., Dental Benefit Providers of Illinois Inc., Denton Endoscopy Surgery Center LLC, Denton Surgery Center LLC, Derry Surgical Center LLC, Diagnostico Ecotomografico Centromed Ltda., Diasnostico por Imagenes Centromed Ltda., Digestive Disease Center L.P., Dilab Medicina Nuclear Ltda., Diplomat Blocker LLC, Diplomat Corporate Properties LLC, Diplomat Pharmacy, Diplomat Pharmacy Inc., Diplomat Specialty Pharmacy Great Lakes Distribution Center LLC, Diplomat Specialty Pharmacy of Chicago LLC, Diplomat Specialty Pharmacy of Ft. Lauderdale LLC, Diplomat Specialty Pharmacy of Los Angeles County LLC, Distance Learning Network Inc., Divisadero Holdings LLC, DocASAP Inc., DocASAP India Technologies Private Limited, DocASAP US LLC, Doctor + S.A.C., Dry Creek Surgery Center LLC, Dublin Surgery Center LLC, Duluth Surgical Suites LLC, Durable Medical Equipment Inc., E Street Endoscopy LLC, EM Orange Tree LLC, EP Campus I LLC, EPIC Health Plan, EPIC Management Services LLC, East Bay Endoscopy Center L.P., East Brunswick Surgery Center LLC, Echo Locum Tenens Inc., Electronic Network Systems Inc., Elual Participacoes S.A., Emerald Coast Surgery Center L.P., Emisar Pharma Services LLC, Emmaus Holdings LLC, Emmaus Surgical Center LLC, Empire Physician Management Company LLC, Empremedica S. A., Endion Hospitalist North P.C., Endion Hospitalist of Western New York P.C., Endion Medical Healthcare P.C., Endion Medical Services P.C., Endoscopy Center Affiliates Inc., Enterprise Life Insurance Company, Equian, Equian LLC, Equian Parent Corp., Esho Empresa de Servicos Hospitalares S.A., Everett MSO Inc., Excelsior Insurance Brokerage Inc., Executive Health Resources Inc., Executive Surgery Center L.L.C., Eye Clinic Oftalmologia Clinico Cirurgica e Diagnostico Ltda., Eye Specialists Surgery Centers LLC, FMG Holdings LLC, Family Health Care Services, Family Home Hospice Inc., Ferrell Physician Services P.C., Fideicomiso Clinica Barranquilla Portoazul FA-517, First Coast Orthopedic Center LLC, First Family Insurance LLC, Florence Surgery Center L.P., For Health Inc., For Health of Arizona Inc., Fort Sutter Medical Building a California Limited Partnership, Fort Worth Endoscopy Centers LLC, Fortified Provider Network Inc., Foundation Surgery Affiliate General of Huntingdon Valley LLC, Foundation Surgery Affiliate of Huntingdon Valley L.P., Franklin Surgical Center LLC, Freedom Life Insurance Company of America, Freeway Surgicenter of Houston LLC, Frontier Medex Tanzania Limited, FrontierMEDEX Inc., FrontierMEDEX Kenya Limited, FrontierMEDEX US Inc., Fundacion Banmedica, GLBESC LLC, GRANTS PASS SURGERY CENTER LLC, Gadsden Surgery Center LLC, Gainesville Surgery Center L.P., Gainesville Surgery Properties LLC, Genoa, Genoa Healthcare Inc., Genoa QoL Wholesale LLC, Genoa Technology Canada Inc., Genoa Technology Inc., Genoa Telepsychiatry Inc., Genoa of Arkansas LLC, Gladiolus Surgery Center L.L.C., Glenwood Surgical Center L.P., Glenwood-SC Inc., Global One Ventures LLC, Golden Gate Endoscopy Center LLC, Golden Outlook Inc., Golden Rule Financial Corporation, Golden Rule Insurance Company, Golden Triangle Surgicenter L.P., Grandview Surgery Center LTD., Greater New Haven ASC LLC, Greensboro Specialty Surgery Center LLC, Greenville Surgery Center LLC, Greenway Surgical Suites LLC, Grossmont Surgery Center L.P., Grove Place Surgery Center L.L.C., H&W Indemnity SPC Ltd., H.I. Investments Holding Company LLC, HCP ACO California LLC, HCentive Technology India Private Limited, HFHS-SCA Holdings LLC, HMG Holding Corporation, HMG Holdings LLC, HMP of Baltimore USH P.C., Harken Health Insurance Company, Harrison Endo Surgical Center LLC, Hawthorn Place Outpatient Surgery Center L.P., Hays JV Partners LLC, Hays Surgery Center LLC, Health Care-ONE Insurance Agency Inc., Health Inventures Employment Solutions LLC, Health Inventures LLC, Health Plan of Nevada Inc., HealthCare Partners ASC-LB LLC, HealthCare Partners Affiliates Medical Group, HealthCare Partners Management Services California LLC, HealthCare Partners RE LLC, HealthEast Surgery Center-Maplewood LLC, HealthFirst IPA Inc., HealthMarkets Group Inc., HealthMarkets Inc., HealthMarkets Insurance Agency Inc., HealthMarkets LLC, HealthMarkets Services Inc., HealthSCOPE Holdings Inc., HealthScope Benefits Inc., Healthcare Solutions Inc., Healthplex America LLC, Healthplex Dental Services Inc., Healthplex I.P.A. Inc., Healthplex Inc., Healthplex Insurance Company, Healthplex of CT Inc., Healthplex of DC Inc., Healthplex of MD Inc., Healthplex of ME Inc., Healthplex of NC Inc., Healthplex of NJ Inc., Healthplex of TX Inc., Heartland Heart and Vascular LLC, Help Seguros de Vida S.A., Help Service S.A., Help SpA, Hemonefro Hemodialise e Nefrologia Ltda, Highlands Ranch Healthcare LLC, Home Medical S.A., Honodav SpA, Hospice Inspiris Holdings Inc., Hospitais Associados de Pernambuco Ltda., Hospital Alvorada Taguatinga Ltda., Hospital Ana Costa S.A., Hospital Santa Helena S.A., Hospital de Clinicas de Jacarepagua Ltda., Hospitalist Medicine Physician of Broome County PLLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physician of New York - Binghamton P.C., Hospitalist Medicine Physician of New York - Buffalo P.C., Hospitalist Medicine Physician of New York - Newburgh P.C., Hospitalist Medicine Physician of New York - Nyack P.C., Hospitalist Medicine Physician of New York - Patchogue P.C., Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Alabama TCG Inc., Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Alabama TCS Inc., Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Alaska TCG LLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Alaska TCS LLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Arizona - Goodyear Inc., Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Arizona - Nogales Inc., Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Arizona - Phoenix II Inc., Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Arizona - Phoenix Inc., Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Arizona - Sierra Vista Inc., Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Arizona - Tucson II Inc., Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Arizona - Tucson Inc., Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Arizona TCG Inc., Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Arizona TCS Inc., Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Arkansas TCG PLLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Arkansas TCS PLLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Buncombe County PLLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of California - Apple Valley PC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of California - Bakersfield PC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of California - Camarillo PC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of California - Crescent City PC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of California - Fairfield PC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of California - Fremont PC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of California - Grass Valley PC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of California - Jackson PC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of California - Oceanside PC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of California - Oxnard PC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of California - Salinas PC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of California - San Bernardino II PC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of California - San Bernardino PC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of California - San Leandro PC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of California - Sonoma PC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of California - Stockton II PC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of California - Stockton PC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of California - Thousand Oaks PC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of California - Vacaville PC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of California Inc., Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of California TCG PC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of California TCS PC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Colorado - Brighton PC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Colorado - Denver PC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Colorado TCG PC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Colorado TCS PC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Connecticut - Manchester LLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Connecticut - Rockville LLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Connecticut - Wallingford LLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Connecticut LLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Connecticut TCG LLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Connecticut TCS LLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of DC PC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of DC TCG PC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of DC TCS PC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Delaware TCG LLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Delaware TCS LLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Florida - Ft. Lauderdale LLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Florida - Jacksonville II LLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Florida - Jacksonville LLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Florida - Palm Coast LLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Florida TCG LLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Florida TCS LLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Fredericksburg LLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Georgia - Atlanta PC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Georgia - East Point PC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Georgia - Lavonia PC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Georgia - Savannah PC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Georgia TCG PC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Georgia TCS PC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Hawaii - Kealakekua Inc., Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Hawaii TCG Inc., Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Hawaii TCS Inc., Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Idaho - Nampa PLLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Idaho TCG PLLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Idaho TCS PLLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Illinois - Downers Grove LLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Illinois - Elmhurst LLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Illinois - Rockford LLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Illinois - Winfield LLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Illinois TCG LLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Illinois TCS LLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Indiana - Clinton LLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Indiana - Mishawaka LLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Indiana - Terre Haute LLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Indiana LLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Indiana TCG LLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Indiana TCS LLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Iowa - Cedar Rapids PLLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Iowa - Mason City PLLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Iowa PLLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Iowa TCG PLLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Iowa TCS PLLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Kansas - Topeka LLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Kansas - Wichita II LLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Kansas - Wichita LLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Kansas TCG LLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Kansas TCS LLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Louisiana - Alexandria Inc., Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Louisiana - Bossier City Inc., Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Louisiana - Lake Charles Inc., Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Louisiana - Shreveport Inc., Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Louisiana TCG Inc., Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Louisiana TCS Inc., Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Maine - Bangor PLLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Maine - Lewiston PLLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Maine TCG PLLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Maine TCS PLLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Maryland - Cheverly PC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Maryland - Cumberland PC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Maryland - Frederick PC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Maryland - Laurel PC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Maryland - Rockville PC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Maryland P.C., Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Maryland TCG PC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Maryland TCS PC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Massachusetts - Brockton PC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Massachusetts - Dorchester PC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Massachusetts - Framingham PC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Massachusetts - Holyoke PC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Massachusetts - Natick PC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Massachusetts - Norwood PC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Massachusetts - Springfield PC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Massachusetts - Stoughton PC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Massachusetts - Taunton PC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Massachusetts - Worcester PC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Massachusetts TCG PC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Massachusetts TCS PC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Michigan - Alpena PLLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Michigan - Dowagiac PLLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Michigan - Escanaba PLLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Michigan - Grand Blanc PLLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Michigan - Grayling PLLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Michigan - Kalamazoo PLLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Michigan - Plainwell PLLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Michigan - Port Huron PLLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Michigan - Saginaw PLLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Michigan - Tawas City PLLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Michigan PLLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Michigan TCG PLLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Michigan TCS PLLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Minnesota TCG LLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Minnesota TCS LLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Mississippi LLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Mississippi TCG Inc., Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Mississippi TCS Inc., Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Missouri - Bridgeton Inc., Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Missouri - Richmond Heights Inc., Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Missouri TCG Inc., Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Missouri TCS Inc., Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Montana - Billings PC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Montana - Butte PC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Montana - Miles City PC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Montana - Missoula PC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Montana TCG PC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Montana TCS PC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Multiple Practice Sites LLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Nebraska TCG LLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Nebraska TCS LLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Nevada - Henderson Bessler PLLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Nevada - Henderson II Bessler PLLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Nevada - Las Vegas Bessler PLLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Nevada - Las Vegas II Bessler PLLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Nevada TCG Bessler PLLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Nevada TCS Bessler PLLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of New Hampshire TCG PLLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of New Hampshire TCS PLLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of New Jersey - Hackensack PC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of New Jersey - Paterson PC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of New Jersey - TCG PC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of New Jersey TCS PC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of New Mexico - Clovis LLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of New Mexico - Rio Rancho LLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of New Mexico - TCG LLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of New Mexico - TCS LLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of New York PLLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of North Carolina - Burlington PC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of North Carolina - Clyde PC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of North Carolina - Elizabeth City PC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of North Carolina - Jacksonville PC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of North Carolina - New Bern PC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of North Carolina - Rocky Mount PC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of North Carolina PLLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of North Carolina TCG PC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of North Carolina TCS PC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of North Dakota TCG PLLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of North Dakota TCS PLLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Ohio - Akron Professional Corporation, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Ohio - Batavia Professional Corporation, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Ohio - Canton Professional Corporation, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Ohio - Cincinnati II Professional Corporation, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Ohio - Cincinnati III Professional Corporation, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Ohio - Cincinnati Professional Corporation, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Ohio - Circleville Professional Corporation, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Ohio - Columbus II Professional Corporation, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Ohio - Columbus Professional Corporation, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Ohio - Dover Professional Corporation, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Ohio - East Liverpool Professional Corporation, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Ohio - Fairfield Professional Corporation, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Ohio - Martins Ferry Professional Corporation, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Ohio - 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Alexandria LLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Virginia - Front Royal II LLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Virginia - Front Royal LLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Virginia - Mechanicsville LLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Virginia - Midlothian LLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Virginia - Richmond II LLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Virginia - Richmond LLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Virginia - Winchester LLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Virginia LLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Virginia TCG LLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Virginia TCS LLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Washington - Arlington PLLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Washington - Auburn PLLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Washington - Bellingham PLLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Washington - Bremerton PLLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Washington - Burien PLLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Washington - Coupeville PLLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Washington - 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Casper LLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Wyoming TCG LLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Wyoming TCS LLC, Hospitalists Management Group LLC, Humedica, Humedica Inc., Hygeia Corporation, Hygeia Corporation Ontario, IEC Holdings LLC, IHD Holdings LLC, INOV8 Surgical at Memorial City LLC, INSPIRIS of Texas Physician Group, Illinois Independent Care Network LLC, Imagen Technologies Inc., Impel Consulting Experts L.L.C., Impel Management Services L.L.C., InTouch Pharmacy LLC, Indiana Care Organization LLC, Indiana Endoscopy Centers LLC, Inland Surgery Center L.P., Inmobiliaria Apoquindo 3001 S.A., Inmobiliaria Apoquindo 3600 Ltda., Inmobiliaria Apoquindo S.A., Inmobiliaria Clinica Santa Maria S.A., Inmobiliaria Vinamed Ltda., Inmobiliaria e Inversiones Alameda S.A., Inpatient Services P.C., Inpatient Specialists of California P.C., Inspiris, Inspiris Inc., Instituto Radium de Cammpinas Ltda, Inter-Hospital Physicians Association Inc., International Healthcare Services Inc., Inversiones Clinicas Santa Maria SpA, Ironman Holdco Inc., Ironman Intermediate Holdco LLC, Isapre Banmedica S.A., JPM Healthcare LLC, Johnston Surgicare L.P., Joliet Surgery Center Limited Partnership, Jordan Ridge Family Medicine LLC, Joyable Inc., Kansal Inc. A Professional Corporation, Knox Diagnostic Imaging Center LLC, Kokomo Outpatient Surgery Center LLC, LDI Holding Company LLC, LDI Management Services LLC, LGH-A/Golf ASTC L.L.C., LHC Group, La Esperanza del Peru S.A., Laboratorio ROE S.A., Laboratorios Medicos Amed Quilpue S.A., Landmark Group Holdings LLC, Landmark Health Holdings LLC, Landmark Health LLC, Landmark Health NY IPA LLC, Landmark Health NY PO LLC, Landmark Health Technologies Private Limited, Landmark Health of California LLC, Landmark Health of Massachusetts LLC, Landmark Health of North Carolina LLC, Landmark Health of Oregon LLC, Landmark Health of Pennsylvania LLC, Landmark Health of Washington LLC, Landmark India LLC, Landmark Intermediate Holdings LLC, Landmark MSO LLC, Landmark Medical of Idaho PC, Landmark Medical of Massachusetts PLLC, Landmark Medical of Tennessee PC, Landmark Primary Care LLC, Laser Acquisition Holdings III LLC, Leehar Distributors LLC, Lemhi Ventures Fund I LP, Lemhi Ventures Fund II LP, Level2 Medical Services P.C. Alaska, Lexington Surgery Center Ltd., Liberty Anesthesia Services LLC, LifePrint Health Inc., LifeWell. Ltd. Co., Lifeprint Accountable Care Organization LLC, Limestone Medical Center LLC, Litomedica S.A., Logan Surgical Suites LLC, Lotten-Eyes Oftalmologia Clinica e Cirurgica Ltda., Louisville S.C. Ltd., Louisville-SC Properties Inc., Loyola Ambulatory Surgery Center at Oakbrook Inc., Loyola Ambulatory Surgery Center at Oakbrook L.P., Lusiadas - Parcerias Cascais S.A., Lusiadas A.C.E., Lusiadas Algarve S.A., Lusiadas S.A., Lusiadas SGPS S.A., Lutheran Campus ASC LLC, MAMSI Life and Health Insurance Company, MCNA Health Care Holdings LLC, MCNA Insurance Company, MCNA Systems Corp., MD Ops Inc., MD-Individual Practice Association Inc., ME AHS UC LLC, MGH/SCA LLC, MHC Real Estate Holdings LLC, MIAMI SURGERY CENTER LLC, MSLA Management LLC, Main Line Spine Surgery Center LLC, Managed Care of North America Inc., Managed Physical Network Inc., Mansfield Endoscopy Center LLC, March Holdings Inc., March Vision Care IPA Inc., March Vision Care Inc., March Vision Care of Texas Inc., Marin Health Ventures LLC, Marin Specialty Surgery Center LLC, Marin Surgery Holdings Inc., Marlin Holding Company LLC, Maryland Ambulatory Centers LLC, Maryland-SCA Centers LLC, Massachusetts Assurance Company Ltd. PIC, Massachusetts Avenue Surgery Center LLC, McKenzie Surgery Center L.P., MedExpress Primary Care West Virginia Inc., MedExpress Urgent Care Alabama LLC, MedExpress Urgent Care Inc. - Ohio, MedExpress Urgent Care Maine Inc., MedExpress Urgent Care New Hampshire Inc., MedExpress Urgent Care of Boynton Beach LLC, MedSynergies, MedSynergies LLC, Medical Clinic of North Texas PLLC, Medical Hilfe S.A., Medical Support Los Angeles Inc., Medical Surgical Centers of America Inc., Medical Transportation Services LLC, Melbourne Surgery Center LLC, Memorial City Holdings LLC, Memorial City Partners LLC, Memorial Houston Surgery Center LLC, MemorialCare Surgical Center at Orange Coast LLC, MemorialCare Surgical Center at Saddleback LLC, Mesquite Liberty LLC, Metro I Stone Management Ltd., Mid Atlantic Medical Services, Mid-West National Life Insurance Company of Tennessee, Midlands Orthopaedics Surgery Center LLC, Midwest Center for Day Surgery LLC, Mile High SurgiCenter LLC, Mississippi Medical Plaza L.C., Mobile Medical Services of New Jersey PC, Mobile-SC LTD., Modality Accountable Care Organisation Limited, Moen M.D. P.C., Mohawk Surgery Center LLC, Monarch Management Services Inc., Montgomery Surgery Center Limited Partnership, Monument Health LLC, Moore Orthopaedic Clinic Outpatient Surgery Center LLC, Morris County Surgical Center LLC, Mt. Pleasant Surgery Center L.P., Multiangio Ltda., Murrells Inlet ASC LLC, Muskogee Surgical Investors LLC, Mustang Razorback Holdings Inc., My Wellness Solutions LLC, NAMM Holdings Inc., NPN IPA Washington PLLC, NSC Channel Islands LLC, NSC Greensboro LLC, NSC Greensboro West LLC, NSC Lancaster LLC, NSC Seattle Inc., NSC Upland LLC, Naperville Surgical Centre LLC, National Foundation Life Insurance Company, National Pacific Dental Inc., National Surgery Centers LLC, Navigator Health Inc., Nebraska Spine Hospital LLC, Neighborhood Health Partnership Inc., Netwerkes LLC, Nevada Pacific Dental, New Orleans Regional Physician Hospital Organization L.L.C., New West Physicians Inc., New York Proton Management LLC, Newton Holdings LLC, Niagara Hospitalist P.C., Nomad Buyer Inc., North American Medical Management California Inc., North Coast Surgery Center Ltd. a California Limited Partnership, North Dallas Surgical Center LLC, North Kitsap Ambulatory Surgery Center LLC, North Puget Sound Oncology Equipment Leasing Company LLC, Northern Nevada Health Network Inc., Northern Rockies Surgery Center L.P., Northern Rockies Surgicenter Inc., Northern Utah Surgery Center LLC, Northwest Hills JV Partners LLC, Northwest Medical Group Alliance LLC, Northwest Spine and Laser Surgery Center LLC, Northwest Surgicare LLC, Northwest Surgicare Ltd. an Illinois Limited Partnership, OC Cardiology Practice Partners LLC, OCC MSO LLC, OSB Tecnologia e Servicos de Suporte Lda., Omesa SpA, OmniClaim LLC, Oncocare S.A.C., One World Surgery, Ophthalmology Surgery Center of Dallas LLC, Optimum Choice Inc., Optum Bank Inc., Optum Biometrics Inc., Optum Care Inc., Optum Care Networks Inc., Optum Care Services Company, Optum Care of New York Management Inc., Optum Clinics Holdings Inc., Optum Clinics Intermediate Holdings Inc., Optum Compounding Services LLC, Optum Digital Health Holdings LLC, Optum Direct To Consumer Inc., Optum Financial Inc., Optum Frontier Therapies Holdings LLC, Optum Frontier Therapies II LLC, Optum Frontier Therapies LLC, Optum Genomics Inc., Optum Global Solutions Colombia S.A.S., Optum Global Solutions India Private Limited, Optum Global Solutions International B.V., Optum Global Solutions Philippines Inc., Optum Government Solutions Inc., Optum Growth Partners Holdings Inc., Optum Growth Partners LLC, Optum Health & Technology Holdings US Inc., Optum Health & Technology Hong Kong Limited, Optum Health & Technology India Private Limited, Optum Health & Technology Servicos do Brasil Ltda., Optum Health & Technology Singapore Pte. Ltd., Optum Health & Technology US LLC, Optum Health Plan of California, Optum Health Services Canada Ltd., Optum Health Solutions Australia Pty Ltd, Optum Health Solutions UK Limited, Optum Health and Technology FZ-LLC, Optum Healthcare of Illinois Inc., Optum Hospice Pharmacy Services LLC, Optum Inc., Optum Infusion Services 100 Inc., Optum Infusion Services 101 Inc., Optum Infusion Services 103 LLC, Optum Infusion Services 200 Inc., Optum Infusion Services 201 Inc., Optum Infusion Services 202 Inc., Optum Infusion Services 203 Inc., Optum Infusion Services 204 Inc., Optum Infusion Services 205 Inc., Optum Infusion Services 206 Inc., Optum Infusion Services 207 Inc., Optum Infusion Services 208 Inc., Optum Infusion Services 209 Inc., Optum Infusion Services 301 LP, Optum Infusion Services 302 LLC, Optum Infusion Services 305 LLC, Optum Infusion Services 308 LLC, Optum Infusion Services 401 LLC, Optum Infusion Services 402 LLC, Optum Infusion Services 403 LLC, Optum Infusion Services 404 LLC, Optum Infusion Services 500 Inc., Optum Infusion Services 501 Inc., Optum Infusion Services 550 LLC, Optum Infusion Services 551 LLC, Optum Infusion Services 553 LLC, Optum Infusion Services 554 Inc., Optum Insurance of Ohio Inc., Optum Labs Inc., Optum Labs LLC, Optum Life Sciences Canada Inc., Optum Management Consulting Shanghai Co. Ltd., Optum Networks of New Jersey Inc., Optum Operations Ireland Unlimited Company, Optum Oregon MSO LLC, Optum Palliative and Hospice Care of Pennsylvania Inc., Optum Palliative and Hospice Care of Texas Inc., Optum Perks LLC, Optum Pharma Services Holdings Inc., Optum Pharmacy 601 LLC, Optum Pharmacy 700 LLC, Optum Pharmacy 701 LLC, Optum Pharmacy 702 LLC, Optum Pharmacy 704 Inc., Optum Pharmacy 705 LLC, Optum Pharmacy 706 Inc., Optum Pharmacy 707 Inc., Optum Pharmacy 800 Inc., Optum Pharmacy 803 Inc., Optum Pharmacy 805 Inc., Optum Pharmacy 806 Inc., Optum Public Sector Solutions Inc., Optum Rocket LLC, Optum SCA CS JV Holdings LLC, Optum Senior Services LLC, Optum Services Inc., Optum Services Ireland Limited, Optum Services Puerto Rico LLC, Optum Solutions UK Holdings Limited, Optum Technology LLC, Optum UK Solutions Group Limited, Optum Venture Global Partners II LP, Optum Venture Global Partners LP, Optum Venture Partners II LP, Optum Venture Partners III LP, Optum Venture Partners LP, Optum Washington Network LLC, Optum Women's and Children's Health LLC, Optum of New York Inc., Optum360 LLC, Optum360 Services Inc., Optum360 Solutions LLC, OptumCare ACO New Mexico LLC, OptumCare ACO West LLC, OptumCare Clinical Trials LLC, OptumCare Colorado ASC LLC, OptumCare Colorado LLC, OptumCare Colorado Springs LLC, OptumCare Endoscopy Center New Mexico LLC, OptumCare Florida CI LLC, OptumCare Florida LLC, OptumCare Holdings Colorado LLC, OptumCare Holdings LLC, OptumCare Management LLC, OptumCare New Mexico LLC, OptumCare New York IPA Inc., OptumCare Portland LLC, OptumCare South Florida LLC, OptumCare Specialty Practices LLC, OptumHealth Care Solutions LLC, OptumHealth Holdings LLC, OptumHealth International B.V., OptumInsight Holdings LLC, OptumInsight Inc., OptumInsight India Private Limited, OptumInsight Life Sciences Inc., OptumRx Administrative Services LLC, OptumRx Discount Card Services LLC, OptumRx Group Holdings Inc., OptumRx Health Solutions LLC, OptumRx Holdings I LLC, OptumRx Holdings LLC, OptumRx Home Delivery of Ohio LLC, OptumRx IPA III Inc., OptumRx Inc., OptumRx NY IPA Inc., OptumRx PBM of Illinois Inc., OptumRx PBM of Maryland LLC, OptumRx PBM of Pennsylvania LLC, OptumRx PBM of Wisconsin LLC, OptumRx PD of Pennsylvania LLC, OptumRx Pharmacy Inc., OptumRx Pharmacy of Nevada Inc., OptumRx of Pennsylvania LLC, OptumServe Technology Services Inc., Oregon Healthcare Resources LLC, Oregon Outpatient Surgery Center LLC, Orlando Center for Outpatient Surgery L.P., OrthoNet Holdings Inc., OrthoNet LLC, OrthoNet New York IPA Inc., OrthoNet West Inc., OrthoNet of the South Inc., OrthoWest MSO LLC, Orthology Inc., Orthopedic Center of Palm Beach County LLC, Orthopedic Surgery Center of Palm Beach County LLC, Orthopro Management LLC, Ovations Inc., Owensboro Ambulatory Surgical Facility Ltd., Oxford Benefit Management Inc., Oxford Health Insurance Inc., Oxford Health Plans CT Inc., Oxford Health Plans LLC, Oxford Health Plans NJ Inc., Oxford Health Plans NY Inc., P2P Link LLC, PCCCV Inc., PHC Subsidiary Holdings LLC, PHYSICIANS DAY SURGERY CENTER LLC, PMI Acquisition LLC, PMSI Holdings LLC, PMSI Settlement Solutions LLC, POMCO Inc., POMCO Network Inc., PPH Holdings LLC, PPH Management Company L.L.C., PPH-Columbia Inc., PPH-Gardendale Inc., PS Center LLC, PacifiCare Health Systems, PacifiCare Life Assurance Company, PacifiCare Life and Health Insurance Company, PacifiCare of Arizona Inc., PacifiCare of Colorado Inc., Pacific Cardiovascular Associates Medical Group Inc., Pacific Casualty Company Inc., Pacifico S.A. Entidad Prestadora de Salud, Panama City Surgery Center LLC, Park Hill Surgery Center LLC, Parkway Surgery Center LLC, Patient Care Associates L.L.C., PatientsLikeMe, Patrimonio Autonomo Nueva Clinica, Payment Resolution Services LLC, Peninsula Eye Surgery Center LLC, Penzo Enterprises LLC, Peoples Health, Peoples Health Inc., Perham Physical Therapy LTD, Perimeter Center for Outpatient Surgery L.P., Pharmaceutical Technologies LLC, Physician Alliance of the Rockies LLC, Physicians Health Choice of Texas LLC, Physicians Health Plan of Maryland Inc., Physicians' Surgery Center of Downey LLC, Pinnacle III LLC, Plano de Saude Ana Costa Ltda., Plus One Health Management Puerto Rico Inc., Plus One Holdings Inc., Pocono Ambulatory Surgery Center Limited, Polar II Fundo de Investimento em Participacoes Multiestrategia, Polo Holdco LLC, Pomerado Outpatient Surgical Center Inc., Pomerado Outpatient Surgical Center L.P., Post-Acute Care Center for Research LLC, Practice Partners in Healthcare LLC, Preferred Care Network Inc., Preferred Care Network of Florida Inc., Preferred Care Partners Holding Corp., Preferred Care Partners Inc., Preferred Care Partners Medical Group Inc., PreferredOne, PreferredOne Administrative Services Inc., PreferredOne Insurance Company, Premier Choice ACO Inc., Premier Surgery Center of Louisville L.P., Premiere Medical Resources LLC, Presidio Surgery Center LLC, Prime Health Inc., PrimeCare Medical Network Inc., PrimeCare of Citrus Valley Inc., PrimeCare of Corona Inc., PrimeCare of Hemet Valley Inc., PrimeCare of Inland Valley Inc., PrimeCare of Moreno Valley Inc., PrimeCare of Redlands Inc., PrimeCare of Riverside Inc., PrimeCare of San Bernardino Inc., PrimeCare of Sun City Inc., PrimeCare of Temecula Inc., PrimeDoc St. Francis P.C., PrimeDoc of Richmond P.C., ProHEALTH Care Associates L.L.P., ProHEALTH Care Associates of New Jersey LLP, ProHEALTH Medical Management LLC, ProHealth Physicians ACO LLC, ProHealth Physicians Inc., ProHealth Proton Center Management LLC, ProHealth/CareMount Dental Management LLC, Procura Management Inc., Professional Coverage Services PLLC, Progressive Enterprises Holdings Inc., Progressive Medical LLC, Promotora Country S.A., Pronounced Health Solutions Inc., Prosemedic S.A.C., Prospero Benefits Management LLC, Prospero Care Management LLC, Prospero Management Services LLC, Providence & SCA Development LLC, Providence & SCA Off-Campus Holdings LLC, Providence & SCA On-Campus Holdings LLC, Providence & SCA Outreach Markets Holdings LLC, Pulse Platform LLC, QoL Acquisition Holdings Corp., R Cubed Inc., RABessler M.D. P.C., ROC Surgery LLC, ROCS Holdings LLC, RX Ricardo Campos Ltda., Rally Health Inc., ReMedics LLC, Real Appeal Inc., Redding Surgery Center LLC, Redlands Ambulatory Surgery Center, Redlands-SCA Surgery Centers Inc., Reliant MSO LLC, Reliant Medical Group Inc., Reliant Medical Group The Endoscopy Center LLC, Research Surgical Center LLC, Resonancia Magnetica de Colombia Ltda., Resonancia Magnetica del Country S.A., RightCare Solutions Inc., River Valley ASC LLC, Riverside Corporate Wellness LLC, Riverside Electronic Healthcare Resources Inc., Riverside Medical Management LLC, Riverside Surgical Center of Meadowlands LLC, Riverside Surgical Center of Newark LLC, Robert A. Bessler MD PLLC, Rockville Eye Surgery Center LLC, Rocky Mountain Health Maintenance Organization Incorporated, Rush Oak Brook Surgery Center LLC, SC Affiliates LLC, SCA AHN JV Holdings LLC, SCA Alaska Surgery Center inc., SCA Athens LLC, SCA Austin Holdings LLC, SCA Austin Medical Center Holdings LLC, SCA Aventura Holdings LLC, SCA BOSC Holdings LLC, SCA Bloomfield Holdings LLC, SCA Cedar Park Holdings LLC, SCA Clifton LLC, SCA Colorado Springs Holdings LLC, SCA Community Service Foundation, SCA Cottonwood Holdings LLC, SCA Danbury Surgical Center LLC, SCA Denver Holdings LLC, SCA Development LLC, SCA Duluth Holdings LLC, SCA Duncanville Holdings LLC, SCA Duncanville MSO LLC, SCA ESSC Holdings LLC, SCA Englewood Holdings LLC, SCA Global One Holdings LLC, SCA Greenway Holdings LLC, SCA Grove Creek Holdings LLC, SCA Guilford Holdings LLC, SCA Hays Holdings LLC, SCA Health Value Enterprise LLC, SCA Heartland Holdings LLC, SCA High Point Holdings LLC, SCA HoldCo Inc., SCA Holding Company Inc., SCA Holdings Inc., SCA IEC Holdings LLC, SCA Indiana Holdings LLC, SCA Lutheran Holdings LLC, SCA Maple Grove Holdings LLC, SCA Mohawk Holdings LLC, SCA Murrells Inlet LLC, SCA Northern Utah Holdings LLC, SCA Northwest Holdings LLC, SCA Outside New Jersey LLC, SCA Pacific Holdings Inc., SCA Pacific Surgery Holdings LLC, SCA Palisades Holdings LLC, SCA Pennsylvania Holdings LLC, SCA Pinnacle Holdings LLC, SCA Premier Surgery Center of Louisville LLC, SCA Providence Holdings LLC, SCA ROCS Holdings LLC, SCA Rockledge JV LLC, SCA Rush Oak Brook Holdings LLC, SCA SSSC Holdings LLC, SCA Sage Medical LLC, SCA Sage Medical MSO LLC, SCA San Diego Holdings LLC, SCA Skyway Holdings LLC, SCA South Ogden Holdings LLC, SCA Southwestern PA LLC, SCA Specialists of Florida LLC, SCA Specialty Holdings of Connecticut LLC, SCA Stonegate Holdings LLC, SCA Surgery Holdings LLC, SCA Surgicare of Laguna Hills LLC, SCA Teammate Support Network, SCA West Health Holdings LLC, SCA Westgreen Holdings LLC, SCA Woodbury Holdings LLC, SCA eCode Solutions Private Limited, SCA of Clarksville Inc., SCA-Albuquerque Surgery Properties Inc., SCA-Alliance LLC, SCA-Anne Arundel LLC, SCA-Applecare Partners LLC, SCA-Bethesda LLC, SCA-Blue Ridge LLC, SCA-Bonita Springs LLC, SCA-Brandon LLC, SCA-Castle Rock LLC, SCA-Central Florida LLC, SCA-Charleston LLC, SCA-Chatham LLC, SCA-Chevy Chase LLC, SCA-Citrus Inc., SCA-Colonial Partners LLC, SCA-Colorado Springs LLC, SCA-Connecticut Partners LLC, SCA-DRY CREEK LLC, SCA-Davenport LLC, SCA-Denver LLC, SCA-Denver Physicians Holdings LLC, SCA-Derry LLC, SCA-Doral LLC, SCA-Downey LLC, SCA-Dublin LLC, SCA-Encinitas Inc., SCA-Eugene Inc., SCA-First Coast LLC, SCA-Florence LLC, SCA-Fort Collins Inc., SCA-Fort Walton Inc., SCA-Franklin LLC, SCA-Frederick LLC, SCA-Freeway Holdings LLC, SCA-Ft. Myers LLC, SCA-GRANTS PASS LLC, SCA-Gainesville LLC, SCA-Gladiolus LLC, SCA-Glenwood Holdings LLC, SCA-Grove Place LLC, SCA-Hagerstown LLC, SCA-Hamden LLC, SCA-Hilton Head LLC, SCA-Honolulu LLC, SCA-Houston Executive LLC, SCA-IT Holdings LLC, SCA-Illinois LLC, SCA-JPM Holdings LLC, SCA-Kissing Camels Holdings LLC, SCA-MC VBP Inc., SCA-Main Street LLC, SCA-Marina del Rey LLC, SCA-Mecklenburg Development Corp., SCA-Memorial City LLC, SCA-Memorial LLC, SCA-Merritt LLC, SCA-Midlands LLC, SCA-Midway Management LLC, SCA-Mobile LLC, SCA-Mokena LLC, SCA-Morris Avenue LLC, SCA-Morris County LLC, SCA-Mt. Pleasant LLC, SCA-Naperville LLC, SCA-Naples LLC, SCA-New Jersey LLC, SCA-Newport Beach LLC, SCA-Northeast Georgia Health LLC, SCA-PORTLAND LLC, SCA-Palm Beach LLC, SCA-Palm Beach MSO Holdings LLC, SCA-Panama City Holdings LLC, SCA-Paoli LLC, SCA-Phoenix LLC, SCA-Pocono LLC, SCA-Practice Partners Holdings LLC, SCA-River Valley LLC, SCA-Riverside LLC, SCA-Riverside Partners LLC, SCA-Rockville LLC, SCA-Sacred Heart Holdings LLC, SCA-San Diego Inc., SCA-San Luis Obispo LLC, SCA-Sand Lake LLC, SCA-Santa Rosa Inc., SCA-Somerset LLC, SCA-South Jersey LLC, SCA-Sparta LLC, SCA-Spartanburg Holdings LLC, SCA-St. Louis Holdings LLC, SCA-St. Louis LLC, SCA-St. Lucie LLC, SCA-SurgiCare LLC, SCA-Swiftpath LLC, SCA-VERTA LLC, SCA-VLR Holdings Company LLC, SCA-Wake Forest LLC, SCA-Western Connecticut LLC, SCA-Westover Hills LLC, SCA-Winchester LLC, SCA-Winter Park Inc., SCA-Woodlands Holdings LLC, SCAI Holdings LLC, SCLHS-SCA Holdings LLC, SCP Specialty Infusion LLC, SHC Atlanta LLC, SHC Austin Inc., SHC Hawthorn Inc., SHC Melbourne Inc., SJ East Campus ASC LLC, SRPS LLC, SSSC Holdings LLC, SVHS-SCA Florida JV LLC, Sacred Heart ASC LLC, Saden S.A., Sage Medical Prof. LLC, Salem JV Holdings LLC, Salem Surgery Center LLC, Salveo Specialty Pharmacy Inc., San Diego Endoscopy Center, San Diego Sports and Minimally Invasive Surgery Center LLC, San Francisco Endoscopy Center LLC, San Luis Obispo Surgery Center a California Limited Partnership, Sand Lake SurgiCenter LLC, Santa Barbara Endoscopy Center LLC, Santa Cruz Endoscopy Center LLC, Santa Helena Assistencia Medica S.A., Santa Rosa Surgery Center L.P., Santos Administracao e Participacoes S.A., Sanvello Health Holdings LLC, Sanvello Health Inc., Sanvello Health Limited, Scanner Centromed S.A., Seashore Surgical Institute L.L.C., Seisa Servicos Integrados de Saude Ltda., Senate Street Surgery Center LLC, Senior Benefits L.L.C., Serquinox Holdings LLC, Servicios Integrados de Salud Ltda., Servicios Medicos Amed Quilpue S.A., Servicios Medicos Bio Bio Ltda., Servicios Medicos Ciudad del Mar Ltda., Servicios Medicos Santa Maria Ltda., Servicios Medicos Vespucio Ltda., Servicios de Entrenamiento en Competencias Clinicas Ltda., Serviclinica Inmobiliaria S.A., Serviclinica S.A. Ex Los Leones La Calera, Servisalud Inmobiliaria S.A., Servisalud S.A. Ex Los Carrera Quilpue, Shark Holdings P.C., Sierra Dental Plan Inc., Sierra Health Services Inc, Sierra Health Services Inc., Sierra Health and Life Insurance Company Inc., Sierra Health-Care Options Inc., Sierra Home Medical Products Inc., Sierra Nevada Administrators Inc., Sistema de Administracion Hospitalaria S.A.C., Small Business Insurance Advisors Inc., Sobam Centro Medico Hospitalar S.A., Sociedad de Inversiones Santa Maria SpA, Solstice Administration Services Inc., Solstice Administrators Inc., Solstice Administrators of Alabama Inc., Solstice Administrators of Arizona Inc., Solstice Administrators of Missouri Inc., Solstice Administrators of North Carolina Inc., Solstice Administrators of Texas Inc., Solstice Benefit Services Inc., Solstice Benefits Inc., Solstice Health Insurance Company, Solstice Healthplans Inc., Solstice Healthplans of Arizona Inc., Solstice Healthplans of Colorado Inc., Solstice Healthplans of New Jersey Inc., Solstice Healthplans of Ohio Inc., Solstice Healthplans of Tennessee Inc., Solstice Healthplans of Texas Inc., Solstice of Illinois Inc., Solstice of Minnesota Inc., Solstice of New York Inc., Solutran LLC, Somerset Outpatient Surgery L.L.C., Sound Inpatient Physicians Inc., Sound Inpatient Physicians Medical Group Inc., Sound Inpatient Physicians of Ohio LLC, Sound Inpatient Physicians of Texas I Inc., Sound Inpatient Physicians Michigan PLLC, Sound Intensivists of Nevada RBessler M.D. PLLC, Sound Kenwood Hospitalists of Cincinnati Inc., Sound Kenwood Hospitalists of Cincinnati LLC, Sound Physicians Advisory Services Inc., Sound Physicians Alaska Hospitalist Group LLC, Sound Physicians Anesthesiology of Texas PLLC, Sound Physicians Emergency Medicine of Arizona Inc., Sound Physicians Emergency Medicine of Georgia P.C., Sound Physicians Emergency Medicine of Illinois LLC, Sound Physicians Emergency Medicine of Kansas LLC, Sound Physicians Emergency Medicine of Kentucky PLLC, Sound Physicians Emergency Medicine of Louisiana Inc., Sound Physicians Emergency Medicine of Michigan PLLC, Sound Physicians Emergency Medicine of Nevada Bessler PLLC, Sound Physicians Emergency Medicine of South Carolina LLC, Sound Physicians Emergency Medicine of Southern California P.C., Sound Physicians Emergency Medicine of Texas PLLC, Sound Physicians Emergency Medicine of Washington PLLC, Sound Physicians Emergency Medicine of West Virginia PLLC, Sound Physicians Holdings LLC, Sound Physicians Intensivists of Arizona Inc., Sound Physicians Intensivists of Georgia PC, Sound Physicians Intensivists of South Carolina LLC, Sound Physicians Intensivists of Virginia LLC, Sound Physicians Intensivists of Washington PLLC, Sound Physicians Palliative Care of Maryland P.C., Sound Physicians Telemedicine Inc., Sound Physicians of Florida IV LLC, Sound Physicians of Georgia III P.C., Sound Physicians of Hawaii Inc., Sound Physicians of Idaho PLLC, Sound Physicians of Illinois LLC, Sound Physicians of Indiana LLC, Sound Physicians of Iowa PLLC, Sound Physicians of Kankakee Illinois LLC, Sound Physicians of Massachusetts II P.C., Sound Physicians of Massachusetts Inc., Sound Physicians of New Jersey LLC, Sound Physicians of New York PLLC, Sound Physicians of North Carolina PLLC, Sound Physicians of South Carolina LLC, Sound Physicians of Wyoming LLC, South Arlington Surgical Providers LLC, South County Surgical Center LLC, South Sound Inpatient Physicians PLLC, Southern California Medical Practice Concepts LLC, Southland Hospitalists P.C., Southwest Medical Associates Inc., Southwest Michigan Health Network Inc., Southwest Surgery Center LLC, Southwest Surgical Center LLC, Space Coast Surgical Center Ltd., Spartanburg Surgery Center LLC, Specialists in Urology Surgery Center LLC, Specialized Pharmaceuticals Inc., Specialty Benefits LLC, Specialty Billing Solutions LLC, Specialty Surgical Center LLC, Spectera Inc., Spectera of New York IPA Inc., Sports and Spinal Physical Therapy Inc., St. Cloud Outpatient Surgery Ltd. a Minnesota Limited Partnership, St. Cloud Surgical Center LLC, St. Louis Cardiovascular Institute LLC, St. Louis Specialty Surgical Center LLC, Stonegate JV Partners LLC, Stonegate Surgery Center L.P., Summer Street ASC LLC, SunSurgery LLC, Surgery Center Holding LLC, Surgery Center at Cherry Creek LLC, Surgery Center at Cottonwood LLC, Surgery Center at Grove Creek LLC, Surgery Center at Kissing Camels LLC, Surgery Center at South Ogden LLC, Surgery Center at St. Vincent LLC, Surgery Center of Boca Raton Inc., Surgery Center of Colorado Springs LLC, Surgery Center of Des Moines LLC, Surgery Center of Easton LLC, Surgery Center of Ellicott City Inc., Surgery Center of Fairfield County LLC, Surgery Center of Fort Collins LLC, Surgery Center of Lexington LLC, Surgery Center of Louisville LLC, Surgery Center of Maui LLC, Surgery Center of Mt. Scott LLC, Surgery Center of Muskogee LLC, Surgery Center of Rockville L.L.C., Surgery Center of Southern Pines LLC, Surgery Center of The Woodlands LLC, Surgery Centers of Des Moines Ltd. an Iowa Limited Partnership, Surgery Centers-West Holdings LLC, Surgical Care Affiliates, Surgical Care Affiliates LLC, Surgical Care Affiliates Political Action Committee, Surgical Care Partners of Melbourne LLC, Surgical Caregivers of Fort Worth LLC, Surgical Center of Greensboro LLC, Surgical Center of San Diego LLC, Surgical Center of South Jersey Limited Partnership, Surgical Center of Tuscaloosa Holdings LLC, Surgical Eye Experts LLC, Surgical Health LLC, Surgical Health of Orlando LLC, Surgical Hospital Holdings of Oklahoma LLC, Surgical Management Solutions LLC, Surgicare LLC, Surgicare of Central Jersey LLC, Surgicare of Jackson LLC, Surgicare of Jackson Ltd. a Mississippi Limited Partnership, Surgicare of Joliet Inc., Surgicare of La Veta Inc., Surgicare of La Veta Ltd. a California Limited Partnership, Surgicare of Minneapolis LLC, Surgicare of Minneapolis Ltd. a Minnesota Limited Partnership, Surgicare of Mobile LLC, Surgicare of Mobile Ltd., Surgicare of Oceanside Inc., Surgicare of Owensboro LLC, Surgicare of Salem LLC, Surgicenters of Southern California Inc., Symphonix Health Holdings LLC, T.M. Carr M.D. P.C., THE SURGICAL CENTER OF THE TREASURE COAST L.L.C., THR-SCA Holdings LLC, TeamMD Holdings Inc., TeamMD Iowa Inc., TeamMD Physicians of Texas Inc., TeamUP Insurance Services Inc., Tecnologia de Informacion en Salud S.A., Texas Health Craig Ranch Surgery Center LLC, Texas Health Flower Mound Orthopedic Surgery Center LLC, Texas Health Orthopedic Surgery Center Alliance LLC, Texas Health Surgery Center Alliance LLC, Texas Health Surgery Center Bedford LLC, Texas Health Surgery Center Chisholm Trail LLC, Texas Health Surgery Center Irving LLC, Texas Health Surgery Center Las Colinas LLC, Texas Health Surgery Center Preston Plaza LLC, Texas Health Surgery Center Rockwall LLC, Texas Health Surgery Center Southwest Fort Worth LLC, Texas Health Surgery Center Waxahachie LLC, Texas Health Surgery Center Willow Park LLC, The Advisory Board Company, The Alaska Hospitalist Group LLC, The Chesapeake Life Insurance Company, The Eye Surgery Center of the Carolinas L.P., The Intensivist Group of Langhorne LLC, The Lewin Group Inc., The Outpatient Surgery Center of Hilton Head LLC, The Polyclinic MSO LLC, The Surgery Center of Easton L.P., The Surgical Center of Connecticut LLC, Thomas Johnson Surgery Center LLC, Three Rivers Holdings Inc., Three Rivers Surgical Care L.P., Tmesys LLC, Topimagem Diagnostico por Imagem Ltda., Touchpoint Health Plan, Trails Edge Surgery Center LLC, Trauma Surgery Affiliates LLC, Travel Express Incorporated, Treasure Valley Emerald Properties LLC, Treasure Valley Hospital Limited Partnership, Tri-City Medical Center ASC Operators LLC, Tri-County Surgery Center LLC, Trinity Cardiovascular Care PLLC, Tufts Health Freedom Insurance Company, Tufts Health Freedom Plans Inc., Tuscaloosa Surgical Center L.P., U.S. Behavioral Health Plan California, UCSD Ambulatory Surgery Center LLC, UCSD Center for Surgery of Encinitas L.P., UCSD Surgical Center of San Diego LLC, UCSD-SCA Holdings I LLC, UCSD-SCA Holdings II LLC, UHC Finance Ireland Unlimited Company, UHC International Services Inc., UHC of California, UHCG Holdings Ireland Limited, UHCG Services Ireland Limited, UHCG FZE, UHG Brasil Participacoes S.A., UHG Holdings UK IV Limited, UHG Holdings UK V Limited, UHG Holdings UK VI Limited, UHIC Holdings Inc., UMR Inc., UPHT-SCA Holdings LLC, USHEALTH Academy Inc., USHEALTH Administrators LLC, USHEALTH Advisors LLC, USHEALTH Career Agency Inc., USHEALTH Funding Inc., USHEALTH Group Inc., USMD ASC IV1 LLC, USMD ASC IV2 LLC, USMD Administrative Services L.L.C., USMD Affiliated Services, USMD Holdings Inc., USMD Hospital at Arlington L.P., USMD Hospital at Fort Worth L.P., USMD Inc., USMD PPM LLC, Unidad Medica Diagnostico S.A., Unimerica Insurance Company, Unimerica Life Insurance Company of New York, Unison Health Plan of Delaware Inc., United Behavioral Health, United Behavioral Health of New York I.P.A. Inc., United Group Reinsurance Inc., United Health Foundation, United HealthCare Services Inc., United Medical Park ASC LLC, United Resource Networks IPA of New York Inc., United in Advancing Health Equity Foundation, UnitedHealth Advisors LLC, UnitedHealth Group Employee Assistance Fund, UnitedHealth Group Incorporated, UnitedHealth Group International Finance Ireland Unlimited Company, UnitedHealth International Inc., UnitedHealth Military & Veterans Services LLC, UnitedHealthcare Benefits Plan of California, UnitedHealthcare Benefits of Texas Inc., UnitedHealthcare Children's Foundation Inc., UnitedHealthcare Community Plan Inc., UnitedHealthcare Community Plan of California Inc., UnitedHealthcare Community Plan of Georgia Inc., UnitedHealthcare Community Plan of Ohio Inc., UnitedHealthcare Community Plan of Texas L.L.C., UnitedHealthcare Consulting & Assistance Service Beijing Co. Ltd., UnitedHealthcare Europe S.a r.l., UnitedHealthcare Global Medical UK Limited, UnitedHealthcare Inc., UnitedHealthcare Insurance Company, UnitedHealthcare Insurance Company of America, UnitedHealthcare Insurance Company of Illinois, UnitedHealthcare Insurance Company of New York, UnitedHealthcare Insurance Company of the River Valley, UnitedHealthcare Insurance Designated Activity Company, UnitedHealthcare Integrated Services Inc., UnitedHealthcare International Asia LLC, UnitedHealthcare International I B.V., UnitedHealthcare International II S.a r.l., UnitedHealthcare International III B.V., UnitedHealthcare International III S.a r.l., UnitedHealthcare International IV S.a r.l., UnitedHealthcare International VII S.a r.l., UnitedHealthcare International VIII S.a r.l., UnitedHealthcare International X S.a r.l., UnitedHealthcare Life Insurance Company, UnitedHealthcare Parekh Insurance TPA Private Limited, UnitedHealthcare Plan of the River Valley Inc., UnitedHealthcare Service LLC, UnitedHealthcare Specialty Benefits LLC, UnitedHealthcare of Alabama Inc., UnitedHealthcare of Arizona Inc., UnitedHealthcare of Arkansas Inc., UnitedHealthcare of Colorado Inc., UnitedHealthcare of Florida Inc., UnitedHealthcare of Georgia Inc., UnitedHealthcare of Illinois Inc., UnitedHealthcare of Kentucky Ltd., UnitedHealthcare of Louisiana Inc., UnitedHealthcare of Mississippi Inc., UnitedHealthcare of New England Inc., UnitedHealthcare of New Mexico Inc., UnitedHealthcare of New York Inc., UnitedHealthcare of North Carolina Inc., UnitedHealthcare of Ohio Inc., UnitedHealthcare of Oklahoma Inc., UnitedHealthcare of Oregon Inc., UnitedHealthcare of Pennsylvania Inc., UnitedHealthcare of South Carolina Inc., UnitedHealthcare of Texas Inc., UnitedHealthcare of Utah Inc., UnitedHealthcare of Washington Inc., UnitedHealthcare of Wisconsin Inc., UnitedHealthcare of the Mid-Atlantic Inc., UnitedHealthcare of the Midlands Inc., UnitedHealthcare of the Midwest Inc., UnitedHealthcare of the Rockies Inc., Unity Health Network LLC, Upland Holdings LLC, Upland Outpatient Surgical Center L.P., Urgent Care Holdings Inc., Urgent Care MSO LLC, Urology Associates of North Texas P.L.L.C., VERTA MANAGEMENT SERVICES LLC, VPay Benefits Corporation, VPay Inc., VPay Intermediate Holdings LLC, Valley Hospital L.L.C., Valley Physicians Network Inc., Vascular Labs of the Rockies ASC LLC, Vascular Labs of the Rockies PLLC, Via Vitae MSO LLC, Vida Integra S.p.A., Vida Tres S.A., Virtua-SCA Holdings II LLC, Virtua-SCA Holdings LLC, Vivify Health Canada Inc., Vivify Health Inc., WESTMED Practice Partners LLC, Wake Forest Ambulatory Ventures LLC, Walnut Creek Endoscopy Center LLC, Walnut Hill Surgery Center LLC, Wauwatosa Outpatient Surgery Center LLC, Wauwatosa Surgery Center LLC, Wayland Square Surgicare Acquisition L.P., Wayland Square Surgicare GP Inc., Waypoint Minnesota PC, WellMed Medical Management Inc., WellMed Medical Management of Florida Inc., West Coast Endoscopy Holdings LLC, WestHealth JV Holdings LLC, WestHealth Surgery Center LLC, Western Connecticut Orthopedic Surgical Center LLC, Westgreen Surgical Center LLC, Wilson Creek Surgical Center LLC, Winchester Endoscopy LLC, Winter Park LLC, Winter Park Surgery Center L.P., Woodbury Surgery Center LLC, XAS Infusion Suites Inc., XLHealth Corporation, XLHealth Corporation India Private Limited, divvyDOSE, divvyMED LLC, eCode Solutions LLC, gethealthinsurance.com Agency Inc., hCentive Inc., inPharmative Inc., naviHealth Care at Home LLC, naviHealth Coordinated Care LLC, naviHealth Coordinated Care SC P.C., naviHealth Holdings LLC, naviHealth Inc., naviHealth Michigan HBPC P.C., and naviHealth SM Holdings Inc.. Read More WestRock Company, together with its subsidiaries, provides fiber-based paper and packaging solutions in North America, South America, Europe, Asia, and Australia. It operates through two segments, Corrugated Packaging and Consumer Packaging. The Corrugated Packaging segment produces containerboards, corrugated sheets, corrugated packaging, and preprinted linerboards to consumer and industrial products manufacturers, and corrugated box manufacturers. It also provides structural and graphic design, engineering services and custom, and proprietary and standard automated packaging machines, as well as turn-key installation, automation, line integration, and packaging solutions; distributes corrugated packaging materials and other specialty packaging products, including stretch films, void fills, carton sealing tapes, and other specialty tapes; operates recycling facilities that collect, sort, grade, and bale recovered paper; and provides lithographic laminated packaging products, as well as contract packing services. The Consumer Packaging segment manufactures and sells folding cartons that are used to package food, paper, beverages, dairy products, tobacco, confectionery, health and beauty, other household consumer, and commercial and industrial products; and express mail packages for the overnight courier industry. It also offers inserts and labels, as well as rigid packaging and other printed packaging products, such as transaction cards, brochures, product literature, marketing materials, and grower tags and plant stakes for the horticultural market; and secondary packages and paperboard packaging for over-the-counter and prescription drugs. In addition, this segment manufactures and sells solid fiber and corrugated partitions, and die-cut paperboard components principally to glass container manufacturers and the automotive industry, as well as producers of beer, food, wine, spirits, cosmetics, and pharmaceuticals. WestRock Company is based in Atlanta, Georgia. An ancient Hindu tradition may carry new health risks, researchers warn, because modern versions of coloured powder and liquids thrown during the Holi festival contain toxic agents and may damage eyes, skin and lungs. Holi is an annual festival that marks the onset of spring. For festival goers, it also represents a time of forgiveness, renewed friendship and the triumph of good over evil. The celebration is often referred to as the holiday of colour, which is exactly where the problem lies. Throwing of (powder or liquid) colours on each other is the hallmark of this festival, lead author Dr. Shikha Gupta of the Prasad Center for Ophthalmic Sciences in New Delhi said in an email. Traditionally, Holi colours were made from natural sources, including berries, flowers, spices and other plants, according to Indias National Council of Science Museums. Manufacture of the powders and liquids is poorly regulated, however, and testing has found the modern versions to contain substances such as malachite green, a suspected carcinogen, rhodamine and gentian violet, Guptas team writes in the journal Eye. Other common contaminants include lead oxide, copper sulphate, mercury sulphite and mold, the authors note. These contaminants, through contact with skin, respiratory tract or eyes, can cause complications, the authors write. For their study, Gupta and colleagues assessed 13 patients complaining of eye pain, the sensation of a foreign particle or excessive redness and eye tearing. All patients had recently attended a Holi festival celebration. Among these patients diagnoses were punctate keratopathy, an inflammation of the cornea, and epithelial defect, a form of eye irritation caused by a scratch, foreign bodies or chemical exposure. The researchers concluded that punctate keratopathy and epithelial defect specifically were directly related to patients exposure to the toxic chemicals ubiquitous in Holi coloured-powder compounds. These powdered alkaline substances are dangerous because at first you dont feel them, said Dr. Andrea Thau, a recent president of the American Optometric Association who wasnt involved in the study. If not irrigated from the eye as quickly as possible, these particles gradually create more and more damage, destroying and disrupting the outer cells of the cornea, she told Reuters Health in a telephone interview. In some patients, the effect is transient, Gupta said. Some patients heal in yet another two weeks, but some others may take three months to completely heal and have normal ocular surface. Although rooted in Indian tradition, Holi is widely celebrated around the world including in North America, South America and Europe. And Holi is not the only time these potentially toxic powders serve as a main feature in celebratory events. colour runs - a type of non-traditional road race that celebrates health, happiness and camaraderie among participants - are increasing in popularity. Competitors adorn themselves in vibrant, colour-powdered t-shirts. Spectators also throw powder as runners pass by - powders engineered from a potentially similar hazardous formula associated with those used during Holi festival. More research is needed to establish a cause-and-effect relationship, Gupta said. However, every year there is a spurt in the number of patients presenting with Holi colour-related injury to the emergency department during the time of Holi festival. Holi powder remains unregulated in most areas of the world, the authors say. They call for government imposed bans on prohibition of manufacturing, sale and use of these chemicals to be made mandatory. In the meantime, specialists recommend increasing community awareness and emphasizing the health risks associated with Holi coloured-powder and strategies for protecting oneself. Wear sunglasses, swim goggles and/or a hat with a brim, Thau advised. This will allow participants to enjoy the beauty of the festival without exposing them to the danger of these substances. Obama also said the US worked 'very hard' to get India into the 48-member Nuclear Suppliers Group. (Photo: PTI) New Delhi: The US had no evidence that Islamabad was aware of 9/11 attacks mastermind Osama bin Laden's presence in Pakistan, former American president Barack Obama on Friday said. When terror struck Mumbai in November 2008, "the US was as obsessed as India" to dismantle the terror network and the US intelligence personnel were deployed to help the Indian government, he said at the HT Leadership Summit here. On 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." Answering a question whether the Pakistani government was aware of Osama hiding in Abbottabad, Obama said, "We had no evidence that Pakistani government was aware of Osama bin Laden's presence there but that is something obviously we looked at. I will leave it you to characterise beyond what I just said." Laden was killed by US Navy Seal forces in May 2011 in a surprise raid at Abbottabad, where he was found to be living discreetly with his family and close aides. On whether he was disappointed over the little progress that has taken place between India and US nuclear power giants GE and Westinghouse Co to build atomic reactors in India, Obama said his role was to to give an opportunity for the American companies. "My job was not to guarantee that the deal goes through. The goal from my perspective was to India, which had a significant nuclear infrastructure, remarkable scientists, and need for energy... we recognised the reality and put the nuclear issue on a stable footing so that it was not an impediment to the strong bilateral relations," he said. According to the Indo-US nuclear cooperation agreement signed in 2008, the two US companies are to build six atomic reactors each in Andhra Pradesh and Gujarat. Currently, negotiations are on between Westinghouse to build six reactors of 1208 MW each at Kovvada in Andhra Pradesh. Obama also said the US worked "very hard" to get India into the 48-member Nuclear Suppliers Group. "We did not get cooperation from every country," he said, without naming any country. When asked whether he blames China for it, Obama said, "In international affairs, it is hard to distinguish between motives of any given country. I wouldn't hazard to say in a definitive way that China's objections were based on its views of competition." India's quest to gain a place in the elite NSG club has, on several occasions, met with opposition from China. HYDERABAD: The state government plans to launch We-Hub, a start-up incubator exclusively for women, along the lines of T-Hub, in order to support and en-courage female entrepreneurs, IT minister K.T. Rama Rao said at the conclusion of the GES - 2017. We-Hub will have the ingredients of T-Hub but will be exclusively for women, he said. Mr Amitabh Kant, CEO of NITI Aayog, said, NITI Aayog will partner with the Telangana state government as part of the Atal Innovation Mission to realise the plans for We-Hub. Mr Rama Rao also announced that investments of Rs 25 lakhs to Rs 1 crore would be made in companies, especially those led by women, with a corpus of Rs 15 crore as part of the Technology Fund. He added that the government was strengthening its procurement policy in the small- and medium-sized enterprises (SME) sector to aid women entrepreneurs. As per the current procurement policy, 20 per cent of the procurement is done from private entities. The government will ensure that at least one-fourth of that 20 per cent is from companies run by women, Mr Rama Rao said. At a press conference, Mr Kant said, The GES will create innovation; an entrepreneurial run for the Make in India, Digital India and Start-up India initiatives, with the state of TS playing a critical role. Delegates from 150 countries participated in the Summit. The contingents of 127 countries included female delegates, and ten countries had all-women contingents. 33 percent of the entrepreneurs in attendance were below the age of 30. Google is estimated to be charged for violating privacy of approximately 5.4 million consumers and will have to agree to a bill of around $3.3 billion. Consumer group Google You Owe Us has started a class action against Google alleging the search giant illegally gathered personal information from more than five million iPhone users to target them with more relevant ads. The alleged violation of privacy settings took place as a part of saga known as Safari Workaround. Google is accused of tweaking methods to bypass Safari browser settings to gain access to cookies in order to push relevant ads to the iPhone users. Google is estimated to be charged for violating privacy of approximately 5.4 million consumers and will have to agree to a bill of around $3.3 billion. Richard Lloyd, executive director and Government adviser, as well as one of the leaders in the anti-Google class action, says Google has violated Section 4 of the Data Protection Act 1998 and will have to settle the compensation to the customers according to Section 13. If the class action is approved, users will be asked to fill an online form to become eligible for compensation as part of the lawsuit, he adds. I believe that what Google did was quite simply against the law. Their actions have affected millions, and well be asking the courts to remedy this major breach of trust. Through this action, we will send a strong message to Google and other tech giants in Silicon Valley that were not afraid to fight back if our laws are broken, he said. I want to spread the word about our claim. Google owes all of those affected fairness, trust and money. By joining together, we can show Google that they cant get away with taking our data without our consent, and that no matter how large and powerful they are, nobody is above the law. While Google is yet to issue an official statement on the matter, this isnt the first time the company has been sued over the Safari Workaround. Back in March 2015, the UK Court of Appeal decided that users had the right to against Google for accumulating information without their consent. Google is turn said that it was disappointed with the courts decision, and theres a chance that the new class action would get a green signal as well. Click on Deccan Chronicle Technology and Science for the latest news and reviews. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter. Multinational software company Oracle prepares to bring micro, small and medium enterprises into the cloud or the internet. Oracle Philippines managing director Mina Lim said it would greatly improve the performance of MSMEs if they got connected to the cloud, as this would optimize operations and keep capital expenditures at bay. We see this as an opportunity for many businesses to go into cloud, whether they are small or big businesses. For smaller companies, they can go straight to the cloud without worrying about capital expenditure. The technology is in the same platform as those available for big businesses, she said. Oracle Philippines managing director Mina Lim Oracle wants to tap the huge potential of MSMEs migration into cloud as 99 percent of businesses in the Philippines are considered small MSMEs. The battle for expenses lies between operating expenditures and capital expenditures of any company, including a micro enterprise, she said. ADVERTISEMENT It is better for companies, big or small, to concentrate on their core competencies. For MSMEs it could be on manufacturing or services as well as for big companies. Leave the operational maintenance to us, she said. Cost will always be a part of the conversation, but the way to growing the business is to focus on it, and allow technology and cloud providers like us to maintain and secure the system for them, she said. Oracle serves clients in the Philippines in the sectors of banking, telecommunications, BPO, MSME and real estate. Lim said Union Bank of the Philippines, one of its clients, has fearlessly embraced technology and cloud applications ahead of the its competitors. The journey of Union Bank into digital banking has defied concerns of the banking sector that dared not to trudge the path that was unfamiliar then, Lim said. Union Bank has commissioned Oracle to migrate its human capital management system into cloud on top of the data on clients, a first in the industry. The system will match the job for talents employed within Union Banks HCM and allow them to grow with the companys transition to digitalization, which is among the four modules by Oracle. Look at Union Bank. They got rid of all the things they think are a constraint to them. They went to Central Bank to get approval. They believe this is how they will manage their talents keep them, train them. A very powerful message, Lim said, adding that the Central Bank is being progressive in giving the go signal to simplify the banks procedure. Oracle now has the technology to infuse cloud applications with artificial intelligence-based apps for finance, human resources, supply chain, manufacturing, commerce, customer service, marketing and sales professionals. To empower commerce, marketing, sales and service professionals to deliver smarter experiences across the customer lifecycle, Oracle has expanded its portfolio of artificial intelligence-based customer experience apps. New AI-powered capabilities improve search capabilities within the Oracle CX Cloud Suite commerce platform, optimize marketing campaign execution, shorten sales cycles and streamline customer service processes. For example, in the quoting process, AI-driven graphical price optimization provides sales professionals with guidance to provide select discretionary discounts as appropriate. By applying advanced data science and machine learning to Oracles web-scale data and an organizations own data, the new Adaptive Intelligent Apps can react, learn, and adapt in real time based on historical and dynamic customer data. Lim said the bottomline of all of the Oracle cloud functionalities is productivity. Why is the measure of productivity important to companies? Because they want to keep clients, to provide the right service at the right time notwithstanding if the company is big or small. They will invest their money to keep clients happy. Its all about customer experience, retaining and winning customers, and the benefit will always translate to dollars, she said. Oracle said that in the Philippines, cloud is very important. The volume of growing businesses especially the MSMEs is a feeder for many cloud service providers like us. When you are in cloud you are always on top of technology because Oracle will upgrade for you, said Lim. We are very bullish. We have the technology and I think the market is accepting it already. We have customers adapting to cloud and they are in various stages. Our presence in telco, banking, government is very strong. Youll be surprised there are early adaptors especially the medium-sized and they easily adapt to the program, she said. Please enable JavaScript to view the comments powered by Disqus. The Ferraris of the Capital will be joining at the Claridges Hotel, and will then prance through the streets of New Delhi, onwards to the Buddh International Circuit (BIC), Greater Noida. A track session would be made available for the Ferrari owners to experience the full potential of their car. The second phase of the celebrations is set in Mumbai on December 17th. At least 25 Ferraris are expected to gather at landmarks such as the Bandra-Worli Sea Link, Haji Ali and Marine Drive. Ferrari owners from all over the country are expected to take part in the occasion. Ferrari have conducted events spanning across almost 60 countries, with the inclusion of rare classics, unique brand experiences and press releases. The theme for the occasion is the concept laid down by Ferrari - Driven By Emotion'. Ferrari have made some iconic cars ever since their inception in 1947, with the legendary 125 S. Ever since then, the brand has achieved numerous titles for both road and track cars. Ferrari currently sells the 488 GTB, 488 Spyder, GTC4 Lusso, GTC4 Lusso T, California T (soon to be replaced by the Portofino) and the 812 Superfast in India. DriveSpark Thinks! Every petrolhead around the globe worship the glorious V8s and V12s Ferrari produce. Enzo Ferrari used to say that Ferrari made engines only, and the cars were just a place to put them in. The term Ferrari' and the prancing-horse logo are all part of a strong heritage which started off from a small town called Maranello, in Northern Italy, and it conquered the hearts of many around the world, including India. Amazon Web Services shone a spotlight on Internet of Things and machine learning technologies earlier this week, with the announcement of a new operating system and several new services designed to encourage radical expansion of their deployment and use across multiple industries. The new OS, Amazon FreeRTOS, simplifies development, deployment, security and maintenance of microcontroller-based edge devices, according to Tara Walker, technical evangelist for AWS. FreeRTOS will help extend IoT technology to low-power devices such as smoke detectors, light bulbs and conveyor belts. Devices such as these are not large enough to have their own CPU. Developers will be able to use FreeRTOS to build into devices networking, over-the-air software updates, encryption and certificate handling, according to AWS. 1-Click for All The new services including AWS IoT 1-click, AWS IoT Device Management, AWS IoT Device Defender, AWS IoT Analytics, and AWS Greengrass ML Inference are designed to help companies quickly deploy IoT devices in a secure environment and be able to analyze data on a large scale. These new AWS IoT Services will allow customers to simply and quickly operationalize, secure and scale entire fleets of devices, and then act on the large volumes of data they generate with new analytics capabilities specifically designed for IoT, said Dirk Didascalou, vice president for IoT at AWS. AWS IoT 1-Click, currently available in preview, lets customers enable devices to perform simple tasks such as reordering goods, calling technical support or tracking asset locations. Customers can enable a device with the AWS Lambda function by downloading a mobile app, registering and selecting an AWS IoT 1-Click enabled device, and associating it with an AWS Lambda function for example, sending SMS or email messages. iRemedy, an e-commerce firm that specializes in medical supplies, this summer announced that it would deploy 500 IoT buttons, which are like the Amazon Dash buttons on the consumer platform, to help customers automate the process of allowing medical offices to reorder consumable goods, like latex gloves, automatically. These doctors are pretty high-volume users of supplies but dont have any kind of sophisticated procurement systems, noted Tony Paquin, CEO of iRemedy. Automating the process through the IoT platform allows his firm to operate almost like a just-in-time supply operation, he told the E-Commerce Times. Doctors arent required to buy huge volumes of medical supplies, and iRemedy can fulfill reorders rapidly with a very fast, automated mechanism that is based on Magenta. Manage and Defend AWS IoT Device Management, which is currently available, helps companies onboard, remotely manage, organize and monitor devices, update software and perform other tasks, including troubleshooting and patching defective systems. AWS IoT Device Defender, scheduled for early 2018 release, provides continuous audits of security policies and monitors for any potential security problems, like traffic going to an unknown IP address, according to the company. AWS IoT Analytics, available in preview, helps clean, process, store and analyze data at scale. AWS Greengrass ML Inference is a new feature of AWS Greengrass. It allows companies to deploy machine learning models on AWS Greengrass devices, enabling them to make quick decisions, even when devices are not directly connected to the cloud. Simpified Process This is a very big deal, said John Dinsdale, chief analyst at Synergy Research Group. There is going to be a huge wave of IoT activity over the next few years, but it needs to be enabled by simple and easy-to-use IoT platforms, he told the E-Commerce Times. Amazon customers automatically get Echo-type support, and this new technology will help create a baseline of standards for people to build around, suggested Rob Enderle, principal analyst at the Enderle Group. So this makes IoT easier, it makes it simpler and because Amazon is doing it better, ensures real progress toward a truly viable final solution, he told the E-Commerce Times. Amazon FreeRTOS will make it easier for manufacturers to build in cloud support, noted Kevin Krewell, principal analyst at Tirias Research. Because it is open sourced, it is already used in many low-cost consumer devices, he told the E-Commerce Times. In contrast, Google has been promising Android Things as an operating system for microcontrollers, Krewell said, but that has been slow to take off. Amazon on Wednesday announced a new service that will allow Prime members to receive in-home delivery of packages with the help of high-tech smart locks that allow drivers to open their front doors. Amazon Key will launch officially on Nov. 8 in 37 U.S. cities and surrounding communities, with additional locations to be added over time. The service will be available at no extra cost to Prime members, and it will work with standard, two-day, overnight and same-day deliveries. Amazon Key gives customers peace of mind knowing their orders have been safely delivered to their homes and are waiting for them when they walk through their doors, said Peter Larsen, vice president of delivery technology at Amazon. To use the service, Prime members must order an Amazon Key in-home kit, which includes the Amazon Cloud Cam and one of several compatible smart locks offered by Kwickset or Yale. The Amazon Key In-Home Kit starts at US$249.99. The locks can be installed professionally at no extra cost or self-installed by customers, according to Amazon. Beyond Deliveries When a driver requests access to the customers home, the Cloud Cam confirms the driver is at the right address through an encrypted authentication process. After the request is authenticated, the Cloud Cam starts recording the delivery and the door is unlocked. Customers can track the delivery using the Amazon Key app on their mobile phones. They get real-time notifications and can watch deliveries live or view recordings later. The entire delivery process is backed up by the Amazon Happiness Guarantee, the company said. The agreement is a big step for Yale. Its parent firm, Assa Abloy, also on Wednesday announced that it is testing an in-home delivery service with 100 customers in Sweden, in collaboration with delivery firm PostNord and e-commerce retailers Jollyroom, Apotea and Komplett. Yale Doorman digital locks are being used in the tests. Its significant in that were working with Amazon, obviously a powerhouse in online retailing, and working with them on one of the most innovative programs in e-commerce and home delivery, the firm said in a statement provided to the E-Commerce Times by spokesperson Terry Shea. The Amazon Key program will provide features beyond home delivery of packages, the company said. Customers will be able to grant keyless entry for family and friends, and theyll be able to set frequency and length of time for access to the home. Amazon plans to roll out a new program that will allow thousands of companies to access homes using the smart lock technology, including companies like housekeeping service Merry Maids and dog walking and pet sitting service Rover. Rover is changing the way pet owners discover, book and manage personalized care for their pets, said spokesperson Brandie Gonzales. This new integration with Amazon Key is the latest example of how we are leading the pet care revolution, she told the E-Commerce Times. Growth Outweighs Risk Amazon is gambling that the benefit of having secure home delivery of packages will outweigh the potential downside of the perception that its seeking an invasive level of access to the customer. While many customers might see this capability as overly intrusive, Amazon and Walmart has identified an intersection of customer needs and new technologies, noted Matt Sargent, senior vice president of retail at Magid. This capability [is] not only possible, but incredibly interesting to a subset of cutting-edge customers, he told the E-Commerce Times. The need already exists, according to Sargent. People have been looking for a way to provide secure access to prevent package theft, and to allow entry of housecleaners and other service providers. The advent of remote security cameras and smart locks has made fulfillment of this need a reality. The in-home delivery service is another example of Amazon inventing new ways to reach into consumer wallets without an obvious business case, said Paula Rosenblum, managing partner of RSR Research. I think its too intrusive and too risky, she told the E-Commerce Times. Amazon Prime has about 90 million members in the U.S., according to a report Consumer Intelligence Research Partners released last week. About 63 percent of all U.S.-based Amazon customers belong to Prime, the firm noted. Amazon considers Prime members critical to its growth, because on average they spend $1,300 a year on purchases nearly twice as much as non-Prime members. From a security standpoint, smart lock technologies pose more of a physical challenge than a technology challenge, suggested William Malik, vice president for infrastructure strategies at Trend Micro. The technology may grant access only to authorized Amazon employees, but it would be helpful to understand Amazons process for vetting delivery people, revoking their access, auditing conformance to Amazons standards, and providing warranty to misuse of that access, he told the E-Commerce Times. Augusts Experience August for years has been running August Access, a home delivery service that provides retailers and services of all stripes including Sears Home Delivery and dog-walking service Wag with the ability to get secure access to customers homes. Years ago, when his former housekeeper had to return home to Brazil, she still had the keys to his house, recalled August CEO Jason Johnson. What are people to do in situations such as that one, he wondered, change the locks? Although Johnson didnt feel he needed to do that, it seemed many people would value the ability to provide controlled access to their homes for certain activities,. The desire to find a solution to that problem led Johnson and a cofounder to launch August. From the beginning, we thought about how could we provide conditional access to the home, he told the E-Commerce Times. The August smart locks use secure Bluetooth technology, with a layer of encryption on top, plus a third level of security that has been subjected to a white hat security audit to guard the systems against potential intrusion. Just last month, Walmart began working with August and Deliv to test in-fridge delivery of food. The companies have been testing the service in the Silicon Valley area with a select number of customers who have August smart locks. They are provided a one-time passcode for secure access to allow deliveries to be placed inside the home. Were interested in providing additional solutions and options for customers to make it easy for them, Walmart spokesperson Ravi Jariwala told E-Commerce Times. Walmart earlier this month announced the acquisition of Parcel, a startup that delivers meal kits, groceries and e-commerce purchases to homes in New York City. Walmart plans to use Parcel for last-mile deliveries of groceries and packages from Walmart and Jet. Complaints have been mounting over display and audio issues with Googles Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL, launched just three weeks ago. Consumers have reported a screen burn-in problem with the Pixel 2 XL, which refers to embedded functions leaving a ghost-like image on the display. In addition to the Pixel 2 XL display issue, there have been numerous reports of high-pitched noises and strange clicking sounds occurring during calls on the Pixel 2. The demand for Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL has exceeded our expectations, and were thrilled with the positive reaction to our new phones, both from the reviewers who have tried and tested our devices thoroughly and from consumers who are switching to Pixel, said Mario Queiroz, vice president, product management at Pixel. We take all reports of issues very seriously, and our engineers investigate quickly. The company will provide updates as soon as it has conclusive data, he said. The Pixel 2 XL uses pOLED screens, which can display a leftover image when fixed backgrounds or pictures remain on them for a long period of time, said Rob Enderle, principal analyst at the Enderle Group. Anyone who has a pOLED device should be using active backgrounds and make sure no one image remains on the phone for an extended period of time, he told TechNewsWorld. Some games do have fixed grids, suggesting long-time game players need to watch this as well, Enderle added. Sales Slowdown If the reports about the scope of the complaints turn out to be accurate, Google will face a major test in the marketplace, said Werner Goertz, research director for personal technologies at Gartner. I think it is a grave concern that these devices have been put into the market, he told TechNewsWorld, though certainly with excellent features on paper. Concern about Googles ability to field a quality device has the potential to impact not only future sales, but also pending deals, Goertz said, including the US$1 billion agreement to acquire HTCs smartphone business, announced last month. There are people who are going to speculate on the upcoming HTC integration, he added. People will argue maybe in anticipation of new design resources coming on board that maybe they overlooked that. Despite those concerns, Google has some inherent positives to fall back on, Goertz said, noting that the original Google Pixel did not have the same issues, suggesting that Google has its internal design capabilities in place. Its unlikely that the reported display issues will lead back to LG, he said, noting that its a company that typically knows what it is doing. Although the complaints may dampen Pixel sales, Google will be able to absorb the blow, said Jim McGregor, principal analyst at Tirias Research. Apple and Samsung have both had major product defects and survived, he told TechNewsWorld. Im sure Google will survive a product setback. Every major company faces product issues like this at some point, McGregor said, often the result of too-aggressive scheduling. Flagship Flounders The Pixel 2 complaints come more than a year after Samsung went through a massive recall of its flagship Galaxy Note7 smartphones, which were the subject of a massive recall due to overheating batteries that exploded or caught fire. Samsung ultimately halted production of the Note7 devices, because replacements were found to have similar problems. Just over a month ago, iPhone and iPad users began reporting a host of problems with the upgraded iOS 11, the new mobile operating system from Apple. Consumers reported the new OS led to battery drainage issues, slow speeds, and problems with WiFi and Bluetooth. The World Wildlife Fund announced Friday that the Program for Protected Areas of the Amazon (ARPA), a joint venture with the Brazilian Ministry of the Environment, has reached the goal of protecting a network of conservation units of at least 60 million hectares in the Amazon. This effort represents the conservation of 15 percent of the biomes territory in Brazil. The largest strategy on the planet for conservation and sustainable use of tropical forests, the ARPA program is now present in 117 conservation units, including the categories of national park, state park, ecological station, biological reserve, extractive reserve and sustainable development reserve in the states of Amapa, Amazonas, Maranhao, Mato Grosso, Para, Rondonia, Roraima and Tocantins. ARPA works closely with the local communities and invests in the creation, expansion, strengthening and maintenance of conservation units, by ensuring resources and promoting sustainable development in the region. Conservation units that are part of the program benefit from goods, projects and service contracts, such as the establishment of councils, management plans, land surveys and inspection, as well as integration activities with resident communities (in the case of sustainable use conservation units) and their surrounding environment. Overall, the program has supported the strengthening of communities in thirty protected areas. The great challenge is to ensure that the units reach their conservation goals, in a participatory and transparent manner, which can be carried out through the support of resources from donations and from the government itself, stated the Minister of Environment Sarney Filho. The areas covered by the initiative represent more than 35 percent of the conservation units in the Amazon and contribute directly to the conservation goals established by Brazil in international commitments, such as those undertaken in the Convention on Biological Diversity, in which the country proposes to protect 30 percent of the Amazon by 2020 (equivalent to 126 million hectares). The program also safeguards local biodiversity. From the total of protected units, 39 of them are home to more than 8,800 species, or 88 percent of bird species, 68 percent of mammal species and 55 percent of reptile species of the entire Amazon. For Sarney Filho, the only alternative to minimize biodiversity losses is to protect conservation areas. Since Brazil has the largest system of protected areas on the planet today, we hope to surpass the current results in the coming years, by consolidating ARPAs protected area management system, strengthening the value of the standing forest and the role of traditional peoples, he said. We also have the challenge of soon being ready to take on investments in the management of the conservation units, according to the forecast of the programs third phase goals, which are already in the works. Protection Data from the Deforestation Monitoring System in the Legal Amazon indicate that the protected areas supported by ARPA have deforestation rates about 2.3 times lower than in similar conservation units that are not part of the program. A study carried out by professor Britaldo Silveira Soares Filho from UFMGthe Federal University of Minas Geraisbetween 2005 and 2015 showed the effectiveness of the protected areas of the Amazon in the reduction of 30.3 percent of total deforestation in the biome, which were pivotal to avoid about 1.4 to 1.7 gigatonnes of CO2 emissions. The study also pointed out that the units supported by the ARPA program are responsible for 25 percent of these reductions, equivalent to the annual emissions from global transportation. This shows an effective contribution that the program gives not only to the Amazon, but to the world. The numbers contribute to international commitments such as those under the Paris agreement, which aims to limit global temperature rise to 1.5 C above pre-industrial levels. Trends In the same period, ARPA-supported conservation units had a 17 percent management effectiveness increase in protected areas compared to unsupported ones. Data was collected using the Rappam method (Rapid Assessment and Prioritization of Protected Area Management), developed by the WWF Network. The tool makes it possible to identify trends and aspects that must be considered in order to achieve better management effectiveness in a protected area system or group. The information points out that the level of effectiveness in protected areas outside ARPA is much lower. In the ARPA conservation units, this number went from an intermediate level of management effectiveness (45 percent) to a high (62 percent) level, said WWF-Brazil Executive Director Mauricio Voivodic. More effective management means healthier ecosystems, which in turn enables people, plants and animals to have greater access to water, food and other environmental services, he added. Resources According to a study conducted by the program, ARPA-supported conservation units can generate $23 million per year for forest-based local economies. Overall, ARPA supported the strengthening of communities in 30 protected areas. One of the highlights of the ARPA was the launch in 2012 of the Commitment to the AmazonARPA for Life initiative, with the objective of ensuring long-term maintenance of the Amazon forest and the protection of biodiversity and environmental services of the largest forest in the world. Through an innovative financial strategy, which included resources from private companies, non-governmental and international organizations, the initiative aims to raise $215 million (more than BRL$ 500 million). With this amount, it will be possible to consolidate and maintain ARPAs target of 60 million hectares by 2039. Long-term financing will only be possible through the gradual increase of public resources for the management and administration of conservation units. After a period of 25 years, the government of Brazil will take on 100 percent of the protection costs for these units. A transitional fund will also be created to function as a bridge until the federal and state governments can ensure the permanent maintenance of ARPA-supported conservation units with resources sufficient to cover the necessary investments. Management ARPA is designed to function in three phases. It is currently in the third phase (2014-2039). It is implemented by management institutions of federal and state conservation units. It operates through a public-private partnership (PPP) that makes it possible for resources from donations to be fully internalized in Brazil via Funbio, a civil society organization of public interest. The management structure is composed of the program committee (with representatives from state and federal governments, donors and civil society), the transitional fund committee (with representatives from donors and the federal government) and a scientific advisory panel (composed of specialists in the themes related to the programs operations). The British royal family is set to have a newest member, as the engagement of Prince Harry to his American actress girlfriend Meghan Markle has been officially announced. As the future Duchess of Sussex, we are sure to see and hear a lot of Markle. But before the much-anticipated royal wedding in spring 2018, lets get to know the girl that made the currently fifth in line to throne happy and in love. WOMAN OF THE HOUR. The world gets to know American actress Meghan Markle after the news of her engagement to Prince Harry has been made official. Her real first name is the same as her characters name on Suits Early on in her career she chose her stage name to be Meghan Markle, dropping her first name Rachel, which ironically is the name of her Suits character, the ambitious paralegal Rachel Zane. ADVERTISEMENT She wrote to Hillary Clinton to complain about a soap commercial When she was 11 years old, she had watched a Procter & Gamble soap commercial with a tagline women all over America are fighting greasy pots and pans, which she believed suggested that women belonged in the kitchen. It made her angry that she wrote to the manufacturer and to then-First Lady Hillary Clinton. The TV commercial was changed, the word women was replaced with people. Today, Markle is a UN Womens Advocate for Political Participation and Leadership, and is a proud feminist committed to gender equality. She did calligraphy and was a briefcase girl on Deal or No Deal Markle used to be a freelance calligrapher while she was finding acting gigs. In her interview with Esquire, she said she did calligraphy for business cards and invitations, such as for Robin Thicke and Paula Pattons wedding. The skill, she said, she had learned as a student to an all-girls Catholic school which had handwriting classes. Prince Harry and Meghan Markle talk about their relationship in an interview following the official announcement of their engagement She was also one of the briefcase girls on the television game show Deal or No Deal, holding the ill-fated number 26. Markle said her experience in the show helped her understand what I would rather be doing. Her first marriage lasted two years On Sept. 10, 2011, Markle married American movie producer Trever Engelson, most famous for the 2010 movie Remember Me. The pair started dating in 2004 and became engaged in 2010. But because of irreconcilable differences their marriage ended in a no-fault divorce in August 2013. She met Prince Harry in a blind date The two reportedly met in May 2016 in a blind date through a mutual friend while Prince Harry was in Toronto to launch the 2017 Invictus Games. In their engagement interview posted on the royal familys Facebook page, Prince Harry said that prior to their meeting, she didnt know Markle as he never watched Suits. Four weeks later since their first meeting, wherein Prince Harry was beautifully surprised by Markle, he persuaded her to join him in Botswana where they camped out with each other under the stars. Please enable JavaScript to view the comments powered by Disqus. Friday, December 1, 2017 Millions of Irish Americans identify with their roots in the Emerald Isle. Now two ladies from Dublin have brought Handful of Home, Original Irish Dirt, to America. For those who claim Irish ancestry, Handful of Home offers the opportunity for burial in contact with earth from their land of origin. What we wanted to do is help Irish Americans celebrate their cultural heritage at some of the most important moments of their lives, explained Aifric O Byrne, co-founder of Handful of Home. She noted, In the ancient Jewish tradition, the ultimate mitzvah, the ultimate act of kindness, was burying your loved ones. At Jewish burials in America, its traditional to bury the person with earth from Israel, a tangible contact to the land of Jewish ancestry. In the Christian tradition, throwing a handful of earth from the Old Country on top of the coffin or urn really celebrates the roots of who we are as we go back to the earth, she said. Handful of Home started importing Irish earth to the United States to provide a powerful and emotional element to Irish American funerals. O Byrne and her business partner Dominika Hyriakova launched the product at the 2017 National Funeral Directors Association (NFDA) convention and expo in Boston, Massachusetts, the cultural homeland of Irish Americans. So far it is going absolutely brilliantly, said O Byrne. Weve had people try and buy our samples off our table, theyre so excited by it. People who have never had the chance to be to Ireland are holding our earth and connecting with our cultural heritage, some for the very first time. The company works with farmers in Ireland to carefully harvest top quality earth in the most sustainable way possible. The product is packaged in a lovely green enamel tin. Learn more about Handful of Home in the video below and by visiting www.HandfulOfHome.com. [embedded content] Share this: Farming organisations have joined forces to urge the Environment Agency to rethink proposed levels of environmental permit charge increases for the intensive pig and poultry sectors. The NFU, National Pig Association (NPA), British Poultry Council (BPC) and British Egg Industry Council (BEIC) are warning that a doubling of application fees and a significant uplift in variation fees would cause huge concern for pig and poultry farmers. It comes at a time when businesses are already making significant investments in order to improve competitiveness. The Environment Agency consultation on its Strategic Review of Charges states that; permit variation fees will increase from 380 to between approximately 2,400 and 7,000 depending upon the degree of variation. In addition new application fees could rise from 3,750 to around 8,000. In a letter to the Chief Executive of the Environment Agency, Sir James Bevan, the four farming organisations say the significant unbudgeted costs will discourage farm businesses from adopting new technologies, curbing plans for modernisation and investing in improved environmental practices. 'Very serious concerns' NFU poultry board chairman Duncan Priestner said the changes raise "very serious concerns" for the industry. He said the Environment Agency must reconsider. Farm businesses are incredibly innovative and are often early adopters of new technology this sharp increase in costs levelled on businesses by the Environment Agency could seriously curtail these advancements, Mr Priestner said. Many businesses are currently suffering from a lack of certainty regarding the future environment we will work in after Brexit and many are already making cost changes to improve their efficiency and competitiveness on farm. These proposed changes could see many pig and poultry businesses take a step back from innovating to ensure they can deal with inflated administrative costs. In return for additional cost we are receiving nothing extra in return. This money would be far better spent invested in the business for the benefit of the environment. The proposed fee increases are inequitable and unjustified a view that we will be conveying strongly to the Environment Agency. 'Unnecessary damage' The NPA has called the changes "unjustified and unfair", and said it will cause "unnecessary damage" to pig farmers who have "done nothing to deserve this". NPA Chief Executive Zoe Davies said the pig sector has "invested heavily" over the years to address the concerns covered by environmental permits, making it easier for the Environment Agency to do its job. "That this is how we are repaid is utterly unacceptable and we are asking in the strongest terms for the Environment Agency to think again," Ms Davies explained. "We are not satisfied with the reasons provided to justify the charges and believe that there is a lot more the Environment Agency could do internally to improve its processes and reduce its own costs, rather than passing its inefficiencies onto the pig sector. "If these charge increases go ahead, it will not only hamper pig farmers, who have come under huge financial pressure over the years, to invest in meeting challenges like environmental pollution, but will erode confidence in the Environment Agency, itself." 'Strong track record' Chief Executive of the British Poultry Council Richard Griffiths said respecting the environment is a "fundamental" part of British poultry meat production, and farmers have a strong track record of acting responsibly. He said farmers often work alongside regulators to prevent pollution incidents, responding to them, tackling the root cause of the problem and promoting good practice. We are calling on the Environment Agency to acknowledge our contribution to food production that respects the environment and reconsider the proposed changes to the environmental permit charge, Mr Griffiths said. Mark Williams, Chief Executive of the BEIC, added: The proposals will hinder future innovation in food production and environmental technologies in the egg industry. We recognise and take seriously our duty to protect the environment as our track record demonstrates. We achieve this whilst producing a highly nutritious and affordable food for UK consumers. These extraordinary increases in charges will compromise this. Vidyut Jammwal who recently took off to Thailand to kick off the first schedule of Junglee is sharing screen space with therapy elephants in the film. Junglee is set in Orissa and revolves around the unique friendship between a man and an elephant. The 36-year-old actor plays an animal-loving veterinary doctor on a quest to expose a poaching racket. "Shoot begins on December 5 but Vidyut has left in advance. The Thailand government has been extremely supportive of the project. It will make shooting easier there," co-producer Priti Shahani says adding that the crew travelled across India and Sri Lanka to find four elephants to be cast in the film. Now, the unit will be filming with local line producers and Thai crew members for all the animal-related sequences. "We wanted healthy, well-looked after elephants. After comparing pictures of over a hundred elephants, we could tell that the ones at Chiang Mai were the happiest," the Junglee Pictures president informed. In the film, a female therapy elephant named Un will play a prominent role alongside Vidyut and the other elephants. "Un is an extremely gentle female who works with autistic and mentally-challenged children in Thailand. One interaction with her and the entire image of how these large-sized animals are looked at will completely change," Priti promised. The cast will also be filming a song sequence with Un and other elephants during the schedule. "Music is an intrinsic and organic part of the film's story and a lot of the interaction between Vidyut and the elephants will be highlighted with music," co-producer Priti Shahani signed off. The film is directed by Hollywood Filmmaker Chuck Russel and co-produced by Priti Shahani under the banner of Junglee Pictures. The film is set to release on 19th October, 2018 While tech companies and automakers race to put autonomous vehicles on U.S. highways, Lockheed Martin (LMT -0.22%) is making steady progress in its own effort to bring driverless trucks to the battlefield. Lockheed said on Nov. 29 that its Autonomous Mobility Applique System (AMAS) has logged more than 55,000 miles in tests at two U.S. Army bases. AMAS is a suite of sensors, actuators, and controls designed to be installed on nearly any wheeled military vehicle, providing driver warning systems and autonomous driving functions designed to reduce the manpower needed to run convoys and reduce the risk of injuries and casualties from improvised explosive devices. To be clear, the tests did not attempt true driverless vehicles navigating roads, the way Tesla, General Motors, Alphabet's Waymo, and a number of others are working on, but rather it is focused on cargo vehicle convoys with the lead vehicle driven by a soldier and three to four other vehicles following on autopilot. While that might not seem as sexy as speeding down the interstate while watching a movie, the technology could be a major cost-save for shippers if it can be adapted for commercial use. Volvo and Daimler are both working on similar technology, and Tesla CEO Elon Musk, when discussing his company's planned all-electric semitruck, has talked about truck "platoons" led by a single driver. Lockheed is focused on its core military customer for now, but there is no reason the experience it gains working with the Army couldn't eventually find its way into commercial vehicles. Nearing battlefield-ready Lockheed Martin seems to believe the technology is about ready to graduate from testing into deployment. Kathryn Hasse, combat manuever systems director at Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control, said in a statement that "soldiers operating the AMAS vehicles provided us very positive feedback about how the system freed them up to do the job of a soldier instead of the job of a truck driver." "We believe that AMAS is ready to move forward toward the ultimate goal of widespread fielding across multiple military applications," Hasse continued. That chance might come soon. Army officials have long bemoaned the risks associated with resupply convoys in dangerous terrains, and the Pentagon is reportedly eager to get at least some of these systems in the field as soon as they are proven viable. In addition to working with the Army, the British Defence Science and Technology Laboratory was also involved in the demonstrations. A small bet for a company in search of diversification While any forthcoming AMAS deployment is unlikely to move the needle at Lockheed Martin, which had total revenue of more than $47 billion in 2016, it does provide a reminder of how many different areas these defense giants are investing in, and also shows how long it can take for some sector investments to show results. The work that is now AMAS was started in 2002 by a Colorado start-up called PercepTek, which was acquired by Lockheed in 2008 for an undisclosed sum. Lockheed Martin is counting on new technologies to help diversify the company and limit its reliance on the F-35 Lightning II fighter aircraft program, a massive weapons system program that already accounted for 26% of total sales in 2016 and is expected to generate more than $1 trillion in revenue for the company during its lifetime. The F-35 is perhaps the most technically daunting military project ever attempted, and it has weathered a series of initial critical performance reviews and cost overruns during its 10 years of development. Most of those major issues now appear to be in the past, and the F-35 looks like a huge long-term win for Lockheed, but the program's importance to the company is already causing some headaches. Last month, Lockheed reported quarterly results that missed expectations in terms of earnings and revenue largely due to timing issues related to the F-35. Lockheed Martin has other growth engines, for example its Terminal High Altitude Air Defense system that is designed to intercept short- and medium-range ballistic missiles. It is also attempting to diversify inorganically, most notably via its 2015 deal to acquire helicopter-maker Sikorsky from United Technologies for $9 billion. But Lockheed Martin is not predicting a lot of growth outside of airplane manufacturing through 2018. Lockheed shares are up 27.7% year to date, and success at AMAS is not nearly enough of a reason to jump in and invest at these levels. But for existing holders, the outlook for Lockheed -- and its ability to sustain higher valuation levels -- improves with every technology bet that pays off. In that regard, AMAS convoys are moving the company in the right direction. THE Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines has named Davao Archbishop Romulo Valles, who is said to be close to President Rodrigo Duterte, as its new president, replacing Lingayen-Dagupan Archbishop Socrates Villegas, whose term ended Nov. 30. Born in Maribojoc, Bohol, Valles has been Davao archbishop since May 2012. A graduate of the Pontificio Ateneo Sant Anselmo in Rome, he has been a Catholic priest in Mindanao for the last four decades. Before the Pope appointed him Davao archbishop in 2012, he became bishop of Kidapawan in 1997 then archbishop of Zamboanga in 2007. ADVERTISEMENT Sources in the clergy said the new CBCP president would likely take a different approach from Villegas, who was openly critical of Dutertes bloody war on drugs. But Villegas said he is confident that the new CBCP leader would be more than capable of steering the group in a time of unique challenges to the Catholic Church. Archbishop Romulo Valles Valles said he envisions a clergy of renewed servant-leaders who care most especially for the least, the lost and the last. He said activities throughout 2018 will be dedicated to the promotion and recognition of priestly and religious vocations. We aim towards the integral renewal of the values, mind-sets, behavior and lifestyles of the clergy and consecrated persons, Valles said in his first pastoral statement. It will be a year, too, of revisiting ways of seminary and religious formation and the collaboration with the laity in the work of mission and ministry, he said. The new pastoral letter will be read in all Masses on Dec. 3, the first Sunday of Advent. Villegas, 57, served as CBCP president for two two-year terms, being elected in 2013 and reelected in 2015. The outspoken archbishop was a protege of the late Manila Archbishop Jaime Cardinal Sin, who helped mount the 1986 People Power Revolution that ousted the dictator Ferdinand Marcos. During his term, Villegas pushed for reforms within the Catholic Church, saying it was a scandal for a priest to die a rich man. He has been openly critical of both former President Benigno Aquino III and Duterte, calling out the former on its controversial Disbursement Acceleration Program, and denouncing the latters reign of terror in poor communities where thousands of drug suspects have been killed. Father Ranhilio Aquino, dean of the San Beda Graduate School of Law, described Villegas as the president of the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines who did not hesitate to maintain bold positions and to express them with clarity, who was pilloried, maligned, and shamed. Why then is he so frequently bashed? It can only be largely because he touched raw nerves by speaking out on such issues as extrajudicial killings, human rights, and the moral obligations of government, Aquino said. Only the jaundiced will find partisanship in those acts. He was beholden to none; but he was not going to be silenced, because his consecration was sacred to him, he added. Please enable JavaScript to view the comments powered by Disqus. Google bans Android apps that display ads on lock screen News oi -Abhinaya Prabhu For the Android device users, the advertisements that appear on the lock screen have been a major concern. Who would want to see annoying advertisements cluttering the lock screen of their device? Finally, it Google appears to have come up with a move that will give relief to the users. We say so as Google appears to have decided to take a stand against the advertisements on the lock screen. According to an Android Police report, Google's Developer Policy Center has witnessed changes detailing the types of appropriate apps that can be included in the Android applications and how these apps might appear. There appears to be a new section called Lockscreen Monetization and it is stated that unless the app's purpose is that of a lock screen, the Android apps may not introduce features or ads that monetize the locked display of the specific device in which they are introduced. This cleansing by Google will force the developers to stop including ads into their applications via the lock screen. The report notes that popular utility apps such as Hotspot Shield VPN and ES File Explorer will no longer display ads on your lock screen with the sole intention of getting users to click on the same. The practice of shoehorning apps into the apps has been an issue for many Android users as increased developers try to trick the users into clicking ads displayed on the lock screen and these ads are often not related to the app in which the ads appear. Many a time, these ads on the lock screen are not ignorable and accidental clicks on the same are obtrusive as well as exploitative as these might redirect the users to websites that can phish the personal details stored on the device. This new policy of Google that bans apps displaying ads on the lock screen is great for the Android users as it will not only free them from the annoying ads but also improve the security. However, this new policy will not affect users who have devices that are bundled with Amazon special offers and these phones will have ads displayed on the lock screen as these ads will be considered as lock screen apps. Best Mobiles in India Facebook, To stay updated with latest technology news & gadget reviews, follow GizBot on Twitter YouTube and also subscribe to our notification. Allow Notifications List of smartphones launched in November 2017 Features oi -Harish Kumar In the month of November, there were a number of new mobile phones announced. Thanks to these new launches it makes our list of smartphones coming to India even more interesting. Besides, these launched smartphones offer the newest innovations in mobile technology. As from the consumer side, we also prefer getting our hands on the latest models. Why? They not only come with the latest technology, but the devices also guarantee a longer support cycle by the manufacturers in terms of software and security updates. So it is always better to own the latest device which supports evrything. Basic Android smartphones you can buy in India under Rs 3,000 That being said, mobile phones launched this month range from flagship devices to budget offerings and thus every kind of buyer would have something to look out for. More importantly, newer devices do take in the latest mobile trends along with innovative features and top specs which makes your investment that much better. To help you further know about the latest devices we have compiled a list of smartphones launched in November. So without further ado, here's a glimpse of the newest smartphones in the market that you can gets your hands on. Best Mobiles in India 99% of Smartphone Sold in Argentina are LTE Enabled: Counterpoint News oi -Priyanka The report said that more than one out of every two devices sold in Argentina is a Samsung. According to a new report by research firm Counterpoint, 99 percent of Smartphone Sold in Argentina are LTE Enabled. The report said Argentina smartphones sales grew 59 percent annually in Q3 2017, and 22 percent compared to the previous quarter. Commenting on the 3rd Quarter findings, Tina Lu, Senior Analyst at Counterpoint Research said, "Argentina is an extremely closed market. Imports of mobile devices are allowed only with special authorization. Less than 3 percent of all the mobile devices sold between January and September, were imported as imported devices are subject to greater than 110 percent duties." Tina said, "Most devices are assembled in the Tierra del Fuego region. This confers a high assembly cost, but still less than import duties. The consequence of the high production costs is that Argentinean consumers have to pay, on average, as much as double the price compared to Chile and USA, for similar models." The report said that more than one out of every two devices sold in Argentina is a Samsung. Although its sales volume grew more than 26 percent in Q3 2017 annually, it lost more than 10 percent of market share compared to Q3 2016. LG has been Samsung's biggest competitor. Its share increased only marginally, by 1 percent YoY, but its sales volume increased more than 71 percent annually. Its Kseries smartphones were very competitive, which helped the brand to grow above the market rate however it is facing tough competition from both Samsung and Motorola. Motorola grew its smartphone volume by 254 percent YoY. It more than doubled its volume share reaching 13.9 percent. The launch of its C series has allowed the brand to compete for head to head with Samsung's lower J series, Counterpoint said. Huawei grew its share slightly compared to last year. Huawei has successfully built its brand in Argentina over the last year. However, local assembly requirement forces it to have a limited portfolio, compared to its offerings Mexico or Colombia; this has been a roadblock to the brand's growth. Alcatel also more than doubled its share and volume sales, compared to 3Q16. It has been facing difficulty in getting enough product and has lacked investment in its brand. Best Mobiles in India Facebook, To stay updated with latest technology news & gadget reviews, follow GizBot on Twitter YouTube and also subscribe to our notification. Allow Notifications Micromax Bharat 5 First Impressions: Big battery is the highlight feature Reviews oi -Priyanka Bharat 5 supports 22 regional languages as well comes with the 4G VoLTE connectivity. The handset also comes equipped with OTG support, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and GPS. Micromax Bharat 5 First Impressions: Big battery is the highlight feature Domestic handset maker Micromax has expanded its Bharat series by launching Bharat 5 smartphone in the Indian market. The smartphone has been priced at Rs 5,555 and targets first time smartphone users. The company has also tied up with India's second largest telecom operator Vodafone under which users will get 1GB Data pack and an additional 10 GB data every month for a total of 5 months. The sale of the Micromax Bharat 5 smartphone will start on December 5, 2017, and it will be available only via offline stores across the country. The new smartphones come with a massive 5,000 mAh battery that as per company delivers more than 2 days of backup and has a standby time of up to 3 weeks / 21 days. Bharat 5 supports 22 regional languages as well comes with the 4G VoLTE connectivity. The handset also comes equipped with OTG support, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and GPS. We were present at the launch event and tested the handset for a brief period of time to find out what Micromax is offering this time. Here's what we think of the new device. Design and Display: Plastic Back with 5.2-inch HD display Micromax Bharat 5 is very comfortable to hold, thanks to its rounded corners. The new smartphone comes with a plastic back along with a 5 MP rear camera, LED Flash on the top and Micromax logo at the centre. At the right side of the smartphone, you will find the volume rockers and power button, while the hybrid SIM card slot is positioned on the left side. The 3.5mm headphone jack is placed at the top, while micro USB port is at the bottom. Micromax Bharat 5 comes with a 5.2 inches full HD screen with 2.5D cover glass. Overall the smartphone looks quite good and feels comfortable to hold, despite carrying a large battery. Talking about the 5.2-inch HD display, it offers a resolution of 1280 x 720 pixels. The display seemed quite responsive, decent and viewing angles were also good. However, we will evaluate the screen's outdoor performance while reviewing the handset in the coming week. Camera: 5 MP rear camera and 5MP selfie along with LED Flash The new smartphone has 5- megapixel rear camera plus the 5-megapixel front camera for selfie lovers along with LED flashlight to help you capture images in low-light conditions. The camera app also has Beauty mode, FaceCute Mode, Bokeh Mode and HDR Mode. We tested both the cameras for a brief period and found that the shots showed decent detailing on the 5.2-inch screen, but we will evaluate this entry level handset's imaging abilities in the coming week during our detialed camera review of Bharat 5 on GIZBOT. Processor and RAM: MediaTek processor and 1 GB RAM The smartphone is powered by 1.6GHz quad-core MediaTek processor paired with 1GB of RAM, now this can be a dealbreaker as competitors such as Xiaomi's Redmi 5A offers 2GB RAM + 16GB storage and a Snapdragon CPU at the price of Rs 4,999 for the first five million units, post which it will be available for Rs 5,999. In this way, Xiaomi offers much better specifications and a better camera than the Micromax Bharat 5 handset. The smartphone comes with 16GB storage space which can be further expanded up to 64GB through a microSD card. During my short span with the smartphone i did not face any delay while opening applicatios and navigating through the user interface, however, we will give our final verdict after reviewing the handset. Battery and Software: Massive 5,000 mAh battery and Android (Nougat) The most impressive thing about this smartphone is its massive 5,000 mAh battery unit that as per Micromax runs for more than 2 days and has a standby time of up to 3 weeks / 21 days. We will evaluate such claims while reviewing the handset. On the software front, Bharat 5 comes with the latest Android 7.0 Nougat. Interestingly, Nougat allows users to treat SD card memory also as system memory. Verdict Bharat 5 seems like a decent budget smartphone with big battery and design as its highlight features. We didn't face any major issue with the smartphone in our brief usage. However, there is tough competition with smartphones like Xiaomi Redmi 5A. Stay tuned on GIZBOT for our comprehensive review of Micromax Bharat 5. Best Mobiles in India Facebook, To stay updated with latest technology news & gadget reviews, follow GizBot on Twitter YouTube and also subscribe to our notification. Allow Notifications Vodafone launches first free Wi-Fi enabled bus shelter at Noida News oi -Priyanka The Wi-Fi Initiative is a step towards Digital India and creating networked and connected societies that will help citizens get on the digital highways and stay connected for Good. India's second largest telecom Vodafone India has launched first free Wi-Fi enabled bus shelter at Sector 18, Noida. This Wi-Fi bus shelter allows customers to enjoy complimentary Wi-Fi for up to 20 minutes per day. An operator agnostic offering, this Wi-Fi service can be availed by users of any Indian telecom operator. Alok Verma Business Head, Vodafone Delhi-NCR says, "Vodafone is committed to contributing towards making Noida a Smart City. We are very happy to enable citizens across the city to experience world-class Internet services on the go. The Wi-Fi Initiative is a step towards "Digital India" and creating networked and connected societies that will help citizens get on the digital highways and stay connected for Good. With customer needs evolving from voice to data, Wi-Fi is an effective technology to provide seamless connectivity to a large group of consumers in a defined space. Verma said that "Mobile users will now be able to experience more fun with high-speed Wi-Fi seamlessly. The Wi-Fi service at the Bus shelter can be availed by all mobile users irrespective of their network provider. We urge everyone to use the WiFi bus shelter facility and enjoy the Vodafone 4G experience." The bus shelter at Sector 18 Noida witnesses a heavy influx of people during the entire day, which makes it a suitable choice for such a setup. This is Vodafone's 3rd such Wi-Fi bus shelter in Delhi NCR after Huda City Centre & Sector 14 Gurugram. Vodafone WiFi Hot-spot* network is also available across 116 prime locations of Delhi-NCR, which includes popular marketplaces/malls, hospitals, colleges' etc. 20 mins of free Wi-Fi service (operator agnostic) is also available at Dilli Haat (INA Market), Khan Market, Fortis Hospital (Gurugram) & all Vodafone Stores across Delhi NCR. At all other locations, Vodafone customers can enjoy their free Wi-Fi quota which is up to 10GB of Wi-Fi data for RED postpaid customers and up to 1GB of Wi-Fi data (for prepaid customers) on 4G/3G data packs recharge above Rs. 255. Vodafone Wi-Fi is available at 116 prime locations in Delhi-NCR. Best Mobiles in India Facebook, To stay updated with latest technology news & gadget reviews, follow GizBot on Twitter YouTube and also subscribe to our notification. Allow Notifications Military Strikes Continue Against ISIS Terrorists in Syria, Iraq From a Combined Joint Task Force Operation Inherent Resolve News Release SOUTHWEST ASIA, Dec. 1, 2017 U.S. and coalition military forces have continued to attack the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, conducting 19 strikes consisting of 24 engagements between Nov. 27 and yesterday, Combined Joint Task Force Operation Inherent Resolve officials reported today. Officials reported details of the most recent strikes, noting that assessments of results are based on initial reports. Strikes in Syria Yesterday near Abu Kamal in Syria, coalition military forces conducted five strikes that engaged five ISIS tactical units and destroyed an ISIS fighting position, a tactical vehicle and an explosive hazard. On Nov. 29 near Abu Kamal, coalition military forces conducted three strikes that engaged two ISIS tactical units and destroyed a tactical vehicle, two ISIS watercraft, a heavy weapon, five ISIS vehicles and four supply routes. On Nov. 28 near Abu Kamal, coalition military forces conducted five strikes that engaged five ISIS tactical units and destroyed three ISIS watercraft, an ISIS barge, a weapons cache and 11 ISIS vehicles. On Nov. 27 near Abu Kamal, coalition military forces conducted three strikes that engaged three ISIS tactical units and destroyed a tactical vehicle, two ISIS watercraft, a rocket system and five ISIS vehicles. Strikes in Iraq Yesterday in Iraq, coalition military forces conducted two strikes consisting of two engagements against ISIS targets. -- Near Rawah, a strike destroyed an ISIS construction vehicle. -- Near Rutbah, a strike destroyed an ISIS bunker. There were no reported strikes conducted in Iraq on Nov. 29. On Nov. 28 near Qaim in Iraq, coalition military forces conducted a strike that destroyed an ISIS fighting position. There were no reported strikes conducted in Iraq on Nov. 27. Part of Operation Inherent Resolve These strikes were conducted as part of Operation Inherent Resolve, the operation to destroy ISIS in Iraq and Syria. The destruction of ISIS targets in Iraq and Syria also further limits the group's ability to project terror and conduct external operations throughout the region and the rest of the world, task force officials said. The list above contains all strikes conducted by fighter, attack, bomber, rotary-wing or remotely piloted aircraft; rocket-propelled artillery; and some ground-based tactical artillery when fired on planned targets, officials noted. Ground-based artillery fired in counterfire or in fire support to maneuver roles is not classified as a strike, they added. A strike, as defined by the coalition, refers to one or more kinetic engagements that occur in roughly the same geographic location to produce a single or cumulative effect. For example, task force officials explained, a single aircraft delivering a single weapon against a lone ISIS vehicle is one strike, but so is multiple aircraft delivering dozens of weapons against a group of ISIS-held buildings and weapon systems in a compound, having the cumulative effect of making that facility harder or impossible to use. Strike assessments are based on initial reports and may be refined, officials said. The task force does not report the number or type of aircraft employed in a strike, the number of munitions dropped in each strike, or the number of individual munition impact points against a target. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address U.S. defends Japan's control of Diaoyutai Islands ROC Central News Agency 2017/12/01 16:43:41 Taipei, Dec. 1 (CNA) U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson in August voiced the opposition of the U.S. and Japan to any unilateral action that seeks to undermine Japan's administration of the Diaoyutai Islands, known as the Senkaku Islands in Japan. During a press conference after a Security Consultative Committee ("2+2") meeting, Tillerson disclosed that he, Japanese Foreign Minister Taro Kono, Japanese Defense Minister Itsunori Onodera and U.S. Secretary of Defense James Mattis discussed the security environment in the East China Sea and South China Sea. Both countries continue to oppose any unilateral action that would undermine Japan's administration of the highly contested islands as well as "militarization activity in the South China Sea," he said. To this end, Tillerson said the U.S. is committed to protecting peace in the area and defending the security of Japan. The U.S. and Japan "will explore new and expanded activities in intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance training and exercises, research and development, capacity building, and joint or shared use of facilities," Tillerson noted. Another topic that was discussed was North Korea, with the secretary of state asking all nations to enforce the UN Security Council's resolution to impose more sanctions on the regime. Tillerson noted that the U.S. and Japan will "remain vigilant against the North Korean threat through our military preparedness." Although Japan maintains administrative control over the Diaoyutai Islands, both China and Taiwan also claim the territory. (By Kuan-lin Liu) Enditem/AW NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address US Navy Transitions to Search and Recovery in Search for ARA San Juan Navy News Service Story Number: NNS171201-23 Release Date: 12/1/2017 12:48:00 PM By Lt. Lyndsi Gutierrez, U.S. Naval Forces Southern Command/U.S. 4th Fleet Public Affairs MAYPORT, Fla. (NNS) -- Two U.S. Navy P-8A Poseidon aircraft, the Submarine Rescue Chamber (SRC) and the Pressurized Rescue Module (PRM) from the Undersea Rescue Command that were assisting Argentina in the search for Argentine submarine, ARA San Juan, completed operations Nov 30. Continuing with the transition of operations to search and recovery, the U.S. Navy deployed the Cable operated Unmanned Recovery Vehicle (CURV) 21 to support the ongoing Argentine search efforts onboard R/V Atlantis. The CURV-21 is a 6,400-pound Remotely Operated Vehicle (ROV) that is designed to meet the U.S. Navy's deep ocean salvage requirements down to a maximum depth of 20,000 feet of seawater, and is due to arrive in Argentina, Dec. 1. The two P-8's, along with sailors from the Patrol Squadron (VP) 5, VP-10, VP-45, VP-26, and Commander, Patrol and Reconnaissance Wing 11, arrived in Bahia Blanca, Argentina Nov 17 and Nov 19. VP-5 will return to El Salvador's Comalapa Air Base and resume the counter-illicit trafficking maritime patrol operations they were conducting prior to responding to Argentina's request for help. VP-10, VP-26, VP-45, and CPRW-11 personnel will return to their home station at Naval Air Station Jacksonville in Jacksonville, Florida. The URC deployed two independent rescue assets, the SRC and the PRM, Nov. 18. URC will return to their home station in San Diego, California. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address US Deploys CURV-21 in Argentine Submarine Search Navy News Service Story Number: NNS171201-02 Release Date: 12/1/2017 11:02:00 AM By Lt. Lyndsi Gutierrez, U.S. Naval Forces Southern Command/U.S. 4th Fleet Public Affairs NAVAL STATION MAYPORT, Fla. (NNS) -- At the request of U.S. Southern Command (USSOUTHCOM), the U.S. Navy directed Supervisor of Salvage and Diving (SUPSALV) to deploy the Cable operated Unmanned Recovery Vehicle (CURV) 21 to join the search efforts for Argentine submarine, ARA San Juan. The deliberate search effort, which began Nov. 15, when the submarine went missing, recently shifted focus to undersea assets capable of deep seafloor searches, calling for the specialized capabilities of the CURV-21, which is due to arrive in Argentina in an Air Force C-5 Dec. 01. CURV-21 is a 6,400-pound Remotely Operated Vehicle (ROV) that is designed to meet the U.S. Navy's deep ocean salvage requirements down to a maximum depth of 20,000 feet of seawater. The vehicle is equipped with continuous transmission frequency modulation (CTFM) sonar for target detection and a high-resolution digital still camera, black and white, and color television camera. The U.S. government is working hand in hand with the international community and is providing rapid response capabilities to assist the government of Argentina in its search for the missing submarine. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Argentine Navy calls off rescue operation for missing submarine crew People's Daily Online (Xinhua) 09:23, December 01, 2017 BUENOS AIRES, Nov. 30 (Xinhua) -- Argentina's Navy ended a rescue operation on Thursday for the ARA San Juan submarine's 44-member crew, some two weeks after the vessel went off the radar. "It has not been possible to locate the submarine and there will be no rescue of persons," navy spokesman Enrique Balbi told reporters. However, the navy will continue to look for the vessel along the sea bottom, he said. The submarine lost contact at 7:30 a.m. local time (10:30 GMT) on Nov. 15 as it was navigating in the south Atlantic. Officials believe an explosion detected around the same time may have sunken the vessel. A multinational rescue effort has been underway for the search, which included teams from more than 10 countries, such as Germany, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Russia and Uruguay. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Ex-Trump aide Flynn pleads guilty to lying about Russia links Iran Press TV Fri Dec 1, 2017 03:37PM US President Donald Trump's former national security advisor, Michael Flynn, has pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI about his contacts with Russia. The 58-year-old Flynn -- a retired three-star Army general pleaded guilty on Friday to one charge of making false statements to investigators, hours after the Justice Department's special counsel Robert Mueller charged him with "willfully and knowingly" making "false, fictitious and fraudulent statements" to investigators over his Russian contacts. "I recognize that the actions I acknowledged in court today were wrong," Flynn said in a statement. "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 added. The White House rejected the idea that Flynn could implicate Trump for collusion with Moscow. Flynn, who had resigned in February over allegations that he had contacts with Russia, was charged on Friday morning with one count of lying about his private discussions with Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak regarding US sanctions being imposed on Moscow by the administration of then-President Barack Obama, according to a court document. "On or about January 24, 2017, defendant Michael T. Flynn did willfully and knowingly make materially false, fictitious, and fraudulent statements and representations" over a government matter, the two-page charge sheet stated. Mueller, who is probing possible collusion between Trump's election campaign team and Russia during last year's presidential election, said that Flynn lied when he told the FBI that he did not ask Ambassador Kislyak to "refrain from escalating the situation" in response to sanctions that Obama had imposed on Russia. Flynn also lied when he said he did not ask the ambassador to either delay or defeat a related UN Security Council vote, , the special counsel alleged. Flynn appeared in court on Friday for a plea hearing on the single charge of making "false, fictitious and fraudulent representations" to the FBI. Legal analysts had said it was highly likely that Flynn would plead guilty citing the wording of Mueller's short two-page charge sheet. "The fact that its characterized as a 'plea hearing' makes it about as guaranteed as possible he's pleading guilty," national security lawyer Brad Moss said. He added that Mueller had probably reached a deal with Flynn's legal team and in result was cooperating with the investigation. "Given the narrow scope of the indictment, I would put good money on it that this was the negotiated terms of the deal," Moss said in an email to The Hill. "Mueller agreed to charge Flynn with a single felony in exchange for cooperation and material information (as well as not prosecuting him for other things)." US intelligence agencies have concluded that Russia tried to help Trump win the election by hacking and releasing emails damaging to his Democratic opponent, Hillary Clinton. Mueller is looking into whether there were any links between the Trump campaign and Russian operatives. President Trump and Russia have denied the allegations. Mueller's mandate gives him permission to investigate "any matters" that arise out of his investigation into Russia's election interference and whether the Trump campaign colluded with Moscow. Mueller is applying renewed pressure on Flynn following his indictment of Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort, three sources familiar with the investigation recently told NBC News. Trump's former campaign chairman Manafort and Richard Gates, Manafort's close associate and business partner, were put under house arrest in October after they pleaded not guilty to charges stemming from Mueller's extensive probe into whether Russia interfered in the 2016 US presidential election. In addition to Manafort and Gates, George Papadopoulos, the former Trump campaign foreign policy adviser, has been charged by Mueller, alleging that he had "close connections with senior Russian government officials." Trump's senior advisers are reportedly worried that Mueller will eventually "get" the US president as part of his investigation. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address President Muhammadu Buhari of Nigeria and Alassane Ouattara of Cote dIvoire on Thursday called on the regional leaders to take interest in what is ongoing in Togo as the political disturbances in the West African tiny nation worries neighbor-ing countries. The two leaders, who met on the sidelines of the just con-cluded African Union European Union summit in Abidjan, Cote dIvoire, said it is important for the government and op-position to hold dialogue to achieve stability and mutual trust. Military in the Togo have been cracking down on opposition supporters staging street protests against the incumbent president. The Pan-African National Party (PNP) and 13 other opposition parties in Togo are calling for political change in the country to end the 50-year rule of the Gnassingbe family. They want a limit on the number of presidential mandates to two, in line with practice elsewhere in West Africa and the introduction of a two-round voting system as stated in the countrys original 1992 Constitution. So far, over 500 asylum-seekers have been registered by the Ghanaian authorities, after arriving in remote north-western parts of Ghana. Some asylum seekers have also crossed the border in the northern region to neighboring Burkina Faso and Benin. 400 US Marines to leave Syria after Raqqah operation: Coalition Iran Press TV Fri Dec 1, 2017 08:55AM The US-led coalition, which has purportedly been fighting Daesh, says it is to pull more than 400 American Marines out of Syria, where they helped Kurdish militants capture the northern city of Raqqah from the Takfiri terror group. "With the city liberated and ISIS (Daesh) on the run, the unit has been ordered home. Its replacements have been called off," the coalition said in a statement. "We're drawing down combat forces where it makes sense, but still continuing our efforts to help Syrian and Iraqi partners maintain security," Brigadier General Jonathan Braga, the director of operations for the coalition, said in the statement. Last month, the so-called Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), an anti-Damascus militant group backed by the United States, took control of Raqqah, which had served as Daesh's main stronghold in Syria since 2014. The Syrian government, however, rejected claims by the SDF and its foreign sponsors that Raqqah has been "liberated." Information Minister Mohammad Ramez Tardjaman said in late October that no land is considered liberated in the country unless national army forces regain control of it and raise the Syrian flag atop its buildings. The statement further said, "Our remaining forces will continue to work by, with, and through partner forces to defeat remaining ISIS, prevent a re-emergence of ISIS, and set conditions for international governments and NGOs to help local citizens recover from the horrors of ISIS' short-lived rule." Officially, the Pentagon says there are 503 troops in Syria. However, as of last week, US officials said there were close to 2,000 American troops in the country, including the 400-strong unit. Most of the troops deployed to northern Syria are special operations forces, according to The Associated Press. Late last month, the coalition said it would continue supporting the SDF, which it has been arming and aiding against the Syrian government since 2011. Earlier, however, the US had promised Ankara not to further arm the Kurdish militants operating near the Turkish border. Turkey's Deputy Prime Minister Bekir Bozdag reacted to the flip-flop, saying Washington had to honor the pledge to end supplying weapons to the Kurdish militants. "The 'We will not give weapons' remarks from a US president for the first time is important, but it will lose value if it is not implemented. It would be deceiving the world," he asserted. In July, Turkey's Anadolu state news agency exposed the locations of 10 US military bases and outposts in northern Syria, giving rise to speculations that Washington planned for a long-haul presence in the Arab country. Washington's apparent plans to prolong its stay in Syria comes while the Syrian army liberated Daesh's last stronghold of Bukamal in the northeast with the help of its allies last month and declared the outfit's reign over. The US and a coalition of its allies have been bombing what they call terrorist positions in Syria since 2014 without the consent of the Damascus government. The aerial assaults have claimed many civilian lives and, on numerous occasions, hampered Syrian army raids against terrorists. In October, Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al-Muallem said the US-led coalition is trying to destroy the Arab country and prolong the armed conflict there. He added that the US-backed militiamen are fighting Syrian army forces to gain control over the oil-rich areas of the country. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Venezuela nabs former senior oil officials in graft probe Iran Press TV Fri Dec 1, 2017 07:24AM Venezuelan authorities have detained two former senior oil officials in an expanding investigation into the country's state-run oil industry. Former oil minister Eulogio del Pino and the ex-president of state oil company PDVSA, Nestor Martinez, were arrested on Thursday, just four days after they were dismissed by President Nicolas Maduro in an unexpected cabinet shake-up. The two stand accused of defrauding the government of state funds, conspiracy, and money laundering, among other charges, said Chief Prosecutor Tarek William Saab during a press conference in Venezuela's capital city of Caracas. Saab said the detention of the top officials fulfilled a government vow to ensure that Venezuela's massive oil wealth was spent on those in need and was not embezzled by corrupt authorities with mansions and yachts in the US. Del Pino (pictured below) allegedly profited from and assisted in doctoring production figures in a joint Russian-Venezuelan oil field. Saab also pointed out that the alleged scam deprived the Venezuelan state of more than $500 million in revenue between 2015 and 2017. "This shouldn't be seen as an isolated act," Saab said, adding that 15 other PDVSA managers and officials had also been detained within the past 24 hours and a total of 65 since August. Those taken into custody so far include six executives of PDVSA's Huston-based subsidiary Citgo, five of whom hold American passports. "What we're doing will boost the people's morale," Saab said. Citgo Petroleum, meanwhile, officially named a cousin of the late Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez and former oil minister Asdrubal Chavez as its new chief executive. Del Pino and Martinez, both of whom are US-trained industry veterans, were replaced last Sunday by a senior Venezuelan general, who reportedly has little experience in the country's oil industry. According to press reports, both men are also proteges of Venezuela's former oil czar Rafael Ramirez, who led PDVSA and served as oil minister for a decade until being appointed as the country's ambassador to the United Nations (UN) in 2014. Ramirez has increasingly spoken out against Maduro's handling of the economy, dismissing public criticism from prominent government loyalists. He was reportedly sacked from his UN post, though no one in the government has officially confirmed his ouster. The UN said on Thursday that it hadn't been notified of any change in the country's representation. Ramirez is reportedly the ultimate target of the PDVSA investigations as well as an ongoing probe in the US that has led to the arrest of more than 10 individuals for paying bribes, including two former close aides to Ramirez arrested last month in Spain. According to press reports, meanwhile, Del Pino claimed in a pre-recorded video clip released on social media following his arrest on Thursday that he was the victim of an unjustified attack, saying, "I hope this revolution gives me the right to a legitimate defense." NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Nine Killed In Taliban Attack On College In Peshawar RFE/RL's Radio Mashaal December 01, 2017 At least nine people have been killed and dozens wounded after Pakistani Taliban gunmen dressed in all-enveloping burqas stormed the campus of an agriculture university in northwestern Pakistan, hospital sources and police tell RFE/RL. Police and army troops summoned to the scene on December 1 killed all of the attackers at the Directorate of Agriculture Institute in the city of Peshawar some two hours into the attack, the military's press service said. An unnamed medical official confirmed to RFE/RL correspondents that the local hospital received the bodies of nine people. Three or four attackers were among the dead, the correspondents reported. The Pakistani Taliban -- Tehrik-e Taliban Pakistan (TTP) -- claimed responsibility for the attack. TTP spokesman Mohammad Khorasani said in a message that they had targeted a safe house of the military's Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) agency. At least 35 people were wounded during the gunbattle between the attackers and security forces, including eight students, three army soldiers, a journalist, a policeman, and a security guard. December 1 is a public holiday in Pakistan's Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province, commemorating Islam's Prophet Muhammad. The gunmen arrived at the campus in an auto-rickshaw and disguised in the burqas worn by many women in the region, Peshawar police chief Tahir Khan said. They shot and wounded a guard before entering the campus, he said. In December 2014, TTP gunmen killed 134 children at Peshawar's Army Public School, one of the single deadliest attacks in the country's history. The Pakistani Taliban are fighting to topple the government and install a strict interpretation of Islamic law. They are loosely allied with the Afghan Taliban insurgents. With reporting by AFP and Reuters Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/pakistan-taliban-peshawar -college-attack/28889855.html Copyright (c) 2017. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address War Criminal Praljak Died Due To Cyanide Poisoning RFE/RL's Balkan Service December 01, 2017 Convicted Bosnian-Croat war criminal Slobodan Praljak died of cyanide poisoning, Dutch officials said on December 1. Dutch prosecutors said toxicological tests found that "Praljak had a concentration of potassium cyanide in his blood" that resulted in heart failure. The 72-year-old Praljak stunned the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) on November 29 when he drank from a vial moments after a UN appeals judge upheld his 20-year sentence on war-crimes charges. He died shortly afterward. It remains unclear how Praljak obtained the poison. A former commander of Bosnian-Croat forces in Bosnia-Herzegovina's 1992-95 war, Praljak was convicted in 2013 of crimes including murder, persecution, and deportation for his role in a plan to carve out a Bosnian-Croat ministate in Bosnia in the early 1990s. He was one of six Bosnian-Croat defendants in court on November 29 to hear rulings on the appeal of their sentences at the ICTY. Croatian political leaders seized upon Praljak's suicide as evidence of the failings of the war crimes tribunal, which was in the process of handing down its final judgment on November 29 before shutting down. Conservative Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic on November 30 voiced outrage at Praljak's death, describing his suicide as "an act showing a profound moral injustice" and saying that the verdict was "unacceptable." Croatian President Kolinda Grabar-Kitarovic left a summit of female political leaders in Iceland, and the parliament broke off a session in the wake of the events in the tribunal. Croatian lawmakers held a moment of silence for Praljak and the war victims on November 30, saying, "Let the death of General Praljak be the last act of the war." Besides Praljak, the other five defendants included Bosnian Croat leader Jadranko Prlic, who appealed his 25-year term imposed by the court in The Hague, and four others, who are also appealing long prison sentences ranging from 10 to 20 years. Before the November 29 hearing was halted, Prlic had also had his 25-year jail term upheld. Prlic had been found guilty of being part of a criminal enterprise by the wartime Croatian government of late President Franjo Tudjman, to create an ethnically pure state. Judges upheld that key finding, despite Croatian officials having denounced it and calling for it to be overturned. Meanwhile, the U.S. Embassy in Sarajevo called the court's verdict an "important step toward holding to account those individuals responsible for the tremendous suffering of the people" of Bosnia. It also urged all parties to respect the verdict and "rededicate themselves to the continued reconciliation and peaceful coexistence essential to the future of a stable, secure" Bosnia. The appeals hearing comes a week after the judges sentenced former Bosnian Serb military commander Ratko Mladic to life in prison. It marks the end of two decades of work by the court, which was set up in 1993 at the height of the Balkans conflicts to prosecute Europe's worst atrocities since World War II. With reporting by AP, Reuters, and bbc.com Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/praljak-death-poisoning -cyanide-icty/28891167.html Copyright (c) 2017. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Former Trump National Security Adviser Flynn Pleads Guilty To Lying To FBI In Russia Probe Mike Eckel December 01, 2017 WASHINGTON -- Michael Flynn, who resigned as President Donald Trump's national security adviser just 24 days into his administration, has pleaded guilty to making false statements to the FBI, a federal crime. The charge, which was unsealed on December 1, marks a major development in U.S. Special Counsel Robert Mueller's criminal investigation focusing on ties between Trump's 2016 presidential campaign and Russia. The filing in U.S. federal court in Washington, D.C., dated November 30 said Flynn "willfully and knowingly" lied when he told the FBI he had not discussed U.S. sanctions imposed against Russia with Sergei Kislyak, then the Russian ambassador to the United States. The document said the conversation happened during the transition period between the November 8, 2016, presidential election and Trump's inauguration on January 20, 2017. Flynn, a retired U.S. Army lieutenant general who formerly served as a top intelligence official in President Barack Obama's administration, did not respond to reporters' questions as he arrived at federal court in Washington. His lawyers issued a statement from Flynn saying: "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 our country." Flynn faces up to five years in prison for the charge of lying to the FBI, but his sentencing could also depend on the extent of his cooperation with investigators. Trump's lawyer, Ty Cobb, released a statement saying Flynn's guilty plea does not implicate anyone other than Flynn. "The false statements involved [in the indictment] mirror the false statements to White House officials which resulted in [Flynn's] resignation in February," Cobb's statement said. Neither Trump nor the White House made any statements in the hours after Flynn's court appearance. A scheduled White House photo-op with Trump and the visiting Libyan prime minister was canceled. A White House Christmas party for the media, set for the afternoon on December 1, remained on the schedule. Norm Eisen, who was a top ethics lawyer in Obama's administration, said the charge is relatively light, which could indicate Flynn has offered substantial cooperation to investigators. "In practice, that means he will be cooperating against someone more important than he is; prosecutors don't in practice consider a defendant implicating peers or subordinates alone sufficient," he told RFE/RL in an e-mail. Because Flynn was so high up in the campaign and the White House, he must have proffered information that can be used to make the case against others, he said. Eisen said that might include Trump's son-in-law, Jared Kushner, Trump's son Donald Jr., or someone else of similar seniority -- perhaps even Trump himself. Flynn resigned as Trump's national security adviser in February after it was revealed he misled Vice President Mike Pence about his contacts with Kislyak. Mueller is leading a Justice Department investigation into contacts between Trump's election campaign and other Trump associates and Russian government agents. Mueller took over the probe after Trump on May 9 abruptly fired FBI Director James Comey, whose investigators had begun their probe into possible collusion with Russia in July 2016. Comey's firing came about three months after he met with Trump at the White House. According to news reports, during that meeting, which occurred the day after Flynn's resignation, Trump asked Comey to end the agency's investigation into Flynn. The day after Comey's firing, meanwhile, Trump met with Kislyak and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov at the White House and reportedly told them he had fired Comey because of the Russia investigation. If Mueller's team were to determine that Trump fired Comey to block the criminal investigation, that could be considered obstruction of justice. Flynn is the fourth person to be criminally charged in connection with the investigation. Former Trump campaign Chairman Paul Manafort and his business associate Rick Gates were indicted in October on charges that included conspiracy and lying to federal agents. Former foreign policy adviser George Papadopoulos, meanwhile, has pleaded guilty to lying to FBI agents and was cooperating with Mueller's investigators. In January, U.S. intelligence agencies issued a finding that the Russian government had conducted a concerted campaign to influence the 2016 election in favor of Trump. ABC News reported that Flynn had indicated he was prepared to testify against Trump and other administration officials. Michael Glennon, who served in the U.S. Senate Office of the Legislative Counsel during the Watergate crisis, said there were clear parallels to when President Richard Nixon's White House counsel, John Dean, testified to a Senate committee and implicated administration officials in the Watergate burglary. The events that followed resulted in Nixon resigning as congressional lawmakers drew up articles of impeachment. "John Dean broke the dam and the question is whether Mike Flynn's testimony is the dam breaker. That remains to be seen, but I would not be sitting pretty if I were in the Oval Office," he told RFE/RL. "Merely meeting with representatives of the Russian government or encouraging subordinates to meet with members of the Russian government does not, in and of itself, constitute obstruction of justice," he said. "Now, if lying to the FBI is part of a larger scheme aimed at preventing the law enforcement authorities to learn about illegal activities, that's a different question." Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/flynn-fbi- charged-with-lying/28890732.html Copyright (c) 2017. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Reapers in the Sahara: US Military to Deploy Armed UAVs to Niger Sputnik News 23:55 01.12.2017 US Africa Command (AFRICOM) will be adding armed drones to their Nigerien arsenals to bolster their combat capabilities after the October ambush that left four US soldiers and five Nigerien soldiers dead. Niger had already given the US permission to fly surveillance drone missions out of bases in their country, but now Niamey and the Pentagon have come to an agreement to allow AFRICOM to add MQ-9 Reaper drones equipped with a suite of missiles on bombs to their assets. In the past, AFRICOM drone surveillance was focused on Niger's southern border with Nigeria, where the infamous militant group Boko Haram operates. They will be extending operations and take a more balanced approach, with more operations along Niger's borders with Mali, Algeria, Chad and Libya. AFRICOM will also be adding more US soldiers to the 800 already stationed in Niger and will be opening a new base at Agadez in the center of the country. The base was meant to open in 2017, but construction delays pushed the opening back. Pentagon officials did not disclose how many troops they'd be adding. "The government of Niger and the US stand firm in working together to prevent terrorist organizations from using the region as a safe haven. For operational security reasons, I will not comment on specific military authorities or permissions," Pentagon spokeswoman Maj. Audricia Harris said in a statement. The change comes with the rise of a new branch of Daesh: the so-called Islamic State in the Greater Sahara (ISGS). Based out of neighboring Mali, the nascent militant group rose to infamy with a well-coordinated ambush during a joint US-Niger patrol at the Niger-Mali border on October 4. This, combined with the galvanizing of Islamic militant groups such as al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) and Nusrat al-Islam (JNIM) in central Mali, has pointed to a worsening of the security situation in western Africa. Niger has its own militant groups to contend with, most prominently the infamous Boko Haram that primarily operates in nearby Nigeria and Chad. To the north is Libya, ravaged by civil war with multiple competing governments and Islamic militant groups fighting over the future of the country. The situation in these beleaguered African nations is not expected to improve in 2018, just as it deteriorated in 2017. AFRICOM has become more active in the region, conducting dozens of airstrikes in Libya and Somalia that are virtually never reported on. Many Americans were unaware that the US had forces stationed in Niger before the October ambush. Sputnik NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address B-52s Won't Get New Engines Until At Least 2020, If Ever Sputnik News 22:14 01.12.2017 The US Air Force won't be able to replace the engines on its fleet of 76 B-52 bombers until 2020 at the very earliest due to continued budget constraints, according to a new report. The US Congress is still operating on a temporary funding bill known as a continuing resolution. The fiscal appropriations bills for fiscal year 2018 have not been passed by the Senate to send to the White House, even though the fiscal year began October 1. The White House has failed to finalize a budget request for fiscal year 2019. For all these reasons, the decision to put new engines on the B-52 Stratofortresses "won't be earlier" than 2020, "if it happens," US Gen. Robin Rand told Breaking Defense Thursday. Each B-52 flies on eight engines. Industry participants Boeing and Rolls Royce have had their eye on the potentially lucrative contract to re-engine the planes for decades, but the decision to replace the jets with more fuel-efficient engines has routinely been delayed. The original engines were designed and built by Pratt & Whitney. Paying the $69,000 cost-per-flying-hour for the B-52 draws from the Defense Department's "operations and management" account, while new engines would require the Pentagon to draw from its "procurement" account. New engines could save money on aggregate by using less fuel, but they are low on the list of national priorities. "It's a goofy way to do accounting, but I'm afraid DoD is stuck with it," aviation analyst Richard Aboulafia told Breaking Defense. Between nuclear submarine modernization programs, the F-35 and the B-21 Long Range Strike Bomber, there's already a ton of projects draining the procurement account. Sputnik NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Flynn Pleads Guilty to Lying to FBI, Denies Accusations of Treason as 'False' Sputnik News 17:19 01.12.2017(updated 00:04 02.12.2017) Earlier, US media reported citing the court's filing that US Special Counsel Robert Mueller has charged Donald Trump's former national security adviser Michael Flynn with one count of "willfully and knowingly" making "false, fictitious and fraudulent statements" to the FBI. Trump's first national security adviser Michael Flynn has pleaded guilty to US special counsel's office's charges that he made false statements to the FBI about conversations he had with then Russian Ambassador Sergei Kislyak. When asked in court if he wanted to plead guilty, the retired three-star general and former military intelligence chief said, "Yes, sir." "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 stated. He, however, has strongly denied accusations of treason, "After over 33 years of military service to our country, including nearly 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." Flynn's estimated sentence ranges from 0-6 months in prison with an up to $9,500 fine, according to a plea agreement. Commenting on charges against Flynn, White House lawyer Ty Cobb said that the general's guilty plea doesn't implicate anyone else. According to an ABC news unverified report, Flynn is allegedly prepared to testify that US President Donald Trump "directed him to make a contact with the Russians." Flynn's Meeting With Russian Ambassador Earlier media reports suggested that federal investigators had gathered enough evidence to press charges against Flynn, who served as Trump's national security adviser for just 24 days until he was forced to quit because he had not given Vice President Mike Pence complete information about his contact with Russia's ambassador to the US. Previously, Sergei Kislyak, who finished his mission as the Russian envoy to the US this summer, emphasized that during his meeting with Michael Flynn, the parties discussed issues solely important to Russian-US cooperation, mainly the fight against terrorism. Commenting on allegations of alleged Russian meddling into the US presidential election, which Moscow dubs "groundless," President Vladimir Putin said that he is aware of the content of the Kislyak-Flynn talks, adding that US officials have "lost their mind" as it is an ambassador's job to meet with people. While Kislyak has been portrayed in mainstream US media as a tool for spreading Russian influence, with The New York Times and The Washington Post repeatedly releasing reports citing sources about alleged links between Trump's campaign team and Russian officials, including the former ambassador, Moscow called on Washington to stop the "bullying" campaign against the Russian diplomat, adding that he regularly met US officials as it was a portion of his duties as envoy to the county. Flynn is the fourth member of the Trump campaign to face charges in the ongoing Russia probe, which has been called a "witch hunt" by President Donald Trump, with former campaign manager Paul Manafort and his business associate Rick Gates placed under house arrest over charges on 12 counts, including tax evasion, and former foreign policy adviser George Papadopolous, who had admitted lying to the FBI over a meeting with a London-based professor, who allegedly promised to put him in contact with people allegedly possessing "dirt" on Hillary Clinton. Sputnik NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Mnangagwa Always Pays His Debts: Anti-Mugabe Generals Given Top Gov't Jobs Sputnik News 14:21 01.12.2017(updated 14:30 01.12.2017) Despite promising a "new destiny" for Zimbabwe, the country's new president appointed a number of prominent Mugabe-era generals to his Cabinet as a reward for their support of the recent military coup. Emmerson Mnangagwa, nicknamed "the Crocodile" for his ruthless political career, was sworn in as the country's leader last week after taking over from Zimbabwe's long-serving leader Robert Mugabe. Mugabe, who ruled Zimbabwe for some 37 years, had to resign, following the military coup that was allegedly orchestrated by Mnangagwa as retaliation for being dismissed as Mugabe's Vice-President in early November. Now, as Mnangagwa settles in his predecessor's office, it is time for the military to reap the rewards for its support of the coup. Amongst the appointees to the new Zimbabwean Government, one cannot help but notice a pronounced number of the country's military leaders. For instance, General Sibusiso Moyo, who appeared on Zimbabwe's state TV first to deny the military coup and then to announce Mugabe's dismissal, has become the country's Foreign Minister. Similarly, General Perence Shiri, the head of Zimbabwe's Air Force, received the lucrative post of Minister of Agriculture and Land Affairs. Perence Shiri was highly decorated under Mugabe for spearheading the military operation against the then-Prime Minister's opponents in the early 1980s that reportedly resulted in some 20,000 civilian deaths. Finally, Christopher Mutsvangwa, the head of Zimbabwe's influential National Liberation War Veterans Association, which actively supported the military coup by staging large demonstrations, was appointed as the Minister of Information. The move upset a number of opposition leaders in Zimbabwe, who hoped that with Mugabe out of the picture, Zimbabwe would pursue a new political course. Tendai Biti, the leader of the opposition People's Democratic Party and a former finance minister, said that the Zimbabwean people were "wrong" to think that. "The honeymoon is over even before it had begun," Biti said on Twitter. "What a shame. What a missed opportunity." Similarly, Eldred Masunungure, a political science professor at the University of Zimbabwe, claimed that the change in political direction is unlikely under Mnangagwa, whose new Cabinet features "the same tired faces being recycled." "We had high expectations, but what we see is a 'thank you' cabinet thanking the people that may have contributed in various ways to his ascendancy," he told Bloomberg. The disappointed commentators took to Twitter to voice their views. Sputnik NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address UN News - UN relief wing appeals for record $22.5 billion in aid for 2018 1 December 2017 A record level of aid funding more than $22.5 billion is needed to deliver lifesaving assistance around the world in 2018, the United Nations Emergency Relief Coordinator said on Friday. Announcing the Global Humanitarian Appeal, Mark Lowcock said that an estimated 136 million people face urgent needs because of protracted conflicts, natural disasters, epidemics and displacement. "Were we better financed, we would save more lives. But we would also protect more futures []," he said, noting that it costs us about 230 a year to provide the lifesaving comprehensive assistance that we are talking about through these response plans about 77 cents a day. "That's one of the cheapest investments you can make in the safety of humanity for the future, so we are hoping that, on the basis of the quality of the plans we will be able to reach higher levels of funding than we have both said we have achieved for this year," he explained. He noted that the amount of the Appeal is $300 million more than what was sought last year. "And that partly reflects the fact that although the agencies are getting faster, more efficient and more cost effective in what they are doing, the cost of operating in some of the places where we have to operate is growing because they are highly insecure and protecting the aid operation is becoming more challenging." In Yemen, a child dies every 10 minutes, said Mr. Lowcock, who is also the UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs, adding that the country is likely to remain the world's worst humanitarian crisis. Twenty million of the country's 25 million people are in need of assistance, and seven to eight million "right on the brink of famine," Mark Lowcock added. He repeated his call for the Saudi-led coalition to continue unwinding its blockade - put in place after a rocket attack by Houthi fighters three weeks ago warning of a humanitarian crisis the like of which the world "has not seen in decades" if it is not done. Acknowledging that humanitarian aid on its own could not solve chronic instability, the UN aid chief said it was a personal priority to work with governments on development and peacebuilding to address the root causes of their problems. The fact that this year's appeal is higher than in 2016 reflects growing needs, not only in countries in the international spotlight, such as Yemen, Myanmar and Syria. In Africa alone, Burundi, Cameroon, Central African Republic (CAR), Democratic Republic of the Congo, Libya and Somalia are all expected to see more civilian suffering. Many countries had seen marginal progress in the last year however, according to the UN's humanitarian coordinating agency, OCHA. These include Afghanistan, Ethiopia, Iraq, Mali and Ukraine. Also in Geneva for the UN appeal, Save the Children International warned that youngsters are among the most vulnerable victims of humanitarian crises. The organization's head Helle Thorning-Schmidt told journalists how protracted conflict was "stealing" children's lives twice; first when they were displaced by conflict, and then for a second time when they were unable to return home. She told of tremendous suffering in Yemen, where children were dying of diseases that had been overcome 100 years ago elsewhere, before adding that her aid teams had no access to other vulnerable communities in countries including Libya and North Korea. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address UN Launches Biggest-ever Humanitarian Appeal By Lisa Schlein December 01, 2017 The United Nations is appealing for a record $22.5 billion to provide humanitarian assistance to 91 million victims of conflict and natural disasters in 2018. The money is to be used to give tens of millions of the world's most vulnerable people food, shelter, health care, emergency education, protection and other essential relief next year, according to Mark Lowcock, the U.N. undersecretary-general for humanitarian affairs and emergency relief coordinator. "The big drivers of humanitarian need for 2018 will continue to be conflict and violence, which forces people to flee from their homes, denies them access to adequate food and robs them of their livelihoods," he said. The appeal also will be used to provide aid to victims of typhoons, hurricanes and other natural disasters, Lowcock added. But, he says, Yemen, Syria and Democratic Republic of Congo homes of the world's three biggest crises will receive most of the aid. Yemen, the world's largest humanitarian crisis, is in a particularly precarious state because of a blockade imposed by Saudi Arabia following a missile attack on the Saudi capital, Riyadh, on November 6 by Houthi rebels. "We have been calling for a full unwinding of the blockade, which has been preventing humanitarian assistance and commercial food and fuel [from getting] into Yemen," Lowcock said. "It needs to be fully wound down if we are to avoid an atrocious humanitarian tragedy involving the loss of millions of lives, the like of which the world has not seen for many decades." Needs next year will remain at exceptionally high levels in Nigeria and South Sudan, and humanitarian crises are expected to grow in Burundi and Cameroon, according to Lowcock. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address 2 Somali Soldiers, 12 Militants Killed in Al-Shabab Ambush By Mohamed Olad Hassan December 01, 2017 At least two Somali soldiers and 12 militants were killed Friday when al-Shabab militants attacked a convoy in central Somalia, according to a senior regional official. Militants ambushed a convoy carrying the Hiran regional governor, Ali Jeyte Osman, and other top military officials, near Hees Village, about 80 kilometers northwest of the regional capital, Beledweyn. "We have killed 12 of them and ... we lost two soldiers," General Ahmed Mohamed Tredishe, commander of the Somali National Army in the region, told VOA Somali. He said the governor and others traveling with him survived the attack and continued their travels. Militants flee Meanwhile, militants loyal to the al-Qaida-linked al-Shabab militant group are said to be fleeing northward toward Somalia's semi-autonomous Puntland region. "We have received reports of movements by armed al-Shabab militants fleeing from U.S. strikes in and around the region from southern Somalia," said Tredishe. Villagers and pastoralists have told Somali radio stations over the past two days that they spotted militants with haggard faces who appeared to have abandoned their bases in the south. The U.S. has carried out at least 30 air, missile and drone strikes in Somalia this year. Seven of those strikes took place between November 9 and 14, with two aimed at Islamic State militants in Somalia. Simultaneously, the Somali National Army and African Union troops have conducted smaller operations to flush out al-Shabab militants from their main supply routes close to Mogadishu, ahead of a larger-scale offensive promised by the Somali government. Former al-Shabab leader returns Meanwhile, in the southern Somali town of Baidoa, hundreds of residents have welcomed a longtime militant leader who defected from al-Shabab before surrendering to the government in August. Mukhtar Robow Ali, also known as Abu Mansour, returned to his home region Friday, telling his supporters he has come back with something valuable. "You will hear from me about that valuable thing soon," Robow said. Robow did not elaborate, but sources say he has agreed with the Somali government to join the fight against extremism and the militants he once led. Robow was a cofounder of al-Shabab in 2006 and was the group's deputy emir before breaking with the group's late supreme leader, Ahmed Godane, in 2011. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Flynn Pleads Guilty to Lying to FBI By Masood Farivar, Wayne Lee December 01, 2017 U.S. President Donald Trump's former national security adviser, Michael Flynn, pleaded guilty Friday to lying to federal agents and has agreed to cooperate with investigators examining allegations of Russian meddling in the 2016 election and collusion between Moscow and the Trump campaign. Appearing before a federal judge in a packed courtroom in Washington, Flynn, a 59-year-old retired army general who resigned after just a few weeks at Trump's side in the White House, pleaded guilty to one count of making false statements to the Federal Bureau of Investigation about a series of private conversations he had with Russia's then-ambassador to Washington, Sergey Kislyak, shortly after the presidential election. The charge carries a sentence of up to five years in prison, but under U.S. sentencing guidelines the average sentence ranges from zero to six months. The guidelines are advisory, but prosecutors said they'll ask for a reduced sentence if Flynn provides "substantial assistance" with the investigation being led by special counsel Robert Mueller. No sentencing date was announced. Guilty plea As part of his guilty plea, Flynn agreed to "cooperate fully" with Mueller's team of investigators, answering questions, providing written statements, taking polygraph exams, and "participating in covert law enforcement activities." In return, Mueller's office agreed that Flynn "will not be further prosecuted criminally." Flynn is the fourth member of Trump's 2016 presidential campaign to be charged by Mueller's team and the first former White House to plead guilty in connection with the Russia investigation. On October 30, Paul Manafort, a former Trump campaign chairman, and Rick Gates, another senior campaign official, were charged in a 12-count indictment unrelated to the Russia investigation. Another Trump campaign surrogate, George Papadopoulos, secretly pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI about his contacts with the Russian government and is cooperating with the special counsel. Flynn's decision to cooperate with a probe that could implicate others close to Trump marks a dramatic turnaround for a man who staunchly campaigned for the real estate mogul and promised a hard edge in U.S. foreign policy before being fired for lying about his Kislyak interactions to Vice President Mike Pence. Flynn didn't know at the time, but his phone conversations with Kislyak were all recorded by the FBI as part of its probe into Russian interference. White House reaction The White House sought to play down the significance of Flynn's guilty plea. White House lawyer Ty Cobb said Flynn's plea does not implicate "anyone other than Mr. Flynn" and added Flynn was a "former Obama administration official" who served in the Trump White House for only 25 days. But some legal experts said the relatively minor charge of lying to the FBI suggests Mueller sees value in Flynn's cooperation. "The trick is we won't know, perhaps for some time, how significant it is," said Steve Vladeck, a professor of law at the University of Texas who closely follows the Russia investigation. "But it's a strong sign that more is coming. And what's coming down the pipe probably involves more senior officials and individuals closer to President Trump himself." In a statement released after his court appearance Friday, Flynn said, "The actions I acknowledged in court today were wrong, and, through my faith in God, I am working to set things right." Flynn was swept up in the Russia probe as the FBI began examining contacts between Russia and Trump campaign officials. Flynn admitted to lying to the FBI about a series of conversations he had with the Russian ambassador at the behest of senior Trump transition officials shortly after the election. The conversations focused on two foreign policy issues the Trump transition team sought to influence before coming into office: a pending U.N. Security Council resolution condemning Israel for its settlement activities in Palestinian territories and a possible Russian retaliation to sanctions imposed by then-President Barack Obama. In two separate conversations Dec. 22 and 23, 2016 Flynn, directed by a "very senior" member of the Trump transition team, called Kislyak to urge him that Russia "vote against or delay" the Security Council resolution. Kislyak told him that Russia would not vote against the resolution, which was eventually passed. 'Very senior' member of transition team Several U.S. news outlets have identified the "very senior" member of the transition team as Jared Kushner, Trump's son-in-law and senior adviser who is leading the White House's Israeli Palestinian peace efforts. Five days later, on December 28, after Obama announced punitive sanctions against Russia over its interference in the election, Kislyak called Flynn, according to prosecutors. Flynn then contacted an unnamed "senior official" of the transition team at the Mar-a-Lago resort for guidance. The next day, Flynn called Kislyak to ask him to "refrain from escalating the situation" in response to the sanctions. When confronted by the FBI just days after Trump's inauguration, Flynn, then the president's national security adviser, "did willfully and knowingly make materially false, fictitious and fraudulent statements and representations" to investigators about the conversation with Kislyak, according to court documents filed Friday. The filing also says Flynn falsely stated he did not remember Kislyak informing him the Kremlin had decided to "moderate its response to those sanctions" in response to Flynn's request. The court document says Flynn also falsely claimed the Russian ambassador never described Moscow's response to that request. Flynn's attorneys recently informed Trump's legal team they had to end discussions about the special counsel's probe, an indication Flynn had started to cooperate with prosecutors. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address White House Distances Itself From Trump's Former National Security Adviser By VOA News December 01, 2017 The White House sought to distance itself from U.S. President Donald Trump's former national security adviser, Michael Flynn, who pleaded guilty Friday of lying to federal investigators about his contacts with Russia's ambassador to the U.S. White House attorney Ty Cobb said Flynn was a "former Obama administration official" who served in the Trump White House for only 25 days and the guilty plea does not implicate "anyone other than Mr. Flynn." Republican congressional reaction to the plea was mostly muted in the hours immediately following the plea, unlike an outpouring of responses from their Democratic counterparts. Democratic Senator Mark Warner of Virginia, vice chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee which is conducting one of several congressional investigations into Russia's meddling in the 2016 U.S. presidential election said it would be unacceptable for Trump to try to influence the probes. "This guilty plea also comes on the heels of a new report about the president's efforts to silence the independent, bipartisan Senate investigation into ties between Trump associates and Russia. It is part of an alarming pattern in which the president has already fired the FBI director; pressured the attorney general and top U.S. intelligence officials to interfere with an ongoing investigation; and contemplated issuing pardons for his associates or firing the special counsel, according to numerous press reports," Warner said. Possible reactions seen Representative Adam Schiff of California, the top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, which is conducting its own probe into Russia's role in the election, speculated Flynn's plea might prompt the Trump administration and its allies to attempt to curtail the congressional investigations or try to end prematurely special counsel Robert Mueller's probe. Schiff said Congress "must make clear" that the investigations must continue. "Given the much broader exposure Michael Flynn had on a range of other issues, if this is the universe that he is pleading to, it says to me that Bob Mueller must be getting fairly substantial cooperation from General Flynn," Schiff said. Democratic Representative Jerrold Nadler of New York said Flynn's guilty plea indicated the House Judiciary Committee has enough evidence to investigate Trump for obstruction of justice. "There is now more than enough evidence to form the basis of a congressional investigation into the president's obstruction of justice, and it is long past time that the House Committee on the Judiciary engage on this matter. I urge Chairman [Bob] Goodlatte [a Virginia Republican] to finally begin our oversight work without delay," Nadler said. Nadler added, "This development adds further weight to our suspicion of President Trump's corrupt motives when he approached former FBI Director [James] Comey about the Flynn investigation and asked that he 'let it go.' " Trump fired Comey as he was leading the agency's investigation into Russia's role in the 2016 presidential election and possible Trump campaign collusion with Moscow. Comey's firing led to the appointment of Mueller as a special counsel to oversee the investigation. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Zimbabwe's New President Names All-loyalist Cabinet By Sebastian Mhofu December 01, 2017 Zimbabwe's new president, Emmerson Mnangagwa, has announced a 22-member Cabinet made up entirely of ruling party members, including two senior army officials. Legal experts say the new president might have made his first misstep in office. Despite a promise to reach out to the opposition, Mnangagwa only appointed "loyalists,"according to Lovemore Madhuku, a law professor at the University of Zimbabwe. Madhuku said that was expected. Mnangagwa had to pay back those who stood up for him after he was fired as vice president by Zimbabwe's longtime ruler, Robert Mugabe. But Madhuku worries the new president has appointed more than the limit of five non-parliamentarians allowed under the constitution. "It's unconstitutional," he said. "The constitution is very clear: you have a maximum of five people that are not from parliament. As long as a person is a minister and they will draw salary from the public purse, that person must be from parliament. We have seen that there are eight or 10. What is more disturbing is: why that will be done; the provision is clear. It has never been breached before." Christopher Mutsvangwa, the newly-appointed minister of information, said he would not comment on the matter, as he has not been sworn into office. Among the non-MPs Mnangagwa appointed is his foreign affairs minister, Major-General Sibusiso Moyo. It was Moyo who appeared on state TV November 15 to announce that the army had taken over state institutions. Mugabe resigned six days later under intense pressure from the army and ruling ZANU-PF party. In his inaugural speech, Mnangagwa promised to improve the country's human rights record and economy ahead of the 2018 elections, expected by the middle of the year. Mnangagwa has not said whether he will run for a full term as president. Until those polls, he and his Cabinet will run Zimbabwe's affairs. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Western Balkan Governments Remain Focused on NATO, EU Membership By Jane Bojadzievski December 01, 2017 Foreign Ministers from across the Western Balkans say substantially improved ties with Europe and the United States will be critical to stabilizing the Southeastern European region that some experts describe as vulnerable to anti-Western foreign influences. In Washington for a conference on U.S. strategy in the region, the officials told VOA in separate interviews that uniform EU and NATO membership is critical to European security and sustained democratic rule. "What we need is to strengthen democracies governed by the rule of law," said Macedonian Foreign Minister Nikola Dimitrov, whose country has been an EU and NATO membership candidate since 2005. "Our region is surrounded by NATO member states and EU member states. It's about consolidating Europe; it's about ensuring that as the migrant crisis showed this region is an integral part of the system of democracies on our continent. "It is true we have increased tensions in the region as a consequence of renewed hostilities between the West and Russian Federation," he added. "But it's not about liking or disliking Russia and I don't think this should be an either-or choice it's about the voices of our citizens, who would like to see Macedonia as part of the alliance. This is our destiny. This is our journey." Having engaged the EU membership action plan for 17 cycles, he said, Macedonia is slated begin its next cycle in Brussels on Dec. 11. "It is high time to finish this unfinished business," he told VOA. "This will be good for the region; it will be good for NATO and, for any country that cares for the stability of the [Balkans] region, they should be behind our NATO bid." A new report published by the Atlantic Council ahead of this week's conference on Southeastern Europe described the Western Balkans as "the unfinished business of a Europe whole and free." The conference was followed by individual meetings between the Balkan ministers and top U.S. officials, including Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs, A. Wess Mitchell, and White House National Security Adviser H.R. McMaster. "McMaster spoke very seriously about what U.S. considers the greatest security challenges in Western Balkans, and he emphasized that the United States is not losing interest, nor has it the intention to be inactive in the Western Balkans," said Montenegrin Foreign Minister Srdjan Darmanovic. "On the contrary," he told VOA, McMaster said the U.S. is "very interested in obtaining stability and democracy and willing to support Euro-Atlantic integration for those Balkan countries that want to join." Montenegro, the smallest Balkan country, began EU accession talks in 2012 and became the 29th member of NATO at a ceremony at the State Department in June, despite fierce objections from Russia. Formerly part of communist Yugoslavia, Montenegro became an independent republic in 2006 when Montenegrins voted in a referendum to split from Serbia. Addressing Wednesday's conference, Serbian Foreign Minister Ivica Dacic said Belgrade intends to remain on the path to EU membership while maintaining free trade agreements with Turkey and the Russian Federation. He also described the EU as Serbia's "first foreign policy partner" and touted his country's improved economic relations with the United States. "I want to say that in the Western Balkans, we are the most important economic partners [with the U.S.]," citing joint infrastructure transit projects. The Atlantic Council report proposes a permanent, Kosovo-based American military presence in the Balkans to help fortify the region against Russian efforts to exert political influence. Asked if he felt the proposal arose from U.S. concerns over a Serbian-Russian Humanitarian Center in the Serbian city of Nis, Dacic was dismissive. "If five Russians, four Serbs and one dog are seen as equal to Bondsteel, that terrifies me," he said in reference to Camp Bondsteel, a U.S. and NATO military base established in Kosovo in 1999. The U.S. State Department expressed concern in June about the new disaster relief center that Russia is operating in Nis. Some Western groups and military analysts see it as a subtly disguised military base designed to spy on U.S. interests in the Balkans. "I want to emphasize this," Dacic told VOA's Serbian Service. "When the elephants are making love or fighting, either way the grass is damaged. Serbia doesn't want to be that grass, or in other words in the position of the small and weak. That's why we have to pay attention to our own interests." Serbia, which has been negotiating its EU accession since January 2014, has never strategized to join NATO, which bombed Yugoslavia in 1999. The situation is the reverse for Albania, which has been a NATO member since 2009 but is still awaiting a green light to open accession talks with the EU, a decision expected early next year. Albanian Foreign Minister Ditmir Bushati told VOA his country has been moving ahead on reform of its justice system and other measures to facilitate those talks. "I want to emphasize the fight against organized crime and corruption, the progress in consolidating the reforms in the public administration and the respect for human rights," he said. "So I expect, and it is totally possible, that 2018 will be the year that Albania will start membership negotiations with EU and we will sit in the negotiating table with concrete results from the justice reform and the fight against organized crime and corruption." In another interview, Bosnian Foreign Minister Igor Crnadak said he was reassured by his meetings Thursday with U.S. diplomats and White House officials. "Meeting with Wess Mitchell was very important, because I could see determination to help the region, and Bosnia, to move forward and continue implementing reforms," said Crnadak, whose Muslim-majority nation is viewed as vital to Europe's defense against international terrorist organizations targeting the European mainland. Bosnia, an EU membership candidate, has also been aiming to join NATO since April 2010, when it received a Membership Action Plan at a summit in Tallinn. In a statement released late Thursday, White House National Security Advisor McMaster noted that "the Western Balkans continues to be a high priority for the United States" and underscored that the Trump administration "remains fully committed to the region's Euro-Atlantic aspirations and European integration efforts." Original reporting by Milena Djurdjic of VOA's Serbian Service, Amra Alirejsovic of VOA's Bosnian Service, and Laura Konda of VOA's Albanian Service. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address National Guard wraps up busy hurricane season By Tech. Sgt. Erich B. Smith,National Guard Bureau December 1, 2017 ARLINGTON, Va. -- Three back-to-back hurricanes that brought large-scale destruction to the Gulf Coast region, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands kept the National Guard busy during the 2017 hurricane season. Approximately 2,800 Guard members still play an active role in recovery efforts in the Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico, more than two months after Hurricane Maria -- the last of the back-to-back storms. "A lot of people need our help and I joined to serve," said Pfc. Roberto Rivera, a military police officer with the Puerto Rico Army National Guard"s 480th Military Police Company. Like many residents of Puerto Rico, his house was destroyed by wind and torrential rain brought in from Maria. But as soon as the hurricane passed, he came to the aid of his fellow Puerto Ricans affected by the storm, said Rivera. "I just believe [other] people need more help than I do," he said. Hurricane Harvey, the first of the three hurricanes, made landfall in Corpus Christi, Texas, Aug. 25. More than 3,000 Guard members were on duty in the immediate aftermath of the storm, primarily assisting local authorities with search and rescue operations. "This is what we train for," said Army Brig. Gen. Patrick M. Hamilton, commander of the Texas National Guard"s Domestic Operations Task Force. "And we"re proud to stand beside our civilian partners, first responders and volunteers to serve the citizens of Texas." When Harvey made its second landfall in Louisiana, the Texas Guard supplemented the Louisiana National Guard in response efforts. "They were here during Katrina, and they helped us last year during the [Baton Rouge area] floods," said Army Maj. Gen. Glenn H. Curtis, the adjutant general of the Louisiana National Guard. "That bond, that feeling you get when you cross state borders to help those in need, to provide relief, that"s what makes the National Guard special." While Guard members kept busy in Texas and western Louisiana, Hurricane Irma slammed through the Caribbean, making its way to Florida, where 4,000 Guard members stood ready to respond. In the Florida Keys, Soldiers with Florida Army National Guard engineer units used heavy equipment to clear a major highway within 24 hours of the storm passing, allowing first responders and civil agencies access to the area. "We now have the unique opportunity to help these fellow Floridians take their first steps toward rebuilding and recovery," said Army Lt. Col. Betsy Evans, commander of the Florida Army Guard's 753rd Brigade Engineer Battalion. In the Caribbean, where the storm knocked out cell towers and power lines, Air National Guard units provided communications abilities with the Joint Integrated Site Communications Capability system. "When we first arrived in St. Thomas, [Virgin Islands], all cell services, local phone lines and Internet services were down," said Air Force 2nd Lt. Tyler Olsen, the JISCC officer in charge with the Utah Air National Guard"s 151st Air Refueling Wing. "We were able to establish voice and data for the first time on the island since Hurricane Irma had wiped them out." Relying on satellite communications, the JISCC system allows for communications across multiple radio, data, video and voice platforms during emergencies or large-scale disasters. Roughly two weeks after Irma tore through Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands in early September, Maria followed suit, causing widespread blackouts and many areas to be without drinkable water. "Our unit has been supplying approximately 9,000 gallons of potable water a day to civilians," said Air Force Master Sgt. Isaac Strickler, a power production supervisor with the Ohio Air National Guard's 179th Airlift Wing, whose unit operated water purification systems in Puerto Rico in the aftermath of Maria. He added that many local residents were grateful for the Airmen's presence. "Everyone has been gracious and have even brought us some homemade meals, a welcomed change from MREs (meals ready-to-eat)," said Strickler. The Puerto Rico Army National Guard's 892nd Multi-Role Bridge Company set up a temporary bridge for people in Guajataca, Puerto Rico, allowing for transportation of municipal workers and residents. "That's why we're proud to serve here because we are a part of creating access to the local area," said Sgt. 1st Class Santos Febus, a platoon sergeant with the 892nd MRBC. Army Guard aviation Soldiers flew doctors, nurses and civil authorities to isolated communities unreachable by ground transportation. They also brought in needed supplies to residents. "We delivered baby formula, diapers and other baby sundries, premature-baby medicines, insulin, feminine hygiene products, over-the-counter medication and tarps," said Army Lt. Col. Jason Lefton, commander of the New York Army National Guard's 3rd Battalion, 142nd Aviation Regiment. Getting supplies and personnel to affected areas meant establishing a staging point for airborne transportation. In Savannah, Georgia, various Air Guard units operated a distribution hub, providing the means to execute large-scale airlift operations. "It was really an entire wing effort to support the ongoing recovery efforts," said Air Force Col. Shaun Perkowski, commander of the West Virginia Air National Guard's 167th Airlift Wing, which provided C-130 Hercules and C-17 Globemaster III aircraft and their crews to move supplies and personnel. "The value of airlift cannot be underestimated." All told, roughly 6,200 Guard members from 38 states supported relief and recovery operations in response to Maria. Additionally, more than 18,300 Guard members from 34 states and close to 21,000 Guard members from 29 states and territories supported Harvey and Irma operations, respectively. For many Guard members, responding to the hurricanes was just part of the job. "I got a call asking if I could deploy within 36 hours," said Air Force Maj. Mark Smith, a chaplain with the Tennessee Air National Guard's 118th Wing. "I went home, told my family goodbye, threw my gear in a bag and hit the road again. That's what we do." NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Remarks at an Emergency UN Security Council Meeting on North Korea U.S. Mission to the United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley U.S. Permanent Representative to the United Nations U.S. Mission to the United Nations New York City November 29, 2017 AS DELIVERED Thank you, Mr. President, for your leadership in calling this meeting, as well as thank you for your leadership of the sanctions committee. And we appreciate, Mr. Feltman, your briefing as well. This is the ninth time this year that the Security Council has met in reference to North Korea. Last time we spoke in the Security Council about North Korea's development of nuclear weapons, the United States made clear that the future of North Korea was in the hands of its leaders. If they chose the path of peace, the world would live in peace with them. But if they chose the path of defiance, we would respond appropriately. The choice, we said, was theirs. Yesterday, the North Korean regime made a choice. It chose to feed its nuclear aggression. It chose to thumb its nose at the civilized world. It chose to challenge the patience of a world united against its recklessness. And with this choice comes a critical decision point for the rest of the world. The world has responded powerfully to North Korea's outrageous and lawless actions. This Council has taken unprecedented measures to stop North Korea's development of a nuclear-tipped ballistic missile. We have leveled the most impactful sanctions that any country has experienced in a generation. We have cut deep into North Korea's major export industries to eliminate the revenue for its illegal missile program. We have reduced its military access to the refined petroleum needed to run its war machine. In addition to our work here in the Security Council, many nations have taken their own strong actions against North Korea's threat to peace. Just this year, as North Korea's behavior has become more intolerable, over 20 countries from every corner of the globe have restricted or ended their diplomatic relations. Mexico, Peru, Italy, Spain, and Kuwait have expelled North Korea's ambassadors from their countries. Portugal and the United Arab Emirates have suspended diplomatic relations. The Philippines and Taiwan have suspended all trade with North Korea. Singapore, formerly North Korea's seventh largest trading partner, has cut all trade ties. Uganda has halted all military and security ties. The European Union, Australia, South Korea, and Japan have made additional sacrifices for peace and security by going well beyond what the Security Council requires. All of the countries that have taken actions to isolate North Korea have acted out of deep concern about the regime's dangerous refusal to abandon its nuclear program. They have selflessly put the security of all of us above their individual political and economic interests. They have won the gratitude of the international community for their responsible actions. Regrettably, not all countries have done the same. All UN Member States are at the very minimum obligated to fully implement all UN sanctions. But we know that's not happening in every case. This Council has banned coal exports from North Korea. And yet, we have reports of the regime continuing to smuggle coal into neighboring Asian countries using deceptive tactics to mask the coal's origins. This Council has required that all refined petroleum imports into North Korea not exceed the annual cap, and we banned ship-to-ship transfers. And yet, we see North Korea illegally obtaining refined petroleum from neighboring states through ship-to-ship transfers in the Yellow Sea and the Sea of Japan. There are countries that are continuing to fund the North Korean nuclear program by violating UN sanctions and obstructing our efforts. The world knows who many of them are. As successful as we have been in leveling multilateral sanctions against it, the North Korean regime continues to test new and more powerful missiles. And as it does, it continues its march toward a functional nuclear arsenal. The continuing development of these missile systems demands that countries further isolate the Kim regime. So today, we call on all nations to cut off all ties with North Korea. In addition to fully implementing all UN sanctions, all countries should sever diplomatic relations with North Korea and limit military, scientific, technical, or commercial cooperation. They must also cut off trade with the regime by stopping all imports and exports and expel all North Korean workers. Just last week, the world was given a stark reminder of the barbarity of the North Korean regime when one of its own soldiers fled the country. Even more than the dramatic video of the soldier's escape, more shocking was the soldier's medical condition unrelated to his bullet wounds. While being treated by a South Korean medical team, doctors discovered that the soldier had parasites and uncooked corn kernels in his digestive tract clear evidence that the North Korean regime is unwilling to properly feed even its own high-ranking military troops. This is the incomprehensible nature of North Korea. Yesterday's missile launch was more advanced than previous launches. No one can doubt that this threat is growing. No one can doubt that North Korean dictator is getting more aggressive in his obsession for nuclear power. Yesterday, the regime declared itself a nuclear power, saying that it "completed the state nuclear force, tipped with a super-large heavy warhead capable of striking the whole mainland of the United States." But the North Korean regime missed something very important. As we have said before, being a nuclear power comes with certain standards. It comes with being responsible enough to know that you don't threaten other countries with nuclear weapons. You don't starve your own people in order to fund nuclear weapons. You don't bully and play games with nuclear weapons. The regime has shown time and again that it doesn't want to talk. Kim didn't even speak with President Xi's envoy when he was sent to talk to the regime. It has emphatically said it will not eliminate its nuclear production. And North Korea is in clear violation of multiple Security Council resolutions. We are once again at a time of reckoning. We have some options. First, we should continue to treat North Korea as the international pariah it has become by taking its UN Rights and Privileges away, including its voting powers. Second, we know the main driver of its nuclear production is oil. Through sanctions we have cut off 90 percent of North Korean trade and 30 percent of its oil. But the crude oil remains. The major supplier of that oil is China. In 2003, China actually stopped the oil to North Korea. Soon after, North Korea came to the table. We need China to do more. President Trump called Chinese President Xi this morning and told him that we have come to the point that China must cut off the oil from North Korea. That would be a pivotal step in the world's effort to stop this international pariah. As I mentioned, many countries have made some big economic and political sacrifices by cutting ties with North Korea. They did that to serve the peace and security of all of us. We now turn to President Xi to also take that stand. We believe he has an opportunity to do the right thing for the benefit of all countries. China must show leadership and follow through. China can do this on its own, or we can take the oil situation into our own hands. The dictator of North Korea made a choice yesterday that brings the world closer to war, not farther from it. We have never sought war with North Korea, and still today we do not seek it. If war does come, it will be because of continued acts of aggression like we witnessed yesterday. And if war comes, make no mistake, the North Korean regime will be utterly destroyed. The nations of the world have it within their power to further isolate, diminish, and, God willing, reverse the dangerous course of the North Korean regime. We must all do our part to make that happen. Thank you. ### NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Russia's foreign minister censures US 'bloodthirsty tirade' on North Korea Iran Press TV Fri Dec 1, 2017 06:44PM Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has described threats to destroy North Korea by the United States as "a bloodthirsty tirade." US Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley, earlier this week, warned North Korea's leadership it would be "utterly destroyed" if war were to break out between the two countries. Speaking on a visit to Rome on Friday, Lavrov strongly criticized the US diplomat's comment, emphasizing that war and violence were not the correct way to solve the problem. "If someone really wants to use force to, as the US representative to the United Nations put it, destroy North Korea ...then I think that is playing with fire and a big mistake," said Lavrov. The Russian diplomat described Haley's reaction to the international crisis regarding North Korea, which she made at an emergency UN Security Council meeting, as "a really bloodthirsty tirade." "We will do everything to ensure that (the use of force) doesn't happen so that the problem is decided only using peaceful and political-diplomatic means," Lavrov said. US President Donald Trump and other officials have on numerous occasions threatened to use violent means against North Korea. Pyongyang is already under all sorts of politico-economic pressure by the international community -- its main allies Russia and China included -- to stop its nuclear and missile programs. It has, however, resisted the mounting pressure, voicing its concern about Washington's aggressive stance toward the country. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Pyongyang ready for peace talks if recognized as nuclear power: Report Iran Press TV Fri Dec 1, 2017 04:22PM North Korea has reportedly expressed its readiness to take part in peace talks if the United States recognizes Pyongyang as a nuclear power. Moscow, which -- along with Beijing -- is considered to be an ally of North Korea, has been increasingly concerned by the escalation of tensions on the Korean Peninsula fomented by a growing US military presence and provocative military drills in the region. North Koreans "are ready to talk, however the Korean side has its own condition it should be recognized as a nuclear power," Vitaly Pashin, a member of the Russian parliamentary delegation to Pyongyang, said as quoted by Russia Today (RT) on Friday. Pashin added that Pyongyang was prepared to talk with Washington "under parity condition" with the participation of Russia as a third party. North Korea announced on Wednesday that it had become a full nuclear power after successfully launching a new intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) capable of targeting any location in the US. Pashin said Pyongyang claimed it had been forced to adopt an aggressive stance and would carry on with its missile and nuclear development programs that it says are needed for defending the nation against aggression. The member of the Russian delegation, who is also a lawmaker of the State Duma, said Pyongyang now felt safe. Pyongyang has repeatedly announced that its nuclear arsenal has a defensive nature against the US hegemonic policy. In the statement on Wednesday, Pyongyang described itself as a "responsible nuclear power," saying its strategic weapons were developed to defend its sovereignty and territorial rights against the US. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address For picture posts from 2010 and earlier, see the Earlier Picture Posts Page Pentagon chief says diplomacy a viable option with North Korea Iran Press TV Fri Dec 1, 2017 07:16AM US defense secretary James Mattis says he still has confidence in diplomacy to resolve tensions with North Korea and that Washington would be "unrelenting" in working through the United Nations. The Pentagon chief made the comments on Thursday before the start of a meeting with Libyan Prime Minister Fayez al-Seraj at the US Defense Department. "I am not willing to say that diplomacy has not worked. We will continue to work diplomatically, we will continue to work through the United Nations, the United Nations Security Council and we will be unrelenting in that," he said. "At the same time, our diplomats will speak from a position of strength because we do have military options," he added. The US defense secretary's comments come after North Korea test-fired an advanced inter-continental ballistic missile on Tuesday that puts the US mainland within range of its nuclear weapons. The launch drew quick and widespread condemnations, with the US envoy to the UN threatening to destroy Pyongyang in case of a possible war. US president Donald Trump, who has previously threatened the North with "destruction" gave a guarded response to the test. "I will only tell you that we will take care of it, Trump said at the White House. "It is a situation that we will handle," he added, without further elaboration. US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson also stressed that diplomatic options were still "viable and open." The inter-continental Hwasong-15 missile flew higher than any other missiles launched previously by Pyongyang, according to North Korean state media, which also said the missile ended up landing in Japanese waters after traveling 960 kilometers. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Foreign Ministers to Discuss North Korea at UN By Margaret Besheer December 01, 2017 Japan's foreign minister is to preside over a meeting of the U.N. Security Council on December 15, to discuss North Korea's nuclear program, his nation's U.N. ambassador said Friday. "This is definitely a very, very strong threat to the security and safety of Japan," Ambassador Koro Bessho told a news conference marking the beginning of Japan's month-long presidency of the Security Council. "I think the awareness of the international community concerning this question has been heightened very much, and we are, as a council, working toward the peaceful way of putting pressure on North Korea so that they would change their policy," he told reporters. He said foreign minister Taro Kono would preside over the meeting, and several other ministers have indicated that they would attend. It was not clear if U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson would be among them. This week, media speculation resurfaced that he may soon be forced from his job, although President Donald Trump dismissed it on Twitter as "fake news." U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley is a member of Trump's Cabinet, putting her position at minister level. Rising threat At an emergency meeting of the council Wednesday following Pyongyang's launch of an intercontinental ballistic missile, Haley warned that should war break out, "the North Korean regime will be utterly destroyed." Haley also called on U.N. member states to cut ties with Pyongyang and urged a full oil embargo to cut off one of the country's most important and final lifelines. "I am grateful for what the Security Council has been doing in the last year and a half, but we certainly need to do more," Bessho said Friday. He said the last resolution, adopted in late September, is "very robust" and he hopes all member states will "faithfully implement" it. That resolution imposed tough economic sanctions aimed at cutting off financial and fuel lifelines to North Korea's nuclear and ballistic missile programs. Among the measures was a one-third cut of Pyongyang's oil imports, as well as drastic reductions to the amount of gas, diesel and heavy fuel oil it could import. Bessho said Japan is talking with its friends and partners about the best strategy to get North Korea to change its nuclear policy. "The Security Council is just one arena that may be useful," Bessho said. "But it is a whole strategy we need to talk about." North Korea has ramped up its nuclear and ballistic missile tests this year. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Avoiding Armed Conflict on Korean Peninsula Most Important Task - Lavrov Sputnik News 20:20 01.12.2017(updated 01:25 02.12.2017) Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has commented on the latest North Korean missile launch, as well as the situation in the Middle East and the pressure on Russian media in the US during the meeting with his Italian counterpart. "Our position on the problems of the Korean Peninsula is direct, frank and open, we have voiced it many times, including through Russian President Vladimir Putin. We believe that the main task is preventing an armed conflict there, which will have catastrophic consequences, first of all, for the countries that are located there. This is both the Republic of Korea and Japan. Let us not forget that both China and Russia also practically share borders with North Korea," Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said at a joint press conference with his Italian counterpart, Angelino Alfano. At the same time, the foreign minister stated that Russia regrets that the United States is provoking North Korea by announcing large-scale unscheduled drills in the region. "If someone really wants to use force to 'destroy North Korea,' as the US ambassador to the United Nations said then I think it is playing with fire, it is a big mistake. We will do everything to prevent this from happening, and promote solving the issue exclusively by peaceful political and diplomatic means," Lavrov told reporters. According to Lavrov, Moscow is "in a very close contact with the US representatives who are dealing with [tensions on] the Korean peninsula." The statement comes in the wake of the latest North Korean missile launch that was conducted on November 28, with the missile flying 950 kilometers (590 miles) and reaching an altitude of 4,475 kilometers, after which the missile fell into the Sea of Japan, within the Japanese exclusive economic zone. Pyongyang later announced in an official statement that this was an intercontinental ballistic missile Hwasong-15, which is capable of reaching targets throughout the United States. Pressure on RT in US After Forced Registration Under FARA According to the foreign minister, Moscow considers it unacceptable to strip Russia's RT broadcaster of accreditation in the US Congress, but would not want to join the "bans race." "And I can not now say what our answer will be, but I very much would not want to join the ban race, because of that the mass media will suffer, as well as those people who receive information from the media about the events in the world," he said at the press conference. The statement comes after the US Congressional Press Galleries took away credentials from the RT broadcaster earlier this week after it had been forced to register under the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA). Following the move slammed by the Russian Embassy in Washington as a violation of the freedom of speech, the Russian lower house, the State Duma, proposed on Friday to ban entry for all 20 US media outlets accredited by the Russian Foreign Ministry, without any exceptions. On the Middle Eastern Crises Commenting on the situation in the Middle East, Lavrov said that Russia was working with all parties engaged in conflicts in Syria and Libya without trying to turn them against each other. "In any conflict, we are guided by the need to involve all possible parties in the dialogue. We have never supported attempts to isolate somebody. We did not support that in Syria where in 2011 our western colleagues said that they would not talk to the legitimate government. We did not support the attempts in Libya to isolate the eastern part of the country I believe that this principle can be used in any other conflict We are always trying to be a part of the team and never trying to turn one party against another one in any country," Lavrov said. Lavrov noted, apparently referring to media reports saying that the US forces will stay in Syria after the anti-terrorist operation is over, that Russia expected foreign forces that were illegally remaining in Syria to leave the country after the Daesh defeat. According to minister, the US 55-kilometer (34-mile) radius zone of control in Syria's al-Tanf is absolutely unnecessary. "We have to be very careful not to allow these de-escalation areas to become a step towards splitting Syria into various parts. Unfortunately, the Americans unilaterally created a 55-kilometer-radius zone in al-Tanf, which we believe is absolutely unnecessary," Lavrov said. Sputnik NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address India Denies Having Let US Officials On Board Nuke Sub Leased From Russia Sputnik News 16:09 01.12.2017 The INS Chakra, leased by the Indian Navy from Russia for a 10-year period, has been lying idle at the Vizag port for the last three months following damage that is currently being inspected by an Indo-Russian joint team of experts. New Delhi (Sputnik) The Indian Navy has categorically denied having allowed a technical team from the US to visit the Chakra nuclear submarine leased from Russia for 10 years. It comes at a time when New Delhi is hoping to soon finalize an agreement with Moscow for leasing a second Russian-made nuclear submarine for its naval fleet. Admiral Sunil Lanba, chief of the Indian Navy, told a press conference Friday that there has never been an instance of any American seeing the Russian-made nuke submarine from close quarters as reported by some news outlets. "No American has even seen the Chakra from close by," Admiral Lanba said. Admiral Lanba said that the Chakra (Akula-2 class) nuclear submarine's sonar system has been damaged and two panels have been dislodged. "The joint Indo-Russian team has been looking into it. Panels have been ordered and the submarine will get back into action soon," Admiral Lamba added. In early 2012, Russia had transferred its K-152 "Nerpa" submarine under Project 971U to the Indian Navy for a 10-year lease with the option of a subsequent repurchase. In the Indian fleet, the "Nerpa" was rechristened "Chakra." This is the second submarine in the Indian Navy with the same name. Earlier this name was used for a Soviet-era Project 670M submarine with K-43 cruise missiles. The Indian government is in an advanced stage of finalizing the lease agreement for a second nuclear-powered submarine with Russia. Sputnik NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Iran FM: Nuclear deal 'best we could have reached' IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency Tehran, Dec 1, IRNA -- Foreign Minister of Iran Mohammad Javad Zarif said on Thursday that the 2015 nuclear deal, officially known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), 'is not what we want ...but what we could achieve.' The JCPOA 'is a balance, it's not what we want, it's not what the US wants or what Europe wants. It's what we could achieve. That's the beauty of it. 'There are others who think they can come in and negotiate something far better. I can assure you it's the best deal we could have reached or will be able to reach,' Zarif said while addressing the third edition of the of the Rome Med conference in the Italian capital on Thursdday. He said that the anti-Iran sanctions and foreign pressures on Iran prompted the country to rely on its domestic resources and public convergence. In his address to thee the Third International Conference on Mediterranean Dialogues, Zarif also commented on a wide range of issues including Iraq's toppled dictator Saddam Hossein's attack on Iran with the support of certain countries, countries that supported Taliban, Al-Qaeda, al-Nusra and Daesh terrorist groups, keeping up bombing the Yemenis people, Iran's presence in Syria upon the official request of the country, economic interaction in the post-sanctions era, and investment of the European, Chinese and Korean companies in Iran. Zarif said that some believe they can buy security by purchasing weapons instead of interacting with their neighbors. It will be in the interest of all to turn the Middle East to a safe placce for life in cooperation with each other, the top diplomat added. He further noted that Saudi Arabia has rejected all options for ceasefire and peace in Syria and Yemen. 8072**1394 NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Israel 'reprimands' Myanmar envoy for spilling the beans on arms deal Iran Press TV Fri Dec 1, 2017 09:55AM The Israeli regime has "reprimanded" Myanmar's ambassador to Tel Aviv for saying that Tel Aviv has signed a new arms deal with Naypyidaw, which is under massive international criticism over ethnically cleansing minority Muslim Rohingya in the west of the country. The Israeli foreign ministry said in a statement on Thursday that Ambassador Maung Maung Lynn had been reprimanded for telling Israel's Army Radio in an interview that Tel Aviv had signed a new arms contract with Myanmar in recent months. The Israeli foreign ministry said that, after the reprimand, the Myanmarese ambassador apologized and retracted his comments in a meeting with Gilad Cohen, the foreign ministry's deputy director general in charge of the Asia and Pacific desk. The Israeli foreign ministry claimed, "Israel does not sell arms to Myanmar." This is while Israeli media have reported such sales. Israeli daily Haaretz reported on October 23 that Tel Aviv had supplied "Super-Dvora MK III" navy boats to Myanmar as recently as April, "when the Myanmar... army was already being accused of war crimes" against the Rohingya. The patrol boats, the report said, "are only part of a larger transaction signed between Israel and Myanmar," it said, citing "sources in the Israeli weapons industry" as saying that the value of the arms deal "is estimated at tens of millions of dollars." The Israeli regime has been denying such arms sales, even as the Myanmarese army has released pictures of Israeli vessels now under operation in the Southeast Asian country. Several human rights watchdogs released the results of investigations in September that had found more than 100 tanks, boats, and light weapons had been sold to Myanmar by Israeli arms companies in recent years. Myanmar's military, together with Buddhist mobs, has been raping, killing, and torturing Rohingya Muslims in the western state of Rakhine, forcing more than 600,000 of them to flee to neighboring Bangladesh, where they also face an inhospitable environment. Regimes selling Myanmar weapons, including Israel, have come under fire for complicity in the deadly violence in Rakhine. The government in Myanmar refuses to recognize the Rohingya as a local ethnic group even though they have lived there for generations. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Russia Negotiating Deal For Its Warplanes To Use Egyptian Bases RFE/RL December 01, 2017 Russia has approved a draft agreement with Egypt for Russian warplanes to use Egyptian military bases, in a move allowing Moscow to increase its military presence in the Middle East. The draft deal was published on November 30 after being signed by Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev on November 28. It requires the Russian Defense Ministry to negotiate details of the agreement with Egyptian officials. As outlined in the draft plan, the deal would allow each country's military to use the other's air bases for a period of five years, which could be extended if agreed. Russia raised its profile in the Middle East in 2015 by launching a campaign providing air support for Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's troops in their civil war against Sunni rebels. Russia has an air base and a naval supply facility in Syria, which it plans to expand. Egypt was Moscow's closest Arab ally in the 1950s and 1960s, when nationalist leader Gamal Abdel-Nasser turned away from the United States and secured Soviet backing. Nasser's successor, Anwar Sadat, broke ties with Moscow and evicted Soviet military advisers. Sadat's landmark peace deals with Israel in the 1970s increased Egypt's standing with the West and made it an anchor of stability in the volatile region. Under the deal, the United States agreed to give billions of dollars in military aid to Egypt each year. But ties with the United States have weakened in recent years and Egypt's current president, Abdel-Fattah el-Sisi, has developed friendly ties with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Sisi has expanded trade with Russia and shown a renewed interest in Russian arms purchases, with Cairo recently signing deals to buy Russian fighter jets, helicopters, and other weapons. Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu visited Cairo on November 29 for talks and praised what he called the "positive dynamics in the military-technical sphere." Offering condolences for the massacre at a mosque in Egypt's Sinai Peninsula last week that killed over 300 people, Shoigu emphasized the need to strengthen cooperation in fighting terrorism. "We believe that it's necessary to fight this evil together using all accessible means," he said. The local affiliate of the extremist group Islamic State has not formally claimed responsibility for the mosque attack, but the gunmen that mowed down the worshippers carried the black banner of the militant group. The IS affiliate has previously claimed responsibility for the October 2015 downing over the Sinai of a Russian passenger jet that killed all 224 people on board, most of them Russian tourists. IS said it blew up the plane with a bomb smuggled on board, a claim confirmed by Russian investigators. The bombing prompted Russia to cut commercial flights with Egypt, dealing a heavy blow to the country's tourism industry. Moscow and Cairo have held talks on boosting airport security and resuming commercial flights, but no agreement has been reached. With reporting by AP, dpa, and Reuters Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/russia-negotiating-deal-for-warplanes -use-egyptian-bases-/28889662.html Copyright (c) 2017. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Russia, Egypt Finalizing Military Cooperation Agreement By Edward Yeranian December 01, 2017 Arab media is reporting that Egypt and Russia are on the verge of signing a military cooperation agreement that would allow each side to use the other's air space and air bases for a period of five years. Russian media reported that Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev has endorsed the draft agreement crafted by the defense ministry. Egypt's red carpet welcome Wednesday for visiting Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu has set in motion a military rapprochement between Cairo and Moscow, after months of hesitation, and more than 45 years of hostility following former Egyptian President Anwar Sadat's expulsion of Soviet military advisers from the country in 1972. Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev signed the draft deal with Egypt, inked by Shoigu, which will allow each side to use the other's military facilities and air space for a period of five years. Russian military forces have already reportedly used Egyptian facilities for operations inside Libya in recent months, according to Arab media. Defense Minister Shoigu applauded the warming relations between both countries during his visit to Cairo. He says that efforts are being made to step up military and technical cooperation between Egypt and Russia, bolstering the capabilities of Egypt's armed forces and police, which bear the brunt of the burden in the war against terrorism. He noted that improving relations between the two sides is coupled with an increasing volume of bilateral contracts for Russian defense enterprises. The warming of military ties between the two countries comes after a spate of terror attacks in Egypt, including a gruesome massacre of worshipers in a north Sinai mosque last Friday, which left more than 300 people dead. Islamic militants also attacked Egyptian security forces outside Cairo in October, killing and wounding a few dozen. Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi has accused unspecified countries of being behind recent terror attacks both in the Sinai and outside Cairo. He says outside parties are helping the terrorists, supplying them with arms, money, and fighting men, in an effort to seize control of the country and destroy Egypt's role in the region. Egyptian media has specifically accused Qatar and Turkey of supporting the terrorists. Both countries deny the charges. Hilal Khashan, who teaches political science at the American University of Beirut, tells VOA that President Sissi is eager to receive Russian help in defeating militants in the Sinai, since his own military has not been extremely successful. "A few months ago, Sissi asked Putin to help him to crush the ISIS uprising in the northern Sinai [based on] the success of the Russian air force in eliminating the radical rebels in Syria, namely ISIS and (Jabhat) al Nusra, and he reiterated his request immediately after the massacre at al Rawda mosque [in the northern Sinai town of Bir al Abed]." Khashan says he does not think Israel will object to the deployment of Russian air power in the Sinai, since Israel appears to have good working relations with Russia in Syria. He also says relations between Egypt and the U.S. will not be seriously affected by the developing relations with Russia. The U.S. gives Egypt $1.8 billion annually, mostly in the form of military aid. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Top Syrian negotiator rejects Riyadh-2 communique Iran Press TV Fri Dec 1, 2017 04:42PM Syria's ambassador to the United Nations and head of the Syrian delegation to the intra-Syrian peace talks in Geneva has strongly condemned the foreign-sponsored armed opposition over a communique, which demands the resignation of President Bashar al-Assad and his exclusion from governing Syria during a transitional period. "As long as the other side sticks to the language of Riyadh-2, there will be no progress. The language used in the statement contravenes the UN Security Council resolution 2254," Bashar al-Ja'afari told reporters on Friday following talks with United Nations Special Envoy for Syria Staffan de Mistura in the Swiss city of Geneva. He stated that the Damascus government's delegates have already submitted a list of basic principles for the sake of a political solution to the lingering Syrian conflict, which primarily focuses on the formation of a common ground and national trust. Ja'afari added that those who drafted the "provocative and irresponsible" Riyadh-2 communique were simply seeking to undermine De Mistura's mission, stressing that the peace talks in Geneva are "not a vicious circle." The Syrian negotiator underlined that government troops are making territorial gains on a daily basis, and Damascus is close to win the decisive victory over Daesh terrorist group. The veteran diplomat stressed that any unilateral action taken without the coordination with the incumbent Syrian government is totally rejected. Ja'afari concluded that his team would leave the UN-backed talks in Geneva on Saturday, and that "Damascus will decide" if they will return and continue the talks next Tuesday. The eight rounds of Syrian peace negotiations in Geneva have failed to achieve a tangible result over the past five years, mainly due to the opposition's insistence that Assad must cede power. Nasr al-Hariri, the head of the so-called High Negotiations Committee (HNC), said in Geneva on Monday evening that Assad's departure should be set before the start of any transition process. That condition seems no longer tenable due to Syria's continued victories against the militants in the recent past. On Tuesday, the US and UK officials expressed support for the Syrian opposition in the course of Geneva talks. Russia, Turkey and Iran, on the other hand, have mediated a parallel peace process between Syria's warring parties in Astana, Kazakhstan, since January. Russia plans to hold an all-Syrian congress, known as the Syrian National Dialog Congress, in the Russian resort city of Sochi, which would involve drawing up a framework for Syria's future structure, adopting a new constitution and holding elections under the UN supervision. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Iranian Envoy Says U.S. Won't Succeed In Pushing Iran Out Of Syria RFE/RL December 01, 2017 Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif says U.S. efforts to push Iranian military advisers and fighters out of Syria as part of a deal to end the war-torn country's six-year civil war will not succeed. "The aim of the U.S. administration is to get Iran out of Syria," Zarif said on November 30 at a conference in Rome. "The U.S. and Russia cannot decide for Iran. We are there at the request of the Syrian government," Zarif said. "It's our region. It's the Persian Gulf, not the Gulf of Mexico. We are going nowhere." The U.S. push for Iran's withdrawal from Syria, which U.S. officials have stated as one of their goals in backing Syrian peace negotiations sponsored by the United Nations, has gathered support from key U.S. allies in the region, including Israel and Saudi Arabia. Russia is also Syria's ally and has strongly supported Iran's presence there. But U.S. officials may hope to win Russian support for an Iranian troop withdrawal as part of any universally agreed settlement in Syria. Zarif said at the Rome conference that the policies against Iran put in place by U.S. President Donald Trump did not take into account what he called "reality" in the region, and thus are "extremely dangerous." "We have problems with the policies that are coming from Washington, and I believe those policies are extremely dangerous, impulsive, not grounded in reality," he said. "Generally, a revision, or a reorientation, or a cognitive adjustment to our region is highly necessary in Washington," he said. Zarif cited as an example Trump's hopes of renegotiating Iran's 2015 nuclear agreement with world powers to secure more concessions from Iran on ballistic-missile development. "The deal is a balance. It's not what we want. It's not what the U.S. wants or what Europe wants. It's what we could achieve. That's the beauty of it," said Zarif, who led Iran's nuclear negotiating team. "There are others who think they can come in and negotiate something far better.... We're talking about open arm-twisting by the U.S.," he said. "I can assure you it's the best deal we could have reached or will be able to reach." The nuclear deal provided Iran with sanctions relief in exchange for curbs on its nuclear activities aimed at lengthening the time it would take Tehran to develop a nuclear bomb. "The nuclear deal was focused on a specific deal. Now people are telling us that in order to have the benefits of the deal, we have to make concessions on other questions," Zarif said. "It sends a signal to others that this deal-making is not reliable." Zarif asserted that, despite the deal's sanction relief, Trump officials have been trying to prevent European companies from reengaging in business with Iran. "In spite of the arm-twisting, more and more European companies have been coming in," he said. He said one ironic result of Trump's adamant opposition to the deal had been the consolidation of support for it in Iran among hard-line factions that previously criticized the deal. "The United States' pressure has in fact created more solidarity inside Iran. I am being attacked much less in Iran today than I was before Trump was elected. So I thank him for that," Zarif said. With reporting by AFP and Reuters Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/iranian-envoy-zarif- says-us-wont-succeed-pushing-iran- out-of-syria/28889657.html Copyright (c) 2017. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Under Pressure, Turkey's President Slams Testimony at Sanctions Trial By Dorian Jones December 01, 2017 Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is reacting angrily after testimony in a New York trial implicated him in an alleged multi-million-dollar scam to evade U.S.-imposed sanctions against Iran. His reaction is adding to concerns Ankara is on a collision course with U.S. courts that could have financial and political repercussions. "We have trade and energy ties with Iran. We did not breach the sanctions (on Iran). Whatever the verdict is, we did the right things," Erdogan was reported to have said to his ruling party executives Thursday. Mehmet Hakan Atilla, deputy head of the Turkish state-owned Halkbank, is on trial, accused of facilitating an elaborate scheme to circumvent U.S. sanctions on Iran. Prosecutors allege the scheme involved billions of dollars and involved senior government members. During testimony Thursday, Turkish-Iranian gold trader Reza Zarrab, the prosecution's star witness who has pleaded guilty in the case, accused Erdogan and his then-finance minister, Ali Babacan, of being aware of the sanctions evasion scheme. Zafer Caglayan, a former economy minister and Erdogan ally, is also indicted in the case but remains at large. Turkish media, which are heavily influenced by the president, have criticized the trial as being politically motivated and aimed at undermining Erdogan. Government spokesman Bekir Bozdag joined in the condemnation. "The objective of this trial is to destroy their credibility and harm them in the eyes of the Turkish public and the world. That is clear," Bozdag said, speaking to reporters Thursday. Such conspiracy theories play well in a country that is traditionally suspicious of the United States. "Some people in Turkey do not think the American judiciary is as independent as it's made out to be. We've seen cases before where this actually proved to be the case," notes international relations expert Soli Ozel of Istanbul's Kadir Has University With a combination of hostility toward the United States among the president's supporters and a compliant media, Erdogan is widely predicted to be able to contain any political fallout from the trial. Suspicions were heightened further by Turkish prosecutors Friday when they issued an arrest warrant for Graham Fuller, the former vice chairman of the National Intelligence Council of the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency, in connection with a failed coup last year. Some analysts suggest the Turkish president might even turn the ongoing New York case to his advantage by playing the victim at the hands of a more powerful aggressor, a move that often plays well among the electorate. The financial markets, however, may not be so forgiving. In the run-up to the trial, the Turkish lira suffered heavy declines, which could continue because of the prospect that some Turkey's state banks could face massive fines, if convicted. Thursday's testimony saw two other state banks implicated for sanctions evasion along with Halkbank. "If big bill penalties are prepared for several Turkish banks, that would obviously shake the Turkish financial industry," warns Soli Ozel. There is precedent for such fears. Several European banks have already been hit hard for Iranian sanctions violations by U.S. courts, most notably the Paris-based BNP Paribas Bank that was fined $9 billion. Turkish state banks such as VakifBank have strongly rejected accusations of wrongdoing. "VakfBank has always acted in compliance with laws and related legislation and shown utmost care and diligence to act in accordance with the laws and the related legislation," read a statement released Friday. Given the strong pushback by Erdogan and the Turkish banks, the question increasingly being asked is whether Ankara would pay any fines imposed on its banks by U.S. courts for sanctions violations. Failure to do so would raise not only political but financial consequences. "The political risk scenario we are talking about could be something else," warns economist Inan Demir of Nomura Bank. "It could inflict greater pain than the recent depreciation episodes that we've seen in Turkey. It could mean more significant tightening of the external funding conditions for Turkey. This could mean the external financing constraints turn binding on Turkey. That would have significant effects on the currency and growth," said Demir. Underpinning Demir's concerns is that Turkish banks and companies have to pay back around $170 billion in loans in the next 12 months. Erdogan is also facing growing domestic pressure. The main opposition Republican People's Party, or CHP, on Friday produced what it said was evidence to support their accusation the president's close family, including one of his sons and brothers, along with members of his inner political circle, deposited more than $15 million into an offshore bank account. Erdogan has demanded that CHP leader Kemal Kilicdaroglu produce evidence to back up the claim made Tuesday. The government says the accusations are part of another conspiracy against the president. Erdogan Thursday repeated his charge that Kilicdarolgu and his party have committed treason and pose a threat to Turkey. The leader of the second largest parliamentary opposition pro-Kurdish HDP party, lawmaker Selahattin Demirtas, has already been in jail for more than a year on terrorism charges. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Ukraine's Poroshenko Says NATO, EU Referendums To Be Held Soon RFE/RL's Ukrainian Service December 01, 2017 Ukraine will hold referendums in the near future on whether to seek NATO and European Union memberships, President Petro Poroshenko said. Poroshenko, a pro-Western leader whose country is fighting Russia-backed separatists who seized parts of two eastern provinces in 2014, made the remarks in a televised address on December 1. "We are fully sticking to our path toward European integration," he said. "Have no doubt that referendums will be held in Ukraine in the very near foreseeable future on joining NATO...and on European Union membership," he said. "I am convinced that the Ukrainian people will support my proposal." Less than half of Ukrainians -- 43 percent -- back joining the 29-member military alliance, according to a survey released last week. But support has more than doubled since it stood at 20 percent in 2013, the year before Russia seized Crimea and fomented unrest in the east, where more than 10,000 people have been killed in the conflict since April 2014. Membership in the 28-member EU enjoys more support among Ukrainians -- 56 percent -- according to the survey. Poroshenko came to power after Moscow-friendly President Viktor Yanukovych was pushed out by large protests and fled to Russia. The Euromaidan protests began in November 2013, after Yanukovych made a last-minute decision to scrap a key association agreement with the EU under pressure from the Kremlin. The accord was signed in 2014 by Poroshenko and came into force this year. Joining the EU or NATO requires support from existing members, and many EU and NATO countries are wary of taking in Ukraine or believe it will not be ready to join soon. With reporting by AFP, Unian, and Interfax Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/ukraine-poroshenko- nato-eu-referendums/28890676.html Copyright (c) 2017. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address The battery is the most constraining factor in smartphone design for manufacturers so a lot of buzzwords go into their ads, making battery life a difficult thing to shop for. Our reviews have detailed tests, but we decided to come up with a shortlist for those who just need the best, quickly. Here are the Top 10 phones of 2017 based on battery life. Our Endurance rating should give you a good general guideline, however a single number doesnt tell the whole story. Some catch up on the latest episodes while commuting, others spend hours browsing the web. To help your Holiday shopping we compiled a list of recommended phones for those looking to get solid smartphone experience with the best possible battery life. Xiaomi Mi Max 2 - The entertainer With a dominating 126h Endurance rating, the sub-300 Xiaomi Mi Max 2 topped our 2017 charts for battery life. All thanks to its massive 5,300mAh battery and efficient Snapdragon 625 chipset. Quick Charge 3.0 will take care of filling the battery back up in no time, too. This Xiaomi also topped the Web browsing and Video playback charts. Did we mention it has a 6.44 screen? Stuck on a long flight, this is the phone you want. It will play nearly 22 hours of video before the battery dies. And if that plane has Wi-Fi, youll be able to stay online for 19 hours. Xiaomi Redmi Note 4 - The budget option With 119h Endurance, the Xiaomi Redmi Note 4 isnt far behind its large-screened sibling. And it is easily the most affordable phone in the running the only one below 200. Its 5.5 screen makes it more manageable, while the Snapdragon 625 chipset will provide the same performance as the Max. This one also came in second in the Web browsing test with an 18 hour time. It will also do over 15 hours of video. Note that the Redmi Note 4 doesnt come with a quick charger and it cant do 4K video like the Max. Still, at 100 less we think its a great deal. Samsung Galaxy A7 (2017) - The premium mid-ranger Borrowing from Samsungs flagship lines, the Galaxy A7 (2017) offers a 5.7 Super AMOLED display with a superior image quality. It features Always On Display, though that will cut into the Endurance bringing it down from the stellar 115h to the still solid 80h. A fast charger is included in the box. Great Web browsing endurance (over 15h) will distract you from taking selfies with the 16MP f/1.9 front camera and instead of watching video for 18h, you can take the Galaxy A7 (2017) to the pool (IP68 waterproofing). Sony Xperia XZ1 Compact - The small one Wow, those are some large phones. Sonys Xperia XZ1 Compact caters to those who want something more pocketable that still lasts a long time. Pulling 108h Endurance out of a 2,700mAh battery the smallest here is quite a magic trick by Sony. Its ready to take on the larger Galaxy A7 too with its own IP68 protection and an 8MP camera with Sonys excellent EIS. It goes toe to toe in the Web test (14h) and Video playback (16h) with the Samsung too. The Snapdragon 835 chipset leaves the Cortex-A53 octet of the Galaxy in the dust, though we wish Sony added a fast charger in the box. Huawei Mate 10 Pro - The flagship For a true flagship experience, the Huawei Mate 10 Pro is up there with the best. The same goes for battery longevity at 96h, it just squeaks into the Top 10 and beats the Galaxy Note8 (89h) by a whopping 5h in the Web browsing test. The included 22.5W charger is blazing fast it charged the 4,000mAh battery to 58% in half an hour. And as promised, you get the flagship treatment with a 6 18:9 AMOLED screen with HDR10 support, stereo speakers, a top performing chipset and the Leica-branded cameras. Oppo F5 - Widescreen browsing Lasting close to 18 hours of Web browsing, the Oppo F5 comes close to the Xiaomi phones. But unlike them youll be browsing on a 6 18:9 screen with a much better contrast ratio. The phone misses out on the companys excellent VOOC charger, but has other strengths. Like the 20MP selfie camera with Bokeh mode. And you can get up to 6GB of RAM for multitasking, though the Helio P23 chipset cant overcome its mid-range station in life when it comes to gaming. Samsung Galaxy J7 (2017) and J5 (2017) - Galaxys on a budget The Galaxy A7 is a fine phone, but it costs twice as much as the Galaxy J7 (2017). Youre getting very similar Endurance and similar longevity in the individual tests. Plus you get to keep the 1080p AMOLED display (5.5 this time) with Always On support (though enabling it drops the endurance to 72h). The in-box charger isnt great, but the J7 holds its own when it comes to selfies with a 13MP f/1.9 camera. The chipset isnt great for gaming though. Still, youre getting 80% of the features for 50% of the price, not bad. You can get more or less the same thing in a smaller package the Samsung Galaxy J5 (2017) has a 5.2 screen (note that its 720p). Its 11 hours of web browsing wont break any records, but over 18 hours of video playback is quite impressive. Samsung Galaxy S8 Active - The rugged one What if you need long battery life because you wont be near a wall wart anytime soon? The Samsung Galaxy S8 Active upgrades the IP68 rating of the vanilla S8 with MIL-STD-810G salt, vibration and thermal shock resistance. Thanks to the larger 4,000mAh battery you get better Endurance (111h vs. 84h) and better performance on the individual tests too 4 hours more on both the Web browsing and the Video playback tests. You get a fast charger in the box, but this phone also supports Samsung's fast wireless charging (a charger is a $30-40) Youre getting all the great features of the S8 the excellent Super AMOLED screen, the fast 12MP Dual Pixel camera and Snapdragon 835 chipset. Unfortunately (for now) this one is only sold in the US. Sony Xperia XA1 Plus - The wildcard With an Endurance rating just over 100 hours, the Xperia XA1 Plus brings the Sony touch without the XZ1 price tag. It has solid performance on Video (over 15h) and Web browsing (over 12h). The included charger is slow, but you can grab a faster Pump Express+ 2.0 compatible charger. The Xperia XA1 Plus rivals its flagship siblings in photography skills with a 23MP 1/2.3 sensor on the back as well as an 8MP selfie cam with autofocus. Its not quite XA1 Ultra good, but the difference in battery life is staggering. Paulo Carbone at the new Luas station at Broombridge Christmas shoppers can experience an open Dublin like never before when Luas Cross City opens next week. The revamped network will open up pockets of the city, providing a high-speed link between major shopping and business centres in both the city centre and suburbs, and connect the capital's transport network. The 368m light rail system will open to passengers next Saturday at 2pm, extending the Green Line, which currently runs from Bride's Glen to St Stephen's Green, onward to Broombridge, near Cabra, a total journey of 21 minutes. There are 13 new stops on the route, eight of which are in the core city centre. Traders Some 10 million passengers a year are expected to use the service, which has been a long time coming. When the existing Red and Green lines were proposed in the 1990s, it was decided not to join them amid concerns from city traders and politicians about the impact the construction works would have on the city centre, and a fear that people would avoid the area entirely. Paulo Carbone, head of public transport capital projects at Transport Infrastructure Ireland, said the project was not without difficulty. Heritage works involved removing statues, including Molly Malone. Utilities - most of which were not mapped - also had to be moved. Hundreds of cellars were found underneath buildings, which had to be filled. The main works resulted in major traffic diversions, many of which are permanent. "The biggest constraint was to keep the city alive for work, play, university and so on," he said. "Businesses would have loved us to work at night, but hotels had a different view." There will be teething problems as motorists get used to sharing road space with trams, but drivers are trained to identify problems. The Phibsboro stop is in an old railway cutting and is "old style", he said, whereas nearby Cabra is modern. The pier to connect the terminus at Broombridge with the Irish Rail station is still weeks away due to "procurement issues" and, until it is in place in early 2018, passengers will have to take a three-minute walk. Senior lecturer in transport planning at DIT, Dave O'Connor, said the importance of the project cannot be over-stated. "This should have happened in the first place, and the idea of linking up the network is phenomenally important," he said. "It will allow you transfer across the city, and it opens up the network." Potential Each 43-metre tram carries 300 people, the equivalent of taking up to 230 cars off the road. Longer 55-metre trams coming into service by early 2018 will provide 20pc more capacity. Head of public affairs at Dublin Chamber, Graeme McQueen, said it has "massive potential" to open up Parnell Street, Dominick Street and Marlborough Street. "It will lift the area, give it a freshness," he said. Joe Dowling, from community group Hope (Hands On Peer Education), which helps people with addiction problems, said the Luas will open up the inner-city. "It's going to create jobs for the community on Talbot Street, Parnell Street, Sean MacDermott Street. I remember the tram lines. This is like Christmas Day. It's a great boost," said Mr Dowling. Conor OHara has not yet entered a plea to the charges of possessing child pornography and harassing Sharon Ni Bheolain A Dublin man has been sent forward for trial accused of harassing RTE's Sharon Ni Bheolain, as well as child porn offences. Conor O'Hora (40), from Heather Walk, Portmarnock, Dublin, has been charged with harassment of the RTE newsreader at various locations within the State from October 20, 2013, until February 16, 2014. He also faces two other charges for possessing child pornography in text communications and images over the same period. Judge Michael Walsh returned him for trial to Dublin Circuit Criminal Court. A State solicitor yesterday said a book of evidence was ready and it was served on the accused. Alibi Mr O'Hora, who has not yet indicated how he intends to plead to the charges, sat looking at the book after it was handed to him by a garda. Judge Michael Walsh told Mr O'Hora his case would be listed before the presiding judge at the circuit court on December 21. He then gave him the formal warning that he must provide any alibi details to the prosecution within 14 days. The accused, wearing a light grey sweater over a blue shirt, blue jeans and black shoes, sat and nodded as the judge gave him the alibi notice. When Judge Walsh asked if he understood it, he replied: "I do, yeah." Judge Walsh ordered disclosure by the prosecution of a copy of the accused's Garda interview video. He granted free legal aid to cover junior counsel in the circuit court, following an application by Mr O'Hora's solicitor, Philip Hannon. The judge noted the accused had been granted bail in October and remanded him on bail to December 21 under existing terms and conditions. Ms Ni Bheolain was not required to be present in court yesterday. The hearing was Mr O'Hara's second court appearance after he was arrested and charged last month. On the previous date, a detective garda sergeant told the court he arrested the accused at Infirmary Road, near the Criminal Courts of Justice. "In relation to all charges after caution, the accused had nothing to say," the garda sergeant said. Indictment The court heard the Director of Public Prosecutions had directed trial on indictment on all charges. Bail was granted in the accused's own bond of 1,000 with no cash lodgement required. Conditions are that the accused continues to reside at his home address, notifies the gardai of any change of address and has no contact directly or indirectly with anyone involved in the investigation. He must also keep the peace and be of good behaviour, The judge previously said the usual reporting restrictions applied in relation to children, and "otherwise, the matter will be treated like any other case". The charges are under the Non-Fatal Offences Against the Person and the Child Trafficking and Pornography Acts. A medical student who beat up his live-in girlfriend and poured a can of Coke over her as she lay injured on a bed has been ordered to pay 5,000 compensation. Hugh Moody (23) attacked the trainee pharmacist when she pushed a takeaway meal in his face. The incident happened after a row broke out when he returned home from a night out. His lawyer put the assault down to a "moment of madness" due to a "strained relationship". Adjourning the case, Judge Gerard Jones said he would treat Moody "very fairly" if he paid compensation to his 22-year-old victim. Moody pleaded guilty at Dublin District Court to assault causing harm to his then-girlfriend at their home in Grove Park, Dublin 6, on November 8 last year. Expand Close Hugh Moody / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Hugh Moody Garda Stuart Byrne said the accused and his partner had been living together for a short time when the incident happened. Moody, from Kilfaughney, Glasson, Athlone, Co Westmeath, had been out with friends and arrived home at about 3.30am. An argument ensued between Moody and his partner, who had stayed in for the night. Moody was eating a takeaway, which she pushed into his shirt and face. The couple then slapped each other. Punched Moody followed her to a bedroom, where he punched her in the back and knocked her to the floor. He then kicked her "numerous times", said Gda Byrne. When the victim got up, Moody pushed her on to the bed and poured a can of Coke over her hair, her body and her clothes. The victim then left the room and locked herself in another bedroom. When Moody started kicking and banging on the door, she phoned gardai, who arrived soon afterwards. The court heard that Moody and the victim had no contact after the incident. Simon Matthews, defending, said the accused and victim had been in a "strained" relationship that had gone wrong and had been arguing "non-stop" before the incident. They had been going out for a year after meeting in college and had only been living together for three to four weeks when the assault happened. The accused had studied medicine at Trinity College, Dublin, and was now on a post-graduate course. Moody had co-operated with gardai and had met the case "head-on", said Mr Matthews. He was looking to put the case behind him and would never come before the court again. He knew it was "no way to act" and was incredibly apologetic. His mother was in court with him. Horrific A conviction would have dire consequences for Moody, said Mr Matthews. Judge Jones ordered compensation and adjourned the case to a date in May. Previously, the judge was told the victim did not want to be in the same courtroom as Moody. "What this woman went through is horrific," said the judge. A volatile gangster was caught hiding heroin, cannabis and a mobile phone behind a panel above the toilet bowl in his prison cell. Dean Reynolds (25), who was originally jailed for six years in July 2012, committed the offence at Mountjoy Prison in 2014. The convicted drug dealer pleaded guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to possession of a mobile phone and heroin and cannabis for sale or supply in the prison. Reynolds, of Windmill Park, Crumlin, is connected to gangland players in the Crumlin area who are involved in a bitter feud that has seen numerous violent incidents in the past year. Gruesome Associates of Reynolds are the chief suspects in the gruesome murder of innocent dad-of-three Stephen Lynch in April. Mr Lynch (32) was deliberately run over by a car in Brookview Close, Tallaght. Detectives quickly identified the four men in the car, who were collecting drug debts. There have been a number of arrests in the case and armed gardai have raided homes linked to Reynolds' associates. Armed gardai have seized weapons on a number of occasions, preventing serious attacks being carried out. Sources said there has been a dozen serious incidents linked to the dispute in recent months, including a house that was "shot-up" earlier this year. Reynolds has been well known to gardai since he was a teenager and his associates are suspected of a bomb attack at a Crumlin house a few years ago. His associates are also suspects in the botched murder of rival Crumlin gangster Karl Fay, who was shot in a park near Milltown Bridge in the south Dublin suburb in April 2011. The then 21-year-old staggered to the Dropping Well pub on the banks of the River Dodder, where customers contacted the emergency services. At Dublin Circuit Court on Wednesday, Judge Karen O'Connor gave Reynolds a two-and-a-half year prison sentence for the 2014 prison cell drugs offence. She suspended the final 15 months provided Reynolds keeps the peace, is of good behaviour and engages with probation services upon release. Reynolds was given a 12-month sentence for the mobile phone offence. The two sentences will run concurrently. Detective Garda Jason Weir told Derek Cooney, prosecuting, that Reynolds was serving a sentence in Mountjoy Prison when prison officers searched his cell. Assault A sock hanging from a pipe using a lace was discovered hidden behind an access panel above the toilet bowl. The panel was held in place with screws and officers opened this to search behind it. Inside the sock they found the mobile phone, a spare battery, 40 of cannabis herb and 360 of heroin. Reynolds' previous convictions include a number of drug dealing offences, as well as convictions for assault causing harm, criminal damage, and possession of firearms and ammunition. How good are these two guys, Penn State fans? It may surprise you ... A whitetail doe killed east of Joliet this fall has tested positive for chronic wasting disease, extending the known area for CWD contamination in Montana more than 20 miles farther north than two previous positive tests. The lab results also reveal that the always fatal disease has made the jump to whitetails and female deer. Both of the two previous positive tests had been in buck mule deer. "That changes the whole scope of everything," said Bob Gibson, Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks information officer in Billings. The lab results, based on tissue taken from deer brought through the Laurel check station on Nov. 16 and 17, also revealed another positive test result from a mule deer buck shot southeast of Bridger. Although Montana does not yet have a plan to address a CWD infection, FWP has been preceding within the guidelines of a draft plan that is under consideration. Moving quickly to ascertain the disease's spread, the agency will ask the Montana Fish and Wildlife Commission at its Thursday, Dec. 7, meeting for approval of a hunt to kill more animals for testing. The details for that hunt had centered in an area generally within about a 10-mile radius of the two previous positive CWD results. The two mule deer bucks, which were the first confirmed cases of CWD in Montana's wildlife, were killed in Hunting District 510. One was shot 10 miles southeast of Bridger and the other 3 miles south of Belfry. Those infections were much closer to the Wyoming state line. Wyoming is where the disease is presumed to have migrated to Montana from via infected cervids deer, elk and moose. Now the Billings FWP team tasked with coordinating the special hunt intends to propose that the area be expand northward, possibly as far as the Yellowstone River. The new information also means that special white-tailed deer B licenses would be issued. FWP scientists were working Friday evening to determine exactly what areas would be included and how many additional licenses the department should issue to gather a statistically valid sample of mule deer and white-tailed deer in the expanded region. Under the initial proposal, FWP was seeking a total of 1,000 special B licenses for two hunts. The hunts were to be divided with 500 tags offered for the first season, from Dec. 15 to Jan. 14, and 500 for the second season from Jan. 15 through Feb. 15. Of the 500 tags sold for each hunt, 100 would allow hunters to shoot a buck. The licenses were to go on sale Dec. 11 at a cost of $10 each. POLSON Lake County needs a new jail. That was the verdict of a two-member team from the National Institute of Corrections delivered to a small group of county officials and interested locals Friday morning following its two-day long inspection of the countys detention center. Lake County Sheriff Don Bell invited the NIC team to Polson to make an assessment of the facility thats often too full to accept new prisoners coming either from the court system or from arrests made by his deputies. Currently, Bell said there are 1,600 people with felony warrants for their arrest that his deputies cant serve because there is no room in the jail. More than 800 people are currently waiting for an opening to serve their sentences in a jail that can house 46 inmates. Bell recently offered a man who has been waiting four years to serve his time a chance to do community service as an alternative. There are people who are calling in three times a week to see if we have space, Bell said. For most of those in the room, the inadequacy of the jail wasnt at all surprising. They had heard it before. A similar NIC team came to the same conclusion back in 2007 when it inspected the detention center built in 1932 and housed in the basement of the county courthouse. The challenge has been and remains finding a way to pay for the new facility. I dont think this is going to go anywhere if we dont have the funding, said Lake County Commissioner Dave Stipe. After the county lost over $1 million in tax revenue following the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes acquisition of Kerr Dam in 2005, Stipe said county residents have seen their property taxes go up between 20 and 60 percent. At the same time, many people who irrigate farm lands have also had to swallow a $3 per acre jump in fees. And you think were going to go to those voters and ask them for a tax increase? Stipe said. How do you think thats going to work? Bell said when his officers make an arrest and the jail is full, they are required to call him to ask for permission to bring in a new prisoner. I have to weigh the liability we face when were already at 46 prisoners, he said. It usually has to be a violent offender to go over that number. As a result, people who should be locked up often arent. The countys chief juvenile probation officer, Barbara Monaco, saw that challenge for law enforcement recently when she sent deputies to arrest a juvenile on pretty serious charges. When the officers arrived at the home, they found three other people there who had felony warrants for their arrest. Because the jail was full, they were released. The juvenile was transported to the Missoula juvenile detention center. These officers are trying to protect the community to the best of their ability, Monaco said. The general public isnt seeing that risk thats occurring here on a day-to-day basis. When there is enough space, the conditions inside the detention center are far less than ideal. For instance, since the jail has only four single cells, detention officers have to decide who is the most dangerous or who needs the most protection from other inmates who are housed in larger dormitory settings. That is one of many problems that NIC consultants Mark Martin and Mark Goldman pointed out in the report they offered the community Friday. The current jail poses safety issues to both the inmates and detention officers, Martin said. Its design makes it challenging for detention officers to continually watch inmates. There are metal bars and other protrusions that can be used for suicide attempts. Manual locks on the cell would be problematic during a fire or other emergency. Low ceilings allow inmates access to plumbing, wiring and cameras. And the list goes on. We believe that youre doing the best that you can with the resources that you have available, Goldman said. Even the inmates told us that. But there are enormous problems with this facility. The challenges facing Lake Countys justice system dont end at the detention center. Lake County District Judge Kim Christopher said while the jail is the most critical issue, the countys entire justice system is dealing with space limitations that can create other issues for public safety. When the county took on a second district judge in 1997, it was supposed to build a new courtroom and office space, but it didnt happen, Christopher said. In 2013, the commission received a court order requiring them to do so, but, again, it didnt happen. The jail is definitely the place where I think the public has the greatest concern because it incarcerates people who are a threat to the community, but we have failed miserably with regard to whats been accomplished with the entire justice system, she said. The last real renovation of this building was in 1975, which is 40 years ago. We are in a significantly different place than that. Due to space constraints, Christopher has been forced to hold court in the commissioners meeting room, where shes been pulled off the bench four times due to dangerous situations that involved people with guns. Limited space is not limited to just the jail, she said. Commissioner Bill Barron, a former sheriff, said the last assessment that pointed out the jail deficiencies did make a difference for the community. The county was able to pass a levy that allowed it to hire additional detention officers and make some improvements to the detention center. The county has made improvements as it can afford them, Barron said. As an example, Barron pointed to a concrete slab in front of the jail entrance that allowed officers to pull their vehicles closer to building. While many detention centers have a separate, enclosed entrance called a sally port, Barron said that slab was what the county could afford. We address things on the level that we can, he said. Prisoners are currently escorted in through an area that is open to the public, which was another concern the consultants pointed out. Stipe said the countys justice system was a four-horse wagon. The county shares jurisdiction with state of Montana, federal government and the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes. Right now, we only have one horse pulling this wagon, Stipe said. Were not getting any cooperation from the other three horses. The county is paying the bills. The others with co-jurisdiction dont pay. At times, Stipe said the jail is half full with prisoners waiting to be transferred over to the state. William Hess decided to pursue a master's degree at the University of Montana specifically because he could study under David Gilcrest, in the Department of English. "I chose it because of the faculty," Hess said of UM. "Your master's degree is only as good as the people you study under." Last spring, Hess flew to Missoula to visit and was "deeply impressed" with the work of Gilcrest, director of literature and the environment. Hess enrolled, moved here from Syracuse, New York, and his girlfriend joined him. Friday, though, UM issued notices that it would terminate the contracts of an estimated 30 lecturers, contract faculty without tenure including some heads of programs such as Gilcrest. "The notice ... is required to inform you of the university's intention not to offer you a lecturer appointment at the conclusion of your current contract ... ending May 12, 2018," the notice said. Some lecturers have been at UM for more than a decade and are fixtures and leaders on campus. As a result of the notice, Hess is thinking about leaving UM, and he characterized the termination as "gutting my program." "I would like to first consider a leave of absence from the school so they can figure out their own nonsense," he said. *** UM earlier tried to terminate lecturers by the start of spring 2018. However, the faculty union filed a grievance observing that the notice failed to honor the contractual rights of lecturers to "reappointment annually," and Main Hall rescinded its earlier letter. The decision to cut lecturers could save UM some $1.8 million a year in the short term. Friday, President Sheila Stearns acknowledged it isn't clear if the cuts are a solid strategy for UM over the long run, although she thanked lecturers for their work. "They are deserving of our utmost thanks and respect," Stearns said. At the same time, she said UM must follow its policies. While she would like to have the flexibility to negotiate with all faculty, the union contract protects tenured faculty over contract faculty, she said, and with good reason. "The contract was deliberately built that way," Stearns said. "You have to maintain your investment in your tenured or tenure track professors first." UM officials have acknowledged that cuts to tenured faculty aren't off the table as part of an ongoing process to address budget challenges. Stearns said she hopes UM does not make cuts to tenured and tenure-track faculty, but if it must, it will be prepared in part with notices to lecturers. "We're not there yet. I hope we don't get there," Stearns said of reductions to tenured faculty. "But the first thing you have to do is the first thing. And that's fewer adjuncts and notices to lecturers to preserve your flexibility for the coming year." *** UM emailed the notice to lecturers Friday and plans to mail letters Monday, according to Main Hall. Stearns said notices were going to some 30 out of an estimated 40 lecturers because some already have arrangements for teaching beyond spring 2018. She also noted that in some cases, UM may rehire those instructors under different contracts. "We will hope that we can either, at some point in our future with no guarantee, hire them back as adjuncts," Stearns said of instructors who teach a semester at a time. She also said tenured faculty may be reassigned into the roles that lecturers are leaving. The letter giving lecturers notice came from the provost's office and also mentioned the possibility of adjunct contracts. "To maintain the necessary flexibility for both the delivery of our academic curricula and financial management, the University of Montana will be discontinuing use of full-year contracts for lecturers," said the letter. "With very limited exceptions, contracts for non-tenurable faculty will only be offered on a semester basis. "With preapproval from the Office of the Provost, individuals who were lecturers previously may be offered semester contracts as adjunct faculty." *** The adjunct status troubles Hess, who is pursuing a master's in literature with eco-criticism. "It makes no sense for me to come back to this institution that would consider making an adjunct of the director of my master's program," Hess said. In fact, he said he actually came to UM with even higher expectations. He's certain other campuses would offer him full funding, and he'd hoped to be able to work hard and prove himself at UM in order to earn a tuition waiver and stipend instead of paying full out-of-state fare. Performing in Meek Mills hometown of Philadelphia Friday night, Jay-Z played Meeks signature track Dreams and Nightmares to show support for the incarcerated rapper. Jay has already penned an op-ed for The New York Times in which he condemned the criminal justice system for failing Meek and other black men. On top of having the crowd recite Dreams and Nightmares in support, Jay shared some words about the rappers unjust imprisonment. If you see a young man put on probation for 11 years since he was 19 years old, he said, according to The Inquirer. That man is being stomped by the system. That man is in jail for doing wheelies and breaking up a fight. Fans at the show were said to be holding signs that echoed Jays sentiments including Free Meek Mill, Justice4Meek, and Probation Is A Trap, the last of which comes from Hovs aforementioned NYT piece. Jay also spoke out in support of Colin Kaepernick, whose Jersey he wore during his performance on SNL last month. [Kaepernicks protest] is not about the flag, he said. That shit is not about inanimate objects. Its about people dying. Its about young people leaving their house and never coming back home. And its not a black and white issue. Its a human issue. Everybody should be fighting that. Before the show, Philadelphia 76ers players including Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons, as well as Trey Songz and Yo Gotti were seen backstage wearing Stand With Meek Mill hoodies. Embiid reportedly visited Meek in prison earlier this week. Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images(WASHINGTON) -- The "very senior" member of President Donald Trump's transition team who directed former national security adviser Michael Flynn to reach out to Russia in an attempt to delay or defeat a U.N. resolution on Israeli settlements before Trump took office was Jared Kushner, sources with knowledge of the investigation confirmed to ABC News. Court documents filed by Special Counsel Robert Mueller Friday cite the very senior transition official but do not identify him. Flynn has promised full cooperation in the special counsels Russia investigation and is willing to testify that Donald Trump directed him to contact the Russians, initially as a way to work together to fight ISIS in Syria, according to a confidant. Bloomberg first reported that Kushner was the very senior member of the transition team detailed in the documents released Friday after Flynn pleaded guilty to misleading FBI investigators probing Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election, including about his contact with Russia. An additional "senior official" cited in the documents is K.T. McFarland, the former deputy national security adviser, sources told ABC News. The court documents additionally detail the directions given to Flynn by a Trump transition official about how to interact with Russia regarding sanctions levied against the country by the Obama administration for Russian meddling in the election. Flynn pleaded guilty Friday to making false statements to FBI agents investigating Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election, including about his contact with Russia. In the statement of the offense, accepted by Flynn Thursday and released by the special counsel's office Friday, Flynn is described as having "called a senior official of the Presidential Transition Team who was with other senior members of the Presidential Transition Team at the Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach, Florida, to discuss what, if anything, to communicate to the Russian Ambassador about the U.S. Sanctions" on Dec. 29, 2016. That day, the Obama administration announced it was expelling 35 diplomats and placing sanctions on five Russian entities in retaliation for election meddling. Flynn initially denied that he spoke about sanctions with Kislyak, a denial that was repeated by Vice President Mike Pence in January, but he later changed his story. Flynn resigned in February. The document notes that Flynn and the official went on to converse about "the potential impact of those sanctions on the incoming administration's foreign policy goals" and that Flynn then called the ambassador, Sergey Kislyak, and "requested that Russia not escalate the situation." He then relayed the details of their discussion back to the transition official. In an interview with FBI officials on Jan. 24, just four days after Trump's inauguration, Flynn told FBI agents that he did not ask Kislyak to "refrain from escalating the situation" in response to the sanctions, according to the court documents. In a second instance described in the statement of offense, on Dec. 22, Flynn was directed by a "very senior" member of the transition team to "contact officials from foreign governments, including Russia, to learn where each government stood on the [Israeli settlement] resolution and to influence those governments to delay the vote or defeat the resolution." That day, he called the Russian ambassador and requested that Russia "vote against or delay the resolution," the documents say. In the Jan. 24 interview, he denied requesting countries take a particular action on the resolution and said that Russia's ambassador did not describe the country's position on the resolution. In Flynn's plea agreement, he accepts the charge which carries with it a maximum prison sentence of five years and fine of $250,000, among other stipulations. He further agrees to "cooperate fully, truthfully, completely, and forthrightly" with the special counsel's office and other law enforcement agencies and is required to turn over any evidence of crimes about which he has awareness. Included in the section on cooperation, Flynn further agrees to testify before grand juries, trials and proceedings at which his testimony is "deemed relevant." The additional criminal information document details the charge brought against Flynn for "willfully and knowingly mak[ing] materially false, fictitious, and fraudulent statements and representations in a matter within the jurisdiction of the executive branch of the Government of the United States." In a statement, Flynn said: "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," the statement, dated today said. "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." Copyright 2017, ABC Radio. All rights reserved. A Step Back for Democracy in Bolivia Washington, DC - The United States is deeply concerned by the November 28 ruling of the Constitutional Tribunal of Bolivia to declare inapplicable provisions of the countrys constitution that prohibit elected officials, including the President, from serving more than two consecutive terms. The decision disregards the will of the Bolivian people as confirmed in recent referenda. Twice in the last decade, the Bolivian people have expressed their opposition to the concept of indefinite reelection for elected officials: first in 2009, through their overwhelming vote in favor of the current constitution; and again in a 2016 referendum, when they rejected an initiative to overturn the constitutional provision that imposes the two-term limit on the President. The Bolivian people have spoken clearly on this question. The United States stands with them in calling on the current Bolivian government to respect the outcome of those referenda, as the voice of the people, consistent with their constitutional requirements. We have only had one Christmas general election ever in Ireland, and it actually pre-dated the foundation of the modern state. On December 14, 1918, the Irish nation was called to the polls for a very different election which would shape the political and social structures of the country all through the 20th century. Politicians dislike winter elections. Bertie Ahern, who had the skill and luck to win a rare three in a row in 1997, 2002 and 2007, ensured the latter two contests he could call took place in May. Weather can never be guaranteed in Ireland but there is a sporting chance that summer will not produce Arctic hail and gales. Between early April and end of October there is a good belt of evening daylight to allow the canvassers to pound their beat. Early winter darkness is compounded by rural communities' fear of crime, which makes farms and homesteads hard to access for canvassers. More and more homes have "no junk mail" tags on their letterboxes, prohibiting candidates dropping in a leaflet with the familiar scrawled message: "Called and was disappointed to miss you." Scanning the long list of elections past, we see that we have had a contest in every single month of the year. This writer can recall the bitter cold of chaotic elections in November and February 1982, and especially the bitter cold of an election count in late February 1987. The 1992 'Spring tide' actually happened in November of that year - 25 years ago last Sunday. Circumstances conspired to foist the last two general elections upon us in late February, which at least had the benefit of a small increase in available canvass daylight. But if that election balloon goes up today or tomorrow, we are looking at a general election on December 19, 20 or 21. The issue may be decided by the time you read this. But it is clear that the confidence has gone from the so-called Fine Gael-Fianna Fail 'Confidence & Supply Agreement' which underpinned this minority coalition. So, if we do not have a snap election soon, we'll have it in the first quarter of 2018. In December 1918 Ireland was particularly rural and dependent on farming economically. That election, little more than a month after the end of the horrific slaughter of World War I, was the dawn of real Irish democracy. Every man over 21 was given a vote, as was every woman over 30, who was a householder, or married to a householder. The previous election in 1910 had 698,000 voters but by 1918 the Irish electorate was 1.9 million people. The once mighty Irish Party was swept aside as it was reduced to just six seats, its problems seriously compounded by the first-past-the-post system. The soon-to-be split Sinn Fein won 73 seats and opted to set up the First Dail in January 1919, boycotting Westminster. But the northern counties were largely a blank, with the Unionists taking the vast bulk of the seats there. The die was sadly cast for partition. A century on, Ireland is vastly different. But politically farming and rural communities generally can still pack a punch. John Downing is an Irish Independent political correspondent Could a revival of the once-buoyant sugar beet industry really be a catalyst for an upturn in the fortunes of the tillage sector? Among the recommendations in the Oireachtas report on the future of the tillage sector is one calling for a review of potential opportunities in the sugar beet industry. It recommends a review of the sugar beet industry in line with the findings of the Tillage Sector Plan 2012 and also emphasises the potential of homegrown sugar beet for poitin production. The 2012 plan found investor and grower interest was high in establishing a sugar beet industry based on bio-ethanol production. Sugar quotas were since abolished in October under the CAP 2015 reform and now Beet Ireland are calling on the government to "step up" as there are no longer barriers to production." Fine Gael TD Pat Deering, chairman of the joint committee on agriculture which produced the latest tillage blueprint, said that reviving the sugar beet industry would be a "challenge" but not an insurmountable one. "There's been a lot of discussion about it and enthusiasm to see it come back. I would love to see it back. I do think we need to look at the situation. We recommend that a new visibility study be done as the work that has been done is five years old," he said. "We're starting from a very low base, there's no industry or facilities at the moment but the demise of the tillage sector arrived with the end of the beet sector. It would be a huge help. It's worth another look at to see where it is at the moment." However, the report highlights how returning to intensive beet production in Ireland, which came to a halt in 2006, would be "severely hampered" by beet producers. The majority of EU sugar production is used domestically with only about 8pc being exported. The report acknowledges that it is "unlikely that Irish sugar could be produced and exported cost effectively" given the number of EU competitors. It also suggests that EU production is likely to increase by about 20pc in 2017/18, this would drive sugar prices downwards and leave Ireland "at a further competitive disadvantage." IFA tillage chairman Liam Dunne questioned the viability of beet production in Ireland in a climate where a sugar tax is due to be introduced in April 2018. "If it's viable we would whole heartedly support beet production, but any figures we see so far seem to question that viability. A Sugar Tax would make it difficult to bring back the industry without serious support from somewhere." Spin-off "It would be a very different industry to what we had. The basis of the industry is still there. It can be redeveloped, I'm just not sure if the figures add up. Simple, practical things seem to be missing from the report,"he said. However, committee member and Sinn Fein TD Martin Kenny told the Farming Independent that rebuilding beet production in Ireland is "not just about profitability", it's about creating spin-off employment in rural Ireland and increasing the viability of tillage farmers. Meanwhile, the first recommendation in the report called for the Department of Agriculture to analyse the potential for implementing an agricultural insurance scheme. Committee member, Fianna Fail TD Charlie McConalogue explained the scheme would help farmers who have experienced a "bad year". "Crop insurance is an aspect in France. It should be looked at. We would have to be careful at how funding is used because direct payments are important but there does need to be some mechanism there that insures farmers against bad years." In terms of climate change, the committee recommended that brewers and distillers use Irish raw materials as much as possible in order to reduce our carbon footprint and meet EU targets. The committee agreed that the drinks industry would have to give fairer prices to farmers to ensure survival of the tillage sector. "At the end of the day it comes down to price," said committee member Senator Paul Daly. "The drinks industry needs to help farmers. There aren't always going to be handouts from Ag house." The report outlines that a special Fair Trade logo be introduced where brewers would have to pay a slightly higher price per tonne to show their support for Irish farmers. Bobby Miller of the Irish Grain Growers Group said this aspect of the report was a "vindication" of its campaign to receive at least 200 per tonne of malting barley. He said they'd return to protest outside the Guinness Storehouse next Monday, at 11.30am unless changes were made this week to malting barley prices. 'We need actions rather than recommendations' HELEN HARRIS The biggest threat to the tillage sector, apart from prices, is regulations. Whether that is on farm or at European level. We have seen it recently with the glyphosate debate. We will see more of this when other chemical products come up for renewal. We also have the same when it comes to farming on the ground. The debate is becoming more about environmental impact, of how we farm. I understand the need to protect the environment but we also need to understand that this should not come at a financial cost to farmers. If science has proven that we are farming in a safe way to both humans and the environment, shouldn't that be enough. When did we stop trusting science? Helen Harris is a tillage farmer based in Co Laois PAT MINNOCK The report is very welcome and continues to shine a very much needed light on the tillage industry in Ireland which at best is struggling. I would be concerned, however, that this is yet another report to be filed away to gather dust similar to the efforts made earlier in the year by the minister in relation to the Tillage Forum which, it must be said, is very disappointing that there has been no follow up or outcomes. However, the report does fail to call on relevant authorities to address a major issue facing the tillage industry, which is the failure to treat imported feedstuffs in the same manner as native grain is tested and treated. It would improve the lot of tillage farmers if incentives were provided or advertising could focus on ration containing only native grain. Rations containing genetically modified products or even imported grains produced using sludges could be down priced. A premium price for rations and therefore higher price for native grain would then be forthcoming. I believe there is a future for tillage growing in the country but many of the recommendations in this report need to be acted upon now and not in the future. Pat Minnock is a consultant and member of the ACA and the ITCA Plans to limit short-term lets of homes to 90 days a year will hit professional Airbnb landlords in the pocket. Stock picture Plans to limit short-term lets of homes to 90 days a year will hit "professional" Airbnb landlords in the pocket. Homeowners will have to secure planning permission to rent their homes for more than 90 days a year under plans from Fianna Fail to increase the rental stock available. The Planning and Development (Amendment) (Short Term Lettings) Bill 2017 will also require homeowners to register with the Residential Tenancies Board, and inform it when the property is being rented. There will be a 10 change to register, and if the property is rented for more than 90 days in a year, the owner will be told they have to seek planning permission. The move comes amid concern about the number of homes being let on platforms including AirBnB for prolonged periods of time when rents are at record highs. Fianna Fail said that in Dublin, a typical host on Airbnb earned 5,000 and hosted for 51 nights in 2016. It insisted that the 90-day limit would affect only "so-called professional Airbnb lets" and not "average users". Bill sponsor and party housing spokesman Barry Cowen said the limits were in line with those proposed in other cities. "There were 1,103 entire homes booked for more than 80 nights in all of Dublin during 2016. This number is getting higher," he said. "The Oireachtas committee on Housing recently issued a report calling for greater regulation of short term lets after 90 days, similar to the limits imposed in London. "We need to show more imagination and conviction in getting to grips with our housing crisis. Regulating short term lettings is a small but important step." Two Irish Aviation Authority (IAA) senior executives are in the running to succeed outgoing CEO Eamonn Brennan, who has been appointed the new director general of Eurocontrol. The Irish Independent understands that Peter Kearney and former Air Corps general Ralph James are the frontrunners for the IAA's top job. The IAA is responsible for all civil aviation safety and regulation in Ireland, as well as the management of Irish airspace. It employs close to 700 people at six locations in Ireland. Eurocontrol is an intergovernmental organisation responsible for the development of air traffic management across Europe. Mr Brennan takes over as director general there in January. Mr Kearney is the director of air traffic management and strategy at the IAA, while Mr James is the director of safety regulation. A spokesman for the IAA declined to comment. Mr Kearney has worked for the authority, a semi-state body, since 1998, having previously been an air traffic controller. His management biography states that he was a "key advocate" of the IAA's successful remote towers project, and has been heavily involved in Aireon, a US firm that has developed and is deploying the world's first satellite-based air traffic surveillance system. At the beginning of this year, the IAA had a 5.4pc stake in Aireon, which it expected to increase to 6pc at the end of this year. It will bring its investment in Aireon to 24m. Mr Kearney, a qualified helicopter pilot, holds a Masters in Human Factors and Safety Assessment in Aeronautics from Canfield University, and a degree in business management from Trinity College Dublin. Major General James joined the Irish Aviation Authority in 2015 in his current role. He was previously the deputy chief of staff operations at the Irish Defence Forces. He also previously served as the general officer commanding of the Irish Air Corps and director of military aviation. He was commissioned as an Air Corps Pilot Officer in 1975, graduated from the command and staff course at the Military College in 1990 and has a business studies degree from the University of Glamorgan. He's a qualified flight instructor. His flight duties in the Air Corps included Ministerial air transport and maritime patrols. The 451,000 sq km of Irish airspace plays a pivotal role in air traffic between Europe and North America. The IAA handled about 1.1m flights in Irish airspace last year, and has seen a number of record-breaking months for air traffic in 2017. The authority was dealt a blow last month, however, when Transport Minister Shane Ross confirmed that it is no longer being considered to assume a key role as the competent authority for the regulation of noise at Ireland's airports under an EU directive. David Ledwidge, CFO of the Irish Continental Group Plc; Rudiger Fuchs, CEO of shipbuilders Flensburger Schiffbau-Gesellschaft; Irish Ferries managing director Andrew Sheen; and Captain Brian McKenna in Germany where the new WB Yeats cruise ferry is currently being built Ferry operator Irish Continental Group (ICG) announced details of 446m of new debt facilities, sourced from a mix of lenders in Ireland and the US. The Irish Ferries operator also said it had taken redelivery of the high speed Westpac Express which has been chartered to US military contractor Sealift LLC since it was bought by the Irish company in 2016. ICG said the ship will undergo a refurbishment programme to bring it up to Irish Ferries passenger service standards, and a decision on whether to deploy the vessel at home or charter it to a third party is yet to be announced. Meanwhile, the Eamonn Rothwell-led company announced comprehensive new debt arrangements amounting to the euro equivelent of just under 450m, following the maturity of its previous loan facilities. The new facilities include a five-year multi-currency revolving credit facility from AIB and Bank of Ireland, extendable by up to two years. It is comprised of a committed 75m drawing limit and additional uncommitted limit of 50m. The facilities also include a 12-year amortising term loan provided by the European Investment Bank (EIB) comprising a committed 75m drawing limit, available on delivery of the new vessel WB Yeats and additional multi-currency private loan note shelf agreements with Metropolitan Life Insurance Company and Pricoa Capital Group of potentially up to $275m (230m) and with tenors of up to 15 years. AIB is also providing a 16m overdraft. The new facilities will be used to support long-term investment opportunities, including the delivery of the cruise ferry WB Yeats in June 2018. Last month, Ulster Bank in Northern Ireland said it would close 11 of 66 branches there. Photo: PA Ulster Bank is insisting that it won't shut more branches here, even after the shock closure of a quarter of all owner Royal Bank of Scotland's UK bank branches in the most dramatic sign yet that lenders are pulling out of their physical networks. UK state-owned RBS announced yesterday that it will close 259 branches in England, Scotland and Wales and cut around 680 jobs. The move is aimed at cutting costs and encouraging more customers to use digital services, drawing criticism from politicians. The latest round of branch closures in Britain is in addition to 180 branches the bank announced in March that it was closing. Here, a spokeswoman for Ulster Bank said no additional branches are to be shut, beyond the 22 closures announced also last March. That cut the bank's branch network in the Republic to 88. Those closures ranged from Dublin, Cork and Limerick to rural towns in Galway, Mayo, Sligo, Monaghan, Offaly and Longford. All 22 offices have now been closed. Last month, Ulster Bank in Northern Ireland said it would close 11 of 66 branches there. The latest RBS cuts mean British banks are set to close more than 1,000 branches this year, a record according to a Reuters analysis of previous announcements and academic studies. Britain's largest banks are disproportionately closing branches in the lowest-income areas while expanding in wealthier ones, taking bricks-and-mortar services away from communities where they are arguably needed most, Reuters reported in June last year. Opposition politicians in Westminister took to Twitter to rebuke RBS for the move yesterday, which they said would leave some areas without any branches. "Bailed out by the taxpayer and they repay our communities by withdrawing from them," tweeted Ian Blackford, an MP from the Scottish National Party. "This has to be stopped." Jane Howard, RBS's managing director of branch banking, told Reuters that customers are increasingly using mobile and online channels rather than bricks-and-mortar branches, and RBS had to react to that. "There will be some customers that will be really disappointed we are closing branches ... and I understand why. But it's important that we do respond." RBS is investing in its remaining branches and its digital offering, Ms Howard said, adding: "Given what we know, we've got the right shape of network." However, the UK's Federation of Small Businesses' (FSB) national chairman, Mike Cherry, said cash and face-to-face support is still critical for many local businesses, and owners needed sustainable alternatives. "What we can't have is banks shutting branches on a whim," he said. Unite, which represents staff at RBS, said the bank was "decimating" its branch network. "This announcement will forever change the face of banking in this country, resulting in over a thousand staff losing their jobs and hundreds of high streets without any banking facilities," Rob MacGregor, Unite national officer, said. The latest closures of RBS and Natwest branches in England, Wales and Scotland leaves it with around 744 branches - down from 2,278 in 2007. After being bailed out in the crash, the UK government plans to start selling 15bn of shares in RBS next year. (Additional reporting Reuters) Three out of five authors in the popular non-fiction category at the Irish Book Awards sold less than 1,000 copies, Independent.ie can reveal. The Bord Gais Energy Irish Book Awards took place on Monday night at Dublin's Clayton Hotel with expected aplomb - big names from the literary community including David Walliams and Cecelia Ahern rubbed shoulders with tv presenters and models, most of whom are relatively new to the publishing industry. Expand Close Vogue Williams & Spencer Matthews and Nicky Byrne attend The Marketing Society Annual Christmas Lunch and Research Excellence Awards 2017 / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Vogue Williams & Spencer Matthews and Nicky Byrne attend The Marketing Society Annual Christmas Lunch and Research Excellence Awards 2017 Newcomers like Vogue Williams and Maia Dunphy were among the more recognisable on the red carpet, but both of their respective works weren't among some of the best-sellers in the room, or even their category, despite both of them bagging a nomination in the Popular Non-Fiction category. Vogue's' book Everything, a lifestyle advice guide which covers everything from "her weekly workouts, to her go-to recipes for healthy eating, to make-up looks, tips on skin, how-to hair styles, packing for weekends away and dressing for different occasions", sold 883 hard copies in Ireland, according to Nielsen sales figures. You could argue that it was a missed opportunity for Vogue, who, instead publishing a memoir about her personal life, instead focused on topics she largely covers on her social media channels, which followers can find free of charge. It still made 16,369.54. RTE broadcaster Maia's book sold the worst out of the five nominees. Her work The M Word, the same name of her website, which again offers content free of charge, is inspired by her life as a new mother in which she "shares her experiences of dealing with unwanted advice, sleep deprivation, competitive parenting and dirty nappies". Its sales are valued at 6,425. In fourth place came Dustin the Turkey's Wikibeaks, which sold 551 copies. Writer Stefanie Preissner's book Why Can't Everything Just Stay The Same? And Other Things I Shout When I Can't Cope sold 1,867 copies in Ireland since it was published in October. The book details her personal experiences as she navigates through adulthood. "From birthdays, to friendships, to Christmas homecomings, to social media (she's more JOMO than FOMO), to the importance of asking WWNSD? (What Would Nicole Scherzinger Do?) when faced with big decisions, to the changes you can't prevent like when someone breaks up with you, Why Can't Everything Just Stay the Same? is the hilarious and honest account of one woman's journey through the biggest change of all: adulthood," its description by publisher Hachette reads. Eventually, the top prize on the night went to Motherfocloir by Darach O Seaghdha, which "takes an irreverent, pun-friendly and contemporary approach to the Irish language". It sold 4,391 copies and made 53,047.65. But the biggest seller in the group by a mile came in the form of journalist Caroline Foran's book on mental health, titled Owning It: Your Bulls**t Free Guide to Living with Anxiety, which sold an impressive 12,124 copies since it was published in May. A spokesperson for the Bord Gais Energy Irish Book Award did not comment, but when asked about the selection process for the popular book category, directed us to its website which explains how books are selected in each category. Video of the Day "It should be noted that The Irish Book Awards are different in character from conventional literary awards where winners attract the subjective approval of a jury normally comprising 3-5 judges. To decide fifteen awards in this way would be impractical and inimical to our aim to canvas the widest possible sector of the reading public," the website reads. "The aim is to select the books which, on merit, represent the best of Irish publishing in a given year including titles which have raised the profile of books, both in terms of publicity coverage and performance. These will often include books published late in the year which are widely expected to make a substantial impact. Such books will have been presented to individuals on the panels months before publication date." When Wonder begins, it initially seems like a dozen other inoffensively cute coming-of-age family films. A boy of 10 or so jumps up and down on his bed wearing an astronaut's helmet while telling us his story. He's Auggie Pullman (Jacob Tremblay), he's been home-schooled from an early age by his brilliant and dedicated mother, Isabel (Julia Roberts), and he's terrified because he's about to start school. But something's different. "I'm not an ordinary kid," he warns us, and when he takes off his helmet we realise why. He was born with rare facial differences and has endured 19 different correcting surgeries he sarcastically describes as "hilarious". So Auggie has more to worry about than most anxious school-starters: he knows he'll be marginalised and so do his parents. But he also needs to learn to live in the world and so his mom and dad (Owen Wilson) reluctantly leave him at the school gate. School will be as bad as Auggie imagined, but also not so bad because he's bright, charming and has a knack of winning people over. Like the book it's based on, this film considers not just Auggie's situation, but its effect on those around him, from his devoted parents to the elder sister who's always had to live in his shade, and those who befriend him at school. Wonder is funny, life-affirming, nicely acted, sweet but never cynically so, and would make a stone weep. - - - - I don't think Michael Haneke has ever been accused of being life-affirming. The title of his latest film may be intended as a joke because no one seems especially jolly in this production and death hovers expectantly in the wings. A kind of companion piece to his 2012 Palme d'Or-winning film, Amour, Happy End tells the story of a Calais construction dynasty who live in some splendour in a vast townhouse seething with resentments and despair. Isabelle Huppert is Anne Laurent, inheritor of the family building business who's attempting to bully her drug-addicted son into competently running it when an on-site accident threatens the entire enterprise. Anne's elderly father, Georges (Jean-Louis Trintignant) is tired of life and plotting suicide. He may not have to do the job himself because when his teenage granddaughter Eve arrives in Calais, she already has a taste for killing. In the film's opening sequence, we listened to Eve's disembodied voice describing how she'd used anti-depressants to poison first the pet hamster, then her mother. Why did she do it? We never really find out: she looks angelic, but seems dangerously dissociated, and as soon as Georges figures this out, he begs her to help him end it all. This is arid, pitiless, beautifully photographed stuff, suffused with quiet desperation as well as Haneke's trademark wickedly dry wit. It's not his best film - that would be Amour or White Ribbon - but it's chilling and fascinating, and Huppert is superb as the brittle, controlling Anne. - - - - And finally, a word about Thelma, a pleasingly eccentric Norwegian thriller that reminded me of all sorts of good things, from Carrie to Hitchcock's broader horrors. Video of the Day When a shy young woman called Thelma (Eili Harboe) arrives in Oslo to begin her third-level studies, she seems terrified of this new stage of her life and succumbs to what looks like epilepsy. Her overbearing fundamentalist Christian parents survey her every move, but there are hints Thelma's childhood was not a uniformly happy one and her father in particular appears to be hiding something. Thelma has strange and frightening telekinetic powers and when she falls in love with a female student, her conflicted emotions unleash them. It's nicely done and a slight dip in quality towards the end is forgiveable. The Burke family from Midleton Cork - Sergeant Graham Burke, mum Marie and their three kids - Adam 8, Kayla 6 and 4-year-old Emily. Picture Andres Poveda / RTE. There wasn't a dry eye in the house when three young children were reunited with their soldier father on the Late Late Toy Show after six months apart tonight. The magic of Christmas was truly in the air when Sergeant Graham Burke made his family's dreams come true by returning home from a training mission in Mali, just in time for the festive season. His children Adam (8) and Kayla (6), who live near Midleton in Cork, were completely unaware that they would be seeing their father for the first time since September 14 and explained that he was working in the Africa country with our defence forces. Adam told host Ryan Tubridy: "He can't watch the Toy Show because he's in Mali, training the soldiers. Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Previous Next Close Ryan Tubridy pictured during the opening sequence of the RTE One Late Late Toy Show The Burke family from Midleton Cork - Sergeant Graham Burke, mum Marie and their three kids - Adam 8, Kayla 6 and 4-year-old Emily. Picture Andres Poveda / RTE. Mia Farrell from Bluebell in Dublin demonstrating toys with presenter Ryan Tubridy. Picture Andres Poveda / RTE. Luke O'Connor (6) pictured during the opening sequence of the RTE One Late Late Toy Show. Picture Andres Poveda Eva McMahon pictured during the opening sequence of the RTE One Late Late Toy Show. Picture Andres Poveda Luke O'Connor (6) pictured during the opening sequence of the RTE One Late Late Toy Show. Picture Andres Poveda Ryan Tubridy pictured during the opening sequence of the RTE One Late Late Toy Show. Picture Andres Poveda Kyle Carty, age 7, from Collinstown, Co. Westmeath pictured on the RTE One Late Late Toy Show 2017. Bobby Gallagher, aged 9, pictured in a DeLorean. Picture Andres Poveda / RTE. Thomas Flynn age 7 from Clonsilla in Dublin demonstrating toys with Ryan Tubridy, pictured on the RTE One Late Late Toy Show 2017. Picture Andres Poveda / RTE Lila Daramola aged 4 from Sallins in Co Kildare demonstrating toys to Ryan Tubridy Picture Andres Poveda / RTE Batman superfan Tadhg Purcell aged 5 from Freshford, Co. Kilkenny demonstrating toys, pictured on the RTE One Late Late Toy Show 2017. Picture Andres Poveda / RTE / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Ryan Tubridy pictured during the opening sequence of the RTE One Late Late Toy Show "He's been there for six months but he's coming back in January and then I think he's going again for another month." After showing off several of this year's must-have toys, Tubs had one more surprise for them. As they went to unwrap a large box Graham jumped out, still clad in his army uniform. Their mother Marie and younger sister Emily (4) joined them on-stage as the stunned children hugged their dad. Graham, who us originally from Dublin and is said: "I'm shaking, it's amazing to see them, it's just unreal." Ryanair's dismissal of a pilot in 2001 led others to believe that being a staff representative in the company was "a very dangerous thing", the High Court was told. A former pilot being sued by the airline said: "It was described at the time as somebody having a machine gun firing it at hip level and everybody hitting the ground." Captain John Goss was describing the aftermath of the chairman of a pilots' representative committee being fired the year after a proposed one-day strike, which was called off at the last minute. He was giving evidence in the ongoing hearing of the airline's action against him and fellow Ryanair Pilot Group (RPG) interim council members, Evert Van Zwol and Ted Murphy. They deny defamation in an email the company says falsely inferred Ryanair misled the market. Over Christmas 2004, Capt Goss was ordered to a disciplinary meeting alleging he had made intimidating phone calls to Stansted pilots about coming to Dublin. This was completely untrue, and made for a "highly stressful Christmas" for himself and his wife, he said. When Ryanair was not happy with a first meeting after Christmas, there was a second meeting where the parties shook hands. However, he said annual leave was later disrupted by a letter telling him to attend another disciplinary hearing. When he returned from holiday, he took legal proceedings over this - which, the court heard, were later settled. He was dismissed in 2013 over comments he made on a Channel 4 TV programme criticising the Irish Aviation Authority, but not Ryanair, which the airline is separately suing him over. He is counter-suing Ryanair, over allegedly defamatory comments at a press conference in Sweden following the TV programme. The case goes into its fifth week on Tuesday. Come May, Butte Affordable Housing is expected to break ground on a 64-unit housing complex along Continental Drive which the nonprofit hopes will put more roofs over the heads of low-income families. In November, the Montana Board of Housing awarded the nonprofit which works in conjunction with the Public Housing Authority of Butte $5.2 million in federal housing credits to help fund the project. In all, the Montana housing board awarded $27.6 million in tax credits to affordable-housing projects across the state. These housing credits will create more affordable and accessible homes for Montana families, seniors, and people with disabilities, said Montana Department of Commerce director Pam Haxby-Cote in a news release announcing the award. Revonda Stordahl, executive director of Buttes housing authority, said this is the third time that Butte Affordable Housing has applied for the tax credit. This year the nonprofit finally got the thumbs-up from the state housing board, which will usher in the new complex. Butte Affordable Housing has also applied for a Home Investment Partnership Program grant from the Montana Department of Commerce to help fund the new project. Slated to be called the Copper Ridge Apartments, the project will consist of eight buildings that contain eight apartments each along with a playground area and communal space, Stordahl told The Montana Standard Thursday. The apartments will be located just off Continental Drive, behind the Meadowlands Apartments, another affordable-housing complex that the Butte nonprofit manages. Stordahl said she doesnt know what the income requirements for the apartment complex will be as the rates to qualify for low-income status tend to fluctuate, but according to the housing authoritys website, households that earn less than 80 percent of Buttes median income are considered low income and those earning less than 50 percent of the median income are considered very low income. For a household of four, thats an annual income of $48,400 and $30,250, respectively. Stordahl said the idea for Copper Ridge Apartments came out of a need for more affordable housing in Butte. In addition to managing the Meadowlands complex, Butte Affordable Housing is the developer and manager of the Mountain View Apartments on Ohio Street and the manager and co-owner of the Aspen Place Apartments on Continental Drive, all three of which Stordahl said have a waiting list. What we see is that there truly is a lack of affordable housing in Butte, said Stordahl, noting that the vacancy rate in Butte is less than one percent. And often times, especially, Stordahl continued. Section 8 tenants have trouble finding units that are in good condition and that would pass inspection, so this would just provide a source of housing that would be safe and decent and affordable. McGregor leaves court with his solicitor Graham Kenny (second from right). Photo: Niall Carson/PA Wire Conor McGregor's solicitor defended the UFC star's attire and the way he conducted himself in court after he was issued with a 400 speeding fine. McGregor turned up to Blanchardstown District Court in a high-powered BMW wearing a green Adidas tracksuit and white runners. He was charged with exceeding the 100kmh limit on the N7 Naas Road at Rathcoole, Co Dublin, on March 31. A number of callers to RTE's 'Liveline' criticised the clothing the Crumlin fighter chose to wear for his court appearance and the manner in which he drove away from the court. Solicitor Graham Kenny said: "I don't think anybody advises Conor on his clothing. He considers himself quite a stylish and dapper individual and that's what he thought was appropriate for the day. "It's a little silly to focus on Conor's attire in court or the perceived speed he drove off at." McGregor attended the court in the afternoon at the request of the judge and later posted a picture of himself on Instagram alongside his solicitor with the message: "Thanks Graham Kenny drag me out of bed but f**k it we look fresh." He also posted a picture of his BMW, which is worth about 130,000 and has a top speed of 250kmh, with the hashtag #relaxjudge. Speaking to Joe Duffy on Radio One, Mr Kenny said McGregor meant no disrespect by his absence in the morning. "Conor is a showman. He wasn't in attendance originally. We thought we could deal with it, but the judge specifically asked him to attend," he said. "Conor didn't intend any disrespect to the court, he was more than happy to turn up. "He came in, took his place in the queue and waited and we dealt with the matter." Mr Kenny said he was used to high-profile cases but had never experienced this level of furore. "Normally we come out of the Four Courts and it's a fairly cordial event. There would be several photographers and you could almost orchestrate it with them. What was interesting yesterday was the media were nearly fighting with themselves, tripping over one another," he added. The solicitor revealed that he himself had been clamped during the court hearing, with controversy over parking arrangements and the manner in which McGregor drove off. "There was an issue surrounding where Conor could park which created a media scrum. There were security issues created outside the court, we had to work in conjunction with the very helpful gardai who were present. "I'm no stranger to attending what would be considered high-profile trials but nothing like yesterday that was exceptional. The worldwide media attention for a parking fine was rather humorous." A Dublin man given a 20-year sentence for the attempted murder of his lifelong friend, in a case that "might as well have appeared in the Love/Hate script", has withdrawn his appeal against sentence shortly before it was due to be heard. Patrick McCann (24) of Decies Road, Ballyfermot, Dublin 10, pleaded guilty to the attempted murder of Luke Wilson (19) at Liffey Gaels, GAA club, Memorial Park, Inchicore on January 13, 2013. He also pleaded guilty to possession of a firearm with intent to endanger life on the same occasion. The Central Criminal Court heard the two men met up in The Memorial Park in Inchicore over a firearm, which the court heard was not the subject of this case. The court heard that Mr Wilson was shot in the arm, neck and face but escaped injury because the gun jammed twice and McCann ran off. In sentencing Mr Justice Paul Carney said the case might as well have appeared in the Love/Hate script. I have a priority here that not everyone may agree with, said Mr Justice Carney. Last weekend over one million people tuned into the last episode of Love/Hate and the following morning something which might as well have appeared in the Love/Hate script was poured out in a sentencing hearing in this court, he said. Expand Close Luke Wilson / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Luke Wilson It is not going to go out from here that figures in gangland can have an assassination carried out by preying on somebody vulnerable in the expectation that if the enterprise fails there will be great leniency extended on account of that persons vulnerability, he added. Mr Justice Carney handed down a 20-year sentence and suspended the final three years of it. He said that McCanns background of dependence on drink and drugs since the age of 12 and that he came from a dysfunctional family afforded little or no defence. McCann was due to appeal against the severity of his sentence today. However, at the call over of cases in the three-judge Court of Appeal, Mr Justice George Birmingham remarked that McCann should be aware of the full range of powers available to the court. Mr Justice Birmingham said it appeared that a sentence that ought to have been made consecutive by statute, wasn't made consecutive. After taking instructions, barrister Keith Spencer, for McCann, said his client wished to withdraw his appeal. A retired surgeon has been jailed for 20 months for sexual attacks on two teenage boys in the 1970s. Last month, a jury at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court convicted Michael Shine (85) of indecently assaulting the two 15-year-old patients in a hospital in the mid-1970s. Shine, of Wellington Road in Dublin, had pleaded not guilty to eight charges of indecently assaulting six patients at Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital and at his private clinic, both in Drogheda, Co Louth, on dates between 1964 and 1991. He was acquitted on the remainder of the charges. Judge Cormac Quinn said the severe breach of trust by a senior doctor at the pinnacle of his profession was one of the most aggravating factors. He said Shine had abused the trust of patients and the trust of the hospital. He said the abuse occurred in places where the victims, who were children, were entitled to feel safe. Judge Quinn imposed consecutive sentences of 10 months for the indecent assault on each of the victims. The judge rejected an application from Shine's lawyers to give the sex offender a week to put his affairs in order and to marshal his medication. Groped The court heard that both victims were aged 15 when Shine groped them during medical examinations. One victim attended at the hospital with an ingrown toenail. He told the trial that Dr Shine tied him to a bed with rubber bungee restraints and a blanket and then slipped his hand under the blanket and touched him. In his victim impact statement, this man said the assault had a profoundly negative effect on his life. He said his life changed from a time of youthful innocence to one of anxiety, insomnia and depression after the attack. The second victim testified that during two follow-up examinations for undescended testes at Shine's private clinic in Drogheda, Shine touched him inappropriately. He told the court that for years he struggled with guilt and shame. He was confused about whether Shine's actions were wrong and convinced himself they were not. "That is the insidious nature of sexual assault. It leaves you believing somehow you were at fault," he said. In imposing his sentence Judge Quinn said he was taking into consideration the mitigating factors of Shine's age and medical conditions. He also noted Shine's long and productive medical career and a number of character references handed into the court. An 11-year-old child unhappy with her physical appearance posted on her Instagram account of her intention to die. A coroner returned a verdict of suicide at the inquest into the death of Milly Tuomey, from Templeogue, in Dublin 6. The child died on January 4 2016. "Milly was loving and greatly loved, fit, healthy, connected, engaged and talented," the child's devastated parents Fiona and Tim Tuomey said in a statement after the inquest. "When we discovered out of the blue that our child had told her friends on Instagram that she had chosen the day she would die, we couldn't believe it. We did not know what to do." Dublin Coroner's Court heard that on November 3, 2015, Milly wrote of her intention to die on a certain date. Her parents were alerted by her elder sister and her school. They took Milly to see their GP and spoke about thoughts of self-harm, said she was unhappy with her physical appearance and spoke of a death wish. Her GP recommended she see a psychologist at An Cuan, a private counselling and psychotherapy clinic. The Tuomeys made an appointment but the psychologist was no longer taking patients. Milly was assigned to an art therapist, who was not qualified to make clinical assessments, the inquest heard. The child began a series of weekly appointments on November 24, 2015. After Milly's first visit, the therapist advised Mrs Tuomey to make an appointment with the HSE's Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS). An appointment was made for January 30, 2016, but this was brought forward after Mrs Tuomey found a 'suicide diary' along with medication indicating an attempt at self-harm under her daughter's bed. "She'd cut herself and written in biro on herself, 'beautiful girls don't eat'," Mrs Tuomey told the court. "We were terrified. We had no experience of this and no idea what to do." The family was advised to go to their local emergency department if any concerns arose over Christmas or out of hours. The court heard that on January 1, 2016, the family ate dinner together and watched a film. That evening, Milly declared she was bored and left the room. She was found moments later in a critical condition and emergency services were called. She was rushed to Our Lady's Children's Hospital where she died on January 4. Irish children as young as seven have expressed suicidal ideation,psychiatrist Dr Antoinette D'Alton told the court. "Years ago this would have been unimaginable," she said. Coroner Dr Myra Cullinane commended the Tuomeys for their decision to donate their little girl's organs. A 41 year old man, who stumbled backwards through swing doors while attending a wedding last summer, suffered catastrophic head injuries in the process, an Inquest into his death heard. Coroner for West Galway, Dr Ciaran MacLoughlin, viewed the CCTV footage taken from the Claregalway Hotel on the night in question, and said that the man had not been in a position to break his fall. Patrick Donnelly from Ballygar, Co Galway, was a product builder with Boston Scientific at the time of his accident in the early hours of Sunday, August 6, last. Staff at the hotel were alerted just after 2am that a man had collapsed in the function room, where a wedding reception was being held. The DJ kept the party going, but requested that any doctors or nurses in the room would make their way to the conservatory, where Mr Donnelly had been taken. Staff brought a defibrillator, and CPR was started. A staff member told the inquiry at Galway Courthouse that after 60 compressions he seemed to come back to life, but he had actually aspirated the contents of his stomach. He was taken to University Hospital Galway, but all attempts to save him failed. In the meantime, Gardai were having difficulty identifying him. Mr Donnellys personal belongings had been left behind at the hotel, and Gardai got in touch to ask the hotel manager to help. They asked him to find Mr Donnellys car in the car park, and pass on the registration number to them. Through this, they attended the Donnelly family home to inform his parents that he had been taken to hospital. When his family arrived, they were told that his brain stem was dying. They made the decision to donate his heart, liver, and kidneys, and he was kept alive for this purpose until the following day, August 7. He was pronounced dead at 5.18pm. Consultant pathologist, Dr Ramadan Shatwan, said that while there was no external sign of trauma, Mr Donnelly had suffered a fracture to his skull as a result of his fall, which in turn caused severe aspirational pneumonia. He concluded that alcohol toxicity was a factor. Coroner, Dr MacLoughlin, returned a verdict in accordance with the medical evidence. I saw the CCTV, he staggered to the door, fell through the door into the passageway, and onto the back of his head, he said. He wasnt in a position to break his fall, and his head took the force of the fall. It resulted in a catastrophic skull fracture and, as a result of that, he aspirated (vomited) the contents of his stomach, through which he developed pneumonia, which proved fatal. Two year old Max Hourican pictured with his cousin Michael Lyons [7] who helped to rescue him after he fell in to the water while feeding some ducks in Carlow on the 22nd of January 2017. Picture Credit: Frank Mc Grath A grandfather has told of the frightening moment his young grandson fell into a freezing river. His other grandson, six-year-old Michael, received a prestigious award along with his granddad and uncle for the part he played in rescuing young Max. On January 22, a trip to feed the ducks almost ended in tragedy for toddler Max Lyons. The 18-month-old fell though the railings on the bank and into the freezing River Barrow. His uncle Michael heard the splash and entered the water as the current carried Max away. "He fell about eight feet into the icy river," said his grandfather, Michael Lyons. "Thankfully, he missed the concrete plinth below, and when I turned to my son I saw him immediately leap into the water after him." The fearless uncle grabbed Max by the jacket while keeping them both afloat, which gave Mr Lyons enough time to pull the child to safety. The rescuer's son, also Michael, who was five at the time, started shouting for help and a man arrived with warm clothes and took them into his home. Max has since made a full recovery from the ordeal. The trio received a Just In Time Award at the Irish Water Safety Awards for saving a life from the water this year. Volunteers, emergency services personnel and local people were among those whose courage was recognised at the awards this week. More than 130 people drown in the waters of Ireland every year, on average. And a total of 30 people were saved from drowning in Ireland's waters this year - thanks to the bravery of heroes. Forty-three long-service volunteer awards were presented, recognising a combined 895 years of service in teaching swimming, water rescue and survival skills. A total of 30 children, aged 14 and under, have drowned over the past 10 years. Rural and Community Development Minister Michael Ring, who is responsible for water safety, said the tragic total reflected the importance of constant and uninterrupted child supervision. "The work of Irish Water Safety's volunteers in teaching and assessing lifeguards pays dividends every year," he said. "I appeal to all adults to make themselves more aware of the dangers in, on or around water. "It only takes seconds for tragedy to strike." Milly Tuomey was a "vivacious, loud, chatty and fun" child who was not being bullied, according to her mother. Fiona Tuomey said their 11-year-old daughter's post to Instagram, that she had chosen the day she would die, came like a "bolt out of the blue". The family, from Templogue in Dublin, had moved back to Ireland from Switzerland shortly before the schoolgirl's tragic death, and Milly had settled in well. "She was very happy at school and loved it. She had new best friends, there was no bullying, she was not left out," the child's mother said. The Tuomey family had lived in Switzerland for five years and Milly was a fluent speaker of German and Swiss German. She loved figure skating and had entered competitions. She loved to play the piano. "Milly was extremely vivacious, loud, chatty and fun. She had a super relationship with her sister. When she entered a room you knew about it, she was that kind of girl," Mrs Tuomey said. Milly left her parents, sister and grandfather watching a film in the living room to go upstairs, saying she was "bored" on January 1, 2016. She said she was going to play the piano. Earlier, her parents had spoken to her about her refusal to eat lunch and the importance of her health. Milly had previously spoken of her unhappiness with her appearance. On the night of January 1, she was on Instagram and her parents told her she was not to leave the living room with her iPad. She'd been "annoyed by this". She was found moments later in a critical condition upstairs and rushed to hospital where she died on January 4. Read More Since Milly's death, Fiona Tuomey set up the Healing Untold Grief Group (HUGG) to help others bereaved by suicide. "The aim was to bring people together who have lost others to suicide. To provide peer support so people don't feel so alone," Ms Tuomey said. "It is also a point of information and a suicide authority to ring-fence services and prevent gaps, to prevent others going through what we have gone through," she said. The family did everything in their power to help Milly after they became aware of her Instagram post on November 3, 2015. "We spoke with her and with her school and we took her to her GP who we are told are the gatekeepers of treatment in Irish society. "If you, as we did, believe that the Irish College of General Practitioners requires that the 2,500 GPs in Ireland should be skilled in the practice of how to make a clinical assessment of suicidal risk, then you will be shocked to know the answer is no. "It is currently not obligatory for Irish GPs to be specifically trained in identifying the recognised red flags associated with suicidal risk," the family said in a statement. The Healing Untold Grief Group can now be found on Facebook and offers support for other bereaved families. Recently after attending a disability event at the Aviva Stadium I went to the Lansdowne Road Dart station to take the Dart back into town. I need assistance to get on the train in my scooter as the platform is not level with the train door so a staff member is required to put a ramp down. There was no sign of any staff member at the station and I told the person who was walking to the station with me to get on the train and I would wait until someone appeared. She was embarrassed for me and I as usual tried to brush it off and said I would be grand. Thankfully the driver popped his head out the window and said he would put me on the train. We then began to look for the ramp. Both the train and the traffic stopped at the level crossing were delayed for a few minutes and the signal centre had to be informed probably delaying other trains up and down the line. I was lucky that I got on the train and there was someone there to take me off when I arrived in Connolly. I cant fault the staff who assist me when they are there - Ive taken countless local and intercity journeys over the last 10 years where staff have provided me with excellent and friendly assistance ensuring my right to travel. Sadly their employers and the Government who fund the service and make the laws do not seem to be as eager to ensure the right of me and thousands of others to travel when we want to. Train travel for wheelchair users and others who need assistance has been a lottery in recent years. Stories about people who were forgotten about and left on trains are shared amongst friends and on social media. For myself and many others taking public transport becomes a very stressful experience as one worries if someone will be there to take you off at your intended stop. The requirement to give 24 hours notice at all stations means that people cant decide to so something on the spur of the moment or even change their plans to take an earlier or later train home. This prevents people with disabilities from taking up educational or work opportunities or having a social life. Lifts and ramps installed in train stations are no use to us if there is nobody there when we want to take the train. No other passenger is being asked to give notice of their intention to travel - its not fair. The National Disability Inclusion Strategy launched by Minister for State for Disability, Finian McGrath, announced earlier this year that there would be a pilot project for the DART for mobility impaired customers requiring assistance that would see the notice period reduced from 24 hours to 4 hours. Recently Minister for Transport, Shane Ross, confirmed this project would go ahead. Most people travelling on the DART who require assistance have not had to give 24 hours notice as many stations had staff who could assist you. Next year fewer stations will have staff there which means that more of us will have to give 4 hours notice before we travel. There are to be roving staff members travelling between stations to help us rather than present at all stations. And we will still be stressed by the worry that we will be forgotten about when we reach our destination. This is not an improvement by any means and the government and Irish Rail should not be allowed to tell us that it is. Bus travel is extremely difficult also for those who want to use Bus Eireann to travel nationally. 48 hours notice is often required and that does not guarantee you an accessible bus or drivers trained in how to ensure your safety. Also many towns do not have accessible bus stops meaning people in wheelchairs cannot get on or off a bus - an issue for local authorities so Bus Eireann say it is nothing to do with them. While all Dublin Bus vehicles are accessible disabled people trying to use them often report difficulties when ramps are not working or parents with buggies refuse to fold them up to grant access to a wheelchair user. Dublin Bus ran a campaign recently asking passengers Not to Buggy in wheelchair spaces. Sadly wheelchair users frequently report a growing antipathy from fellow passengers in trying to access the bus. Added to this a grant scheme for the most disabled - the Mobility Allowance - was scrapped for new entrants in 2013 and the government have dithered in introducing a successor. For those who cannot use buses or trains or need to take a taxi to get to public transport they have no additional funds to help them pay for taxis or other accessible transport. Many living in residential care settings have very little money available to pay for transport so they go nowhere at all. There is a cost to disability and no additional allowances to cover these costs. Equality legislation says that service providers have a public sector duty not to discriminate and also must make a reasonable accommodation to meet our needs. Having to give notice before your travel should not be seen as reasonable. The government and the services they fund must do better in ensuring equality for all public transport users. Suzy Byrne is co-chairperson of a new disability rights organisation - Disabled People of Ireland - www.dpoi.ie IRELAND is "hopeful" an outline agreement on the Northern Ireland border can be hammered out in critical Brexit talks on Monday. The EU has already warned the UK that phase two Brexit talks will not be sanctioned if Ireland is unhappy with the proposed post-Brexit border solution - despite the UK having offered to pay the EU some 60bn as part of its exit deal. Tanaiste Simon Coveney has now bluntly reminded the UK, after a week of stinging criticism of Ireland in the tabloid press, that Ireland stands to be the UK's best friend throughout the entire Brexit process. "Let me be very clear about this I believe that Ireland will probably be Britain's closest friend in the context of the outcome that Britain wants in phase two," he said. "We want seamless trade with Britain - a strong British economy is good for Ireland. We want to be helpful in that regard." "But we do have to insist on sufficient progress in terms of clarity and credibility around how we are going to solve the border challenge in the context of Brexit." "We will be stubborn but fair on that issue. "Otherwise, as I have said many times, this is a leap into the dark for us - to move to phase two - and I believe I owe it to the Irish people to ensure that that we don't do that. "Hopefully we will get a result that everybody on the island of Ireland will see as a positive step forward on Monday." The Tanaiste warned that it was vital everyone understands the consistent position Dublin has taken on the border issue and its historic importance. "I am very, very clear on that and I will continue to be," he said. "This is about protecting what has been created over the last 20 years which has resulted in largely an invisible border on the island of Ireland and the impact of that on communities on both sides of it has been hugely positive." "We do not want to go backwards and the Irish Government simply will not allow it. "I am hopeful we can bring everyone on board. "If we can get agreement with the British Government, that is who we are negotiating with here, through the EU taskforce, hopefully we will because actually Britain and Ireland want the same thing to protect the status quo, I hope we can make sufficient progress on Monday, be able to move on the phase two (of the Brexit talks)." Mr Coveney also said there were more common positions between the Government and the DUP than differences. "Arlene Foster wrote to all the heads of state in the EU and, if you look at her letter, we actually don't disgree on most things," he said. "I don't believe the DUP want a hard border, I believe the DUP want to protect the Good Friday Agreement, the DUP wants to see north-south co-operation in the future - that is good for everybody. "It is good for unionism, it is good for nationalism, it is good for people living on both sides of the border. "Of course there is a bit of political tension around the pace at which decisions need to be made here." "I think it has been unfortunate we haven't had an executive in place in Northern Ireland where we could have been dealing with a first and deputy first minister as part of these negotiations - but that has not been possible. "I am not going to respond to or rise to individual criticisms of me that I have heard over recent days. "My message is clear - we want to listen to all political parties in Northern Ireland including the DUP but not exclusively to any one party. "There is a broad spectrum of view and concern across both unionist and nationalist communities in Northern Ireland and communities south of the border. "We are trying to listen to all of those concerns and make sure that the actions we take on behalf of the island of Ireland are responsible ones." "I would stand over everything we have done to date. "Unfortunately, that has triggered some criticism of me and people accusing me of having other agendas which is completely not true. "What I am looking for here is effectively a protection of the status quo - not looking to use that for any other purposes or constitutional issues for the island of Ireland." He acknowledged that Monday will be a day of historic significance for Ireland in terms of the phase one Brexit talks. "I've been talking about the date of December 14 and 15 as being the decision dates but actually Monday is because without progress on Monday, Donald Tusk will not bring recommendations to the leaders summit the following week for decisions on whether or not we are ready to move to phase two on Brexit." "So the British Prime Minister goes to Brussels on Monday, she meets Michelle Barnier and John Claude Juncker....then she goes on to meet Donald Tusk for lunch. "So these are important meetings for Ireland, these are important meetings in the context of Brexit, and these are very important meetings for Britain. "There's been a lot of coverage of Ireland's position, its stance and so on, but what we are doing here is we are holding to a consistent position that Ireland has had for months - that we want to try and protect the interests of the island of Ireland north and south." TAOISEACH Leo Varadkar has said he deeply regrets Frances Fitzgerald's resignation as Tanaiste and he said he still believes she didn't do anything wrong. Ms Fitzgerald fell on her sword on Tuesday after opposition calls for her resignation amid questions over her handling of a 2015 email relating to Garda whistleblower Sergeant Maurice McCabe. The country was brought to the brink of an election after motions of no confidence were tabled in Ms Fitzgerald over claims she should have intervened after she was notified of the legal strategy pursued against Mr McCabe by Garda management at the O'Higgins Commission. Speaking this morning Mr Varadkar said it has been a "rough week" but he's determined to make the minority government last. He said the week "started with the resignation of Frances Fitzgerald which I deeply regret". Speaking to RTE Radio's Marian Finucane Mr Varadkar said he still believes the Disclosures Tribunal is the best place to examine Ms Fitzgerald's handling of the matter rather than the "court of the Dail". Expand Close Under pressure: Taoiseach Leo Varadkar with former Tanaiste Frances Fitzgerald. Photo: Gareth Chaney Collins / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Under pressure: Taoiseach Leo Varadkar with former Tanaiste Frances Fitzgerald. Photo: Gareth Chaney Collins On his support for Ms Fitzgerald over recent weeks he said: "I wanted to stand by a colleague who I dont think did anything wrong". Mr Varadkar said that the government is "more determined than ever" to drive reform in the Department of Justice and the Gardai. But Mr Varadkar also praised the Gardai more generally, particularly frontline officers, crediting them with Ireland being a "relatively low crime country". The Taoiseach said row of recent weeks was "never about winning or losing some kind of poker game" with Fianna Fail leader Micheal Martin. Mr Varadkar said the events had "focused minds" and he believes it means the government is more likely to continue past next year's Budget which is included in Fine Gael's Confidence and Supply deal with Fianna Fail. He was asked about the reported cheering by some Fianna Fail TDs in the Dail bar after watching justice spokesman Jim O'Callaghan appeared on TV saying his party didn't have confidence in Ms Fitzgerald. The accounts of what happened in the bar are disputed by some Fianna Fail TDs who were present. Mr Varadkar said he heard about what happened but didnt witness it himself. He said: It highlighted to me a type of politics I just dont like which is the politics that is about points scoring and getting ahead. Mr Varadkar added: I enjoy the cut and thrust of debate and I dont like that personalised gotcha kind of politics. He also said: I dont think well ever get away from that. Its just human nature that some people are in that space but its not the kind of politics I like. Its certainly not why I got into politics. Mr Varadkar continued: In terms of the relationship with Fianna Fail I think its actually ok. The more and more that I deal with Micheal Martin the more and more I understand him and I think we understand each other. More to follow Dan Hollis has put his life on hold before to help relief efforts after storms have left devastation and the dead in their wake. He went to New Orleans in 2005 following Hurricane Katrina, which took an estimated 1,800 lives, most tied to the storm and flooding in Louisiana. He was deployed to Joplin, Missouri, in May 2011 after a multiple-vortex tornado a mile wide flattened southern parts of the city, killing 158. The latest call came in October, a few weeks after Hurricane Maria devastated Puerto Rico. The official death toll so far is 58, though many believe hundreds were killed but not counted. Such numbers matter to Hollis and others in his field. For each deployment, he has joined dozens of others who work without notoriety or media spotlight or accolades from politicians. Their job: retrieve, assess, and process the bodies and remains of disaster victims. During his three-week deployment to Puerto Rico, the bodies of hurricane victims were processed in the day. Since Hollis had the night shift, he and others helped the overwhelmed medical examiners office in San Juan handle others who had died. One Wednesday night, we had 15 intakes, said Hollis, who just turned 67. One of the intakes were three homicide victims in a drug shoot-out. There were three murdered and 10 wounded in that. After that, another homicide victim came in. Puerto Rico, an unincorporated U.S. territory, has drug and violence problems, too. Hollis also assisted with victims of suicide and car crashes and a house fire while there. Hollis, a former Butte police officer who has spent the last 15 years as a District Court bailiff, was Butte-Silver Bows coroner from 1993 to 1996. He has kept his knowledge and skills updated and for years now has been with the federal National Disaster Medical Service and the Disaster Mortuary Operational Response Team, or D-MORT, as he calls it. When there are mass fatalities, we go in, Hollis said. The outfit has 10 regions, each including several states. Hollis belongs to the group comprised of Montana, Colorado, North Dakota, South Dakota, Utah, and Wyoming. Not all are deployed to every disaster, and sometimes they are co-mingled, but when Hollis was having dinner one night in October with his wife and relatives, he got a call on his cell phone. It was his administrative officer saying he was needed for a 30-day mission in Puerto Rico. A few days later, Hollis was among 14 people from D-MORT on their way to Puerto Rico, which was still reeling from a hurricane that destroyed homes and buildings and left most of the island without power or safe drinking water. Much of it remains without power today. Disaster duties Shortly after arriving, the responders were shown their first sleeping quarters: more than 300 cots lined up on the floor of the convention center. We were like refugees ourselves, he said. We had those black things you put over your eyes, and earplugs, because this place still operated in the day. You didnt get a lot of sleep. Two days later, they were transferred to an old Italian cruise-liner the U.S. had rented and brought to port in San Juan to act as a hotel for relief workers. The sleeping quarters were tiny and cramped. At first, Hollis said, they expected be sent out for seven days with staff from Puerto Ricos medical examiners office to retrieve hurricane victims. But that was scrapped. There was more rain coming, and the roads were still inaccessible, and they were afraid of mudslides, he said. They were instead assigned to the medical examiners office, which in Puerto Rico is charged with assessing every corpse, doing further examinations if needed to determine cause of death and preparing them for release back to funeral homes and families, Hollis said. The office typically handles 20 to 30 bodies a day, and even though the number of hurricane victims was less than expected, Hollis said the local examiners and staff were overwhelmed. Hollis worked the late shift, 7 p.m. to 7 a.m., seven days a week for nearly three weeks and was always busy. Like the only other places with electricity after the storm, the building was powered by a diesel generator. Holliss team took in bodies, helped with assessments, and had the remains prepared and put in sturdier body bags so they could be sent to funeral homes. Not all of that happened quickly. The MEs building could store up to 285 bodies in coolers. When I left, there were 442 yet to be released, he said. The extras were stored in refrigeration trucks that had been brought in. Power lines were down, roofs torn off, and debris scattered everywhere in San Juan, Hollis said, though he didnt see much of it because travel was severely restricted. None of the city traffic lights worked. Damage was worse on other parts of the island, he heard from reports, but he met several locals who had lost their homes and virtually everything else. Hollis returned to Butte a few weeks later, on Oct. 28, but he says he is glad he could help. I want to give back, you know? he said. I know that if something happened here, people would be coming to Butte or Montana to help us out. My expertise is in one area. If I can give back, I certainly will. President of the European Council, Donald Tusk (right) at a press conference with Taoiseach Leo Varadkar (left) at Government Buildings in Dublin to discuss preparations for the December European Council. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Taoiseach Leo Varadkar remains hopeful a deal can be reached to avoid a hard border in Ireland as crunch Brexit talks continue this weekend. The British government has been tasked to come up with formula of words that on the future of the Border ahead of a meeting between Prime Minister Theresa May and European Commission President Jean Claude Juncker on Monday. The remaining members of the European Union have weighed in behind Ireland, with Council President Donald Tusk last night pledging in Dublin: "if the UK's offer is unaccepatble for Ireland, it will also be unacceptable for the EU." A government spokesman today said Mr Varadkar "remains hopeful of a deal but at this stage it's very difficult to make a prediction". Earlier today Mr Varadkar said Ireland has never threatened to use a veto in the Brexit negotiations. "A veto is something that you use when youre isolated, when youre on your own and theres 26 countries against you... We have 26 countries behind us. We have European solidarity," he said. He told RTE Radio's Marian Finuacane that relations between Ireland and Britain had been at their "closest ever" point before Brexit. He added: "Brexit is not our policy. This is their policy, its a disruption and it is causing problems for us." However, he said he believes Ireland is "well on our way" to achieving goals set out after the referendum. That includes the likelihood that there will be a transition period before Britain leaves the EU, that the Common Travel Area will be maintained, and funding for peace initiative will be protected. He said the other issue is avoiding a hard border. he said Ireland wants to move on to phase two but "before that we want to be clear about the parameters of those talks... "That means having a written assurance that there will be an avoidance of a hard border," he said. A woman killed in a city centre crash as she walked to work was a fun-loving person who never took life too seriously, her best friend has said. Lorraine Burrows was hit by a lorry in Belfast on November 21. Yesterday, Denise Stewart, who had known Lorraine for 28 years after they both started to work together in the same hair salon in Belfast, paid an emotional tribute. There was just a week's age difference between the two friends, who both turned 48 last June, and Denise revealed they were already making plans to celebrate their 50th birthdays abroad. Speaking about her friend, who she described as a "hard-working professional", Denise said: "Lorraine would have been so humbled by the many tributes that have been paid to her, she didn't realise that people thought so highly of her. "She was a genuine person. She was never false. What you saw is what you got. She was a very loyal friend and so kind and generous. "She was also great fun and we always had a laugh when we were out together. She never took life too seriously and she was just like a part of the family to me." Lorraine died in hospital hours after being struck by a lorry while in the Great Victoria Street and Wellwood Street area. Her workplace, Keenan Healthcare, issued a statement saying they were numb with shock. Tributes have also poured in throughout the past week from heartbroken family, friends and colleagues. Lorraine's funeral was held in Belfast's Roselawn Crematorium last Saturday morning, with friends gathering later to celebrate her life in the Ormeau Road's Pavilion Bar. Speaking ahead of the service, her husband Jonny expressed his gratitude for the hundreds who passed on their condolences. And yesterday Denise revealed how Lorraine had just started a new chapter in her life with a new job, after working for most of her career as a hairdresser. She opened her own salon LX Hair on the Woodstock Road in 1998 before a change of career six years ago and retraining in Human Resources. She had just started her new job in Keenan Healthcare as a recruitment consultant six months ago and was delighted that she had found the new career she had been searching for. Denise, who also changed careers and now works as a classroom assistant in Rosetta Primary School, added: "She was really happy in her new job. She had worked at a few jobs since closing the salon and felt that she had finally found the new career she wanted. "Not long ago she was given her first review by the company and they said she was one of their best workers, and she was over the moon. "She was very hard-working and always very professional. She worked six days a week." Denise described her friend as being devoted to her husband Jonny, whom she had known from they were both 17. Jonny had been on a waiting list for a hip replacement and got word that he was to have his surgery soon. The last time she spoke to her friend was the Friday before she died when she rang to tell her about the surgery. Denise added: "She was a wee bit stressed because Jonny had just got word that he was going in for his hip replacement. "I said to her, 'at least he knows what he is getting for Christmas'. "We were due to go out for a Christmas party two nights after the surgery and she was worried she might not make it. "She went out that day and bought Jonny a Christmas card and sent me a picture of what she had written in it - 'You've been a very good boy this year so Santa is bringing you a new hip' but he is still keeping an eye on you. "That was typical of her, she always enjoyed a bit of fun. "She absolutely adored Jonny. They have been together since they were 17 and they were so happy. They had been planning a wee trip away after Christmas. "My heart goes out to him. Lorraine and I were due to turn 50 at the same time and had already been planning how we would celebrate. "Jonny said to me at the funeral we would have to do something to mark her 50th." Denise was driving when she heard the tragic news on the radio that a woman had died after being knocked down in a rush hour accident while on her way to work. Like everyone else she was horrified by the news but it never crossed her mind that it was her best friend. She added: "I just couldn't believe it and even now I still find it hard to take in. "Lorraine was so sensible and I feel I really need to find out what happened to get closure." Police have renewed their appeal for witnesses. PSNI Inspector David Gibson urged anyone with information to contact the non-emergency number 101, quoting reference 198 21/11/17. On Friday night I headed for the Lilywhite Lounge for the annual Dundalk Karate Club Awards night and the place was packed to capacity by the time I got there. The club has 30 students and train in the Redeemer Family Resource Centre every Monday, Tuesday and Thursday night and facilitate all ages and anyone with additional needs. I wasn't too long in the door when I met up with chief instructor Mary Marcus from Bay Estate who was busy along with secretary Marie Hoey and treasurer Brian Igoe from Mount Avenue making sure the night was a huge success for all their students. After this I decided to have a look round to see who was there enjoying the proceeding and met up with Geraldine and Jeff Kelledy from Dromin who were with daughters Emily and Gemma who trains with the club and really enjoys her time there. Next I caught up with Adrianna Biliusite and Anastasia Simutkinai both from Lennonstown Green who were there to cheer on Anastasia's brother Ivan who is in the club and was proudly showing off the medal he had just been presented with. I then got a quick work with another two medal winners in Zack McArdle from Mountpleasant and Conor McGuinness from Cooley who were in great form. Zack was there with his mum Niamh and Conor was with his dad Ciaran who was having a chat with Eugene Duffy from Reaghstown with wife Mary, daughter Paula and son Evan who really likes the karate club. No, I'm not stalking the O'Hare family from Kingswood, I swear, they were parents Tony and Caroline, daughters Victoria and Rebekah and the main man himself David whom I was told absolutely loves the karate club. Making my way over to another table I then got a quick word with Brenda Murphy from Castle Road who told me her daughter Niamh just loves the club but on the night, she was on the dancefloor and Brenda said it was going to be some job to get her off it. Mother and daughter Thea and Abigail Mulholland from Oaklawns both train with the club and love it, Thea was sitting chatting to Nicole Hoey from Castletown Road who said her brother Liam is the karate member of the family. Next I had the pleasure of meeting up with karate student Victoria Konopacka from Bay Estate who was there on the night with her mum Annetta. Beside Victoria I then got a quick word with karate kid Jacob Viliusis from Lennonstown Green who was accompanied by his sister Aveen and mum Irmina who told me Jacob just loves his karate classes. Although he was very busy on the night I did get a quick word with Brian Igoe from Mount Avenue who was therewith his wife Claire and kids Ronan and Katie and yes, both of his kids are in the club and thoroughly enjoying it. Meanwhile over at the high table I caught up with parents Mannie and Dina Tsikoudakis from Knockbridge who introduced me to their son George who has been with the club and Dina said it's like father like son as Mannie used to practice karate too. After this I met up with Marie Hoey's husband Nicholas from Castleross who was with kids Conor, Nicole and Liam who is the other member of the club. Nicholas told me it was great night for the kids. Next I got a quick chat with Paula Duffy from Ardee who was sitting with instructor Catherine Marcus and Sean Clelland both from Bay Estate who were up for making the best of the annual awards night. Also in their company was Mary Marcus's mum Marie Lennon from Clermont who told me that she was very proud of her daughter and all the great work she was doing with the club and making the awards night into such an excellent night for the students too. The Wee County will be well represented at the Gifted Contemporary Craft and Design Fair which takes place in Dublin's RDS from December 5th to 10th. They will be among over top 600 Irish designers and makers from fashion to jewellery and beyond who will showcase their work at the fair which is expected to attract crowds of 45,000. The Brown Bull of Cooley inspired Carlingford based Bernadette McCullagh of Duinn Designs to create a range of textiles based on the famous Celtic legend. Blackrock-based artist Adrienne M. Finnerty, will be showing her latest paintings, many inspired by her travels abroad. Emma's So Natural handcrafted Eco-Soy Candles will be flying the flag for Ardee and another talented local exhibitor is handbag maker Cathy Prendergast. Anyone with an interest in local life in north Louth/south Armagh will find plenty to read in this book Local historian Don Johnston has published a new book which traces the life of Ravensdale linen merchant John Johnston. John Johnston was elected in 1877 as the first Roman Catholic to hold the position of Poor Law Guardian for the Ravensdale District. As a democrat he campaigned successfully against all the odds for the appointment of the first Catholic medical officer for the overwhelmingly Catholic population in the Ravensdale Dispensary District. He also found time during this period to run a very successful business in the Bleach Factory in Ravensdale where the tradition of linen manufacture lasted for more than 200 years. He established the first branch of the Land League in his local parish of Lordship and Ballymascanlan in 1880. Johnston's abiding interest in education bore fruit in the establishment in 1889 of Dulargy National School, where as a trustee he could appoint the local parish priest as manager of the school. In the ground-breaking local elections of 1899, Johnston achieved the highest proportion of votes cast for any candidate in Louth. He was re-elected unopposed at every subsequent election. His crowning political achievement was to co-ordinate the purchase of the tenants' interest in the former Fortescue estates in north Louth in 1903, thus ending centuries of landlord domination in that district. A fervent nationalist, Johnston held strong views that only Irishmen were capable of legislating for Irishmen. John Redmond had urged Irishmen in 1914 to join the British Army as Home Rule was on the statute books. Johnston's son Tim joined the war effort and was killed on Flanders Fields one April evening a fortnight before the 1916 Rising in Dublin. Anyone with an interest in local life in north Louth/south Armagh will find plenty to read in this book which, full of pictures and illustrations, would make a lovely Christmas present. (Price: 18) Dundalk Branch I.N.T.O held a successful Presentation Function for Primary Teachers who retired recently. Dundalk I.N.T.O Branch Secretary Aoibheann Duffy welcomed all who attended at the Crowne Plaza and wished the Retirees well for the future. C.E.C representative ( Louth.Cavan & Monaghan) Catherine Flanagan praised the Branch officials for their presentation format for their recently retired colleagues and spoke of the contribution of teachers to many generations of pupils and parents. She also thanked them for their support to the INTO. The current I.N.T.O President John Boyle made individual presentations to the teachers present who retired during the year. In a well delivered address he urged continued solidarity among all teachers and pointed out that this solidarity over the years had almost eliminated the two tier payment system introduced a few years ago in the profession. Not only did teachers provide a solid education service to their pupils but that they were also prominent members and officials of the many voluntary groups and organisations to be found in communities and parishes all over Ireland. This generosity of time and effort kept many small areas alive and should never be underestimated. He acknowledged and praised the services provided by all teachers in an underfunded education system. In conclusion he hoped that we could involve more teachers at branch level and could assist in eliminating the Keyboard Culture which was deflecting people away from meaningful engagement, healthy activities and in many cases basic conversation. Aoibheann Duffy thanked the guest speakers, the branch committee, the Crowne Plaza and musician Stewart Agnew for their support. Finally and on behalf of Dundalk I.N.T.O she proposed a toast for a long healthy lifestyle to those who retired recently. Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar, left, shows his decorative socks to British Prime Minister Theresa May, second right, during a round table meeting at an EU summit in Goteborg, Sweden. The border remains a key stumbling block to UK-EU talks on Brexit, with uncertainty around the frontier's future continuing to dominate the headlines. Taoiseach Leo Varadkar has made his position clear, that a guarantee around 'no hard border' must be made before the current talks can progress. Speaking in the Dail last week he outlined to TD's the issues raised in talks with the EU-UK officials, and in particular the fears around a hard border. 'We always explain in meetings that for many people in the European Union these talks might be about the financial settlement or economics, but for us it is about far more than that. 'For us, this is about far more than trade, the economy and money. It is about far greater, deeper, bigger and historical issues,' said Mr. Varadkar Meanwhile the local lobby group 'Border Communities Against Brexit have quesioned the government's stance. A spokesman said; 'Ireland will block progress of Brexit talks without border guarantee but how real will that guarantee be? If the UK go away from the table in sixteen months with no deal what happens our guarantee? If it is to be a guarantee we need it bonded and certified by the Hague.' Louth TD Declan Breathnach added: 'While everyone has stated their wish to avoid a hard border and, there needs to be a unique solution.' The Louth TD spoke following a briefing by Foreign Affairs Minister, Simon Coveney on Brexit talks. 'I asked [Minister Coveney] about the future of INTERREG and PEACE funding post 2020, and if a mechanism can be found to ensure that the importance of these funds to border and northern counties will be recognised and to allow this funding to be continued and enhanced. I also asked about the legacy issues, and whether the 80 or more families south of the border would be given the same access to services as those north of the border.' The family of Seamus Ludlow, the murdered north Louth forestry worker have said they are 'disappointed but not surprised' by the ruling against their application to have the State set up two commissions of inquiry into the Garda investigation of the 'callous sectarian' murder more than 40 years ago. The proceedings against the Minister for Justice and the State were aimed at having the State establish two commissions of inquiry, as recommended by a 2006 Oireachtas Joint Committee based on a report of retired High Court judge Henry Barron into the murder. Mr. Ludlow's nephew Jimmy Sharkey was among twelve members of the family who attended the High Court on Friday last for the ruling from Ms Justice Mary Faherty. Speaking to the Argus he said 'From the family's perspective it was 'disappointing but not surprising.' Justice Faherty referred to the 'human tragedy' caused to the family by the 1976 murder and the 'untold hurt and injustice' caused by the 'well-documented' and acknowledged failure of gardai to follow up on information provided to them by the RUC after the murder. But crucially, she said there is 'no right' to an inquiry and the courts cannot force the executive to set up any kind of inquiry. She expressed her sympathy for the family whom she said had 'very understandable' concerns over the failings of the Garda investigation. Mr Ludlow (47) from Mountpleasant, was shot in 1976 after leaving a bar in Dundalk and his body was found near his home. The State says he was the victim of a 'callous sectarian murder' and has apologised to the family over the conduct of the Garda investigation. Jimmy Sharkey said the family continue to maintain that the investigation into his uncle's murder was 'suppressed.' 'From the family's perspective, we feel there has been a catalogue of cover-ups and lies about this case and other similar cases.' He expressed the family's frustration around the findings of the Oireachtas Committee which had said it could not resolve why gardai did not follow up the RUC information, but believed it was because of a direction by a former senior garda. The Committee had recommended that commissions of inquiry could address such issues. This prompted the family to pursue the setting up of Commissions of Inquiry, which Ms. Justice Faherty ruled against. In a lengthy ruling on Friday last, she said that the family are resigned to the prospect that those responsible for Mr Ludlow's murder will not be prosecuted and what they want are answers for the State's failures to follow up concrete information that might have led to prosecutions. But she also said the State had maintained the murder investigation 'remains open and commissions of inquiry could not progress that.' It said an independent commission of inquiry into the murder culminated in the Barron report of 2006 which named four persons as the suspected perpetrators,. The family say they are now considering their options, and did not rule out launching an appeal. A project to increase knowledge of human rights and equality legislation will be delivered at Glencree Centre for Peace and Reconciliation. The Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission has announced that Glencree will be awarded funding for work focused on human rights and equality under its grants scheme. In total 32 grant awards have been announced by the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission and include support for research, education and training on human rights and equality, activities for promoting the integration of migrants and other minorities, equality including gender equality, and respect for diversity and cultural difference. The Commission welcomed over 150 applications for the awards. The Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission is an independent public body, appointed by the President and directly accountable to the Oireachtas. The Commission has a statutory remit set out under the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission Act (2014) to protect and promote human rights and equality in Ireland, and build a culture of respect for human rights, equality and intercultural understanding in the State. The themes they focused on in awarding the grants included inter-cultural understanding and diversity, and implementation of the public sector equality and human rights duty. Butte-Silver Bow is asking residents to help identify all street lights that are out or malfunctioning so they can be fixed. Public Works crews working early evenings and early mornings will chart them, too, as part of a county-wide inventory on which ones need repaired, said Nick Sandford, the countys road operations manager. The countys chief executive, Dave Palmer, said early in 2016 when he was running for the office that one of his goals was to get all street lights operating. Criminals love the dark, and I just think a well-lit city is a good thing, he said then. It looks like you are open for business. Palmer said this week that it was time to make good on the pledge. The other night I ran to Safeway from my house and came back a different way, and I bet you I counted 20 of them that were out just on the main routes, he said. And thats not driving down neighborhoods. Sandford said street lights also enhance safety for pedestrians and motorists. While some lights are simply out, some flicker and some go on for a while then off for a while. Residents are asked to report any of those at co.silverbow.mt.us, the countys webpage. On the left side of the home page toward the bottom, there is a link that says Report a street light problem. That takes you to a page that asks for some basic information on who you are, where the light is located, and the nature of the problem. Palmer said some lights are maintained by the county, including those on Main Street, and many are overseen by the Montana Department of Transportation, such as those along Harrison Avenue and Front, Montana, and Park streets. NorthWestern Energy is solely responsible for some, Palmer said. Palmer said lights that are out or malfunctioning will be charted and Patrick Riordan, who oversees the countys geographic information system, will notify the MDT and NorthWestern Energy about theirs and ask they be fixed. Butte-Silver Bow crews will fix the county-owned ones, Palmer said, just as they do potholes on county streets. There is a link on the website to report potholes, too. As Irish Rail plans to lease out the train station in Greystones, campaigns have launched locally opposed to such a move. The station has gone on the commercial rental market, with a 50,000 per-year price-tag. According to commercial property agent Lisney, the prospective tenant will need to apply for change of use for the premises. The full ground floor area of 208 square metres is available to let. At the time of going to press, Irish Rail had not responded to a query about what plans are in place for access to the station. Minister Simon Harris held a public meeting on the matter on Monday night in Greystones, while Deputy Stephen Donnelly also has a petition calling for signatures opposing the lease. 'The train station in Greystones is at the heart of our community and I do believe these changes would alter the footfall of people on our Main street and also adversely affect the traffic flows around the town,' said Minister Harris, who has made representations to Irish Rail. Businesses around the town have a petition at their counters, including the 3 Qs restaurant, Buoys Kitchen, and many others. Linda Paine at Greystones Antiques said that she thinks that the proposed changes to the station are terrible. 'I'm not aware of anyone who thinks it's a good idea,' she said. 'It's been part of the town for over 100 years and the station is really the heart of the town. On every level, it doesn't make sense. 'I can understand Irish Rail wanting to bring in funds. But even from their viewpoint it won't make sense. 'Certainly the footfall for all the shops will drop drastically,' said Linda. 'A huge amount of visitors come in on a daily basis. If the walkers coming from the Cliff Walk see an entrance on the far side of the track, people won't be coming to the town.' Linda said that as well as from a business point of view, she is dead against the lease of the station as a mum dropping off and collecting kids. The Darts can be so busy with children and having them squeeze out through a narrow gate isn't ideal.' Local man David Spurling said that he is against the building being anything other than a train station. 'No it should not be closed. There is a unit in the building, and each business that goes in closes down. It's a very busy little station. I would absolutely wish to see it retained as a train station.' Rita Forte works at Brooke and Shoals and has lived in Greystones for the past 14 years. 'It's an outrage,' she said. 'We're stunned that this could actually happen. They're talking about an automatic gate near hear and another down by Bocellis. 'The building is beautiful and they're trying to lease it out. We work very hard here in Greystones, all the shops do, and this just means the footfall will decrease. 'The Greystones people are wonderful because they really do support the shop,' said Rita. 'We also get an amazing amount of day-trippers but now I just don't know what's going to happen.' Joan Leet from Kilcoole comes to Greystones when she has occasion to use the train. 'I wouldn't agree with it,' she said. 'I would prefer to have it stay as it is. It would be more comfortable and you would have covering if it's lashing rain or something.' Greystones woman Bernadette Kilfeather said that she is shocked. 'I would prefer it stayed as a train station because it gives life to a town and it's easy access,' she said. 'What about the human part of it? We love having contact with somebody, talking to somebody. Everything is machines and this is so sad. I'm in disbelief, I have no words to explain it.' The letting agents say that the space is 'suitable for a variety of commercial uses, potential coffee shop/bar/restaurant premises (subject to planning).' The first floor is in residential use and occupied by a tenant and is not included in the letting. The property was built in 1885 and is listed as a protected structure under The Record of Protected Structures Wicklow Council Area. The Drogheda Homeless Aid annual Sleep Out will be held on Saturday 9th December, where 20 hardy individuals will sleep out on West Street to support Drogheda Homeless Aid's work. According to Drogheda Homeless Aid's Manager, Maureen Ward "This is an important event to raise awareness as to the existence of homelessness in the county. The Sleep Out is also for raising much-needed funds to support the work of Drogheda Homeless Aid at a time of crisis. 'The image of homelessness that some people have unfortunately is that it is a phenomenon confined to Dublin; but it is a reality here in Louth and the problem is not going away. Drogheda Homeless Aid supported 120 individuals in their emergency accommodation facility in the past year. 'All of those residing in Drogheda Homeless Aid get resettlement support to help them back towards independent living and is one of the most important aspects of the work that we do in endeavouring to break the cycle of homelessness." Maureen also stated that she is delighted that the Drogheda Chamber President, Paddy Callaghan also of Nature's Best is doing the Sleep Out on 9th December. He will be joined by Fr. Barry Matthews and other business people, including Dave Kavanagh of Financial Companion, as well as teachers from a number of local secondary schools, all of whom are keen to support the work of Drogheda Homeless Aid and wish to highlight homelessness in the community and the complexity of the issues which often lie behind homelessness. State Street is also backing the Sleep Out, several of their employees are participating in the event and the company is to match any funding they raise as part of their corporate social responsibility. This year, Louis Flanagan and Gerard Grimes, both students at DCU, will be taking part in DCU's Media Production Society's annual '24-Hour Broadcast'. The award-winning event takes place every December in Dublin City University, with this being the eighth consecutive year for it to run. Students commit to staying on campus in the School of Communications building, the Henry Grattan, for 24 hours, producing a live-streamed broadcast all in aid of charity. For Christmas 2017, the Media Production Society has decided to hold the event in aid of SOSAD, an Irish suicide prevention and bereavement support charity. The charity was suggested by committee member Carmel Kenny who like many others has been directly affected by suicide. "I lost my Dad to suicide when I was two years old and I've grown up without him in my life. I've seen first hand how it affects everyone left behind. SOSAD is close to my heart because I want everyone to know that they have someone to talk too and can turn to in a time of need" she said. Last year the broadcast was in aid of the 'Peter McVerry Trust', a charity set up to reduce homelessness and the harm caused by drug misuse and social disadvantage. Although the target was 5000, the society succeeded in raising over 15,300 through fundraising and donations on the night. This year the target is 7000 and the society hopes to reach, if not exceed the amount for this year's chosen charity. "For 24 hours our members get the chance to produce their own shows and make the wackiest memories they'll have in college. The best part about it is that we get to do all of this for an amazing cause and raise some much needed funds for charities like SOSAD" said Aine Lawless, head of DCUtv. Louis and Gerard will both be contributing to the broadcast in many ways. There is something for everyone to get involved in, be it filming, producing, presenting, editing, creating behind the scenes content and promoting the broadcast on social media or a little bit of everything. The broadcast is supported by a huge variety of sponsors, including Bank of Ireland who sponsor the event each year. Bank of Ireland DCU staff look forward to supporting and creating awareness for SOSAD throughout the 24 Hour Broadcast with DCU Media Production Society. DCUtv and Bank of Ireland 24 Hour Broadcast in aid of SOSAD runs from 9pm on Friday 1st to Saturday 2nd of December. To watch Louis and Gerard, go online to www.dcumps.com to donate to the charity. You can get involved with the broadcast on social media using the hashtag #DCUtv24. Oliver Cromwell stepped from the history books back into the present day to demand that Drogheda becomes Ireland's next city. The Drogheda City Status Group arranged for an actor dressed as the infamous Englishman to declare the town's intentions at Laurence's Gate before heading to the steps of the Dail with a local delegation. There, they handed in a petition to Leinster House to underpin its demands. Drogheda City Status group collected over 3,000 names within the past three weeks as it steps up its campaign to make Drogheda and the surrounding area a city. The delivery of the petition follows the formal submission made earlier this month under the National Planning Framework Ireland 2040. That submission details how the 2016 census points to a population of over 83,000 in the Greater Drogheda Area, larger than Waterford City, and the fifth largest in the State. Drogheda City Status group has been campaigning for over a decade to end what it claims is the "nightmare" dual administration of the town and its rapidly expanding satellite communities. The report outlines how the former Municipal Borough of Drogheda, together with the adjoining Louth and Meath rural areas, have increased in population by almost 80% between 1996-2016. The population has risen from 46,451 to 83,042 at a time when the average national increase was 31.22%. The report also outlines how Drogheda city environs fulfils the criteria laid down by the EU Commission and the OECD for city status. A community based energy saving programme, inspired by the Dunleer Community Development Board, is going nationwide. 'Following the very successful launch of the Energy Ambassadors programme in March this year we were asked by the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland and SuperValu to deliver to a number of communities around the country. Our board sees this work as fitting with our vision of communities helping other communities,' project leader Eugene Conlon stated. The programme began in Dunleer when the local group secured funding for energy saving in 16 local homes and centres. It was deemed such a success, that it was rolled out for the mid Louth area, with the Dunleer group spearheading it. Up to 150 homes have now benefited from the scheme. On the 14th November, the Millennium centre, Caherconlish, Co Limerick was the first of these nationwide deliveries and the others planned before Christmas are Castlerea, Co Roscommon, Castleblaney, Co Monaghan, Rathangan Co Wicklow and Knocklyon Co Dublin, with more planned for the new year. Eugene says that people have taken to the idea because there's no spin and it's been driven by a local community group. 'People can get confused or know little about energy saving for their home but the groups we meet say it's great to hear it from us. We can advise them about how to get funding and the pitfalls and they see what has been achieved in mid Louth,' Eugene added. They are looking at doing up to 30 deliveries next year. The programme provides objective information on practical tips on how to achieve efficiency in conserving and controlling energy in homes and places of work, resulting in saving money. The ultimate aim is sharing knowledge and providing advice and guidance to communities on the advantages of working together to access funding and grants for energy upgrades, which are presently available to home owners, business and community groups, many of which they are unaware of. The presentation is inter-active and runs for 70 minutes, facilitating 20 participants, and the content is endorsed by the Centre for Renewable Energy at Dundalk Institute of Technology, and is delivered by the Dunleer Team, consisting of a Qualified Energy Specialist plus a community rep. Residents in Five Oaks on the Dublin Road, Drogheda, are concerned about traffic problems on the estate and are calling for a zebra crossing to be installed near the green area, it has been revealed. IN a letter to local representatives and Drogheda Borough Council engineer Pat Finn, the residents said cars using the estate regularly ignore the 'Stop' sign between Five Oaks and Five Oaks village. 'This is of concern given the number of children that play on the green area,' said a spokesperson for the Residents Association. 'To reduce the risk, residents have suggested the erection of a zebra crossing at the junction.' He said this would assist children reaching the green area safely. yellow lines to stop commuters leaving their cars in the estate all day, and the erection of a 'Caution Children' sign have been suggested in the letter. The residents raised concerns about cars parking at the front of the estate on a daily basis while waiting for private buses. 'To reduce the risk these pose, residents have suggested painting double yellow lines at the front of the estate,' said the spokesperson. The letter went on to raise concerns about a health and safety hazard behind some of the houses in the estate due to overgrown trees and subsidence at the stream behind the houses. The spokesperson said residents are 'very concerned' about this issue and were seeking assistance and advice as to how this could be resolved. Having visited the area and met with residents, Independent Cllr Frank Godfrey said he has arranged a site visit with the Louth County engineer and has tabled a motion to the next Council meeting. 'These are very valid concerns and must be addressed without delay,' said Cllr Godfrey. 'The residents and particularly the children, must be made safe. 'As well as the traffic issues, some houses are facing subsidence as they were built near a stream. 'Something needs to be done,' he added. 'How Are They Doing? A Community Perspective on Child Well-Being' is the first survey of its kind in Ireland and indicates that children from traditionally disadvantaged areas are performing better than the national norm. The study, which was carried out by Clondalkin-based organisation Archways and commissioned by the Blue Skies Initiative and The Genesis Programme, was conducted in two separate phases and examined the well-being of children aged 7, 10 and 12 years living in Drogheda, Dundalk and Clondalkin. John Lonergan hosted the Dublin launch of the project last week. The children themselves answered questions on their well-being, self-concept, their cognitive abilities and academic performance. Parents and teachers were also quizzed about their perspective on how well these children were doing. Hugh Doogan, Programme Manager with The Genesis Programme "This research goes towards giving a voice to children and it's important that we listen. The children in this study are exceeding expectations academically, are resilient and confident in themselves. However, some children are beginning to struggle emotionally and psychologically as they get older." "The results of this current study show that investment in the children of Louth and indeed North and Southwest Clondalkin has made a difference. It is vital that we continue to invest in their futures and provide them with the resources needed to continue to do well and overcome any difficulties they may face." This research challenges the assumption of poor outcomes for children living in areas that have been typically identified as disadvantaged - with these findings expected to change the current dialogue around education and well-being of children in demographically disadvantaged areas. Alice Malone, Quality Assurance Coordinator with The Genesis Programme said: "This study is the first of its kind to be carried out in Co. Louth in which children from 14 schools from Dundalk and Drogheda participated. It gives us a great insight into how parents and teachers view the well-being of our children. More importantly, it gives children aged 7, 10 and 12 an opportunity to have their voice heard and to tell us how they view themselves. It is very encouraging to hear that the children's sense of self is up there with children nationally and that they have high levels of resilience and are doing well academically." Louth students are going onto Third Level education Just over a third of people in County Louth over the age of 15 have a third level qualification, according to new figures released from the CSO. The figures from the 2016 census looking at Education, skills and the Irish Language show that 56.1% of third level graduates in Louth were female. According to the figures, in Louth, 12,150 people (15.8%) indicated that they had completed their education at primary level/had no formal education, while 13,875 (18.0%) did so at lower secondary level and 22,687 (29.5%) did so at upper secondary level. The respective percentages in 2011 were 18.7%, 20.2% and 29.5%. Of those aged 15 and over in the county in April 2016, some 28,175 (36.6%) had a third-level qualification. Females accounted for 56.1% of all graduates, with males comprising 43.9%. Among females, 10,764 (27.3%) had a third-level degree compared with 8,887 in 2011. Among males, 8,437 (22.5%) had a third-level degree compared with 6,770 in 2011. The number of people with a doctorate (Ph.D.) increased by 109 (37.5%) to 400. Among those aged 15 and over and who had completed their education, the average age of completion was 19.3 years, an increase of 0.7 years on 2011. The average completion age at national level was 19.9 years. In April 2016, of those aged 3 and over in the county, 42,047 people stated that they could speak Irish, a slight decrease on the 42,106 who stated they could do so in 2011. T hey comprised 34.1% of the county's population, compared with 36.1% in 2011. Nationally, 39.8% of those aged 3 and over indicated that they could speak Irish. The 1,177 people who spoke Irish daily outside of the education system was 20 more than in 2011 (+1.7%). They comprised 1.0% of the population aged 3 and over, compared with 1.7% at national level. Nationally, 42.0% (1,216,945) of the population aged 15 and over had a third level qualification in 2016 and 1.76 million people aged three and over indicated that they could speak Irish. We've called for the truth. But apparently, Montana's lone U.S. representative, Greg Gianforte, cannot handle the truth. Really, this shouldn't be a surprise. Wait, wait, wait. Before you accuse the "liberal media" of just taking another swipe at Gianforte, hear us out. Last week, an attorney for The Guardian's Ben Jacobs, a reporter who was assaulted by Gianforte, sent a letter to the congressman asking him to cease-and-desist in repeating the lie that Jacobs initiated the attack. Some statements by Gianforte's own staff implied that Jacobs may have provoked or engaged in the tussle on May 24, the night before the special election in which Gianforte beat Democrat Rob Quist. Regardless of what you may think about Gianforte, Jacobs or the media, what the lawyer is asking is for the congressman to adhere to the truth. That's not what we say. It's not what Jacobs says. It's what Gianforte said in court. In other words, Jacobs' lawyer just wants Gianforte to be held to his own words. In court in June, Gianforte admitted that he attacked Jacobs. "(Jacobs) did not initiate any physical contact with me," Gianforte said in Gallatin County District Court while pleading guilty to misdemeanor assault. This back-and-forth issue continues to be a topic (and, quite frankly, a distraction) for Gianforte. That's happened because Gianforte has never really taken full responsibility for what happened. A raft of documents recently released by the Gallatin County District Court showed that Gianforte misled investigators, using the excuse that the liberal media was trying to make a story of the situation. But a Fox News camera crew witnessed Gianforte assaulting Jacobs. Investigators found evidence of the assault and later, in court, Gianforte admitted his role. Yet when asked about the incident and a statement released from his own campaign, he has never taken full responsibility for his actions always side-stepping questions, and refusing to talk about the statement that turned out to be a lie. Gianforte has repeatedly said he's dealt with the issue, but gives no specifics. In other words, he talks about accountability, but demonstrates none. That's why this issue of Jacobs continues to return to the headlines: because Gianforte has never owned his own inexcusable actions, except when compelled to in court, while facing charges of assault. Gianforte is trying to take the easy way out blame the liberal media. He wouldn't be the first politician to try such a maneuver. Instead, we're not particularly worried about what folks believe about Ben Jacobs. If you really wondered what happened, an audio tape clip of Gianforte going full-beast on Jacobs sets that record straight. Members of the Montana media, The Billings Gazette included, have asked for a more detailed explanation of what happened on that night, but Gianforte has declined, saying he's taken accountability for his actions; as if saying it made it so. But part of accountability is transparency and honesty, two things noticeably absent in this case. We can't help but think that Gianforte's admission in court was a matter of expediency, not an expression of sincerity. And while we're certainly sympathetic to Jacobs who did not deserve the attack, we're more worried for Montanans who depend on Gianforte's voting and transparency to represent us in Congress. We're concerned that a man who seems to have such a hard time being accountable for his own personal actions might also be willing to mislead us on any number of issues. If Gianforte refuses to tell the truth about this criminal case, how can his constituents trust his word? -- The Billings Gazette While the delivery of a new secondary school for Malahide and Portmarnock continues to be delayed, it appears there is light at the end of the tunnel for a new post-primary school in Swords which has also seen its delivery date pushed back a year. Fine Gael TD for Dublin Fingal, Alan Farrell has said the delivery of the new secondary school for Swords is of the utmost importance in terms of ensuring adequate capacity exists to provide for every child in the local community' and has received confirmation from the Department of Education that the conveyancing process for a site for the new school is 'at an advanced stage'. Deputy Farrell said: 'I am pleased with confirmation from the Department of Education and Skills that the conveyancing process for the site for the new secondary school in Mooretown, Swords is at an advanced stage. 'Furthermore, the Department have informed me that it continues to liaise with Fingal County Council in relation to the acquisition of this site in Mooretown for the development of the permanent school building. These lands were designated for school purposes in the 2004-2011 County Development Plan, at which time I was a Fingal councillor.' The Fine Gael TD said: 'I am glad that the building for Swords Community School is on the Department of Education and Skill's Rapid Design and Build Programme, and as such, the project is currently at the architectural planning stage. 'At this stage, the Department is moving towards securing the necessary statutory approval for this new secondary school in Swords, which will take place following meetings with school representatives, and the school's patron, to review plans for Swords Community School. 'Once the statutory approvals are in place, the project will then be able to advance to tender and construction.' Deputy Farrell added: 'While this is certainly positive for the local community in Swords, and is integral in ensuring we have adequate capacity in our schools, it is vital that adequate temporary accommodation is provided for Swords Community School until the permanent building is completed.' The local Fine Gael TD explained: 'In this regard, Swords Community School will open in September 2018 in temporary accommodation on the grounds of St. Finian's Community College in Swords, until such a time as the schools permanent building is completed.' He concluded: 'Having discussed the school's progress with Principal, Mark McDonald in the last few days, I am very pleased that progress is being made on this 1,000 pupil school for the Swords community.' The school was originally due to open in September of this year but was pushed back to September 2018. It appears the way is clear for the construction of Dublin Airport's new runway with news that all three of the legal actions against the development have been thrown out at the High Court. The High Court has thrown out three legal actions against plans for a new 320m runway at Dublin Airport, including two actions from residents in St Margaret's. Mr Justice Max Barrett dismissed actions that arose over the proposed development of a 3,110 metre runway. The cases have been adjourned to allow the various parties consider the decisions and it is not yet known if an appeal will be taken against any of the rulings. The first of the three cases was brought by St Margaret's Concerned Residents Group against the DAA. The residents claimed certain pre-construction works carried out in December of last year on the proposed new runway by the DAA amounted to unauthorised development. The residents claimed the development was Tin breach of a condition of the planning permission granted in 2007. They also claimed a required waste management plan was not submitted to the local authority until February 2017 after the resident's solicitors had raised the issue. The DAA had argued that no unauthorised development had occurred. The second action was brought by 22 individual residents - most from Kilreesk Lane, St Margaret's, against Fingal County Council. They alleged the development was illegal and that the council failed to address their concerns about its effect on their homes and lands. Mr Justice Max Barrett said he respected the fighting spirit of the residents in this case, and again 'sympathised' with them in the predicament they found themselves in. The third case was brought by the Friends of the Irish Environment. Subject to any appeal, that clears the way for the runway but whether or not controversial planning conditions relating to night-flying at the airport stay in place, remains to be resolved. Residents want those conditions to remain in place but the daa says they need to be lifted. The name 'Vintage Lane Cafe' gives a less than subtle hint regarding Ciaran Walsh's family background - his father has run an antique business in Sligo for years. Indeed Ciaran's fondest childhood memories are of being out in the van with his Dad, all around the country. Naturally enough he inherited an interest in art and after school studied Graphic Design, in Letterkenny and then Dublin. Actually working as a Graphic Designer was a different kettle of fish. Three and a half years was enough and Ciaran took the opportunity to head down under with a group of friends. The timing couldn't have been better; they arrived in Sydney as the city was preparing for the Olympic Games. All the construction work was done, but the city wanted to put its best face forward for the hordes of imminent visitors. There was plenty of clearing up work, on a gigantic scale, involving dismantling cranes and other machinery as well as making all evidence of a massive construction phase simply disappear. Ciaran then began working in landscaping and paving for an Australian who had never employed any Irish before - and ended up with a round dozen on the payroll. The work was good and the hours great - 7am-3pm - leaving lots of time to enjoy Sydney. It was the coffee culture which had the strongest impact on him. The coffee craze hadn't hit Ireland and the variety and quality were truly eye-opening. It's no wonder he spent so long perfecting the Vintage Lane coffee (Ciaran reckons it took more than two years before he let anyone else near the machine!). Using Australia as a base, he travelled widely, touring New Zealand in a camper van, and spending months in Thailand and Indonesia. The remote Thai islands left a lasting impression on him; he loved both the food and the people. But all good things must come to an end and as the new millennium rolled around, Ciaran headed home. Using his Olympic experience he began a removal and relocation business which thrived during the Celtic Tiger. As things got quieter, he decided to fulfil a long held dream and open a coffee shop (serving excellent coffee of course). Nearly five years on, Vintage Lane in Bramley's Yard, Rathcormac, is open year round rather than just being a summer business as planned. Operating from the tiniest of kitchens, they serve a simple but quality menu of delicious soups, salads and treats, and do much of their own baking. Ciaran still runs the removal business and as his wife Helen also works fulltime as an audiologist, they depend on their excellent staff for Vintage Lane to thrive. A busy craft and food market has built up around them - it seems that a rising tide does indeed lift all boats. www.sligofoodtrail.com #SligoFoodTrail The first ever Scor na bPaisti for primary schools was held recently in Rathcormac. 168 kids took to the stage on the night from 12 different schools. The competition is organised by Sligo GAA's Scor Committee. Sligo GAA's Cultural officer Keith Henry said: "It was a huge success and thanks to everyone who made it happen." Rockfield NS won the figure dancing category, while Amber Jade McDonnell representing Rathlee NS was the Solo Singing winner. Stokane NS student Abbey Barrett was the champion in the Recitation/Storytelling. The winners of the Ballad Group contest was Rathcormac NS. The Leiriu winners also were Rathcormac NS. Owenbeg NS took the honours in the Instrumental Music. The Set Dancing winners were Rathcormac NS. The Scor na nOg finals took place on Saturday in Ballintogher. Sligo will be hosting the All Ireland in February. This is a major event for Sligo, with more than 2,000 people visiting across two weekends. Scor is made up of eight different disciplines; figure dancing, set dancing, instrumental music group, solo singing, ballad group, recitation/storytelling, stage presentation and a table quiz. Competitors represent their clubs and compete in a County Final first before progressing to a provincial final, where the winners then go on to the All-Ireland finals. Sligo will be hosting the Scor na nOg All Ireland final (U17 years) on February 17th and Scor Sinsir (Over 17 years) on April 14th. Both take place in the Knocknarea Arena. Fine Gael T.D. for Sligo - Leitrim, Tony McLoughlin has announced that a further 452,000 in funding has been secured for Local Improvement Schemes in Sligo and Leitrim. Minister Michael Ring announced a further 7.4 million in funding for Local Authorities under the Local Improvement Scheme (LIS) to support the improvement of non-public rural roads in 2017. The funding will allow for the repair and improvement of small roads and laneways leading to local people's homes and businesses that are not under the normal maintenance of the Local Authorities. McLoughlin said: "I am very pleased to announce that an extra 214,000 in funding has been secured for Local Improvement Schemes here in Co. Sligo and 238,00 in Co. Leitrim. "These roads provide vital access to homes and farms as well as amenities such as lakes, rivers or the ocean. The Department will provide up to 90% of the funding through the Local Authorities, with the remaining contribution coming from local residents, or Local Authorities in the case of roads leading to public amenities." Minister Ring said: "The Republic of Opportunity is focused on ensuring that all parts of Ireland share prosperity and economic growth whether it is through new roads, broadband, better third level institutions and more job opportunities. "I will ensure that my Department continues to invest in infrastructure to support rural people in their daily lives." Irish Water has welcomed the news that the Lough Gill Regional Water Supply has been removed from the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) Remedial Action List (RAL) following a 3 million investment in the Sligo & Environs Water Supply Scheme. This investment is ensuring a more sustainable water supply is provided to approximately 11,000 people who were served from Cairn's Hill Water Treatment Plant (WTP). The works involved the upgrading of the existing Foxes Den WTP, the decommissioning of the existing Cairns Hill WTP together with associated site and ancillary works. The upgrading of the existing Foxes Den WTP ensures that the plant can meet the current water demand whilst also providing capacity to meet future development needs. The Foxes Den facility is a modern plant which has the adequate barriers required for delivering quality water. Providing additional capacity at this plant was found to be more cost effective than trying to completely refurbish the older Cairns Hill plant where the treatment process resulted in the scheme being at risk of failing to meet all drinking water quality standards. Irish Water is committed to addressing the shortcomings in drinking water treatment on the Lough Talt Regional Water Supply, the only other Sligo supply on the Remedial Actions List (RAL.) Funding for an upgraded treatment plant is included in Irish Water's approved Capital Investment Plan. The issues with planning have been well documented and Irish Water is now reviewing all options available to address this issue and will be actively engaging with relevant stakeholders to resolve this critical issue in the short term. Irish Water announced an investment of 1.9 million in the Lough Talt Regional Water Supply Scheme network last April. This project involves the rehabilitation and replacement of 17km of water mains in Curry, Quarryfield, Killavel and Oldrock, with 24km of new polyethylene water mains to be located primarily on public roads. This will reduce the need to extract and treat 5.3 million litres of water every month from Lough Talt, enough to fill more than two Olympic size swimming pools. This project will benefit customers by strengthening and reinforcing the networks in these supply areas, reducing disruptions in supply and improving overall water quality. Speaking about the RAL and the ongoing work in Sligo, Irish Water's Regional Compliance Specialist Pat O'Sullivan said: "The publication of the latest RAL update is a confirmation of the focus and dedication of Irish Water and Sligo County Council in ensuring the delivery of clean and wholesome water in the county." He continued: "As a single utility Irish Water is able to conduct a comprehensive evaluation of the performance of Ireland's drinking water production plants and where serious compliance challenges are found they can be tackled more effectively and efficiently." The RAL is updated quarterly by the EPA for those water supplies where investment in treatment processes is required. Irish Water has a prioritised programme of investment for all schemes on the RAL. Orange County, CA - Authorities are searching for additional victims following the arrest of a foster youth caseworker accused of having "unlawful sex" with a 16-year-old girl in a Brea parking lot, officials said Thursday. Morris Leroi Brinker III, 31, worked as a case manager with neglected and abused children at Childrens Law Center of California and had been assigned to the victim's case, the Orange County District Attorney's Office said in a statement. The Corona resident was charged with unlawful sexual intercourse, dissuading a witness from reporting a crime and bribery of a witness all felonies on July 19, prosecutors said. He allegedly have unlawful sex with the 16-year-old on June 29 and was arrested at his home by Brea police detectives on July 3, after the crime was reported. The incident occurred in Brinker's car in a parking lot, according to Brea police. "He had access to many different children in his work. He would often drive them in his own personal vehicle, which is part of his job description," said Brea police Lt. Darrin Devereux. Because Brinker was in a position of trust with access to minors, officials believe there could be additional survivors. "He was entrusted with some very vulnerable young people and our fear is that he may have engaged in sexual activity with other young girls," Devereaux said. The Childrens Law Center of California said in a statement that Brinker has been fired. Brinker was released on bail, but prosecutors say shortly after he began pressuring the victim not to testify and tried to bribe her. He was again arrested by Brea police July 17, this time in Fullerton, officials said. If convicted as charged, Brinker could face a maximum possible sentence of 14 years and eight months in state prison. He was previously convicted of second-degree robbery and shooting at a home in San Bernardino in 2005, according to DA's officials. He is scheduled to appear in court for a pre-trial hearing on Nov. 3 in Fullerton and was being held on $1 million bail. Anyone with additional information can contact Brea police detectives at 714-671-4438. Correction: An earlier version of this article incorrectly described the allegations against Brinker. The story has been updated. Phone records taken from murder victim Martin Kivlehan's home were used as fresh evidence to justify re-arresting the chief suspect Keith Brady in November 2015, some three months after he was initially questioned and released without charge. Detective Garda Paul Casey told the jury at Brady's murder trial last Wednesday that the investigating team secured an arrest warrant from Sligo District Court and re-arrested Brady on the 9th of November 2015. He was brought to Ballymote Garda Station where he was questioned by Det. Casey and Sergeant Martin McHale. His then-solicitor Mr Eddie Henry was present for the first of three interviews. The witness said Brady told them: "I didn't murder any one. I think I was wrongly arrested. It's already out there that I'm a murderer. Everyone thinks it." When asked if he thought his sister Janice did it, Brady replied "No." When Brady was asked if he remembered admitting to the murder back on 4th-5th of August, in the days immediately following the discovery of Martin Kivlehan's body at his home on 3rd August, Brady said his recollection was "small." He told detectives he was "under the influence of a whole load of stuff." "It was just me and Janice. We decided to go up to Matt's. We had a few drinks and drugs. I can just remember leaving then," he said. Brady repeatedly said he had taken "a lot of drugs" and told the interviewing Gardai he didn't know how he wasn't dead. He told them that when he was tested for drugs in prison they found a cocktail of seven different drugs in his system, including Heroin, Benzodiazepines and possibly Cocaine. He said Janice was with him all that night and like him, had nothing to do with the murder. When asked if he would tell Gardai who killed Martin Kivlehan if he knew who, there was a long hesitation. "That was a long hesitation there - do you know who killed Martin Kivlehan?" they asked him. "No," replied Brady. They asked him how he knew the deceased and Brady said he "just got to know him" and had only been in his home three or four times. "It's common knowledge people used to be going in there drinking. Most of the town would know," he said in his interview. "I was on the couch, off my head. I was lying down. Martin offered Janice a cigarette. I just remember being totally out of it. I just heard voices, a commotion, men talking," he told them. When asked who these "men" were, Brady said he didn't know. When asked what his next recollection was, he replied "just being out, just walking down to Finisklin." When asked where Martin Kivlehan was when they left, Brady said: "I don't know. I honestly don't know, it's a total blur, a black out." Brady said there could have been someone else in the apartment bedroom because Mr Kivlehan used to let people stay there some times. Gardai: "Was Martin Kivlehan alive or dead when you left?" Brady: "He must have been alive. My recollection is blurred, as I said." When asked where he got his heroin, Brady replied: "Longford or Dublin." Gardai asked him if he ever used the phone in Mr Kivlehan's house. "I'm not sure. Every time I was in there I was either drunk or off my head on drugs," he said. The phone records, the basis for his re-arrest, were shown to him. They indicated that 18 calls were made from the landline phone of Mr Kivlehan between 10.33pm 2nd August and 2.22am 3rd August. Five phonecalls were made to Ian 'Mooch' Morrison who lived directly behind Mr Kivlehan. Brady denied making those calls and said he didn't know who did. In his third interview, it was put to Brady that he admitted to the murder of Mr Kivlehan in August. "I can't comment on that. I would have said anything to get out of the room. I didn't know what I was saying. I was coming down off drugs," he said. "I didn't kill him," he said. Sligo County Council has revealed it has been sent a bill for 3.6million in legal costs incurred by the owners of Lissadell House. In a long running legal case which it ultimately lost in the Supreme Court, the Council was found responsible for all of its own legal costs and 75% of the costs of Edward Walsh and Constance Cassidy, owners of Lissadell. Some 2m had already been paid out in the council's own legal costs. At its annual budget meeting on Monday, the council revealed the liability from the other side was 3.68m but it is was likely that the final cost will be less following negotiation between both sides. A period of time will be required for a detailed examination of the Bill of Costs to be followed by negotiations between the sides, with an option to refer the matter to the Taxing Master for adjudication in default of agreement. A final decision on costs will not be known until late 2018 or indeed into 2019, the council stated. CEO Ciaran Hayes said the costs will be paid by funds owed to the Council by the Department and Retained Earnings being redistributed back to the Local Authorities by Irish Public Bodies, the Council's insurer. The Cathaoirleach, Cllr. Seamus Kilgannon, also welcomed the developments saying that he is "happy that the long running issue is now nearing an end and with closure on this issue, together with the planned infrastructural developments, Sligo can now look forward to a period of growth." A Garda admitted that up until the confession of Keith Brady taken at Castlerea Prison in December 2015, the investigation into the murder of Martin Kivlehan had been 'exhausted.' "Essentially from a Garda investigation point of view we had exhausted our lines of enquiry," Sergeant Martin McHale told the jury on day eight of the murder trial of Brady at the Central Criminal Court in Dublin. Sgt McHale added: "There was no more reason to speak to him (Keith Brady). This was a call out of the blue." The sergeant was referring to the request from Brady that he come and speak with him in Castlerea Prison. Sgt McHale was not called by the prosecution to give evidence but was tendered to the defence who asked him to give testimony. In response to Mr Brendan Grehan SC (defending) Sgt McHale agreed that he had been present for all interviews conducted with Brady which had numbered nine in total. The witness agreed with a suggestion from Mr Grehan that in the first interviews with the accused he had been coming down from the effects of heroin addiction. Sgt McHale also agreed that it would be fair to say that during the first three interviews the accused could be described as being belligerent, difficult and was denying all involvement in the killing of Martin Kivlehan. The witness further agreed that a 'sea change' had taken place during the fourth interview given in Sligo Garda Station on August 5th which had come after his sister Janice had visited him in his cell. A different tone was struck from the very beginning of this interview, said Mr Grehan. Sgt McHale further accepted that neither he nor his colleagues knew it would be a different kind of interview with the accused. The witness agreed that at that fourth interview Brady admitted to being in Mr Kivlehan's apartment, that something happened and that he had reacted and this had led to the stabbing. Mr Grehan put it to the witness that there was very much an element of vagueness about the account in relation to the stabbing and the witness agreed with this. By November, Brady was interviewed again, this time being brought to Ballymote Garda Station where his solicitor sat in, the law having changed in the meantime to allow this, said Mr Grehan. Brady was serving a sentence on other matters in Castlerea at the time. Sgt McHale agreed that the accused, in this interview, rowed back from the position he had taken during his fourth interview the previous August. He admitted that he and his sister had been in the apartment but was claiming he had no knowledge of how Mr Kivlehan had died. It was put to him that he had confessed in his fourth interview and he was refusing to comment, agreed Sgt. McHale. Before being brought back to Castlerea Prison, Sgt McHale said he wrote his name down on a piece of paper along with his number and gave this to the accused. Sgt McHale told Brady that he could contact him if he wanted to get anything off his chest. A month later, Sgt McHale got a call from a prison officer stating that Brady wished to talk to him. The witness said he contacted his superior and both he and Inspector Tom Colsh subsequently travelled to Castlerea Prison to see what the accused wanted. When they met Brady he said to them that it was about Matt, that he wanted to get "the whole thing off my chest." He stated that his head was wrecked, that he could not sleep. They let Brady say what he wanted to say telling him to take his time. It wasn't a question and answer interview and they only intervened to clarify something. "He dictated and we took notes," he said. Maura Duignan and Gayle Nagle are setting up a fascinating new model of education in Sligo A new type of school is coming to Sligo next year, one many will never have heard of before. Sligo Sudbury School will have no classes, no teachers and no set curriculum. Up to 50 children aged from 6-18 years will attend next September during normal school hours at a yet to be disclosed location in Sligo town. Also known as 'Democratic' schools, it will be only the second such school of its kind in the country, the other being Wicklow Sudbury School, Ireland's first democratic school of self-directed learning. Founding members of Sligo Sudbury are mothers Maura Duignan and Gayle Nagle, the later being a fully qualified and experienced primary school teacher. Both have been home-schooling their own children for several years and decided that democratic schools combine the best of home schooling with the group environment of a school with peers. "In these environments the children are free to choose what it is they want to learn, the pace at which they want to learn and the way in which they learn," says Gayle. "There's no fixed lessons, except if a group of children come together and explicitly state they want to learn X, then that can be facilitated by the school but outside of that, choice is the key thing and autonomous self-directed learning," she says. Everyone, no matter what age has an equal vote in the running of the school. It all sounds very 'airy fairy' but there is solid research to back it up. INTO research into learning in 2007 shows that students learn more from group learning: there is a 90 per cent retention rate from peer tutoring compared to just 5 per cent from a lecture. Research from the New York Times reveals that an ever growing emphasis on academic performance and test scores prevents children from developing life skills like self-control, motivation, focus and resilience which are far better predictors of long term success and well-being than high grades. Both Maura and Gayle discovered the democratic school model through their home-schooling and are inspired by educator and philosopher A.S. Neill. "When you start something you become exposed to different ideas and you see that your child is actually thriving and doing really, really well despite the fact they're not in school and they're learning plenty," says Maura of her two sons, aged 7 and 11. "They have the freedom to learn what they're truly interested in and the freedom to follow learning at their own pace, in their own time and in their own way but within a community of peers and children a little older and younger than them. They can learn a lot, like a very large family," she adds. Gayle, being a teacher herself, was always very interested in other models of education and in different ways of helping children learn in a school setting. She visited a school called Summerhill in the UK to see how their learning takes place. When she met Maura through the home school network in Sligo, a "meeting of minds" gave birth to the decision to turn it into action and open their own Sudbury school in Sligo. They're inspired by author Peter Gray who sent his own son to the Sudbury Valley school founded in Massachusetts in 1968. Gray developed six core principles, number one being that education is the child's responsibility. The rest include unlimited opportunity to play and develop a passion, playing with the tools of the culture, caring adults who are helpers, not judges, free age mixing with children older and younger than themselves and a stable, moral and democratic community setting. "The Sudbury model is what we're going to reflect in our school. There's a lot written about it. It's really an inspiring model," says Gayle. What about people reading this and thinking their child won't learn anything at all because they're lazy and need a push? Wouldn't we all love to play all day and not open a book? "'Johnny' might appear lazy because he's being asked to learn something he's not remotely interested in," replies Maura. "If a child wants to learn something, you won't be able to stop the child from learning. In reality they're deeply curious and have great desire to learn when they're given a little more choice about what it is that they're actually spending their energy on - it can make a big difference," she says. "We all might appear lazy if we were asked to do things that don't appeal to us and we weren't allowed to do things that did stimulate our passion," she adds. "It's also about us reassessing our expectations about what we believe to be learning as well," adds Gayle. So all those hours I spent agonising over algebra were in vain? "You're the best placed to answer that!" she laughs. "When children are motivated to learn - and it's widely accepted and researched - that's the best path to learning as we all know," says Gayle. Will a democratic school equip children for Third Level? "They will have equipped themselves," says Maura. "That's the philosophy. They're directing their own learning and we're the facilitators. The staff are there to facilitate, to teach if they require specific learning. I'll be a staff member, we won't have teachers. If external resources or skills are required that can be sourced in," she says. "When you get to Third Level you do have to be quite self-directed in your learning and it can be a very difficult transition for people who have been directed for 18 years. Sligo Sudbury School won't be State-funded and will be fee-paying although they intend making it as accessible as possible:"There will be fundraising from the beginning so that we can try to supplement costs," says Gayle. A public information evening on Sligo Sudbury School will take place this Thursday 30th November 7 - 9 pm in The Model, Sligo. www.sligosudburyschool.com or Facebook Sligo Sudbury School. A 30-year-old man is facing a re-trial on a murder charge after a jury in the Central Criminal Court in Dublin failed to agree on a verdict. The jury in the trial of Keith Brady of Cartron Estate for the murder of Martin Kivlehan in August 2015 at his home on Holborn Street was discharged by Mr Justice Paul McDermott after he was told by the foreman on Monday afternoon that they were deadlocked. Shortly before 3pm on Monday the jury foreman handed a note to the Judge to say they would not be able to reach a unanimous verdict. Justice McDermott told them they could return a verdict if ten of them agreed. Less than one hour later they returned and the foreman told the registrar that they had not reached a majority verdict and had written disagreement on the issue paper. Brady was remanded until next Monday December 4 on the off-chance that there is an opportunity to deal with the matter. The jury of eleven (one juror was discharged last week as she had to go on holiday) began deliberating on Friday afternoon. Brady had pleaded not guilty to murder but guilty to manslaughter of 59-year-old Mr Kivlehan who was stabbed twice in the neck. He had admitted Keith Brady and his sister Janice to his apartment on August 3rd 2015 where they began drinking. Brady gave nine interviews to Gardai, initially denying any involvement but in December called Gardai out of the blue from Castlerea prison to make a confession. Mr Justice McDermott told the jury when considering the defence of provocation they should take into account Bradys character, temperament and circumstances. If they found it was possible that he was provoked, they should find him not guilty of murder but guilty of manslaughter. If the prosecution had proven beyond reasonable doubt that he had the intention to kill or cause serious injury and that he was not provoked, they were told to find him guilty of murder. During their arrest on suspicion for the murder of Martin Kivlehan (59), brother and sister, Janice and Keith Brady were allowed see each other in a cell at Sligo Garda Station, the Central Criminal Court was told. A leading member of the investigation team told the court that Janice Brady was in a distressed condition and had repeatedly asked to see her brother. Keith Brady (30) of Cartron Estate, denied the murder of Martin Kivlehan at his home at 1 New Apartments, Holborn Street on August 2nd/3rd 2015 but admitted manslaughter, a plea rejected by the prosecution. Mr Kivlehan, a musician and carpenter, was found dead in his apartment on the afternoon of the Bank Holiday (Aug 3rd) with two stab wounds to either side of his neck. Both of the Bradys had been in the deceased's apartment on the Sunday. Janice Brady (28) was arraigned before the Central Criminal Court last week where she pleaded guilty to impeding the apprehension or prosecution of her brother between August 2nd and August 3rd, 2015 knowing or believing that the man was guilty of a killing. In this case, Mr Justice Patrick McCarthy ordered a probation report and remanded her in custody for sentencing. On day six of Keith Brady's trial before a jury of seven women and five men and Mr Justice Paul McDermott, the court was told of the meeting between the brother and sister during their detention at Sligo Garda Station on the morning of August 5th. Superintendent Jim Delaney, stationed in Longford, was Detective Inspector based in Sligo at the time of the death of Mr Kivlehan and was attached to the senior crime investigation division in Sligo/Leitrim. Supt Delaney said he had been appointed as senior investigating officer on the case along with Detective Superintendent O'Reilly from the Northern Region. He was aware that the Bradys were in custody having been arrested under his direction for the murder of Mr Kivlehan. Janice was arrested by Sergeant Pat Harney and Keith by Inspector Tom Colsh. On the morning of August 5th Supt Delaney said he was in Sligo Garda Station passing through the ground floor when Janice Brady, having a cigarette break, asked to speak to him. "She called on me as I passed by," said Supt Delaney. She had sought him out. "It was uncanvassed by me," he said. The member in charge of the station at time, Garda Joe Evans was present. Janice Brady expressed concern for her brother and said she wanted to talk to him. She had made a number of enquiries during the night regarding her brother. "She was distressed and concerned as a sister for her brother," said Supt Delaney. He told her that he would consider her request and discuss the matter with the member in charge. Supt Delaney said he deemed it appropriate to allow the visit take place as long as a Garda was present at all times during it. Mr Brendan Grehan SC (defending) with Mr Keith O'Grady BL asked the Superintendent to read out the full account from his notebook of the encounter with Janice Brady and this was done. Supt Delaney described how Ms Brady was emotional and had spoken about her chaotic life while she also mentioned her son. They discussed "general life topics." She requested to talk to her brother. She was distraught. Supt Delaney said Janice and Keith Brady were very close. "She looks after him even though he is older than her," he said. Supt Delaney also stated that Janice Brady said she wanted her brother to tell the truth. She expressed fear about going to jail and stated that she did not kill Mr Kivlehan though she was there when he was killed. She was worried that her brother might not tell the truth. She also told the Superintendent that she had to think of her future with her son. "I believed there was no hidden agenda in the request from her and the presence of a Garda I felt would ensure the integrity of the visit," said Supt Delaney. He said he canvassed the views of the investigating members on the matter but added that ultimately the decision rested with him. It was put to the witness by Mr Grehan that such a visit was not usual. "It was not something I considered lightly," replied Supt Delaney. He added that he told Garda Danny Grimes that the visit was to be terminated if there was any attempt by either of the Bradys to influence each other. The Garda was instructed to be within ear shot of the two. Garda Joe Evans told the trial that he was the member in charge and became aware that a meeting between the Bradys was to take place. In the custody record at 9.32am he noted that the prisoner (Keith Brady) requested to speak with his sister. This was acceded to on the basis that it was to be supervised by Garda Grimes. In reply to Mr Justice McDermott, Garda Evans said the request to meet came from Keith Brady and not his sister. The witness agreed with Mr Grehan that Janice Brady was brought to her brother's cell for the visit under the supervision of Garda Grimes. Garda Evans agreed he had a conversation with Supt Delaney regarding the visit but no record of this conversation was taken. "I recall meeting the DI in the corridor...he's very hands-on," said Garda Evans. Questioned further on who had sought the meeting, Garda Evans said he was confident that the request had come from Keith Brady and not Janice. "My understanding is that the prisoner requested to speak to her," he said. "Did you go to him and ask him if he wanted a visit?" - Mr Grehan. "I would have visited the prisoner" - Garda Evans. He stated that he was "one hundred per cent confident in my record" of who requested the visit. He understood there was a difference in accounts. He said he did not have any record of Janice Brady wanting to see her brother. The visit took place in Keith Brady's cell which would suggest the visit had been made at the request of his sister, said Mr Grehan. He described as highly unusual that two people would visit one another while both in custody for murder. Garda Danny Grimes (pictured left), in evidence, said he began duty at 7am on August 5th and he was to assist the member in charge in dealing with the two prisoners. At 9.32am he supervised a visit between the brother and sister having been asked to do so by Supt Delaney. Janice Brady was happy for the witness to supervise the visit, the request for which to the witness's recollection, had been made by her. Garda Grimes said he stood inside the door of the cell. The Bradys were sitting down on the bunk bed. "The majority of things I heard," he said. He was there to ensure that nothing untoward was said between them. He didn't take any notes of what was said. Janice told her brother she loved him and they expressed concern for each other's welfare, whether they had slept, eaten and taken their medications. Janice Brady told her brother to tell the truth. She also stated that she "would be sixty before I get out." The two also spoke about CCTV coverage which had been shown to them and Garda Grimes heard Keith Brady say he would have to speak to his solicitor. The visit lasted for ten minutes. They also had whispered to each other. They both thanked him for the visit. In reply to Mr Grehan, Garda Grimes said he had been told by Supt Delaney to ensure the visit didn't hinder the investigation. When CCTV was mentioned Garda Grimes said he was asked for his opinion and he had replied: "The truth is all we are looking for." Garda Grimes said he could not recall what Keith Brady had said in reply to him on this or what he said when his sister mentioned she would be 6o-years old when she gets out. Motorists on the main Sligo to Donegal road (N15) will face disruption in the lead-up to Christmas as Irish Water replaces over 2k of pipes in the Cashelgarron area. Householders will also be affected with water supplies being hit. Irish Water working in partnership with the County Council will start replacing 2.7 kilometres of ageing water mains on December 4 along the N15 national primary route in the townlands of Mullaghnaneane and Cashelgarran. This will involve the replacement of the existing ageing and fatigued pipeline with modern high density polyethylene pipes. The works will also include the replacement of existing pipeline valves and fittings. Irish Water's Water Network Regional Lead Dave Murphy, said: "These works will commence at the beginning of December and will be carried out by Farran's Construction on behalf of Irish Water. The project is expected to be completed in approximately 10 weeks and will deliver significant improvements to customers who have been affected by disruptions to their water supply due to leakage along the pipe. "Trenchless technology will be used as part of these works as a method to reduce the potential impact and traffic disruption which may be caused due to these works." Irish Water says the work will be limited to short sections to minimise impact on customers. The works may involve some short-term water shut offs and the project team will ensure that customers are given a minimum of 48 hours prior notice of any plannedcuts to service. Customers can contact the Irish Water call centre on 1850 278 278 if they have any queries. Traffic management will be in place for the duration of the works and local and emergency traffic will be maintained at all times, says Irish Water. Works will finish up for Christmas on Friday, December 22 and will start up again on Monday, January 8 2018. Sligo retailers will be hoping that the works will not put off customers travelling to Sligo from South Donegal for their Christmas shopping. This project forms part of Irish Water's investment plan. Works have been prioritised to address the most critical issues in line with commitments outlined in Irish Water's Business Plan. Delivery of the business plan will involve a 5.5 billion investment in capital spending on drinking water and wastewater quality and capacity and new infrastructure up to 2021. This plan includes an investment in leakage reduction and water quality initiatives, called the Leakage Reduction Programme, which will see an investment of 512 million during the period to 2021. These works are vital to ensuring a clean, safe and reliable public water supply to support our growing population and economy, a spokesperson for Irish Water said. Very young children are being admitted to Sligo University Hospital in a drunk state. That's according to local paediatricians who spoke about the issue with Professor Frank Murray at a conference in the hospital last Friday. "One of the paediatricians here said that they're seeing very young children admitted to the hospital here, and even the Intensive Care Unit with the toxic effects of alcohol," Professor Murray told The Sligo Champion. He described the problem with children drinking here as "shocking" and "one of the worst in the Western World." " By the age of 15/16/17 years, half of children have been very drunk in Ireland, which is a shocking statistic, about a quarter of drinking have started drinking by the time they're 13. "Those figures are a terrible indictment of our society, they're a terrible indictment of us as parents and of our schools. "I think in many ways parents and schools are not able to cope with the tidal wave of alcohol that is going towards children. The liver consultant at Beaumont believes more could be done at a local community level to prevent under-age drinking. "I think it's hard as an individual parent to do something. I think we should think about a programme in schools whereby parents and the school approach the problem similarly and in an area. "If you look at me as a parent, I really was, I think, quite poor at managing my children's wish to drink when they were going up. "In retrospect I'd be much more smart about it now. I think that schools should be intolerant of children's drinking and parents should not begin children's drinking at home. "A lot of people think they should introduce their children to alcohol at home when they're in their mid-teens. "That's been shown to be a bad idea. The later children start drinking, the better it is for children. The earlier they start drinking, the more likely they are to drink heavily and to have a problem with alcohol. "We should be clear about that in our minds. If we do that just as an individual it's quite difficult to implement but I think if we had a programme across the parish or the Gaelic club or the school it would be a good step forward. "There are things that can be done within a community that can help in relation to that,"he added. The Powerscourt Hotel Resort and Spa was among at attendees at the 'Ireland Meets the West End' event held in London. Organised by Tourism Ireland in conjunction with Failte Ireland and Tourism NI, 'Ireland Meets the West End' aims to grow business tourism from Britain to Ireland.47 top British meetings and events professionals met with 34 different tourism businesses from Ireland, including the Powerscourt Hotel Resort and Spa. Julie Wakley, Tourism Ireland's Head of Great Britain, said: 'Tourism Ireland was delighted that so many top meetings and events professionals took the time to take part in our 'Ireland Meets the West End' event and meet our partners from Ireland - demonstrating their commitment and interest in the island of Ireland for 2018 and beyond.' Business tourism is the most lucrative form of tourism, with visitors travelling to Ireland for business purposes spending about 2.5 times more than the average visitor. X Factor stars and Blessington boys Sean and Conor Price returned to their home town to a rapturous welcome from the local community. Following a successful stint on the holy grail of television talent shows, the brothers, who are aged 17 and 15 respectively, said they were overwhelmed at the wonderful welcome they received on their return to west Wicklow. 'We got back from the airport and we couldn't believe the massive turnout. There were thousands of people there, many who we pass on the street every week who were out cheering us on and supporting us. I was unbelievable,' they said. And it wasn't just Wicklow that was cheering on Sean and Conor but rather the entire country. 'We were the only Irish act to make it through to the live shows this year and we were really honoured to be representing our country. Everyone was so encouraging and supportive and we got so much goodwill. We had such a great time and exceeded our own expectations in the competition. We also had so much support from our family.' While the duo are best known at home for their regular busking performances on Grafton Street, a whole new world has now been opened up to them. 'It was such a massive step up from busking. The crowd of hundreds in the studio and there were millions tuning in at home. It was completely different but showed us what life could be like if things go the right way.' While Sean and Conor are now back at school in Naas CBS studying for their Leaving and Junior Certificate exams, they have their eyes firmly on a career in music. 'Being on The X Factor confirmed for us that we want a career in music. It's what we want to do in the future and we are really looking forward to seeing where we go from here.' However, with their heads firmly screwed on and remaining tight-lipped on any potential record deal offers, the Price brothers won't be making any rash decisions just yet. 'We are just going to take some time and see what happens. We haven't made any decisions yet but hopefully the right opportunity comes along.' As we move into December, it's finally safe to start talking about Christmas. And there are some Christmassy topics that need to be dealt with sooner rather than later. Everyone wants to be looking their best on Christmas Day, and just like human hairdressers get booked up in the week before the big day, so do pet groomers. If you have a pet that needs a cut, brush and blow dry, make sure that you don't leave it too long to make the booking. The big question, of course, is "does your pet really need to be groomed?" I have two dogs - and neither of them have ever been to the dog groomer,because of the type of dogs that they are. Finzi is a cross-bred Labrador, and she has short, dark fur. I give her an occasional brush-out, and she gets bathed if she rolls in muck. But with her type of fur, there will never be a need for her to have a hair cut. Kiko is a small, short-haired terrier, and she needs a similar amount of hair care as Finzi. Again, her coat never grows long enough to need trimmed at all. However there are several types of dogs that benefit significantly from professional grooming. A regular visit to a dog groomer may be an essential part of your annual routine. The most obvious examples are those breeds that have the longest coats. The most extreme include Yorkshire Terriers, Poodles, Bichons Frise, Old English Sheepdogs and many more. In these breeds, rather than the fur growing 2 - 3cm and then falling out, it just keeps growing. If the fur is not trimmed, it will grow so long that it will become unmanageable, getting matted and unkempt. You can do your best with combing and brushing, but at some point, you need to cut the fur. These breeds are known as "low shed": their fur keeps growing rather than falling off the dog. They can be the ideal breeds if you don't like the idea of having dog fur around your home. They are not "allergy-free" dogs as many people think, but it does seem logical that if there is less fur in the house, there may be less doggy allergens around to provoke human allergic reactions. Breeds like these often need serious hair cuts: it could take three or four hours to brush, trim, wash and blow dry a large long haired dog that has been left too long in between hair cuts. It isn't cheap to have a professional dog groomer do a full, show-quality job like this, but the results can be impressive. If you have seen show dogs on television at Crufts you will know what I mean. Dogs of this type may need to visit the groomer every 6 - 8 weeks, so this can add a significant sum of money to their annual maintenance costs. The second type of dog that often needs professional grooming is the medium-length coated breeds. Examples of these include Golden Retrievers, German Shepherds, Spaniels and many others. While much of their coat can be easy to manage, there are particular parts of their bodies that can be challenging. They often have long fine fur around their lower legs (so-called "feathering"), behind their ears, and around their hindquarters and tail. If this fur is not combed regularly, it's prone to becoming tangled and matted. Many of these dogs are active outdoors creatures, enjoying running around the countryside, so they are also prone to getting muddy, with bits of vegetation caught in the longer strands of their coats. Many people manage these types of dog themselves, with careful use of brushes, combs and occasional shampooing at home. But it isn't always easy: many dogs don't like being held still, and if you are not used to doing this type of home-grooming, it can be a challenging task. There's no doubt that it can be a welcome relief to hand the task over to a professional. Such animals don't need to be groomed nearly as often as the first group of dogs: a professional groom every six months can be enough if you are able to have a simple brush and comb routine at home to keep things under control for the interim periods. How do you choose a dog groomer? As with many other services, word-of-mouth is the best way. Ask people who you know that have well-groomed dogs. If you see a dog in the park that looks particularly well, ask their owner where they go. There's a great deal of variety of skill, training and experience in the world of "canine beauticians", and costs can vary significantly too. It's worth doing careful research beforehand, so that you know what to expect. There's a range of types of dog groomers: some run home-based businesses, others have "salons" in shopping centres, and you can even call a mobile dog groomer to call to your house. Some vet clinics have in-house dog groomers: these can be particularly useful if you have a nervous dog who needs to be sedated before he can be approached with clippers and scissors. Injectable sedation is generally more predictable and effective than tablets, but it does need to be done under the close supervision of a vet. One thing is sure: the best dog groomers book up long in advance for the period leading up to Christmas. So if you want your pet to be looking their best this year, don't put it off: make that phone call today. The Co Wicklow Public Participation Network (PPN) will hold two meetings in Wicklow town next week. The first meeting will take place on Wednesday, December 6, and will be of interest to environmental interest groups. The role of the Irish Environmental Network and Environmental Pillar and how these national organisations can support local groups will be discussed, as will Wicklow County Council's plans to develop an Adaptation Plan for Climate Change. Groups will also have the opportunity to network, support each other and feed into the Co Wicklow PPN representatives that sit on the Wicklow County Council Strategic Policy Committees. The following day, Thursday, December 7, groups working with children are invited to attend a 'Let's Talk About Children and Young People' meeting, which will highlight the work of the Co Wicklow Children and Young People's Services Committee, as well as preparing community groups for the enactment of Children First Legislation on December 11. Both meetings take place in An Tairseach Organic Farm and Ecology Centre at the Dominican College and will run from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. People are asked to register their attendance for either event by Sunday, December 3, by contacting Helen Howes at countywicklowppn@gmail.com. East Coast Roosters Motorcycle Club are calling on the people of Wicklow to help the homeless this Christmas. The South Wicklow club are collecting essentials which they will deliver to the Lighthouse Drop in Centre in Dublin at the beginning of December. Donations of the following items will be gratefully accepted: sleeping bags, blankets, warm clothes such as hats, scarves, gloves, thermals, pants, jumpers, underwear, socks and toiletries. Donations can be dropped off at Ashgrove Interparts, Fernhill Plaza, Wexford Road, Arklow or Jack White's Inn, Brittas Bay until December 8. Members of the East Coast Roosters will meet at Jack White's on December 9 to bring the items to Dublin. All bikers are welcome to join the road run which sets off at 10.30 a.m. For information call Martin 0877815199, Eu Hanlon 0876739634, Paul 0861642026 or Jenny 0861915203. A total of 50,000 in funding has been approved to Tidy Towns groups across County Wicklow. The funding was announced by Minister for Rural and Community Development in recent days to mark the 60th anniversary of the national competition. 'I am delighted to announce a grant scheme for the Supervalu Tidy Towns committees. Generations of people in communities have volunteered with Tidy Towns to make our country a place we can all be proud of. I have nothing but admiration for the volunteers here tonight and across the country and this grant scheme is recognition from the Government of the huge contribution made by citizens in their own community. 2018 sees the 60th Anniversary of the Supervalu Tidy Towns competition and this grant scheme is just part of the Department's celebration of that milestone,' the Minister said. Wicklow TD and Minister of State at the Department of Agriculture Andrew Doyle welcomed the funding and said that it will be put to good use by the many hard-working Tidy Towns groups across the county. He acknolwedged the dedication of the volunteers and thanked them for their efforts and good work. 'I am delighted to see even more funding going to towns and villages throughout county Wicklow. I have no doubt that the money will be a huge boost to our local communities and will be put to great use. Tidy Towns competition inspires a huge amount of voluntary effort in towns and villages across the country. I would like to extend my sincere thanks to all those who give up their free time to make our communities better places to live. Being a volunteer with Tidy Towns allows individuals to practice their passion for the good of their community, whether that passion concerns the built environment, landscaping, sustainable living, and local wildlife or organising a litter collection; there is a place for it in Tidy Towns,' he said. The county allocation has been broken down as follows but could vary from town to town once applications have been submitted by each group: Wicklow 3,000, Tinahely 2,000, Roundwood 1,000, Knockananna 1,000, Delgany 2,000, Avoca 1,000, Kiltegan 1,000, Enniskerry 2,000, Bray 4,000, Aughrim 2,000, Laragh & Glendalough 1,000, Greystones 4,000, Donard 1,000, Arklow 3,000, Newtownmountkennedy 2,000, Dunlavin 1,000, Blessington 2,000, Grangecon 1,000, Stratford-On-Slaney 1,000, Ashford 2,000, Glenealy 1,000, Shillelagh 1,000, Rathdrum 2,000, Newcastle 1,000, Carnew 2,000, Kilcoole 2,000, Rathdangan 1,000, Coolboy 1,000, Hollywood 1,000, Ballycoog 1,000. The Bray and District Soroptimist Club hosted their local final of their Public Speaking competition at the Esplanade Hotel recently. Bray Club President Anny Verwijs, welcomed students, parents and teachers representing Colaiste Chill Mhantain Wicklow Town, Colaiste Bhride Carnew, St. Gerard's School Bray, Rathdown School Glenageary and Holy Child Killiney. The finalists were Sophie O' Riordan who spoke on 'Democracy is it a myth or a reality?' - Niamh O'Toole on the 'empowerment of women' and Lina Kyne on 'Friendship and volunteering'. The Bray club will host the Regional Final in Bray during February 2018. Speaking at the event, Anny reminded students that the aim of the Soroptimist organisation in the community is 'encouraging the students to become part of the global organisation of Soroptimists - where women work advocating on a diverse range of projects to enable and empower others at home and abroad." The public speaking competition was first established in 1981; co- founded by Soroptimist President of Northern Ireland Marie Brownlee and former Bray club member and Soroptimist President of Republic of Ireland the late Mildred O'Brien. The competition over the years has rapidly become a lively event supported by young women who speak confidently on topics based on the ideals of Soroptimism - education, empowerment and enabling women and girls globally. Adjudicators on the night included speech and drama teacher Maeve Miller, Soroptimist member Clare Comerford and solicitor Caroline Fanning. The three adjudicators had the difficult but enjoyable task of selecting a winning speech. The content and preparation of presentations by the students was highly commended by the adjudicators on topics including topics such as Democracy, Empowering Women, Health/Mental health and Human Rights. A word of special thanks was given by public speaking convenor and Bray Soroptimist Pat McHugh to all the Club members who organised the event alongside Anne Cloney, Yvonne Mc Brinn and Jacinta Hastings - timekeepers on the night. To find out more about Soroptimists go to soroptimistireland.com. A West Wicklow nursing home team was honoured at the Nursing Homes Ireland Care Awards, in association with Homecare Medical Supplies. Sinead Beirne and the team from Dunlavin Nursing Home, Silverstream Healthcare, were finalists at the recent national awards ceremony. The local nursing home staff were one of three finalists within the Nursing Community Initiative award category. In excess of 400 representatives from the nursing home, older person care and health sectors attended the awards ceremony that was hosted by RTE presenter Marty Whelan. Tadhg Daly, Nursing Homes Ireland CEO, extended his congratulations to Sinead and the team for reaching the final of the national awards ceremony. 'Entries were received from across Ireland for outstanding staff who are excelling in providing care to our older persons. The standard of entry for this year's awards was exceptional. To reach the final of an award category was a fantastic achievement, and I congratulate our Sinead and the team from Dunlavin Nursing Home for achieving this. The staff and residents of Dunlavin Nursing Home, and the extended Dunlavi community, should be very proud of their accomplishment,' he said. A total of 27 finalists from counties and communities across Ireland went forward for nine award categories. They recognise nurses, carers, ancillary workers, activity coordinators, catering in nursing homes, innovation in dementia care, community initiative, and end of life care within the nursing home sector. Newtownmountkennedy Water tech company H2Ozone has raised 3m in new investment to help support the commercialisation of its unique technology for purifying water. The funds raised by the company will be used to increase its sales and marketing capabilities as it grows international sales of its units that purify water using filtration, ultra-violet (UV) light and ozone. Initially, the international sales focus will be on the UK, French, Dutch, Belgian and South African markets. H2Ozone Executive Chairman Paul O'Grady said: 'We see a global market opportunity for this technology, and we're very pleased to have raised the funds to embark on the next phase of the company's growth. 'Our product provides a chemically free and cost-effective way of purifying water from any source, and removes the threat of bacteria like cryptosporidium which is a global challenge and in recent months in Ireland has been shown by the EPA to have threatened the water supply of over 163,000 people.' Concerns over water quality after a recent Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) report could also open up opportunities for H20zone. E.Coli is present almost a third of Irish private wells, and in September the EPA identified water supplies serving more than 163,000 people required treatment to prevent cryptosporidium occurring in water. H2Ozone's patent protected technology removes the threat of bacteria and micro-organisms in water including E.Coli, Salmonella, Legionella, and Cryptosporidium, and can be used to treat water from any source, such as wells, rainwater or municipal supply.. The quality of the water produced has been verified by independent certification bodies including KIWA, ACS. The water standards exceed those required under European Drinking Water legislation and the solution is CE Regulated. The AgriSafe system from H2ozone is particularly tailored for livestock producers, delivering a controlled measure of ozonised water has resulted in significant improvements in mortality, yield, bio-security, feed conversion ratios and profitability across the poultry, piggery, beef and dairy sectors. H2Ozone Chief Executive Michael Delaney said: 'bacterial contamination and the increase of antibiotic resistance is of major concern in the agricultural sector. The ozonised water produced by our Agrisafe system means a significant reduction in the need for antibiotic intervention for livestock and improved weight gain delivering higher yields. 'The RainSafe system, which is designed for human use, will benefit businesses in the hospitality, medical, agricultural, food processing, security and pharmaceutical sectors can ensure the safety of their water supply 24/7 365 days per year.' Friends and colleagues past and present gathered in the Glenview Hotel recently to celebrate the retirement of Maria DeCourcy and Catherine Higgins from St Mary's College Arklow. Catherine and Maria retired from St Mary's in June but were delighted to be reunited with colleagues and retired staff for a night of celebration and nostalgia as they looked back on the wonderful careers of the two gifted teachers who gave so many years of service to St Mary's. Maria DeCourcy began her teaching career at St Mary's in 1979 and since then has inspired so many girls to follow her example and pursue Home Economics teaching as a career. Her colleagues described her as being 'a teacher of the highest standard and always kind, generous and supportive'. While Maria held various Posts of Responsibility, in more recent years she served as a Year Head and was regarded by her students as being fair and compassionate, always there to listen and pushing them to do their best. Catherine Higgins arrived in St Mary's in 1981 and took up her position as Business, Accounting and Maths teacher. She spent many happy years in those departments but also spent a few years in Zimbabwe, returning to teaching in 1991, a time of great curricular change, all of which Catherine embraced. She became a valuable member of the LCVP team when it was introduced to the school and also served as a Year Head for many years. Her colleagues valued her no-nonsense approach, her sincerity and her generosity and she was commended for bringing humour and her own particular brand of wisdom to whatever was going on in her departments. Both Maria and Catherine spoke warmly of their time in St Mary's paying particular tribute to the Mercy Sisters during their speeches after which they were presented with flowers and a gift from the staff who wished them both a long and very happy retirement. MUSCATINE A Muscatine County District Court judge will soon set at two-week time period where Southend residents can decide whether to accept a settlement agreement or rejoin a class action lawsuit against Grain Processing Corporation for its plant's emissions. After a class action lawsuit against GPC was certified by the Iowa Supreme Court, hundreds of Muscatine residents began filing individual lawsuits over harmful pollution at the Oregon Street plant. In September, lawyers, representing some of the residents, announced they reached a settlement agreement with GPC. The settlement is separate from the class action, which will go to trial next July. Meghan Markle does not shy away from a challenge. We know this because the 36-year-old actress has accepted roles in b-movies and game shows that would make a diva shudder. She is not the type to say no, preferring to roll up her sleeves and get stuck into whatever drama - real or fictional - comes her way. Like going out with Prince Harry (33), the free-spirit who previous girlfriends all failed to pin down. Now, Markle could be about to take on her biggest challenge yet - marrying into the royal family. Only a year and two months since Harry met Meghan, the whispers at St James's suggest an engagement is imminent. On Saturday night, she made a public appearance at the Invictus Games, joining Harry in Toronto (where she lives) at the Paralympic competition he founded three years ago. It was the biggest public milestone of their relationship so far, and although she sat several rows away from him at the opening ceremony, Meghan was watched over by one the prince's protection officers, a sure sign of her newfound status. She's already well acquainted with his circle of friends and is said to have met the Queen. The prince even released a statement, confirming they were a couple and asking the press to back off, a highly unusual step that suggested Meghan is no flash in the pan. Other factors hint that the Los Angeles native is soon to have official status. She has stopped promotional work and she has also turned down a contract to appear in the next series of Suits - the surprise hit legal drama which has made her acting career. But perhaps the most significant clue lies in the fact that Meghan has given up the lease on her car in Canada, a mundane yet concrete piece of evidence supporting rumours she is planning to spend more time in Britain as of November. So what can she expect of life as a royal other half? Here's our advice on how to survive a new life at the heart of The Firm... The clothes Keep it simple. Nobody likes a show-off, and as the newest member of the family, it's important not to upstage anyone further up the pecking order - like when Pippa's bottom became the talking point of William and Kate's wedding. You don't want to become famous for your assets. Much better to establish a reputation as a fun and fabulous embellishment to royal life - like Camilla, the Duchess of Cornwall - than as a pouting clothes horse (think Fergie circa 1985), or 'gap yah' type (think Chelsy Davy's fondness for dangly earrings and heavy beaded necklaces). Video of the Day And beware the curse of Jigsaw. Dress too drab and you'll be branded boring (Kate, circa 2008). Stick to a mix of designer British brands - Mulberry, Erdem, Preen and Hunter - and you should have all bases covered. How to behave Expand Close Britain's Prince William (R) Kate Duchess of Cambridge and Prince Harry leave after a service of thanksgiving for Queen Elizabeth's 90th birthday at St Paul's Cathedral / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Britain's Prince William (R) Kate Duchess of Cambridge and Prince Harry leave after a service of thanksgiving for Queen Elizabeth's 90th birthday at St Paul's Cathedral Nothing diffuses tension so well as a big flash of teeth - one thing the wistful-looking Cressida Bonas never mastered. Chatting is also important: study the Queen's use of prosaic opening lines, and borrow some banter from William and Harry - though not Prince Philip. Self-deprecation also goes down well, as does gentle teasing, and a thorough knowledge of a surprise niche subject, such as the B-roads of Gloucestershire, can be useful for small talk. Always keep your knees close together when getting in and out of anything (cars, helicopters, nightclubs). Past royal girlfriends, like Chelsy, have struggled to adjust to the attention that goes with being in a relationship with Prince Harry, but as a professional actress, you will cope. It's like being on the red carpet every day, without the bother of having to make a film. Meeting the family You will already have been taught how to curtsey - one foot in front of the other, a gentle bend of the knees. Other useful tips would include not volunteering an opinion unless you're asked; feigning a love of corgis and dogs in general - which should be no problem, since you have two of your own; avoiding passing comment on other members of the family, at least until after you're married; and pretending you love very cold places like Scotland and Norfolk, which, having spent seven years in Canada, you will have no problem in doing. To get on the right side of Prince Charles, it would be wise to express an interest in architecture, botany, painting and Aston Martins. A healthy appetite and thirst for heavy liquor will also stand you in good stead. Public appearances Expand Close Meghan Markle watches a Wheelchair Tennis match at the 2017 Invictus Games in Toronto, Canada / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Meghan Markle watches a Wheelchair Tennis match at the 2017 Invictus Games in Toronto, Canada This is a delicate line to tread - do too many and the other royals will hate you for showing them up; too few and you will be labelled workshy. The trick is to take up patronage of as many charities as possible, that do something in which you're genuinely interested. That way it won't seem quite so boring when you're faced with a dozen cold salmon lunches in one week. Keep careful tabs on your wardrobe to make sure you don't wear the same outfit too often, though it's important to show signs of thrift by reusing certain pieces in different combinations. Choose your haircut wisely, as it will be closely scrutinised. Where to shop You may think Harrods. This is wrong. As a rule, stick to solid British brands, like John Lewis, Barbour, Land Rover, Dyson, as nobody will complain if you spend thousands there. Keep tabs on your wardrobe to make sure you don't wear the same outfit too often, though it's important to show signs of thrift by reusing certain pieces. Beware of going too high or low end. Strike a balance between Scrooge and Marie Antoinette. Where to live Expand Close William and Kate / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp William and Kate This will be decided for you - Harry's current home is Nottingham Cottage, a detached two-bedroom house behind Kensington Palace. You may find it quite poky compared to the Californian-style bungalow you currently call home, but it's very private and handy for Kensington shops, plus there's a new Mahiki nightclub opening at the end of your drive any minute. There's also talk of Harry taking over Clarence House once Charles accedes to the throne, since he will be moving into Buckingham Palace, and William and Kate (above) don't want to leave Kensington Palace. That really would be a coup. Who knows, a four-storey John Nash mansion in the centre of London could make it all worth it. On his fifth cookery book: Donal Skehan and Max, by Sofie Larsson-Skehan Donal Skehan is celebrating two years of marriage to wife Sofie in typically sweet fashion. The tv chef (31) wed Sofie Larsson , from Sweden, in 2015 at Dublin's City Hall, and the couple are expecting their first child later this year. The loved-up pair marked their second wedding anniversary on Instagram with touching posts to one another. "Married 2 whole years ago today and still feels like the day we met 11 years ago- my best friend, wife and mama to be @sofieskehan," he wrote. Sofie, who works as her husband's business manager, simply shared a photo of them moments after becoming husband and wife. We need your consent to load this Social Media content We use a number of different Social Media outlets to manage extra content that can set cookies on your device and collect data about your activity. Please review their details and accept them to load the content. Manage Preference The pair have become more public in recent months and Donal is caucused on cracking the notoriously difficult American market after moving to Los Angeles last year. Weve done some amazing things in Ireland and now its time to do what we do to a wider audience. Weve a few friends and my uncle lives out there so it wont be too lonely," he said at the time. We need your consent to load this Social Media content We use a number of different Social Media outlets to manage extra content that can set cookies on your device and collect data about your activity. Please review their details and accept them to load the content. Manage Preference "We have a few exciting things in the pipeline and weve a new series with the Food Network in the works." Celebrity chef Donal Skehan and his wife Sofie have welcomed their first child into the world. The RTE star (31) announced the arrival of baby Skehan, a little boy, this morning. Sofie, originally from Gothenburg, Sweden, gave birth at a hospital in their adopted home of California. Expand Close Donal and Sofie Skehan / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Donal and Sofie Skehan "WELCOME TO THE WORLD LITTLE BABY BOY! What a whirlwind- @sofieskehan rocked it with Swedish Viking strength for a natural birth, 3 hours in the hospital! Im so proud and both so grateful," he wrote on social media. "Mommy and little guy doing great- totally chilled and ready for a whole new world of adventures! Just the most amazing experience- in awe of it all!" The couple have not announced the name of their new arrival yet. Donal and Sofie, his long-time business manager, wed in 2015. Earlier this year, he spoke about his excitement about becoming a first time fathre. "We always like to hold onto something just for ourselves. It's so lovely that there's such an interest in it, but we had such a time with it just being our news. Considering our world is about to be rocked, to have that time just with each other, was really important," Donal told the July issue of VIP Magazine. In the new interview from their adopted home of Los Angeles, Donal opened up about his plans for first-time fatherhood, saying he hopes to be "supportive and patient". "The one thing that myself and Sofie love doing is having family time together, so spending as much with family is going to be key. You can have all the best-laid plains though. I'm sure we'll be killing each other over lack of sleep," he added. "We have patterns of how we deal with things and when I travel, Sofie has loads of free time and vice versa. I think that's the thing we are both most nervous and excited about, just how different our lives are going to be. We're enjoying our time together now as we know there's a storm a-coming!" Scarlett Johansson attends the "Ghost In The Shell" premiere hosted by Paramount Pictures & DreamWorks Pictures at AMC Lincoln Square Theater on March 29, 2017 in New York City. (Photo by Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images) Romain Dauriac (L) and actress Scarlett Johansson attend Tom Ford Autumn/Winter 2015 Womenswear Collection Presentation at Milk Studios on February 20, 2015 in Hollywood, California. (Photo by Frederick M. Brown/Getty Images) Actress Scarlett Johansson and Romain Dauriac attend the 'Under The Skin' Premiere during the 70th Venice International Film Festival at Palazzo del Cinema on September 3, 2013 in Venice, Italy. (Photo by Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images) Actors Romain Dauriac (L) and Scarlett Johansson attend the 87th Annual Academy Awards at Hollywood & Highland Center on February 22, 2015 in Hollywood, California. (Photo by Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images) Actor Scarlett Johansson attends the 89th Annual Academy Awards at Hollywood & Highland Center on February 26, 2017 in Hollywood, California. (Photo by Frazer Harrison/Getty Images) Actor Scarlett Johansson attends the 89th Annual Academy Awards at Hollywood & Highland Center on February 26, 2017 in Hollywood, California. (Photo by Frazer Harrison/Getty Images) Scarlett Johansson attends the "Ghost In The Shell" premiere hosted by Paramount Pictures & DreamWorks Pictures at AMC Lincoln Square Theater on March 29, 2017 in New York City. (Photo by Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images) Scarlett Johansson attends the "Ghost In The Shell" premiere hosted by Paramount Pictures & DreamWorks Pictures at AMC Lincoln Square Theater on March 29, 2017 in New York City. (Photo by Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images) Scarlett Johansson might be in the middle of a a very public divorce, but it's back to business as she promotes her latest film Ghost in the Shell. The 32-year-old actress announced her split with French journalist Romain Dauriac in January after two years of marriage and while the last few weeks has been filled with mud-slinging between the two, she was all smiles on the red carpet on Wednesday night. It was another daring outfit for the mother-of-one, who opted for a slinky rainbow dress. Scarlett will have a jam-packed schedule over the coming weeks as she promotes her latest action flick, with her work reportedly becoming a bone of contention between the former couple, especially now that they're gearing up for a custody battle over their daughter Rose (three). Expand Close Scarlett Johansson. (Photo by Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images) / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Scarlett Johansson. (Photo by Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images) Romain's lawyer Harold Mayerson said in a statement he will be petitioning for custody to live in France. "He [Romain] believes that her schedule makes it impossible for her [Scarlett] to have physical custody unless she intends to have her children raised by nannies and helpers," the lawyer said in a statement. The actress has remained tight-lipped on her plans for custody, but recently said she's "very thankful" to come home to her a daughter at the end of a long day. "You have to leave all that work stuff behind and be able to present with your kid. I am very thankful thats my reality at the end of the day," she told E! News. Expand Close Scarlett Johansson and Romain Dauriac attend the Yummy Pop Grand Opening Party at Theatre du Gymnase on December 16, 2016 in Paris, France. (Photo by Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images for Yummy Pop) / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Scarlett Johansson and Romain Dauriac attend the Yummy Pop Grand Opening Party at Theatre du Gymnase on December 16, 2016 in Paris, France. (Photo by Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images for Yummy Pop) When asked if she had any plans for a new relationship, she said: "I'm on guard because I have a young daughter. That's something I'm more concerned about." A US police force in a suburban town in Utah is attempting to thwart parcel thefts over the festive period with what appears to be a foolproof solution: allowing residents to use the stations address for deliveries. The Woods Cross Police Department near Salt Lake City is operating what it calls the Santa Squad programme, where police will secure packages for safe collection, throughout December. Packages sent to the department are directed to the Santa Squad and can later be picked up by the residents with matching IDs. Woods Cross Citizens. In an effort to make your Christmas safer and more enjoyable we are offering for the month of Dec Posted by Woods Cross PD on Wednesday, November 29, 2017 Police chief Greg Butler told KUTV-TV that package thefts can be difficult to solve, so the department decided to take a different approach. Officers can deliver packages to residents who are elderly or have special needs. For those sneakily looking to fake their identity to steal packages, Butler said it wont work. He said: I would be very surprised if somebody tried to pull a fast one on the police department and tried to get a package here that wasnt for them. Pope Francis used the word "Rohingya" during an emotional meeting with refugees in Bangladesh yesterday, having studiously avoided the term on his earlier visit to Myanmar. "The presence of God today is also called Rohingya," the pontiff said after meeting 16 Rohingya people who had been forced to flee their homes in Myanmar and cross into neighbouring Bangladesh. "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," he said, grasping their hands and listening to their stories. He listened intently as each member of the group, which included 12 men and four women, including two young girls, told him what they had been through. "Maybe we can't do much for you, but your tragedy has a place in our hearts," said the Pope, who is on the second leg of a six-day, two-nation tour of Asia. Among the refugees was Shawkat Ara, a 12-year-old Rohingya orphan who broke down in tears shortly after the Pope spoke to her. "My parents were killed. I don't have any joy," she said, recounting how she had lost her entire family in an attack by the military in Myanmar. More than 620,000 Rohingya have been forced to flee since August in what the UN and human rights groups say is a deliberate policy of ethnic cleansing by the Myanmar military. The ethnic minority have told of villages being burned down, and people murdered and women raped by the Myanmar military and Buddhist mobs. The presence of the Rohingya in Myanmar is a highly sensitive and polarising issue, with the ethnic minority claiming they have lived there for centuries but the Yangon government insisting they are illegal immigrants from Bangladesh and referring to them as "Bengalis". The Pope's decision to specifically refer to the Rohingya, rather than talk broadly about the need to respect human rights, was welcomed by activists. "I'm glad he used the word, it's encouraging," Tun Khin, the head of the Burmese Rohingya Association UK, told reporters yesterday. "But it's sad the debate is reduced to talking about who said the word or not. The point is the Rohingya are facing genocide in Burma, and the question should be how the international community can put a stop to it. "The UN Security Council must adopt stronger resolutions. We need targeted sanctions against the perpetrators, and UN peacekeepers to provide safety and security, and those responsible must be brought before the international criminal court." Earlier, the Pope led a giant Mass in Dhaka attended by around 100,000 Bangladeshi Catholics. ( Daily Telegraph, London) Police at the Christmas market in the German city of Potsdam, near Berlin, yesterday. Photo: Reuters/Fabrizio Bensch German police evacuated a popular Christmas market in the city of Potsdam yesterday before destroying a suspicious package containing nails and an unidentified powder in a controlled explosion, officials said. There were no injuries reported in the evacuation or demolition of the device, and police said it was too early to speculate who may have been behind the package. Police were alerted at about 2.30pm local time after the package was delivered to a pharmacy on the same street as the Christmas market, and suspicious wires and other items were found inside, police spokesman Peter Meyritz told the 'Potsdamer Neueste Nachrichten' newspaper. Mr Meyritz said the package measured about 40cm by 50cm and was apparently delivered by a messenger service. The Christmas market was evacuated to allow explosives experts to secure the device and destroy it in place outside the pharmacy in Potsdam, the capital of the state of Brandenburg, just outside of Berlin. Residents of the street were told to stay in the rear area of their homes while the procedure was carried out. The package contained nails and a powder, but experts were still trying to determine whether it was real or a hoax, Brandenburg Interior Minister Karl-Heinz Schroeter said. "If it was really explosive or if it was a fake or a dummy, we will only know through further investigation," he said. He added that if it turned out that there were explosives in the package, "the next question is whether it was live or not". Christmas markets are extremely popular in Germany and have increased security this year following the deadly truck attack at a market in downtown Berlin last year. In that case, a Tunisian man hijacked a truck and drove it into a crowded market, killing 12 people. Police use a water cannon to clear a street that is blocked by demonstrators (AP) Members of a rising nationalist party in Germany have elected their leadership 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-chairman. The position Mr 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 Mr Meuthen and Mr Gauland belong to the more conservative wing of the nationalist party. Alternative for Germany received almost 13% of the vote in the September 24 federal election, making it the third strongest party in the Bundestag. The party promoted an anti-immigrant message and campaigned aggressively against Chancellor Angela Merkel. The vote for Mr 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 run-off did not produce a clear majority for either candidate, both withdrew and Mr Gauland then ran alone for the co-chairman post. The convention got off to a rocky start on 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 while 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. AP Register for more free articles. Sign up for our newsletter to keep reading. Get Government & Politics updates in your inbox! Stay up-to-date on the latest in local and national government and political topics with our newsletter. Sign up! Already a Subscriber? Already a Subscriber? Sign in Terms of Service Privacy Policy An Irish woman is among a team of advocates helping ex-pats jailed in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Emma Lynch, who is based in Ireland, works alongside Radha Stirling. the CEO of Detained in Dubai, a group which helps people who find themselves in legal trouble in the UAE. Ms Lynch met Ms Stirling seven years ago on holiday in Spain. She said they began talking about work and realised they had a lot in common. At the time Emma was a case manager for an organisation called Empowerment Plus that works in the field of child protection. Expand Close Prison: Jamie Harron / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Prison: Jamie Harron However, after she completed her post there, Radha got in touch to bring her on board as a Client Negotiations Manager at Detained in Dubai. I am just delighted to be involved with such a positive organisation, seeking justice for people wrongfully detained abroad," Emma said. With clients all over the world, their roles involve a lot of travel as people who have left the UAE are pursued for payments. "Many small debts or credit card balances become much larger after fees and charges are added on. A 5,000 debt can become a 500,000 debt and many judgements occur in absentia after a person has returned to their own country," Emma tells Independent.ie. Recently the group helped free Scottish man Jamie Harron who was arrested in July over an incident in which he claimed he put his hand on a man's hip to avoid spilling a drink in a crowded bar. He was sentenced to three months in jail last month. His case was later dismissed and he was freed with the help of Detained in Dubai. Ms Stirling started the organisation after leading a successful media campaign to have a colleague freed in Dubai. The group, first founded over a decade ago, has also helped dozens of Irish people. Most recently, an Irish man ended up on the Interpol Red List for fraud due to an outstanding credit card debt of 20,000. Expand Close Radha Stirling and Emma Lynch of Detained in Dubai / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Radha Stirling and Emma Lynch of Detained in Dubai "Three months ago we helped an Irish man who managed to leave the UAE before his bank was notified of the termination of his employment, Ms Stirling said. He went back to Ireland and the bank actually put him on the Interpol database for fraud. It was around 20,000 but it meant that he could be arrested and detained in any country he travelled to. We had to apply to Interpol to get the Red Notice removed. He was very relieved. "The system in the UAE regarding debt leads to big difficulties for many ex-pats. "Bounced cheques are a really common problem," she said. "If you sign a cheque and it bounces you are going to be jailed automatically. There is no right of appeal, there is no investigation into the reasons the cheque might have bounced. In the UAE it is extremely common to issue a cheque as security for a tenancy agreement or when you take out a loan or a credit card with a bank. "Let's say you take out a credit card for 20,000. At the same time you issue them a cheque for the same amount and that in effect is a prison sentence because if at any time you can't make that monthly payment on your credit card they will present the cheque, which will of course bounce and you'll be jailed." Currently, the Irish Department of Foreign Affairs' travel advice for the UAE warns about the consequences of having unpaid debts. It states on its website under the section 'Local laws and customs': "Financial crimes, including fraud, bouncing cheques and the non-payment of bills, is regarded very seriously in the UAE and can often result in imprisonment and/or a fine. Non-residents of the UAE who are arrested for crimes involving fraud do not generally get bail. Convicted debtors will not usually be released from jail until the debt is paid or waived. "Several Irish citizens have received custodial sentences as a result of non-payment of outstanding debts." Rules around alcohol consumption can also pose issues for people in the UAE, according to Stirling. Expand Close Radha Stirling / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Radha Stirling Despite many tourists drinking in hotel bars tourists who go to the UAE are officially not allowed to drink alcohol at all. To drink you need to get a licence and tourists are not eligible for that licence. "Dubai markets itself as the Las Vegas of the Middle East but the laws don't back it up," she said. "If you go to the UAE and you drink in a hotel and someone points a finger at you and says he drank too much the police will come and arrest, charge and convict you of consumption of alcohol without a licence. "Officially you are not allowed to hold hands in public, or kiss someone hello in public, but you will see it all the time so you will think it is okay, but if someone does decide to point a finger at you then you can get into trouble." When asked what advice she would give to an Irish person heading off to work in the UAE, Stirling said: "To be aware that they are at risk of false accusations and any cheques that they write, even a security cheque, can be used against them and they can be jailed for that." More information on the group cane be found at detainedindubai.org Michael Flynn is accused of "wilfully and knowingly" making false statements to the FBI while serving in the Trump administration (AP) Donald Trump has changed his story on why he fired Michael Flynn as his national security adviser. The US president has now suggested he knew at the time of the sacking that Flynn had lied to the FBI as well as to Vice President Mike Pence about his contacts with Russians during the presidential transition. That was a turnabout from his initial explanations that Flynn had to go because he had not been straight with Mr Pence about those contacts. Lying to the FBI is a crime, and one that Flynn acknowledged on Friday in pleading guilty and agreeing to cooperate with the special counsel's Russia investigation. Mr Trump tweeted: "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!" It is unclear why Mr Trump would cite lying to the FBI as a reason for firing Flynn. Doing so suggests the president knew at the time that Flynn had done something that is against the law, and therefore the investigation could not be as frivolous as he has been portraying. It is also unclear how he would know that, if information about Russian contacts had not reached him, as he has been implying in his own defence. Flynn left the White House in February, only acknowledging that he had given an incomplete account to Mr Pence of his conversations with Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak. After Mr Trump forced Flynn out, he asked FBI Director James Comey to end the bureau's probe into the matter, according to Mr Comey's account. Mr Comey refused, and Mr Trump fired him too. Mr Trump has been publicly dismissive of Mr Comey and of special counsel Robert Mueller's continuing investigation, and was often generous in his appraisal of Flynn, except to say his adviser could not stay in the job after misleading his vice president. At the time, Mr Pence said Mr Trump was justified in firing Flynn because he had lied to him. Neither Mr Trump nor Mr Pence indicated concern then that the FBI had not been told the true story. Mr Pence, who served as head of Mr Trump's transition, has not publicly commented on Flynn's plea. White House officials did not respond to questions on Saturday about Mr Trump's altered explanation as to why he fired Flynn. AP It is a command that led the leading atheist Richard Dawkins to claim that the God of the Old Testament was a vindictive, bloodthirsty ethnic cleanser a genocidal megalomaniacal, sadomasochistic, capriciously malevolent bully. For God had ordered the Israelites to slaughter the apparently sinful Canaanites, saying: You shall not leave alive anything that breathes. But you shall utterly destroy them. And, according to the Bible, they did just that. However, a new genetic study has found that the Canaanites actually managed to survive this purge of their traditional homeland, passing on their DNA over the centuries to their numerous descendants in modern-day Lebanon. Scientists managed to extract enough DNA from the remains of five people found in the former Canaanite city state of Sidon and dated to about 3,700 years ago to sequence their entire genome. They then compared this to 99 modern Lebanese people and discovered they had inherited about 90 per cent of their genetic ancestry from their ancient forebears. A paper about the study in the American Journal of Human Genetics said that there had been uncertainties about the fate of the Canaanites. The Bible reports the destruction of the Canaanite cities and the annihilation of its people; if true, the Canaanites could not have directly contributed genetically to present-day populations, the researchers wrote. However, no archaeological evidence has so far been found to support widespread destruction of Canaanite cities between the Bronze and Iron Ages: cities on the Levant coast such as Sidon and Tyre show continuity of occupation until the present day. We show that present-day Lebanese derive most of their ancestry from a Canaanite-related population, which therefore implies substantial genetic continuity in the Levant since at least the Bronze Age. The degree of genetic closeness between the ancient Canaanites and modern Lebanese people was something of a surprise as the area was repeatedly fought over and conquered by various different groups throughout history, although some of them did leave genetic traces that survive to this day. One of the researchers, Dr Marc Haber, of The Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute, said: "The present-day Lebanese are likely to be direct descendants of the Canaanites, but they have in addition a small proportion of Eurasian ancestry that may have arrived via conquests by distant populations such as the Assyrians, Persians, or Macedonians. He added that it had been a pleasant surprise to be able to extract and analyse DNA from human remains that were nearly 4,000 years old, particularly as they were found in a hot environment. The Canaanites are roundly condemned in the Old Testament they were the inhabitants of Sodom and Gomorrah, two cities destroyed with fire and brimstone directly by God, according to the Book of Genesis. While the Bible says they were wiped out by the Israelites under Joshua in the land of Canaan, later passages suggest there were at least a few survivors. Some Biblical scholars have argued the passages are hyperbole, but the genetic research would appear to indicate the slaughter was much less extensive than described. Also known as the Phoenicians, the Canaanites proved to be great seafaring traders and established colonies across the Mediterranean. They are also credited with inventing the first alphabet, although ironically few written records have survived the passage of time, so accounts describing them largely come from enemies and rivals, such as the Israelites, Egyptians and Greeks. The researchers said they hoped genetic techniques could help shed more light on the regions history. Dr Claude Doumet-Serhal, a co-author of the paper and director of the Sidon excavation site in Lebanon, said: For the first time we have genetic evidence for substantial continuity in the region, from the Bronze Age Canaanite population through to the present day. These results agree with the continuity seen by archaeologists. Collaborations between archaeologists and geneticists greatly enrich both fields of study and can answer questions about ancestry in ways that experts in neither field can answer alone. Donald Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner is the "very senior transition official" referred to in court papers filed in the case of Michael Flynn who has pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI, sources said. According to court papers filed on Friday, the "very senior transition official" directed former national security adviser Flynn to contact foreign governments, including Russia, about a UN resolution regarding Israeli settlements. Flynn agreed to co-operate with special counsel Robert Mueller's probe, which focuses on Russian meddling in the 2016 election and possible co-ordination between Moscow and Mr Trump's campaign aimed at sending the Republican businessman to the White House He told investigators a senior member of the president's transition team directed him to make contact with Russian officials in December 2016. Flynn was an early and vocal Trump supporter on the campaign trail and was present for big moments in the campaign, the following transition period and the early days of Mr 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 Mr Mueller's investigation. Expand Close Former Trump national security adviser Michael Flynn leaves federal court in Washington / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Former Trump national security adviser Michael Flynn leaves federal court in Washington Read More Flynn admitted to lying about his conversations with Russia's ambassador to the US during the transition period before Mr Trump's inauguration. In a statement, the retired Army lieutenant general accepted responsibility for his actions and added: "My guilty plea and agreement to co-operate with the Special Counsel's Office reflect a decision I made in the best interests of my family and of our country." Former deputy national security adviser KT McFarland is another unnamed senior official referred to in the court papers filed in the case, sources said. She was involved in a discussion with Flynn about what he would say to Russian government officials in response to US sanctions imposed on Russia last year. That is according to two former officials on Mr Trump's transition team who spoke on condition of anonymity. Papers filed by Mr Mueller show Flynn contacted McFarland on December 29 2016 to discuss what, if anything, he would communicate to the Russians about the sanctions. Flynn admitted on Friday to lying to the FBI about the contents of that conversation. McFarland is awaiting Senate confirmation as ambassador to Singapore. WashIngton, Dec 2 (IBNS): A new NASA sea level simulator lets you bury Alaskas Columbia glacier in snow, and, year by year, watch how it responds. Or you can melt the Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets and trace rising seas as they inundate the Florida coast. Computer models are critical tools for understanding the future of a changing planet, including melting ice, rising seas and shifting precipitation patterns. But typically, these mathematical representations -- long chains of computer code giving rise to images of dynamic change -- are accessible mainly to scientists. The new simulator, however, allows anyone with a computer to perform idealized experiments with sea level and learn about its complexities. Developed by scientists at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, the interactive platform, called the Virtual Earth System Laboratory (VESL), provides the public with a taste of how NASA models important Earth processes. The platform will also prove useful to scientists as a convenient way to create visual representations of data. While many interface tools are available to explore sea level effects, VESL stands apart for its strong representation of Earths cryosphere the melting ice caps, ice sheets and glaciers that are major contributors to sea level rise. And the simulator is not just a simplified version of a model or a menu of preexisting results. It is direct access to the complex, number-crunching model itself, though with limited scenarios and factors that can be adjusted. Its the real software, being used on the fly, live, without being prerecorded or precomputed, said Eric Larour of JPL, who led VESLs development. You have access to a segment of an ice sheet model or sea level model, running NASAs software. Despite these capabilities, VESL wont overtax computers. A key to making the interface tool work is cloud computing, Larour said. Instead of burdening your own computer with heavy demand, you can access a JPL cloud to run big simulations. The VESL platform allows the user to control one or two parameters for each model scenario. For example, in a version of the model configured to represent Columbia Glacier, a slider allows users to change snowfall amounts and examine how the change affects the glaciers behavior in subsequent years. For a sea level simulation, sliders control the rates at which the ice sheets on Antarctica and Greenland are melting. You can explore different aspects of the model that maybe even the scientists didnt explore, Larour said. The site will be updated frequently to keep up with the latest, peer-reviewed research. Scientists will eventually be able to use the graphical interface to display and present new data sets or model results, while lay users will be able to replicate published research results for themselves using models that are open source, or publicly available. As we make progress, [the public] can rerun the science that we actually do, Larour said. If anybody has concerns or finds issues with our simulation, they have the ability to replicate our results. We would welcome feedback and inputs to improve our science. VESL was developed over five years by members of the Ice Sheet System Model development team at JPL and the University of California, Irvine (UCI), with the help of several students, including Dan Cheng from UCI and Gilberto Perez, who attended both Cal Poly Pomona and UCI. The website hosting the simulator will also include a public outreach section, being developed by Daria Halkides, a scientist and outreach exhibit developer of Earth & Space Research in Seattle and a JPL affiliate. VESL was initially intended for scientists, Larour said. Then we realized it could also be an excellent tool for public outreach. These simulations are so easy to run, and visually so compelling, that any person from the public can go and run them and probably understand what is going on. Image Credits: NASA/JPL-Caltech New Delhi, Dec 2 (IBNS): After meeting Prime Minister Narendra Modi, former US President Barack Obama met Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi at the national capital on Friday. Gandhi took to Twitter to say that the two "had a fruitful chat", though not revealing much about their topic of discussion. "Had a fruitful chat with President @BarackObama Great to meet him again.," Gandhi tweeted. Had a fruitful chat with President @BarackObama Great to meet him again. pic.twitter.com/LCJKGBg0Qr Office of RG (@OfficeOfRG) December 1, 2017 Prime Minister Narendra Modi met the former US President on Friday and called the experience as 'pleasurable'. The two leaders had earlier met several times during Obama's tenure as the President. Obama last visited India in 2015. Stressing on tolerance and unity, former US President Barack Obama on Friday said India should nurture its large Muslim population that thinks of itself as Indian. Speaking at the 15th edition of the Hindustan Times Leadership Summit in New Delhi, Obama also warned against the distinction between us and them is dangerous and can wreak havoc on us all. For a country like India where there is a Muslim population that is successful, integrated and considers itself as Indian, which is not the case in some other countries, this should be nourished and cultivated, he said. Obama drew focus on the issue of religious polarisation in communities across India and said : Politicians tend to be a reflection of the forces in the society If communities across India are saying they wont fall prey to division, then it will strengthen the hand of politicians who feel that way. Talking about multiculturalism, the former Prsesident said this is a common bond between the US and India. I think his (Modis) impulses are to recognise the Indian unity. I think he firmly believes unity is necessary for the progress of the nation. Image: twitter.com/OfficeOfRG New Delhi, Dec 2 (IBNS): A case has been registered against Max Hospital, that declared a living baby dead, over medical negligence, media reports said. The case has been registered under section 308 of Indian Penal Code (IPC). Parents, who were handed over 'dead' twins by Max hospital in Delhi in plastic bags, found one of the two babies still breathing when the family were on the way to the burial ground. The hospital had reportedly handed over the twins, wrapped in plastic bags, to the parents through the backdoor. Later, when the parents were heading towards the burial ground, found one of the bags to have slight movement. After ripping off the wrapper, the parents found the baby to be still alive. They had rushed to Max hospital where the child is presently on ventilator. Max Healthcare said the doctor responsible for the action has been sent on leave. A protest had broken out in the hospital following the incident. The incident has been termed as "heartbreaking" by Union Health Minister JP Nadda. Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal tweeted to say: "Enquiry ordered. Strongest action wud be taken if found guilty." Enquiry ordered. Strongest action wud be taken if found guilty https://t.co/prSLonNlkJ Arvind Kejriwal (@ArvindKejriwal) December 1, 2017 Image: Creative Commons New Delhi, Dec 2 (IBNS): A day after the Bharatiya Janata party (BJP) won a majority in the civic polls in the state, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath met Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the national capital on Saturday. Giving a boost to the BJP ahead of the Gujarat polls, the ruling party clinched 14 mayoral seats in the Uttar Pradesh civic polls on Friday. The mayoral candidates of the BJP won seats in Varanasi, Gorakhpur, Ghaziabad, Bareilly, Agra, Firozabad, Ayodhya, Mathura, Lucknow, Kanpur, Saharanpur Jhansi and Bareilly, and Moradabad. The civic polls in the state were held in three phases. This was a major test for UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and his government. The civic poll was seen as a test for Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, who assumed the portfolio in March this year, and the election was his first biggest assignment as the CM. While Adityanath held a large number of rallies, SP chief Akhilesh Yadav and BSP supremo Mayawati were missed during the campaigns of their respective parties. In 2012, the BJP had bagged 10 out of the 12 mayoral seats in the state. In 2017 state poll, the BJP had crushed Akhilesh's dream to become the CM for the second time by winning 325 out of 403 seats. Image: twitter.com/PMOIndia Patna, Dec 2 (TheBiharPost/IBNS): A 10-year-old boy was killed just because his cow had strayed into the field of a villager in Bihar. The horrible incident took place at Sisia village under Korha police station of Katihar district on Saturday. According to a report in the local media, Mohammad Ali was grazing his cow when it strayed into the farmland of a local villager Prithavi Chand Singh, leading to a verbal altercation. The altercation turned violent when the accused beat up the boy badly. He was rushed to the local hospital where he succumbed to his injuries. The accused was also injured in the attack by the victims family. He too has been admitted to the local hospital. The police are investigating the case. thebiharpost.com New Delhi, Dec 2 (IBNS): Chief Secretary of Jammu & Kashmir B B Vyas called on Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) of the Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region (DoNER), MoS PMO, Personnel, Public Grievances & Pensions, Atomic Energy and Space, Dr Jitendra Singh here today and briefed him about the status of various development projects going on in the State. Referring to the Prime Minister's Development Package, Vyas informed Dr Jitendra Singh that the utilization of funds was in progress and in recent months, it had been further expedited. He also gave a brief about the implementation of the other Central Government schemes of public welfare initiated by the Central Government. Chief Secretary also updated Dr Jitendra Singh about the progress made in the power sector and the current status of Deen Dayal Gram Jyoti Yojana (DDGJY). Dr Jitendra Singh expressed satisfaction over the decks having been cleared as far as Shahpur Kandi Project is concerned and said, this will be a game - changer for the entire region, thus bringing about revolutionary transformation not only in agriculture and irrigation sector but also in the power sector. The Chief Secretary informed the Minister that there were no more issues pending as far as Shahpur Kandi Project is concerned. UJH Multi Purpose Project in the region of Kathua is also in the final stages, he informed. Dr Jitendra Singh referred to a joint meeting convened by him of the three top Army Generals namely Lt Gen Suresh Sharma, Engineer-in-Chief, Lt Gen Shrivastava, DG BRO and Lt Gen Bhatt, DGMO with regard to the Chattergala tunnel which, when ready, will offer an all - weather alternative road connectivity between Lakhanpur via Bani upto Doda, Bhardawah. He said, since the tunnel involved a huge budget as well as construction through a difficult terrain, it is not going to be an easy task but the great achievement is that it has been included in the approved list of works to be taken up by BRO. He suggested to the Chief Secretary to follow it up with the concerned authorities so that it might be included in the priority list and expedited. The Chief Secretary also informed Dr Jitendra Singh that the State Government is ready to fully cooperate in setting up of North Indias first ever Bio-Tech Park in Kathua through Department of Bio-Technology, Government of India and the setting up of Radio Station at Udhampur by Prasar Bharti, Govt of India. It was also discussed that an MoU will be signed soon between the Defence authorities and the State Government to enable acquisition of extra land for upgradation of the Air strip at Kishtwar. This will create the option of landing of civilian and State Aircrafts in Kishtwar, he said. Surat, Dec 2 (IBNS): Former Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Saturday said the objectives of demonetisation have not been met by the government and the move has converted black money to white. He said the poor people of the country have suffered due to the move. "None of the objectives of demonetisation including curbing counterfeit money, rooting out black money have been met. On the other hand it converted black money to white while poor suffered," Congress tweeted quoting Singh. "Demonetisation cost us 1.5 lakh crore in economy. GDP growth rate in 1st quarter fell to 5.7%. Even if the growth reaches to 6.7% in 2017-18, it is still less than UPA's 10 year average of 10.6%," he said. Speaking on China, Singh, who served as the PM from 2004 to 2014, said: "China is benefiting from this blow to Indian Economy. In the first half of 2016-17, India's imports from China have gone up unprecedented." Singh made the remarks while addressing professionals and businessmen in Surat. The Centre had banned old Rs 500 and Rs. 1000 currency notes in Novemeber 2016. Kolkata, Dec 2 (IBNS): Two teachers of Kolkata's GD Birla school, who are accused of sexualy assaulting a four-year-old girl student of the same school, were produced in a local court at Alipore on Saturday and they were sent to two-day police remand, reports said. After hour-long interrogation at Jadavpur Police Station, two physical education teachers of south Kolkata's GD Brila school, Avishek Roy and Md. Mafizuddin, were arrested on Friday night for their alleged role in sexualy abusing a lower nursery student inside the school premise. According to police reports, they have been charged under sections 4 and 6 of POCSO Act. "The duo was produced before a special vacational court on Saturday and they were sent to police custody for two days," a police official told IBNS. "The accused will be produced before a POCSO court at Alipore on Monday," the officer added. Meanwhile, the three-member-committee, which was formed by the state education department on Friday to look into the matter, submitted its primary report before the government on Saturday, officials said. "It's clearly mentioned in the report that the school does not have proper infrastructure and adequate security arrangements," a source in the state education board told IBNS. The Kolkata Police on Friday evening arrested two teachers of city's GD Birla school for allegedly sexually assaulting a four-year-old girl student inside the school premise, officials said. A senior official of city police told IBNS that the victim child had identified the accused. The four-year-old student of GD Birla school's lower nursery section has been released from SSKM hospital on Friday evening. The incident occurred at the school named GD Birla Centre for Education, located in Ranikuthi, in the southern part of the city. The parents have alleged that the child returned home crying and with blood stains on her dress; later the mother also found her bleeding from her private parts. The child was allegedly abused inside a school toilet, media reported. Reportedly, the child has identified a physical education teacher of the school -- from a photo -- as the one who assaulted her. (Reporting by Deepayan Sinha) Srinagar, Dec 2 (IBNS): Suspected terrorists on Saturday evening opened fire on a apple trader and injured him seriously in Shopian district of south Kashmir. According to police, 30-year-old Mukhtar Ahmad Bhat resident of Keegam village in Shopian was injured after suspected terrorists fired at him near his home. Police further said Mukhtar, who is apple trader by profession, received multiple bullet injuries in both legs. He was shifted to a hospital where from he was referred to Srinagar for specialized treatment. Earlier, terrorists hurled grenade on Police Station Baramulla in North Kashmir which explodes outside the station. However no one was injured in the attack. (Reporting by Saleem Qadri, Image: Internet Wallpaper) Tehran, Dec 2 (IBNS): External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj on Saturday met Iran Foreign Minister Javad Zarif during her visit to Iran as she is returning from Sochi after attending the SCO Summit. Zarif hosted a luncheon meeting where both sides discussed the various aspects of India-Iran relations and ways to strengthen it. Both sides positively reviewed the initiatives undertaken since the visit of Indian 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 H.E.Mr Hassan Rouhani on Sunday in the presence of Ministers from India, Afghanistan and the region. Both Ministers also exchanged views on regional and global developments of mutual interest. New York, Dec 2(Just Earth News): Changes in traditional media and growing use of social media are offering new avenues for migrant-led media and journalism as well as a unique opportunity for migrants to highlight their concerns and contributions in their own words the United Nations International Organization for Migration (IOM) has said. Ranging from films and newspapers to tweets, [media] coverage may have portrayed migration in one way or another, or simply raised it as a topical issue, said the UN agency in the latest edition of its flagship report, the World Migration Report. "Migration coverage is not only positive or negative, but also presents a variety of different issues, narratives and viewpoints [] identifying how matters are framed is important because [] media frames affect how people think about migration, it added. In the report, IOM argues that while much research evidence, around the world, points to media associating migrants with bad news, such negativity is not necessarily unique to migration coverage, as journalists generally tend to emphasize problems across most topics. However, there has been movement towards more positive or at least more neutral coverage of migration issues across several destination and origin countries that does not seem to be attributable to any particular event, it notes. At the same time, rapid multiplication and diversification of social and online media brings potential for good but also pitfalls in particular, fake news. Citing examples from numerous country, IOM expresses that such news items likely represent only the tip of the fake news iceberg. Social media make it easy to approach specific audiences with political messages and materials, in ways that can be hard to detect and scrutinize. Such microtargeting of persuadable audiences, identified and contacted through their social media activity, is a growing phenomenon, it warns. Moving ahead, the UN agency has urged the need for more research into the role of media in transit and origin countries and particularly migrants own use of, and preferences for, different types of media. This is especially important for understanding how and to what extent information sources shape perceptions, it says, stressing that greater evidence on whether and how different types of messages and emotions shape public perceptions and policy activity on mobility would be valuable both within and beyond the world of research. IOM also calls for more attention to different media systems and how they may or may not produce different kinds of content regarding migration, highlighting that the presence of highly differentiated experiences around the world suggests that greater levels of public debate about the appropriate role of media in specific contexts will move forward the conversations already happening in policy, civil society and research. Questions such as these will be debated differently across varied local, national and international contexts, reads the report. As a result, both producers and consumers of research should recognize that there is no single, universal way to sum up the role of the media, or to change media coverage of migration. The 2018 World Migration Report, the ninth in the series and the first since IOM became a UN agency, also focuses on themes such as transnational connectivity and violent extremism and social exclusion. It was launched Thursday at the IOMs 108th Council meeting, in Geneva. Photo: IOM 2016/Amanda Nero Source: www.justearthnews.com In 1981, when a high rate of a rare cancer was first reported among gay men, nobody knew what was causing it. Researchers initially called the syndrome GRID, or gay-related immune deficiency. It would be another three years before the virus was identified and eventually called HIV. Not long after the discovery, Eric lost someone close to him from AIDS his boyfriend Scott Bernard. He was definitely my soulmate, the 63-year-old who hails from upstate New York said with a smile, while looking at old photographs. The smile, however, would quickly fade as he began relaying their experiences of discrimination. Scott was very sick at that time. He had no hair, looks like a skeleton, and covered with these purple colored lesions, Eric recalled. The stigma associated with AIDS was palpable. Once, the couple went to a restaurant. Scott was drinking some water from a glass when a waitress came over to their table. Instead of taking their order, she took Scotts glass of water and wiped all of the silverware into the garbage can and started yelling: Get out! Get out! She called them diseased and added a hateful slur to describe the gay couple. Thirty-three years later, Eric still feels the sting of such blatant and heartless discrimination. The suffering of stigma was compounded by the rapid and uncontrollable rate of death. One weekend, Eric recalled, he would be going to a friends funeral and by the next somebody else died of AIDS. Medical advancements and new treatments were slow to arrive. Channeling his grief and outrage into activism, Eric joined fellow activists to start a civil disobedience movement. In 1987, Eric co-founded ACT UP (the AIDS Coalition Unleash Power), an advocacy group determined to change the trajectory of the AIDS crisis. ACT UP was known for its productively confrontational style. From disrupting the New York Stock Exchange, to occupying the Food and Drug Association (FDA), the group aimed to draw public attention to the epidemic and put pressure on the United States Government to take appropriate action. Efforts began to pay off, but despite growing mainstream media coverage on the AIDS crisis, the disease continued to take a heavy toll. In October 1992, in an effort to help raise awareness about the devastating impact of the disease, ACT UP members brought the ashes of their loved ones who died of AIDS and scattered them on the White House lawn. We thought we are going to have about eight peoples ashes, Eric recalled with visible emotion. In the end, hundreds showed up, including a grandmother who travelled on a bus across the country to bring her grandsons ashes because she was infuriated that nothing was done to save her grandsons life, Eric explained. A glimpse of hope finally came in 1996 when the FDA approved HAART, a combination antiretroviral therapy that is highly effective in treating HIV/AIDS. AIDS was no longer a death sentence. But when Eric learned that the treatment was out of reach for 97 percent of the worlds HIV-infected population, he became outraged at the injustice. It is not fair that people like myself can have access to these state-of-the-art drugs when people in the developing world have no access whatsoever. In July 1996, during the 11th International AIDS Conference held in Vancouver, where the focus was supposed to be highlighting the effectiveness of HAART, Eric sounded a wake-up call to participants. Are you listening yet? The headline that people with AIDS want you to write from this conference would read: Human rights violations and genocide continue to kill millions of impoverished people with AIDS! he declared from the podium. Eric pushed for AIDS medicines to be distributed worldwide, especially to the poorest regions. In 1999, he cofounded Health GAP (Global Access Project), which seeks to bridge the gap between access to essential medicines in developed countries and the lack of access in the developing world. My activism both was targeted towards UNAIDS to make it do the right thing, but also working with UNAIDS to help them develop the policies and procedures to do the right things, he said, referring to the Joint UN Programme on HIV/AIDS. Impressed by his commitment to justice for all people living with HIV, UNAIDS recruited Eric as a Civil Society Partnership Adviser in the service of ending the epidemic. During his time at UNAIDS, Eric helped develop a numbers of its policy programmes, including the three zeros (zero new HIV infections, zero discrimination and zero AIDS-related deaths) and the ambitious treatment target to help end AIDS known as 90-90-90. According to UNAIDS, 17 million people living with HIV still lack access to treatment with the new HIV infection rate of young sub-Saharan African women especially at risk. Additionally, AIDS-related deaths have risen in the Middle East, North Africa, and also in Central Asia and Eastern Europe, where people who inject drugs account for nearly half of new infections. To date, over 35 million people have died of AIDS worldwide. Eric said he is motivated by survivors guilt. I dont know why I got to survive to more than three decades with a fatal illness, when so many of my friends and loved ones died, he said, adding that he feels obligated to fight as hard as I can to expand that excess to care and treatment to the less privileged. Eric retired from UNAIDS in 2016 and is now Vice President at Gay Mens Health Crisis, a leading AIDS service organization, continuing his lifelong fight for an AIDS-free world. As long as there are still tens of millions of people living without access to treatment, I am going to continue to use my voice to try to draw attention to the lives of people who are dying needlessly around the world still of HIV, until everybody has access to treatment and human rights protection and food security and housing and clean water, and all of the things that should be a human right for everybody living with HIV. UN Photo/Mark Garten Source: www.justearthnews.com Peshawar, Dec 2 (IBNS): At least nine suspects have been arrested in connection with the terror attack on the Agricultural Training Institute (ATI) in Pakistan's Peshawar city on Friday. The arrests have been made on the outskirts of Peshawar, media reports said. At least nine people were killed and 30 others were injured when terrorists stormed into Peshawars Agricultural Training Institute early on Friday morning, media reports said. The terrorists were clad in burqa. All the terrorists have been killed by security forces. According to the Pakistan Armys media wing, The Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan has claimed responsibility for the attack. KP Polices Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) has registered an FIR of the deadly ATI attack against unknown persons on the complaint of Station House Officer (SHO) Town Ahmedullah Khan on charges including terrorism, murder, attempted murder and encounter,Dawn News reported. Ottawa, Dec 2 (IBNS): Daughter of Canadian couple, who have been detained in China since 2016, is hoping that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's China visit would release her captive parents before Christmas this year, media reports said. John Chang and his wife Allison Lu were detained by Chinese authories in 2016 over an alleged showing of under report of wine export to Asia. The couple owns wineries in British Columbia and Ontario. As the two were on a work trip to China, the Canadians had been arrested in Shanghai. Though Lu has been released, John is still in the custody. Lu has not been allowed to leave China. The couple's daughter Amy Chang now wants Trudeau to hold on talks with China over free trade until her parents are not allowed to return to Canada. Amy said the matter is not criminal. "When you're trying to negotiate a free trade agreement, especially between Canada and China, if you cannot protect your own citizens right now... there are more cases that are just going to come up," Amy told CBC News. Worrying about her father's health, the young girl even said John has two tumours on his liver. "Justin Trudeau, I really hope this time when you go to China, I really hope you can bring my parents home for Christmas," Amy said. Trudeau will be touring China soon to discuss over a range of issues that include trade, business opportunities and tourism. (Reporting by Suman Das) Ottawa, Dec 2 (IBNS): The Liberal government in Canada wants to limit the number of prosecutions against those who do not reveal their HIV status to thesexual partners, media reports said. The government said the criminal justice system failed to keep track with the medical science. A recent study states people those who have HIV positive but undergoing treatment can pose little or no threat to his sexual partner. "A person living with HIV who takes their treatment as prescribed is acting responsibly," it was quoted by CBC News. The study shown that Canadian coming from marginalised sections are more likely to have HIVs other than others. Regarding the matter, Justice Minister Jody Wilson-Raybould was quoted by CBC News: "Our government is taking action to help reduce the stigmatization of persons living with HIV, including undertaking an evidence-based approach to addressing HIV non-disclosure in the criminal justice system." Richard Elliott, executive director of the Canadian HIV/AIDS Legal Network, said:"You should not be prosecuting people who use condoms, you should not be prosecuting people for engaging in oral sex. The science doesn't warrant it." "So today is good, but we still have work to do" he added. Welcoming the report, Elliott said the report "heartening". (Reporting by Souvik Ghosh) There is no dearth of good people. Now that winters are here, people in India and around the world are leaving warm clothes and jackets out for the homeless. twitter This kind gesture has taken to Twitter where people are sharing pictures of a few good deeds that will go a long way in keeping the homeless warm and safe. Also read: Amid Record Level Of Homelessness, UK To Set Up Vending Machine With Free Food, Clothing To Help Poor 1. People leave out extra jackets on trees for the homeless in Turkey and Bulgaria During winter in Turkey and Bulgaria, people hang their extra jackets on trees for homeless and destitutes. What a thoughtful gesture! pic.twitter.com/yvjXbfNgH3 Harsh Goenka (@hvgoenka) December 1, 2017 2. The wall of philanthropy in India Hamare desh mein bhi hota hai pic.twitter.com/UgFyz9s3Q9 AJAY KUMAR (@RoxAJAY) December 1, 2017 3. In Mussoorie, the citizens #RiseForGood with #TheWallOfGoodwill Closer home in Mussoorie, the citizens #RiseForGood with #TheWallOfGoodwill .. Pick up what you need; leave what you want to give.. pic.twitter.com/B4QreEl4qf Vrinda Pisharody (@vrindapisharody) December 2, 2017 4. Coimbatore too rises for good Also read: Thoughtful Women Transform A Double-Decker Bus Into A Shelter For The Homeless In The UK Hats off to these Good Samaritans! Ever since we were children, we have had it drilled into our heads that the way to get rich is study hard, go to college, get a job, work hard, savewe all know the drill. Those who struck out on their own to follow their hearts were called renegades, mavericks, or rebels. And then there are others who came up with ideas so outlandish that they seemed almost doomed. But, fate and fortune had other plans. Here are some of the 11 outlandish ideas that made their people super rich: 1. Pet Rock Profit: Made nearly $15 million in less than six months. There's really no reason for anyone to buy a rock. But there are a bunch of weirdos out there who think it's the perfect thing to keep a rock as a pet! And Dahl, a former advertising executive, nailed this marketing strategy by targetting the right crowd. He sold it as a "hassle-free" pets, complete with a pet training manual and a card board box designed after a pet carrier. The product that cost about three dollars was instant hit online. 2. The Wacky Wall Walker Net Profit: More than $80 million. Designed by Ken Hakuta, the toy was a massive craze back in the 80s. The idea to sell the item after Hakuta's mother first sent him a simple version of the toy as a gift from Japan. Hakuta then made a plan to make a profit out of it and it turned out be a huge success. 3. iFart App Profit: $400, 000 We may deny it all we want, but theres something hilarious about fart sounds. And Joel Comm has achieved the kind of success most people only dream of by making pointless fart noises. Comm is the entrepreneur behind iFart, one of the top 100 most downloaded apps ever on Apples App Store. The app was downloaded 113,885 during its first two weeks on the market. The App was such a craze that Jimmy Kimmel said, If everyone in America gives as much as they spent on the iFart App, Haiti will be saved. 4. Slinky It's something all of us played with for hours as kids. The multi-coloured flexible spring toy was a million-dollar idea of a naval engineer named Richard James. The idea sprung when James dropped a high tension spring while building something and noticed the way it slinked all the way down to the floor. And thus happened the Slinky toy. IT debuted in the market back in the 1940s and has been a craze ever since. Till now more than 500 million have been sold across the world. 5. Million-Dollar Home Page milliondollarhomepage.com Profit: A million dollars in over a year This was the brain-child of a college student who was determined to find a way to pay his way through a three-year business management course at Nottingham University. According to the BBC, in four months time, word of the page had gone viral and it sold out. 6. PewDiePie: YouTube videos Profit: $12 million earned in 2015 alone Felix Arvid Ulf Kjellberg, known as as PewDiePie from Sweden made big bucks by just live streaming his gaming sessions on YouTube. He became one the top-viewed YouTubers with more than 9 million page views and also made it to Time magazines The Worlds 100 Most Influential People! 7. Hamdi Ulukaya: yogurt in an abandoned factory Profit: $1.86 billion Hamdi Ulukaya, a Turkish businessman and entrepreneur arrived in the US with only $3,000 in his pocket, purchased an abandoned factory, created Chobani yogurt. In just five years, he got $1 billion in revenue. 8. Tamagotchi, created by Japanese toymaker Bandai Profit: One Tamagotchi costs nearly 200 dollars today . Tamagotchis are handheld egg-shaped digital pets that first arrived on American store shelves in May 1997. The device prompted a huge craze back in the nineties, and was perfect for kids - and adults alike. Bandai sold more than 3 million tamagotchi units in its first three months and has sold more than 70 million units worldwide. 9. Slap Bracelets, invented by Stuart Andrews Profit: $ 8 million This is something all of us have obsessed aover as kids. A man named Andrews, a high school woodcraft teacher, was the man behind this brilliant product, In 1990 alone, the bracelets were estimated to be generating profits between $6 million and $8 million. 10. Yellow Smiley Faces, invented by Bernard and Murray Spain. Profit: $50 million It all started with Bernard and Murray Spain buying exclusive rights to the smiley face. They then used the image and the tag line "Have A Nice Day," everywhere possible and grossed 50 million dollars in sales in the first year-and-a-half. 11. Doggles, invented by a company with the same name Doggles goggles for dogs were the first and only eye protection designed and created just for your pooches. The item sold for $80 a pair, and they have earned the company millions. In the 2016 data from the National Crime Records Bureau shows that in 1,642 of 1,655 cases, the perpetrator was known to the survivor. It comes as no surprise considering that everyday newspaper are filled with reports of assaults on women and now children. Number reveal about the state of Karnataka that perpetrators in a staggering 99.2% of cases of rape reported in 2016 were known to the women and children involved. BCCL/Representational Image These cases were booked under section 376 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) which criminalizes rape and sections 4 and 6 of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act which bans penetrative sexual assault and aggravated penetrative sexual assault against minors. The NCRB data has split the offenders known to their victims into various categories like neighbours, co-workers and family members, among others. Neighbours proved to the perpetrators in 463 cases of rape, while in 379 cases women were sexually assaulted by men who had promised to marry them. Relatives (87), close family members (39), employers/coworkers (37), grandfathers, brothers, sons and fathers (16) and live-in partners/husbands BCCL/Representational Image (7) were among the others whose sexually assaulted the women they knew. Only in 13 case of rape of women and children were the offenders strangers. In Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, Mizoram, Tripura, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Dadra and Nagar Haveli, Daman and Diu, Lakshadweep and Puducherry, the perpetrators were known to the victims in all the cases. In New Delhi, the figure stood at 96.4%. The NCRB data also revealed that women were most vulnerable in their teens. The maximum number (735) of sexual assault victims were in the age group of 16-18 years. The second largest number of victims (418) were 18 to 30 years old. Thirty nine children under the age of six were sexually assaulted in 2016. BCCL/Representational Image "After the Nirbhaya case in 2012, people have shed their inhibitions. They no longer hesitate to come forward and lodge complaints about sexual assault and harassment," said police commissioner T Suneel Kumar. "Further, the definition of rape has been widened with amendments to the law and police too are prompt to book all cases under the relevant sections," Suneel Kumar said. In Karnataka, police do not turn away complainants, he said, adding that women in Bengaluru are more aware and come forward to file complaints. "They no longer ignore lewd comments but insist on action being taken," Suneel Kumar said. The so-called custodians of nationalism always put the army and its pride on top of everything. But when it comes to really respect the families of the martyrs their 'nationalist feelings' go for a toss. It happened when they abused army martyr's daughter Gurmeher Kaur for criticising war-mongering by them. Now, in another incident of disrespect to martyr's daughter In Gujarat, police manhandled her when she tried to meet chief minister Vijay Rupani. And all this happened when the CM himself was watching the proceedings. BCCL A video shared by many on social media shows a young woman being pushed around and dragged away by police from the venue of an election speech by the CM. As per local media, the woman in the video is Rupal Tadvi, the daughter of Ashok Tadvi, an army personnel martyred in Kashmir in 2002. Screengrab The young woman was trying to meet the CM to complain about her family not receiving their rightful compensation from the state yet. A local media reported that Rupal and her mother had been knocking on doors after door of minister and officials to get the land allocated to them approved, but to no avail. Earlier, the duo had tried to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in Bharuch to seek his help, but they were denied permission. On January 26 this year, the mother had allegedly threatened to self-immolate if their rightful due is not allocated, but she was detained by police before the act. Russia is once again in news and it's not for President Vladimir Putin's new jibe at any world leaders. This time the stunning looks of Russia's newly-appointed spokeswoman for the Ministry of Defence, Rossiyana Markovskaya, have become a social media sensation. A post shared by (@_rossiyana_) on Jul 8, 2016 at 12:59pm PDT According to media reports, the Russian Federation recently appointed her as Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu's new personal spokesperson. But it was not long before the millennial on social media went gaga over her looks and age. The 26-year-old with deep blue eyes and brown hair, has taken the internet by storm and is being dubbed as 'Defense Cutie' or 'Oboronyasha' in Russian. A post shared by (@_rossiyana_) on Nov 26, 2016 at 3:15am PST According to Sputnik News and RT.com, Markovskaya's Instagram feed features her photographs, including selfies' from day-to-day life. The young spokesperson earlier worked for the Vladivostok State TV and Radio Company before becoming a correspondent for the federal television channel Zvezda. Markovskaya is from Vladivostok, where she graduated from the Department of Journalism at the Far Eastern Federal University. She seems to have a special nerve for music, as some of the photos and videos she shared on social media, show her singing and playing guitar. A post shared by (@_rossiyana_) on Mar 7, 2017 at 6:38pm PST Three years ago, Russian government's "it" girl, Natalia Poklonskaya, had whipped up a similar internet fandom with her youth and beauty. Poklonskaya served as a Crimean prosecutor and is now an attorney general. Website data breaches are a very bad thing, and were not talking about the companies involved here. No, theyre a bad thing for you and me. Thats because even if hackers dont get their hands on your account passwords, they can usually use the details gleaned from your profile to extrapolate your security questions and answers. This year has been particularly bad. Just last week, photo-sharing website Imgur was hacked, exposing 1.7 million user accounts. And the company only just found out about this hack, which seems to have taken place back in 2014. So weve put together a list of some of the worst data breaches that went down in 2017, and you'd better hope you're account is not on any of those items. ALSO READ: Better Safe Than Sorry: 13 Common Ways To Secure Your Phone, PC & Yourself To Stay Safe Online 1. Aadhaar Earlier in November 2017, an RTI revealed that private and personal details of several Aadhaar users were publicly available for anyone to see on over 210 central and state government websites, according to a PTI report. The leaked Aadhaar database displayed the list of beneficiaries along with their name, address, other details and Aadhaar numbers for information of general public, UIDAI said. The breach has since been plugged, thanks to security audits conducted by UIDAI. But this is another alarm bell ringing off in the face of Aadhaar, questioning the security credentials of its database. REUTERS 2. Yahoo In December 2016, Yahoo reported more than 1 billion user account details were stolen in a breach dating back to 2013. However, the problem was seriously underestimated. Just a few months after Verizon acquired the company, it came to light that every single one of Yahoos users were actually at risk from the breach all three billion of them. Yet, investigations have still been unable to determine which group was behind the attack. 3. E-Sports Entertainment Association (ESEA) ESEA, one of the biggest video game communities was breached in December last year, though they didnt know what was stolen at the time. It was only later in January this year that details were uncovered. Over 1.5 million ESEA records were leaked in the incident, including private information like players real names, addresses, email accounts, birthdays, and phone numbers, as well as the IDs for their linked Steam, Xbox, and Playstation Network accounts. 4. IRS (Internal Revenue Service) In March this year, the United States IRS revealed that the personal information of at least 100,000 taxpayers was stolen through their own data retrieval tool. Not only did the thieves get enough personal information to make it possible to steal more data in future, the agency also suspects that about 8,000 fraudulent returns were filed, processed, and returns issued, losing the United States $30 million. 5. Gmail In May this year, Gmail users were had their accounts breached by a phishing scam using a third-party app. The malware would send an email made to look like a trusted contact wanted to share a Google Doc. Once clicked on, the user would be prompted to let the document manage their email account, using the real Google security page. An estimated 1 million users were affected in the single hour it took Google to take down the phishing scam. DON'T MISS: 7 Simple Ways To Spot A Fake Website From A Real One And Stay Safe Online 6. Equifax Equifax, one of the three largest credit agencies in the US, was breached in September this year, affecting at least 143 million customers. Its considered one of the worst data thefts ever committed, because the attackers were able to get their hands on peoples drivers license numbers and Social Security numbers. Neither of those is something a person can change, so they victims may be attempting to fend off scamsters for the rest of their lives. 7. Uber Just earlier this month, ride-sharing service U6ber announced it had been breached last year. They said that 57 million Uber users and drivers were potentially affected by the data theft. However, instead of contacting authorities at the time, it appears the company instead paid off the hackers with a sum of $100,000, in order to keep the breach secret. Les emplois a Rennes sont abondants et varies. Il y a quelque chose pour tout le monde. Que vous soyez a la recherche dun emploi [] The Cork TDs promotion will likely now unite and embolden the party for any snap general election, suggests Political Correspondent Juno McEnroe SIMON Coveneys appointment as Tanaiste will help heal divisions in Fine Gael after a bruising leadership race and likely now unite and embolden the party for any snap general election next year. The Cork man is only the second Tanaiste to hail from the rebel county after Peter Barry, another Fine Gael foreign affairs minister, was made deputy government leader almost 30 years ago. The Cork South Central TDs promotion was inevitable, in a way, after the resignation of Frances Fitzgerald as Tanaiste this week. Anything less would have opened up old wounds in Fine Gael after the summer leadership duel. But there is also the school of thought that his elevation is well deserved, for a hard-working, persistent and passionate politician. Suffering a demeaning defeat against the younger Leo Varadkar for the prized position of Taoiseach, Coveney clung on, kept his head down and threw himself full force into his new brief in foreign affairs after the June Cabinet reshuffle. Brexit, after all, is the biggest challenge facing the country. Very proud and humbling day for me. To be appointed Tanaiste and Dept PM of Ireland is an enormous responsibility - I will do everything in my power to serve everyone in our country with integrity and positivity - thank you for the privilege.... pic.twitter.com/a48d29xFf4 Simon Coveney (@simoncoveney) November 30, 2017 But there is opposition criticism about Coveney leaving his housing portfolio for the comforts of Iveagh House. Is he running away from a major crisis? Certainly, with all the work and challenges that Brexit is currently posing for Ireland, that argument is somewhat weakened. Instead, Coveneys efforts, in trying to help resume power-sharing in the North, meeting his British counterparts over Brexit and overseeing a diplomatic offensive to protect Irelands interests have proven that he is a workhorse, is driven and does not shy away from a challenge. Nonetheless, some critics say Coveney can be aloof, at times shy and afraid of taking risks. But, as one Leinster House observer noted, he can surprise. His infamous tweet during garglegate forced then-taoiseach Brian Cowen to answer questions about his drinking; Coveney also took on Fianna Fail over water charges and managed to keep in place a levy for excess usage. While he lost the Fine Gael leadership race, he won two thirds of the grassroots support in it and he was a key architect of the government support pact the confidence and supply agreement with Fianna Fail. The father-of-three has proven himself also when he succeeded in gaining a good deal for Irish farmers at the CAP negotiations when he oversaw the Department of Agriculture. However, it is ironic that the 45-year-olds promotion to Tanaiste does weaken Leo Varadkars position, especially after the Fine Gael leader lost a key supporter at Cabinet in Frances Fitzgerald. Instead of the motherly figure that Ms Fitzgerald was seen to be, the Taoiseach will likely find some of his designs judged more critically by Coveney, who had his own plans to run the country. Nonetheless, it could be argued that Fine Gaels hand overall is actually strengthened by Coveneys promotion. The party in the Munster region is in recovery mode after a disappointing February 2016 general election and is trying to take back at least the eight seats lost then a task no doubt the new Tanaiste will help drive. Fine Gael need another big political beast there, so to speak, after the retirement of Limericks Michael Noonan from his ministerial duties. Coveneys appointment also arms Ireland for a crucial phase in the increasingly bitter Brexit talks. As London pushes to try to move onto the next phase in negotiations on future trade, Ireland must and is trying to seal down a written agreement on a frictionless border. Coveneys appointment as deputy head of government will further strengthen Irelands position during negotiations. The appointment of a Tanaiste from outside of Dublin will also likely boost Fine Gaels rural base. Lastly, there is now a healthy representation for the second city or county at ministerial level, with Coveney in the position of Tanaiste alongside his Cork colleagues in office, Michael Creed, Jim Daly and David Stanton. Coveney has come a long way since his election as the youngest member of the Dail in 1998, in a by-election after the death of his father. He has even more experience than Varadkar, having spent three years as an MEP before returning to the Dail where he served as opposition spokesman in communications and transport. Leo Varadkar, in contrast, shot straight to ministerial ranks in his second term as a TD. Lastly, Coveney, who is also deputy Fine Gael leader, made it known during the party leadership race that he has never lost an election. He might not be wielding the knife, but if there was another chance at the party leadership, you can bet the politician from the merchant prince Cork family will seek the crown again. Arguably, he is in a prime position to succeed Leo Varadkar if that position arose. However, some seasoned observers say that if any threat is to come, it wont be from Coveney but from the increasingly popular Finance Minister Paschal Donohoe. Ultimately, Coveneys promotion unites the more liberal and conservative elements in Fine Gael. In July 2015, the following was the official line to be conveyed to the media by the minister for justice about the status of Sgt Maurice McCabe, writes Michael Clifford. Both the garda commissioner and myself have made it clear that Sgt McCabe is a valued member of the force. The quote is from a briefing note to then minister Frances Fitzgerald at the time. Its basic message is that we think the whistleblower is a top man. The note was made public this week in the email that nailed the coffin on Fitzgeralds tenure in cabinet. Its a small window into how the official line is spun when theres an uncomfortable reality nobody wants to talk about. By July 2015, the valued McCabe was on medication for stress. He had, over the previous six weeks, seen his character attacked repeatedly behind the closed doors of the OHiggins commission, which was set up to examine his complaints of malpractice. An early apparent attempt to cast him as a man with a grudge against the force had been snuffed out. But thereafter various Garda interests adopted an aggressive stance as termed in the briefing note towards him in the witness box. He was under serious stress at a time in a place where he thought his concerns would finally be addressed. Things turned out all right in the end. OHiggins largely vindicated his claims. What he considers an attempt to smear him is to be examined at the Charleton Tribunal. But back in July 2015, he was just about holding it together, while officially the public were told that he was a valued member of the force. The incident highlights a way of life that is known to whistleblowers the world over. When serious people or institutions are forced to face up to shortcomings, the official line repeatedly conveys that everything is fine with that whistleblowering business, and were getting on great with the guy himself. In McCabes case, there is a thread running through his efforts to highlight malpractice. At every turn, there are two versions of what is really going on. One is dispatched from the official world, where things are motoring along just fine and were listening to what McCabe has to say although a lot of it doesnt really stack up. Meanwhile, in the real world, McCabe was the focus of, to put it at its most benign, severe ire behind the blue wall of the force, and later behind the closed doors of the OHiggins commission. He was personally being targeted over his inconvenient truths and the facts were being rubbished. Former Commissioner Noirin OSullivan. One early manifestation of these dual worlds was the issuing of a circular to all stations in the Cavan/Monaghan division in June 2011 by chief superintendent Colm Rooney. It concerned the internal Garda investigation into complaints of malpractice made by McCabe. The circular was congratulatory in tone. The investigation concluded there were no systemic failures identified in the management and administration of Bailieboro Garda District. A number of minor procedural issues were identified. It went on to congratulate all members who had served in Bailieboro. The findings of the assistant commissioner vindicates the high standards and professionalism of the district force in Bailieboro. Everything was hunky-dorey.Why would anybody complain that things werent right in theBailieboro District, where McCabe had been a station sergeant? Could it be that McCabe himself is actually the problem, running around with nefarious fictions? That was the official world in 2011. The real world from that time wouldnt be known for another five years until the OHiggins report was published. Its version of the problems highlighted by McCabe was in sharp contrast to the circular. Among the many criticisms were: poor individual performances, and in many instances, poor supervision; problems at many levels of the force; lack of recording and note taking in the various cases McCabe had highlighted; very limited involvement by unit sergeants in incidents examining in the Bailieboro district OHiggins also found that McCabe had shown courage and performed a genuine public service at considerable cost in highlighting the malpractice. None of that was available in the official worlds version of events back in 2011, in which everybody was doing a sterling job. Former Commissioner Noirin OSullivan speaking as former Tanaiste Frances Fitzgerald looks on. Another version of the official world could be seen in May 2013 on publication of the internal Garda report into abuse of the penalty points system, which McCabe had also highlighted. In the official world, there was nothing much to see here. Back in the real world, McCabe had not even been contacted to check what he knew of the matter. To do so might have meant he would point out the specific abuses thus officially handing over information that would have to be acted upon. In a statement accompanying the release of the internal report commissioner Martin Callinan stated: No evidence has been adduced to suggest any act of criminality, corruption, deception or falsification as alleged by the anonymous author. McCabe, the author in question, knew that that official line differed greatly from the real world. His reality was confirmed over the following years when a series of reports all vindicated his complaints of malpractice. At the Oireachtas Public Accounts Committee meeting about the penalty points in January 2014, Mr Callinan laid out the official line on whistleblowers to Deputy Shane Ross. The Deputy should be very clear that, from my perspective, as commissioner of An Garda Siochana, I will not allow anyone reporting wrongdoing to be bullied, harassed, intimidatedthat will not happen on my watch. This was a pledge to protect. In the real world, McCabe had by that point been continually bullied, harassed and intimidated. He had been the focus of a disciplinary procedure about a missing computer seized from a priest later convicted on child abuse charges. Whistleblower Maurice McCabe. McCabe had nothing to do with the disappearance, but believed understandably, according to the OHiggins report that he was being targeted because he had made complaints. By then, his family had been put through the wringer. Lorraine McCabe would later record the stress and worry they had endured. One of the most difficult episodes for me was when Maurice was so low that he was admitted to John of Gods for help. I will never forget the desperation I felt that night after leaving him and driving home alone and wondering how could I shield the children from this. That was all a world away from Callinans official line about protecting whistleblowers at the PAC meeting. The day after that meeting, Callinan met the chair of the PAC John McGuinness in a car park on the Naas Road outside Dublin. McGuinness alleges Callinan told him that McCabe had questions to answer about child sexual abuse, that he had abused family members, and that he was under investigation. Callinan denies saying anything of the sort. If McGuinnesss recollection turns out to be accurate, then the commissioner was offering a strange version of protection to a member of the force who had highlighted malpractice. In May of that year, after Callinan had been replaced by Noirin OSullivan, she was asked at an Oireachtas justice committee meeting about reports that Sgt McCabe was still being bullied and harassed at work. She replied that she had heard these reports but that McCabe was entitled to his privacy. What I can say is that senior Garda management are very portive of Sergeant Maurice McCabe and certainly are in contact with him on a daily basis, she said. In the official world, senior management was supporting the man, protecting him, in touch with him all the time to check that hes not being targeted. In the real world, nobody had contacted McCabe. Former Garda Commissioners Noirin OSullivan and Martin Callinan. There had been no contact with any senior officers. Nobody even inquired as to whether he was being bullied and harassed. A few hours after the commissioners utterance, McCabe phoned her private secretary. He pointed out that the commissioner had made a major error in sworn evidence. Nobody had been in touch with him, not on a daily basis, not at all. Later that day, Ms OSullivan rang McCabe and ensured him she would find out what the mix-up was. She went back into the committee and corrected the record. If McCabe hadnt informed the official world what was going on in the real world, the impression would be that the man was in good hands. That was the only time that Ms OSullivan ever contacted McCabe directly. Her predecessor Callinan, hell-bent on protecting whistleblowers, as he told the PAC, never called McCabe. THIS sergeant was highlighting very serious issues between 2008 and 2014. He was the source of a major headache for senior management in a disciplined force. Yet never once did the commissioner of the day pick up the phone and ask him what it was all about. To do so might well have been to allow the real world pollute the official world in which the commissioner was running around protecting whistleblowers. His successor, Ms OSullivan, had declared herself as a new broom when she took over as interim commissioner in March 2014. She welcomed internal criticism from those she termed our critical friends. She encouraged new recruits to speak out when they saw something wrong. The incident at the Justice committee two months later raised doubts about the quality of her brush. But at least she picked up the phone. It was something she wouldnt repeat despite McCabes plight getting a lot worse over the years to follow. The chasm between the official world and the real world widened further in May 2015 at the OHiggins commission. On day two of the hearings, the judge was told by Ms OSullivans lawyer that McCabes motivation and integrity would be targeted. Former Tanaiste Frances Fitzgerald and Taoiseach Leo Varadkar. This related to an allegation that he had some seven years previously expressed a grudge at a meeting in Mullingar. McCabe produced a recording of the meeting and that avenue of inquiry came to a halt. McCabe was devastated at what he saw as an attempt to destroy him. Meanwhile, a few months later, while McCabe was still under attack, the official line from Ms OSullivan and Frances Fitzgerald was that he was a valued member of the force. When the whole thing became public through the pages of the Irish Examiner in May 2016, the Garda Commissioner denied ever attempting to impugn McCabes character. She also provided a line straight out of the official world. In relation to whistleblowers, I have been consistent at all times; dissent is not disloyalty and as a service we are determined to learn from our experiences. The impression from the commissioners statement was that any suggestion that she had attempted to impugn McCabes character as he believed was a misunderstanding of the facts. Yet she did not think to pick up the phone to McCabe, point out that there had been a terrible misunderstanding, and relieve him of his thoughts that senior management were out to get him. If she had done, the official world would have collided with the real world. McCabe could have appraised her of his knowledge of the whole thing and that would not sit easily in the official world. Maurice McCabe and his wife Lorraine. So it was, in the two worlds throughout the narrative of the Maurice McCabe story. The political upheavals through the last few weeks, culminating in the resignation of Frances Fitzgerald, is directly as a result of these two worlds actually colliding. As details of what McCabe was subjected to down through the years has leaked out, so the worlds have begun to merge. No longer is there a credible official line about Maurice McCabe being a valued member who will be listened to and blah blah blah. As the truth has tumbled out, so the public has largely come to see that the official line is simply not to be believed. And those who were fed that line or pushed it have seen a few chickens scurrying home to roost. Irish Examiner Special Correspondent Michael Clifford is the author of A Force for Justice: The Maurice McCabe Story. Dateline Myanmar Turns To China as It Faces International Criticism This week, political analyst Dr. Yan Myo Thein discusses Myanmar turn to China amid growing international pressure over Rakhine issue. Kyaw Zwa Moe: Welcome to Dateline Irrawaddy! Myanmar has faced growing criticism from the international community especially western countries after conflicts intensified in Rakhine State. This has pushed the Myanmar government and Tatmadaw back to China. Recently, the US Secretary of State visited Myanmar, and after he returned, he slammed the Tatmadaw for what happened in Rakhine State and labeled it ethnic cleansing. Then, it seems as though both the Myanmar government and Tatmadaw turned toward China. Ive invited political analyst Dr. Yan Myo Thein to discuss this. Im Irrawaddy English editor Kyaw Zwa Moe. About 600,000 Rohingya Muslims fled to Bangladesh after militant attacks by the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA) in August prompted military counter-insurgency operations. The international community strongly condemned Myanmar. Countries like China and Russia stood by Myanmar when it came under pressure. Apparently, those pressures have pushed Myanmar closer to China. Commander-in-Chief of Defense Services Snr-Gen Min Aung Hlaing recently visited China. And State Counselor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi is going to pay her second visit to China this year. People are speculating over whether the two countries are deliberately strengthening ties or if international pressure has caused this. What do you think? Yan Myo Thein: Elections were held in 2010 and President U Thein Seins government emerged in 2011. Since then, Myanmar has started to improve its ties with European and western countries including the US. On the other hand, it maintained its existing Pauk-Phaw relationship with the Peoples Republic of China. But after the 2015 election saw the government led by President U Htin Kyaw and State Counselor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi taking office, most people expected that Myanmar would win greater support and assistance from European and western countries including the US, and that it would be able to step out of the shadows of China more. But because of what happened in Rakhine State, Myanmar has come under the pressure and restrictions of western countries including the US. Consequently, this has made Myanmar lean towards China. As you have said, former President U Thein Sein visited China once a year during his term. He visited China five times. Daw Aung San Suu Kyi visited China in 2015 before she could form the government that succeeded U Thein Seins. Then she visited China in 2016, and paid another visit in late April this year. Therefore, her planned visit on Nov. 30 is her second visit to China in a single year. According to my study, I have found no records of Myanmars previous State leaders visiting China twice in a year. Considering this, we can guess that Myanmar and China have grown close because of international pressures. Recently, Myanmar Commander-in-Chief of Defense Services Snr-Gen Min Aung Hlaing visited China. Chinese President Xi Jinping received him and apparently agreed to increase cooperation between the two armed forces. Xi Jinping said that Snr-Gen Min Aung Hlaings visit was successful. Considering all of this, I think western countries including the US do not have very good approaches toward Myanmars crises, challenges and problems. KZM: Those factors might have contributed to a certain extent. But in my opinion, the main point is that the government has changed. U Thein Seins government and the preceding military government had good relationships with China. At that time, people didnt like China because it supported a government that was not elected by them. YMT: Yes, they didnt. KZM: Frankly speaking, there were anti-China sentiments at that time. Then, the National League for Democracy (NLD) government led by Daw Aung San Suu Kyi took office, and the main difference from its predecessors was that the people supported it. It is fair to say that Daw Aung San Suu Kyi has even gained greater popularity lately. Under such circumstances, I think people may have a good opinion of any government that supports Daw Aung San Suu Kyis government. Myanmar people used to like the US because it supported democracy in Myanmar. But now Myanmar people are not happy with the responses of western countries including the US, probably because they feel that western countries dont understand them. Speaking of China, it has politically and economically backed Myanmar governmentsthe military regimeover the past three decades. And it has benefitted. It seems that China will get further benefits from Myanmar, which is being forced into a corner. Especially, the Kyaukphyu Special Economic Zone in Rakhine, and a trunk road YMT: Yes, the Yunnan-Mandalay-Yangon-Kyaukphyu economic corridor. KZM: So, I think this has further opened the way for China. YMT: Yes, I think so. KZM: in terms of economic opportunities in Myanmar. YMT: As youve discussed, when Myanmar was under military control, people didnt support the Tatmadaw government. So, they supported sanctions targeted at the Tatmadaw government. But now, the international community must take this fact into consideration that the government was elected by the majority of people. The international community should make multilateral engagement with both the Myanmar government and Tatmadaw. They should engage and negotiate with them in various aspects so as to find answers. On the other hand, Myanmar government shouldnt have unnecessary concerns. For example, it should open the way for international cooperation. It would be a positive step for Myanmars government to open the way for the regional Asean bloc to take a part in solving the problems, difficulties, and crises facing the country. Another thing is about media. As far as Im concerned, it is still difficult for media to get into Rakhine for reporting. They are still being restricted. So, we have to think about how we can change the situation. KZM: Thats the problem of the Myanmar government. It has not permitted the UN to do an investigation. It has also restricted the media. Itd be better for it to open up. Itd be better not to impose restrictions if it had not made any mistake or wrongdoing. But now, all the reports have come from Bangladesh as a result. As youve said, cooperation is the most important thing. The government is almost two years in office now. Commander-in-Chief of Defense Services Snr-Gen Min Aung Hlaing visited European countries [in 2016 and in April this year]. But lately, it appears that the Myanmar Army has to rely more on China. As weve mentioned earlier, [Chinese President Xi Jinping] said that his visit was successful. And it is likely that there will be greater cooperation between the two armed forces. In the wake of the Rakhine issue, the UK cancelled its training for the Myanmar Army. And the US is considering imposing sanctions on Myanmar military leadership. This will have political consequences on Myanmar. YMT: What is sure is that if western countries continue engaging with us this way, Chinas influence on our country will increase politically, economically and militarily. Regarding the Yunnan-Yangon-Mandalay-Kyaukphyu economic corridor, people have just learned about that project recently. Previously, they only knew about the Kyaukphyu-Kunming railroad and motor road project. The economic corridor is a much bigger project than we previously thought, and it is likely to become a part of the India-Bangladesh-Myanmar-China economic corridor. We need to think about how we can benefits from these Chinese projects for our people and the development of our country. At the same time, we also need to think about how we can win back the trust and support of western countries including the US in our political transition. KZM: That is extremely important. YMT: Yes, it is. KZM: From Daw Aung San Suu Kyis speeches and her talks with foreign diplomats, we can say that she has not completely leaned towards China. It seems that she will pursue a rebalancing strategy because we need assistance from the international community. We are one of the poorest countries in the world and have no political stability at all. We have a long way to go to make peace with armed ethnic groups. So, I think the leaders of our country need to act very shrewdly. They shouldnt tactlessly distance themselves from the world. YMT: The foreign policy and international relations tactics and procedures of our countrys leaders are extremely important. European and western countries including the US have constantly supported our countrythey greatly supported our struggle for democracy. But we are still in a transition to democracy. And we cant even lay down a sound foundation yet. Our countrys democracy is still in its nascent stage. Besides, there are a lot of crises and conflicts including the Rakhine issue facing us. So, the political storm is really strong. Under such circumstances, the government, Tatmadaw, political parties, and civil society organizations should think about how to work in collaboration to win back the support of western countries including the US. They should identify weak points and try to fix them. Another thing is the role that Myanmar diplomats in foreign countries can play. Ambassadors appointed by the government are the strikers in implementing our foreign policy. They need to explain the situation and engage [with foreign governments] on the front line. KZM: Thank you for your contribution! Burma Tatmadaw Chief Offers Cryptic Definition of Militarys Political Role Myanmar Army chief Senior General Min Aung Hlaing attends an event in Naypyitaw on Oct. 15 to mark the second anniversary of the signing of the Nationwide Ceasefire Agreement. / Reuters CHIANG MAI, Thailand Myanmar Army chief Senior General Min Aung Hlaing said the military as an institution must be free of political influence, while at the same time asserting the principle that the Tatmadaw continues its efforts in support of national politics. During an address to newly graduating officers of the Defense Service Academys intake 59 in Pyin Oo Lwin, Mandalay Region, on Friday, the Army chief also singled out for praise his troops handling of the Rakhine State crisis and peace-building efforts in the country. His remarks drew criticism from observers and political analysts, who pointed to the fact that 25 percent of seats in the legislature are reserved for military appointees, while the Tatmadaw also retains control of three key ministerial posts. The Tatmadaw must be a professional army that is apolitical; to be out of the shadow of political influence, it must not be involved in party politics or national politics, said Dr. Yan Myo Thein, a political analyst. Only when the Tatmadaw is a professional institution will it be able to assist in the countrys democratic transition, he said. To achieve that, he said, the Tatmadaw needs to end its involvement in the government and parliament sooner rather than later. While the Army Chief has stressed the importance of making the Tatmadaw a standard army, this is different from the professional institution advocated by many observers. Defining what is meant by being free of the shadow of political influence is tricky, said Kheung Sai, an adviser to the Restoration Council of Shan State. Only Sen Gen Min Aung Hlaing can really say what this means, Kheung Sai said. He suggested two possible meanings for the generals remark: that the Tatmadaw is a professional army that does not participate in politics; or that the Tatmadaw is not influenced by a particular political party. Allegations of rights abuses denied Despite accusations of human rights violations against ethnic minority areas during the civil war over the past seven decades, most recently in northern Rakhine State, the Army chief insisted that his troops strictly followed orders, rules and regulations. No one is above the law, he said, adding that the Tatmadaw has a constitutional duty to protect citizens and the state without harming the states sovereignty. He urged the new graduates to be good officers who are loyal to their superiors, respected by their subordinates and trusted by the people. Highlighting the Tatmadaws role in the current Rakhine crisis, he said that while the militarys efforts have been in accordance with the law, international institutions and some Western media misunderstood the Rakhine crisis due to the dissemination of incorrect information and propaganda. Though he did not mention any specific reports, it is likely that he was referring to those published by international human rights organizations during the past three months. Human Rights Watch has accused Tatmadaw troops of killing Rohingya and committing mass rapes against Rohingya women and girls. The United Nations and the U.S. have described the situation in Rakhine State as ethnic cleansing, and Amnesty International has labeled the political situation there as apartheid. Some Western media have suggested the Rohingya are the victims of genocide. Most people in Myanmar use the term Bengali rather than Rohingya. Sen Gen Min Aung Hlaing reiterated that his men strictly followed orders and acted in accordance with the rules of engagement [ROE] during the recent Rakhine crisis. He said the Muslim militant group known as the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA) which the government regards as a terrorist group coordinated attacks on 30 police outposts and an Army base and brutally killed local villagers. The general did not specify any groups of victims by name, but they are known to have included Rakhines, Mro and Hindus. Groups of minority Hindus were brutally killed in an ARSA attack on Aug. 25. Their bodies were unearthed one month later, on Sept. 24. The Tatmadaw will provide full protection for those minority groups in Rakhine State to protect them from genocide, he added. Push for NCA implementation Regarding the peace building process, he affirmed the Tatmadaws view that the six-point policy for peace should be followed by all sides, as it was drafted based on past experiences and the current circumstances. He emphasized the importance of signing the Nationwide Ceasefire Agreement (NCA) with the eight ethnic armed groups, adding that NCA principles dont impose any restriction nor prohibition on the rights of the people and allow them to enjoy their rights as much as possible. Thus peace can be achieved by quick implementation of the NCA. The Army chiefs remarks about the NCA were welcomed by Kheung Sai, who said the military leaders comment would help smooth the path for further negotiations. Negotiations at a recent meeting of the Union Peace Dialogue Joint Committee and a review of the NCAs implementation involved heated debates over each term of the NCA, he explained. However, he said, it should be clear that there are still some terms on which the ethnic armed organizations [EAOs] leadership and the Tatmadaw have yet to agree. One of these sticking points concerns the definition of security reintegration, he said, with questions remaining over whether reintegration refers to assimilation into society or disarmament. This still needs further clarification, Kheung Sai said. EAO leaders want detailed discussions of security sector reforms (SSR). However, the Tatmadaw wants to limit discussions to disarmament, demobilization and reintegration (DDR) under the topic of security sector reintegration. Microsoft's Edge last month posted its first ever double-digit browser share, while Google's Chrome slid for the third month straight. Mozilla's Firefox once again held steady, keeping its head above water. According to data published Sunday by California-based metrics company Net Applications, Edge's October share climbed by 1.4 percentage points, ending the month at 10.2%, the first time Microsoft's browser broke through that psychologically important barrier. The gain was the largest ever for Edge in a single month, almost double that of the previous record set in December 2019. The increase was so large that it immediately raised suspicions that it was a miscount by Net Applications rather than a reflection of reality. Bolstering that was an even greater boost to the share of Microsoft's Internet Explorer (IE), the obsolete browser the Redmond, Wash. company has started to strip of some of its support. IE's share for October 5.6% was 1.7 points higher than the month prior, a jump so out of character as to be unbelievable. Edge's gain was understandable, at least. Microsoft relaunched that 2015 browser earlier this year when it recast Edge with the Google-dominated Chromium technology, the same that powers Chrome. Not only did Microsoft make Edge a Chrome copy, but it also expanded support to versions of Windows other than 10, as well as macOS and, more recently, Linux. Since January, Edge has slowly been adding share; 3.2 points since the Chromium-based Edge went final in the Stable channel. In the past 12 months, Edge has gained 4.1 percentage points, for an average of a third of a point per month. At that pace, Edge should sit at almost 11% by year's end and at 15% by December 2021. Of course, that assumes Edge can maintain growth, which in turn requires one or more rivals continues to give up share. The most likely loser? Chrome, mostly because of its titanic share but also because Edge is, well, Chrome wearing a different outfit. Microsoft's launch of Windows 10 20H2 the H2 signifying the year's second feature upgrade last month may assist Edge as it continues to climb: 20H2 includes Chromium Edge. That should accelerate the replacement of original Edge, the version introduced in mid-2015 that ran only on Windows 10, with the sounder Chromium browser. Chrome down for third consecutive month Chrome dumped seven-tenths of a percentage point in October, falling back to 69.3%. The decline was the third in as many months, an unusual run that's occurred only four times in the browser's 15 years. (The last time it happened before this was in September-December 2019.) Whenever Chrome suffers losses in two or more straight months, it's tempting to wonder whether the browser has peaked. Computerworld has tentatively pegged more than a couple such milestones before but been proven wrong each time. The browser could easily bounce back as it has before. Computerworld's latest forecast as always, based on Chrome's 12-month average stayed with growth, albeit pared significantly from 30 days ago. Chrome should return to 70% by March 2021 and reach 71% by September 2022. (The latter was three months later than last month's forecast, showing how present declines quickly impact future gains.) Edge remains Chrome's most dangerous competitor, primarily and this is Google's own doing to some degree because the former is the latter, what with both relying on Chromium. But Microsoft has cards to play here that Google cannot match; Microsoft will leverage its enterprise management reputation and expertise in an attempt to wean commercial customers from Google's browser. Microsoft's strategy, then, would be the opposite of Google's. The latter pushed Chrome to consumers until its share reached tipping point, and employees demanded the right to run the same browser they'd become familiar with at home. Microsoft would instead hope to win over business users in the expectation that they might want to run the same browser on home PCs, tablets or even phones. Firefox: Not dead yet! Firefox didn't move its share needle last month; it stayed at the same 7.2% mark it earned in September. That meant Firefox didn't gain any ground. It also meant it didn't lose any, probably its most important goal for now and the foreseeable future. Mozilla's browser also stuck to the bad news forecast of last month, although Computerworld's current prediction puts it under 6% in August 2021, two months later than last month's estimate. At its 12-month rate of decline, Firefox will dip below 5% in May 2022. Elsewhere in Net Applications' numbers, Apple's Safari slumped by two-tenths of a percentage point in October, sliding to 3.4%. Opera Software's Opera fell by a slightly-larger three-tenths of a point to end the month at an all-time low of seven-tenths of a point. Net Applications calculates share by detecting the agent strings of the browsers used to reach the websites of Net Applications' clients. The company counts visitor sessions to measure browser activity. Or it used to. At the same time it published October's share numbers, Net Applications announced that it's pulling the plug on the data source. "October 2020 is the last month of data," the firm said. "Why? An upcoming change in browsers will break our device detection technology and will cause inaccuracies for a long period of time." The change Net Applications cited would remove much of the agent string information used not only to compile analytics such as browser and operating system share, but also by advertisers and/or scammers to "fingerprint" individuals so that they can be more thoroughly tracked as they conduct their online lives. Computerworld has not yet decided whether to continue the "Top web browsers" series, and if so, which alternate data source might be used. Stay tuned. Les blattes ou cafards (Blatta orientalis) sont des insectes qui appartiennent a la famille des Blattoptera. Ils se caracterisent par leur forme allongee, leurs ailes [] Reddit Email 151 Shares EURACTIV.com with Reuters | A Turkish-Iranian gold trader yesterday (30 November) told jurors in a New York federal court that Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan authorized a transaction in a scheme to help Iran evade US sanctions. Reza Zarrab is cooperating with US prosecutors in the criminal trial of a Turkish bank executive accused of helping to launder money for Iran. At the time of the alleged conspiracy, Erdogan was Turkeys prime minister. Zarrab said he had learned from Zafer Caglayan, who was Turkeys economy minister, that Erdogan and then-treasury minister Ali Babacan had authorized two Turkish banks, Ziraat Bank and VakifBank, to move funds for Iran. Both Ziraat and VakifBank denied taking part in the scheme. Neither Erdogan nor his representatives had any immediate comment on Zarrabs accusation that he authorized such transactions. Erdogan said earlier on Thursday that Turkey did not violate US sanctions, CNN Turk reported. A spokesman for Erdogans government has called the case a plot against Turkey. The testimony came on the third day of the trial of Mehmet Hakan Atilla, an executive at Turkeys state-owned Halkbank, who has pleaded not guilty in Manhattan federal court. US prosecutors have charged nine people in the case with conspiring to help Iran evade sanctions, although only Zarrab, 34, and Atilla, 47, have been arrested by US authorities. Over two days of testimony, Zarrab has told jurors that he helped Iran use funds deposited at Halkbank to buy gold, which was smuggled to Dubai and sold for cash. On Thursday, he said that he had to stop the gold trades and start moving money through fake food purchases instead in 2013, after US sanctions changed. Zarrab has said that Atilla helped design the gold transactions, along with Halkbanks former general manager, Suleyman Aslan. On Thursday, Zarrab discussed a 2013 phone call with Atilla about his plan to switch from gold trades to fake food sales. He said Atilla did not understand at the time that no actual food would be sent to Iran, and was reluctant to sign off on the plan. Zarrab said Aslan ordered Atilla to allow the transaction. Zarrab has testified that in the course of his scheme, he bribed Aslan and former Turkish economy minister Zafer Caglayan. Both Caglayan and Aslan were charged in the case. Turkeys government has previously said that Caglayan acted lawfully, and Halkbank has said it acted lawfully as well. Via Euractiv.com Related video added by Juan Cole: Wochit Politics: Witness: Turkish President Erdogan Part Of Sanctions Evading, Money Laundering Scheme Reddit Email 497 Shares By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | Trump got three pieces of bad news on Friday, along with the one good piece of news that he managed to lower taxes on himself and his billionaire cronies as the expense of health care for working people. The first piece of bad news is that former national security adviser Michael Flynn pled guilty to lying to the FBI about his contacts with Russian ambassador Sergey Kislyak. The second piece of bad news is that Flynn is apparently maintaining that he was used as a go-between to Russia by senior Trump aides Jared Kushner and former deputy security adviser K. T. McFarland. If Flynn was a go-fer instead of a mastermind, it means that Kushner and Trump might be the masterminds. The third piece of bad news is that Flynn is not being charged with a full range of crimes, including conspiring to kidnap Turkish religious leader Fethullah Gulen, in exile in Pennsylvania, and send him back to his arch-enemy and former ally, Turkish president Tayyip Erdogan. Lying to the FBI, a relatively minor accusation, is the only charge being brought. This prospect means that Flynn has made a bargain with Robert Mueller to stay out of jail if he agrees to roll over on his paymasters. Paymasters like Donald Trump and Jared Kushner. The FBIs indictment yesterday vindicates some of the analysis done on Flynn here at Informed Comment way last spring. I reprint one of my essays on this issue from that time: Here is what I wrote last March: Was Michael Flynn Russias primary channel of communication with the Trump team? By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | Former National Security Adviser to president Trump, Lt. Gen. (ret.) Michael Flynn, has allegedly offered to testify before the House Intelligence Committee on Russias role in the US election, on condition that he is granted immunity from prosecution. This development could be important, because Flynn was called by Russian analyst Vladimir Frolov, known for pro-Moscow journalism, one of primary channels of communication with the Trump team for the Russian government. Frolovs assertion was given some weight by the reactions in Moscow to Flynns firing in mid-February, according to the Moscow Times: Konstantin Kosachev, the head of the foreign affairs committee in the upper house of the Russian parliament, wrote that Russophobia had permeated the White House. Duma deputy Alexei Pushkov tweeted that it was not Flynn who was targeted but relations with Russia. That such high level Russian government officials complained so bitterly about the loss of their asset, Flynn, is more than suspicious. Pushkov seems to have thought that US-Russian relations depended on Flynn being on the NSC. Flynn had visited Moscow in 2015 and was seated with Vladimir Putin at a gala in celebration of the founding in 2000 of Russia Today, the Russian government-owned cable news channel. Flynn was allegedly paid tens of thousands of dollars for this appearance. Since he is a retired general, he should not have taken money from a foreign government and/or should have reported it, since officers can always be called back up. Then there are allegations that Flynn began meeting with Russian ambassador to the US Sergey Kislyak. After the Trump victory, which many believe was orchestrated by Russian cyber-cons, Flynn was in regular contact with Kislyak. He called him 5 times on Christmas Day. In a later telephone conversation, Flynn is alleged to have reassured Kislyak that new Obama sanctions would be reversed by the Trump administration. The Moscow Times writes: Russian analyst Dmitry Suslov says Flynns five phone conversations with the ambassador on the day of sanctions were nothing out of the ordinary. It was necessary for him to guarantee a smooth transition and devise a foreign policy for the administration, says Suslov. Soon after Flynns resignation, on Feb. 20, Tatyana Stanovaya, director of the Analysis Department at the Center for Political Technologies, wrote at Politcom.ru, according to BBC Monitoring, Michael Flynns resignation has come as a great disappointment to Russia, since his name was linked to some degree to hopes of a future warming of relations and a review of the sanctions regime. On Feb. 23, Viktor Olevich wrote in Izvestia, according to BBC Monitoring, that Trump letting Flynn go was a sign of weakness. He added that Flynn believed that the US could not simultaneously confront China, Iran and other threats and also handle Russia. Olevich wrote, In terms of Americas national interests Flynn was an advocate of detente in relations with Moscow . . . He saw opportunities for fruitful cooperation with Russia in the fight against Islamist terrorist groupings in the Middle East. At the same time, the retired general pursued the goal of driving a wedge between Moscow and Tehran, of detaching Russia from its strategic partners and allies. So Flynn is alleged by this Russian pundit to have sought, by his contacts with Russia, to detach Moscow from Tehran and to free the US to concentrate on China. Related video added by Juan Cole: VICE: Trump Has A Lot To Be Worried About Now That Flynn Is Talking (HBO) Reddit Email 63 Shares TeleSur | Experts have said that the bill will raise the U.S. rising deficit, increased the number of uninsured individuals, and redistribute wealth to the rich while increasing taxes on the poor. The United States Senate passed its version of the Trump tax plan reform that has been described by progressives as socialism for the rich due to its massive redistribution of wealth to top income brackets. Heated rhetoric engulfed the senate floor as both opposing parties argued their side the Republican Party hailing it as a window for liberty and a deduction of taxes across the board and the Democratic Party noting that the bill would raise taxes on the poor and cut them for the wealthy. This bill directs the lions share of its benefits to those at the very top, the already wealthy and the already powerful, said Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer. Former Obama economic policy advisor, Seth Hanlon, reported that he and his colleagues received a copy of the bills final amendment that was 479 pages long and included handwritten notes. Democrats criticized the passage of the bill because its contents were widely unknown during its discussion, there were virtually no expert witnesses that spoke before congressional committees, and the final amendment was written just hours before the final vote, which the Democrats saw as intentional. The U.S. House of Representatives passed its own version of the Trump tax plan last month that must be reconciled with the new senate version in a conference committee before being signed into law. The passage of these tax overhaul bills are one of very few victories for the Trump administration that has been plagued with controversy, ineptitude, and disfunction. Following the abject failure of Trumps vision to repeal the Affordable Care Act, commonly called Obamacare, Republican congressional leaders were frantic to gather their members and unify for a decisive vote on the tax plan. The Obamacare repeal failed because the Republicans were unable to unify on a bill which would repeal and replace Obamacare, something that leaders had promised. The bill was also overwhelmingly unpopular in U.S. opinion polls leading up to the vote. The Trump tax plan bill passed nearly along party lines, with a 51-49 vote, save for one Republican senator, Bob Corker of Tennessee, who believed that the tax plan, due to its massive cut in revenue, would further expand the U.S. governments budget deficit. Estimates suggest that the Trump tax plan would add $1 trillion to the already existing deficit over the next 10 years. According to reporters, Corker gave a heated speech against the tax plan and was later lambasted by members of his own party behind closed doors. Robert Reich, the former labor secretary of President Bill Clinton, said on Twitter: Over the next decade, the Trump-Republican plan will cost middle-class families $5.3 billion and enrich the top 1 percent by $5.8 billion not to mention cuts to Medicaid and Medicare and the destruction of the Affordable Care Act. Disgraceful. Vox notes that the Trump tax plan that was passed in the senate effectively reversed the individual mandate of Obamacare that requires all U.S. citizens to carry health insurance, which drives down insurance premiums. The Congressional Budget Office estimated that as many as 13 million people in the U.S. would become uninsured as a result of the repeal of the individual mandate. The office also projects that as many as 41 million people could become uninsured by 2026. U.S. President Donald Trump has urged his colleagues to see the tax plan implemented by the end of the year, a massive policy rollout that would exacerbate the already shaky class dynamic of the United States. Via TeleSur Related video added by Juan Cole: The Late Show with Stephen Colbert: Trumps Tax Bill Helps One Man In Particular The Herald reports: Disgraced MP Todd Barclay has just enjoyed a two-month sun-filled tour of Italy, Croatia and Greece all while receiving a $3000 a week taxpayer-funded pay packet. The former National MP announced in June he would not stand again after the phone tapping scandal but under Parliaments rules he still receives his salary until December 23. That means Barclay will have pocketed a total of $80,000 of taxpayer money, before tax, over six months. Oh for Fs sake, this is just getting nasty and vindictive. His job ended in September. Yes he effectively gets three months redundancy as done every other MP who retired. Where are the articles on Metiria Tureis $3,000 a week since the election? This week it was reported that Barclay had taken a job with the Japanese owners of Queenstowns Millbrook Resort, the Ishii family. His London-based role is as international business affairs secretary for the familys Japanese design and software company, Too Corporation, Mountain Scene reported. So hes got off his chuff and has gone and got a job in London and has had a holiday between jobs. Why is this news? Under Parliamentary policy someone who retired would still be paid until three months after polling day up to December 23. All 34 MPs who resigned or lost their seats at the 2017 election still get paid for three months about $40,000 in total, or $3300 a week, before tax. Former MPs and party leaders Peter Dunne and Te Ururoa Flavell defended Barclay, saying departed MPs have an entitlement and how they use it is their business. Te Ururoa Flavell said despite the circumstances Barclay was entitled to his salary and it was up to the individual concerned how they spend their money. Dunne said MPs ceased to be employed on election night. This is just a nasty gratuitous hounding of Barclay. Turei also resigned under a cloud. Yet she doesnt get these nasty articles about her $40,000. No she gets pity articles and nominations for New Zealander of the Year. Share this: Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Reddit WhatsApp More Pinterest Print Tumblr Mercedes-Benz Korea President and CEO Dimitris Psillakis speaks during a 50th anniversary event for the Mercedes-AMG brand held at Daesun Flour Mills in Yeongdeungpo-gu, Seoul, Thursday. / Courtesy of Mercedes-Benz Korea PRESS RELEASE UN Syria Envoy De Mistura Convenes Syria Peace Talks in Geneva Nov. 30, 2017 (EIRNS)UN Special Envoy for Syria Staffan de Mistura convened the eighth round of peace talks on Syria, today, with both the government and opposition delegations in the same building, though not in the same room. According to video and transcript posted by the UN, de Mistura told both delegations that "the subject we are going to address today is of fundamental importance for anything we do in the context of 2254 and the four baskets which are the fundamental principles." The four baskets for discussion de Mistura referred to are: a new constitution, governance, elections and combatting terrorism. De Mistura characterized todays format as "close proximity parallel meetings" which meant that the two delegations were in separate rooms, but were across the corridor from each other, allowing de Mistura and his staff to quickly move back and forth between them, as opposed to previous round where the two delegations were in separate buildings. Discussions are expected to address the issue of detainees, abductees and missing persons, along with the need for full humanitarian access in any besieged or hard-to-reach areas, such as Eastern Ghouta. De Mistura issued a statement last night, calling on both sides to refrain from "statements aimed at delegitimising other invitees." Reuters reported that at the end of the day, the two delegations left separately, without making statements to the media. Its not at all clear what will happen if and when de Mistura brings the two delegations together in the same room. Elements of the opposition delegation, now called the Syrian Negotiating Commission, still are demanding, as Syrian National Council chief Nasr Hariri told reporters on Nov. 28, that Syrian President Bashar al Assad step down before a political transition can begin. Mohannad Dlykan, a member of the opposition who is associated with the Moscow Platform which is less rigid on that question, told Sputnik yesterday that "This is now the biggest difficulty and problem." Apr 29, 2021, 4 AM The five 2 George Washington booklet stamps on this 1901 registered cover are overprinted PHILIPPINES for use in that United States possession at the time of mailing. By Jay Bigalke Are you ready for another edition of Linns Stamp News monthly magazine? We sure hope so, because the Dec. 18 issue is jam-packed with a marvelous assortment of in-depth, scholarly features that are sure to please. The presses are humming to get this issue ready for mailing Monday, Dec. 4. If you subscribe to Linns digital edition, youre at the head of the line because you get early access Saturday, Dec. 2. To heighten your anticipation, we offer three glimpses of what lies between the pages. Postal history of a stamp with a 1 billion plus production run Classic U.S. Postal History columnist Labron Harris explores a 10-year period of usage, 1894-1904, where more than 1 billion 2 Washington stamps were printed. He discusses three popular ways to collect postal history of the ubiquitous stamp. Stamps of South Arabia, 1963-68 Spotlight on Philately columnist Ken Lawrence continues his exploration of why many South Arabian stamps from the 1960s are not listed in the Scott catalog. He reviews their background and shows how to understand them. Workers of Valencias steel city honored with 1938 set The Spanish Civil Wars assaults echoed those of the second century B.C. in Valencias port town, Sagunto. Kitty Wunderly, in Classic Stamps of the World, discusses two stamp designs that in 1938 joined events of ancient and modern times. Want to subscribe? Get access to all of these articles, and so much more, with a Linns Stamp News print or digital edition subscription! Sign up and start reading now! Connect with Linns Stamp News: Sign up for our newsletter Like us on Facebook Follow us on Twitter This article was originally published at The Conversation. The publication contributed the article to Live Science's Expert Voices: Op-Ed & Insights. Over Christmas vacation in 1938, physicists Lise Meitner and Otto Frisch received puzzling scientific news in a private letter from nuclear chemist Otto Hahn. When bombarding uranium with neutrons, Hahn had made some surprising observations that went against everything known at the time about the dense cores of atoms their nuclei. Meitner and Frisch were able to provide an explanation for what he saw that would revolutionize the field of nuclear physics: A uranium nucleus could split in half or fission, as they called it producing two new nuclei, called fission fragments. More importantly, this fission process releases huge amounts of energy. This finding at the dawn of World War II was the start of a scientific and military race to understand and use this new atomic source of power. The release of these findings to the academic community immediately inspired many nuclear scientists to investigate the nuclear fission process further. Physicist Leo Szilard made an important realization: if fission emits neutrons, and neutrons can induce fission, then neutrons from the fission of one nucleus could cause the fission of another nucleus. It could all cascade in a self-sustained "chain" process. Thus began the quest to experimentally prove that a nuclear chain reaction was possible and 75 years ago, researchers at the University of Chicago succeeded, opening the door to what would become the nuclear era. Leo Szilard lectures on the fission process. (Image credit: Argonne National Laboratory) Harnessing fission As part of the Manhattan Project effort to build an atomic bomb during World War II, Szilard worked together with physicist Enrico Fermi and other colleagues at the University of Chicago to create the world's first experimental nuclear reactor. For a sustained, controlled chain reaction, each fission must induce just one additional fission. Any more, and there'd be an explosion. Any fewer and the reaction would peter out. In earlier studies, Fermi had found that uranium nuclei would absorb neutrons more easily if the neutrons were moving relatively slowly. But neutrons emitted from the fission of uranium are fast. So for the Chicago experiment, the physicists used graphite to slow down the emitted neutrons, via multiple scattering processes. The idea was to increase the neutrons' chances of being absorbed by another uranium nucleus. To make sure they could safely control the chain reaction, the team rigged together what they called "control rods." These were simply sheets of the element cadmium, an excellent neutron absorber. The physicists interspersed control rods through the uranium-graphite pile. At every step of the process Fermi calculated the expected neutron emission, and slowly removed a control rod to confirm his expectations. As a safety mechanism, the cadmium control rods could quickly be inserted if something started going wrong, to shut down the chain reaction. They called this 20x6x25-foot setup Chicago Pile Number One, or CP-1 for short and it was here they obtained world's the first controlled nuclear chain reaction on December 2, 1942. A single random neutron was enough to start the chain reaction process once the physicists assembled CP-1. The first neutron would induce fission on a uranium nucleus, emitting a set of new neutrons. These secondary neutrons hit carbon nuclei in the graphite and slowed down. Then they'd run into other uranium nuclei and induce a second round of fission reactions, emit even more neutrons, and on and on. The cadmium control rods made sure the process wouldn't continue indefinitely, because Fermi and his team could choose exactly how and where to insert them to control the chain reaction. Controlling the chain reaction was extremely important: If the balance between produced and absorbed neutrons was not exactly right, then the chain reactions either would not proceed at all, or in the other much more dangerous extreme, the chain reactions would multiply rapidly with the release of enormous amounts of energy. Sometimes, a few seconds after the fission occurs in a nuclear chain reaction, additional neutrons are released. Fission fragments are typically radioactive, and can emit different types of radiation, among them neutrons. Right away, Enrico Fermi, Leo Szilard, Eugene Wigner and others recognized the importance of these so-called "delayed neutrons" in controlling the chain reaction. If they weren't taken into account, these additional neutrons would induce more fission reactions than anticipated. As a result, the nuclear chain reaction in their Chicago experiment could have spiraled out of control, with potentially devastating results. More importantly, however, this time delay between the fission and the release of more neutrons allows some time for human beings to react and make adjustments, controlling the power of the chain reaction so it doesn't proceed too fast. The events of December 2, 1942 marked a huge milestone. Figuring out how to create and control the nuclear chain reaction was the foundation for the 448 nuclear reactors producing energy worldwide today. At present, 30 countries include nuclear reactors in their power portfolio. Within these countries, nuclear energy contributes on average 24 percent of their total electrical power, ranging as high as 72 percent in France. CP-1's success was also essential for the continuation of the Manhattan Project and the creation of the two atomic bombs used during World War II. Physicists' remaining questions The quest to understand delayed neutron emission and nuclear fission continues in modern nuclear physics laboratories. The race today is not for building atomic bombs or even nuclear reactors; it's for understanding of basic properties of nuclei through close collaboration between experiment and theory. Researchers have observed fission experimentally only for a small number of isotopes the various versions of an element based on how many neutrons each has and the details of this complex process are not yet well-understood. State-of-the-art theoretical models try to explain the observed fission properties, like how much energy is released, the number of neutrons emitted and the masses of the fission fragments. Delayed neutron emission happens only for nuclei that are not naturally occurring, and these nuclei live for only a short amount of time. While experiments have revealed some of the nuclei that emit delayed neutrons, we are not yet able to reliably predict which isotopes should have this property. We also don't know exact probabilities for delayed neutron emission or the amount of energy released properties that are very important for understanding the details of energy production in nuclear reactors. In addition, researchers are trying to predict new nuclei where nuclear fission might be possible. They're building new experiments and powerful new facilities which will provide access to nuclei that have never before been studied, in an attempt to measure all these properties directly. Together, the new experimental and theoretical studies will give us a much better understanding of nuclear fission, which can help improve the performance and safety of nuclear reactors. Both fission and delayed neutron emission are processes that also happen within stars. The creation of heavy elements, like silver and gold, in particular can depend on the fission and delayed neutron emission properties of exotic nuclei. Fission breaks the heaviest elements and replaces them with lighter ones (fission fragments), completely changing the element composition of a star. Delayed neutron emission adds more neutrons to the stellar environment, that can then induce new nuclear reactions. For example, nuclear properties played a vital role in the neutron-star merger event that was recently discovered by gravitational-wave and electromagnetic observatories around the world. The science has come a long way since Szilard's vision and Fermi's proof of a controlled nuclear chain reaction. At the same time, new questions have emerged, and there's still a lot to learn about the basic nuclear properties that drive the chain reaction and its impact on energy production here on Earth and elsewhere in our universe. Artemis Spyrou, Associate Professor of Nuclear Astrophysics, Michigan State University and Wolfgang Mittig, Professor of Physics, Michigan State University This article was originally published on The Conversation. Read the original article. Looks like somebodys mother got a cherished chestnut backward so its time to take a look at some ranting about AirPods. Writing for U.K.s Metro, Alex Hudson says Thank you Apple for making it much easier to spot a*seholes. (No link because thats positively screaming LINK TO MEEEEE!, as was every quote the Macalope pulled from this piece which used Tynt to dump in the URL of the piece as well. So NOT TODAY, SATAN!) Yes, people who enjoy listening to things sure are unbearable jerks, arent they? As opposed to the people who run around judging others by what theyre wearing. The earbuds batched in with iPhones are terrible. The earphones batched with other companies phones, on the other hand, are $300 over-ear noise-canceling unicornphones. Oh, sorry. Were senselessly ranting. Apologies. Please continue. But there is a special type of a*sehole who forks out 160 for a pair of Airpods [sic]. Okay, they are more expensive in the U.K., granted. All Apple products are. The Macalope only paid the equivalent of about 119 for his AirPods. Shouldna lost that revolution, guvunah. Most Apple products are strong, the MacBook Pro and the iPhone itself are industry-leading products. But not the AirPods! Theyre only nigh-universally loved by everyone who owns them. Wait. They sound terrible This is a matter of opinion, of course. The Macalope thinks they sound fine, good even. Nuance, however, does not pay the bulldog. What is it with bulldogs and needing to get paid, by the way? Who has been showing them this talk by Mike Monteiro? Who shows a dog a talk? The Macalope has a lot of questions about this phrase. One day the Macalope will get to the bottom of this but we have to get back to this ranting British man right now. theyre expensive The Macalope wouldnt call them cheap, no. And, yeah, theyre even more across the pond. But theyre only really expensive if you ignore their benefits. Which, of course, Hudson is here to do. theyre unsuitable for exercise The Macalope literally uses them to exercise multiple times every week. But, weve already established that hes an a*sehole. (If youre not aware, a*rse is a Britishism for artisanal. Mmm-hmm.) (its a split between people saying they never fall out and reviewers who say they fall out straight away) Half of all people are a*seholes. Seems low in the Macalopes experience but okay. they make you look stupid Okay, they dont look great. That is true. Space gray, please, Apple. And, uh, you can probably skip the Product Red on these because thats not going to be a good look. You have chosen to buy into the Apple culture not because the hardware or the software is better but because youre making some sort of statement about who you are. This is some form of weaponized wrong Hudson is spewing here because the best part of the AirPods is how well they work with Apple products. Pairing them is a freaking snap, as is switching between devices. But, if you use AirPods Youre an idiot and you have instantly identified yourself as a person who probably is not worth knowing and/or has some deep seated insecurity about being noticed. Indeed. The very secure way to handle things is to have a name-calling fit about other peoples headphone choices. 0 out of 10 clinical psychologists agree. Certainly, the woman in the still from the Apple ad that Hudson includes looks like an idiot. Stupid hoody-wearing, boyfriend-loving, standing-in-a-picturesque-snowy-street idiot. Probably a huge artisanalhole, too. Having a good battery life is not a selling point for 160 nor is being able to sync with an iPhone. They literally both are. AirPods are small enough that the Macalope is able to carry them around all day in a case that recharges them anywhere. This is a huge convenience feature. Said the Apple poser idiot-hole. Wearing Airpods [sic] is pretty much a cry for help. Please. Help. Save me from all this convenience and superior user experience. Oh, god. by Larissa Faw , December 1, 2017 Christa Carone is departing WPP to join Group Nine Media in the newly expanded role of president. COO Eric Ashman previously held the president title, but with different responsibilities and scope. As president, Carone will oversee a variety of disciplines at the digital media company, including sales and marketing teams, as well as its data insights. She will "allow us to be a better partner for brands and agencies alike," says CEO Ben Lerer. Most recently, Carone was the COO of WPPs Group SJR and managing director of Colloquial, the agency's joint venture with J. Walter Thompson. Prior to that, Carone served as the CMO for the Boston 2024 Partnership, the organization tasked with developing Bostons bid for the 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games. She also worked at Fidelity Investments and Xerox Corp. Carone joins the company at an opportune time. Earlier this week, Group Nine Media announced it has raised $40 million in a new round of funding to help expand video content across its brands and to finance future acquisitions. by Wendy Davis @wendyndavis, December 1, 2017 The analytics company HiQ should be free to scrape publicly available data about LinkedIn's users, the digital rights group Electronic Frontier Foundation and others argue in new court papers. "Open access is a hallmark of todays Internet, and one of the main reasons the Internet has become our 'modern public square,'" the EFF, search engine Duck Duck Go and the nonprofit Internet Archive say in papers submitted this week to the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals. The EFF and others add that LinkedIn shouldn't be allowed to use a criminal anti-hacking law to restrict the use of publicly available information online. The EFF and others are urging the 9th Circuit to uphold injunction requiring LinkedIn to allow publicly available data about its users to be scraped by HiQ. The 5-year-old HiQ scrapes LinkedIn's publicly available pages, analyzes the information to determine which employees are at risk of being poached, and then sells its findings to employers. advertisement advertisement HiQ sought an injunction against LinkedIn this summer, shortly after receiving demands to stop scraping data about its users. HiQ alleged that LinkedIn was planning to roll out a commercial service that would compete with HiQ's, and that LinkedIn's demands to stop collecting data were anti-competitive. LinkedIn contended that HiQ's scraping violated the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act -- a criminal law that prohibits companies from accessing computer servers without authorization. LinkedIn also argued that HiQ disregarded LinkedIn users' privacy and that HiQ's products could harm LinkedIn users. U.S. District Court Judge Edward Chen in the Northern District of California sided with HiQ earlier this year, ruling that an injunction was necessary in order to protect the company from irreparable harm while its dispute with LinkedIn is in court. Chen ordered LinkedIn to withdraw its cease-and-desist letter, and to remove any technical blocks preventing HiQ from accessing the site. LinkedIn recently asked appellate judges to lift that injunction, arguing that it has the right to protect the data on its servers from outside parties, and that HiQ lacks a valid antitrust claim. The advocacy group Electronic Privacy Information Center sided with LinkedIn, arguing that users didn't necessarily know that their data "would be acquired by others to build profiles that would be sold back to their employers." The EFF, Internet Archive and Duck Duck Go counter in a friend-of-the-court brief that many the criminal anti-hacking law wasn't meant to cover scraping data from public sites. "The public LinkedIn data hiQ accessed was not protected by any code-based access limitation," the groups argue. "And without such barrier to entry, everyone on the Internet was and is 'authorized' to access the data." They also say that a victory for LinkedIn could chill journalists and other researchers from using automated tools online. "If LinkedIns position prevails, a website that disagrees with a researchers purpose or manner of access could render that research criminal by merely updating in terms of use and sending a cease and desist letter," the EFF and others write. Four years ago, a different federal district court judge rejected arguments similar to HiQ's in a lawsuit brought by Craigslist against the data scraper 3Taps. In that case, the judge allowed Craigslist to proceed with claims that 3Taps violated the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act by scraping publicly available listings. LinkedIn has until December 11 to reply to the latest round of arguments. by Wendy Davis @wendyndavis, December 1, 2017 Disney has sued video rental company Redbox for infringing copyright by selling codes that allow consumers to download movies like "Finding Dory," "Guardians of the Galaxy," and "Star Wars." "Redbox markets its offering of the Codes as 'cheap,' a 'Smart buy,' and a low-price alternative to authorized digital services," Disney alleges in a complaint filed Thursday in U.S. District Court for the Central District of California. "Redbox does so to attract customers who would otherwise purchase a Combo Pack or licensed digital offering through an authorized distributor." On Friday afternoon, Redbox advertised a digital download code for "Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2" for $7.99, while Amazon Prime was selling the combined DVD/Blu-ray/digital code for $15. Redbox allegedly purchases combination packages that include a DVD, Blu-Ray Disc and code for a digital download from the site ReedeemDigitalMovie.com. Those combination packages state that the codes are not transferable, Disney says. advertisement advertisement After purchasing the packages, Redbox allegedly rents or sells the discs at its kiosks, and separately sells the digital download codes. Disney adds that Redbox doesn't tell consumers they aren't authorized to use the codes. The complaint alleges a host of claims, including that Redbox contributes to copyright infringement by consumers, violates its contract with Disney, and engages in false advertising by failing to tell consumers that they are not authorized to use the codes. Disney is seeking an injunction prohibiting Redbox from selling the codes, and monetary damages of at least $150,000 per infringement. This lawsuit isn't the first time Hollywood studios have battled companies that attempted to offer digital movies. Among other instances, in 2011 the Motion Picture Association of America successfully sued to shut down the online service Zediva, which charged web users $2 to stream movies. To all parents who were ever concerned about their teenage childrens addiction to their smartphone: you have serious grounds for worry, a new study suggests. Share on Pinterest A new study suggests that smartphones do put teenagers at risk when it comes to mental health. Is your teenager glued to their phone? Are they always online, checking social media, or looking at cat and bunny videos? Well, researchers from the Korea University in Seoul, South Korea, say you have grounds to worry. A consumer survey carried out this year found that 82 percent of Americans own or can use a smartphone, 92 percent are likely to use it while shopping, 78 while eating at home, and 44 while crossing the street. Moreover, according to a Pew Research Center survey, 73 percent of teens have access to a smartphone, and 92 percent of them say that they go online every single day. Dr. Hyung Suk Seo, of Korea University, warns that theres more danger in this addiction than just the potential of wasting a lot of time sharing memes and viral videos. In fact, teens who are addicted to their phones and the Internet have a chemical imbalance in their brains that predisposes them to depression and anxiety. The researchers presented the results of their study at the annual meeting of the Radiological Society of North America, held in Chicago, IL. Addicted teens more likely to be depressed Dr. Seo and team worked with 19 adolescents aged 15.5 years old, on average comprising nine males and 10 females who had been previously diagnosed with smartphone or Internet addiction. These were matched for biological gender and age with other 19 participants without smartphone addiction (the controls). The participants brains were examined using magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS), which is a technique that allows researchers to evaluate levels of various chemicals in the brain. Of the 19 smartphone- and Internet-addicted teens, 12 also received cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) over 9 weeks as part of the study. The CBT type that they received was adapted from a program targeting gaming addiction. To evaluate just how serious the participants addictions were, the researchers used standardized tests focusing on the extent to which smartphone and Internet use impacted the performance of daily activities, harming productivity and social life, as well as sleep and mental health. The higher the score [on these tests], explains Dr. Seo, the more severe the addiction. Participants with a more severe Internet and smartphone addiction were also found to have problems with depression and anxiety, as well as sleeplessness and impulsive behavior. India to Europe by car! Does that feel challenging, like an activity that could give you goosebumps by just thinking about it? There are two kinds of people, one group will call it a completely foolish idea and the other bunch will be thrilled by the hardships, adventures, excitement, and challenges they will have to go through, during the journey. To them, it's like an escape from the mundane to an adventurous, once in a lifetime opportunity. So, which side are you on because as far as these folks below will attest, it's a life-changing experience. MensXP A journey of a lifetime begins with 3 friends who made the journey along the Silk route as they travelled in their Fortuner from Asia to Europe crossing China, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, France, UK and much more. Seems fun, right! 1. The Great Indian World Trip Tripoto Date: September 2013 to December 2014 Travellers: Tushar Agarwal and Sanjay Madan, who first met at Limca Book of Records Where to: Six continents, covering 90,000 kilometers Vehicle: Toyota Fortuner 2. Lal Jose's 27 Country Road Trip IBTimes India Date: June 2014 to August 2014 Travellers: Lal Jose, Suresh Joseph, and Baiju N Nair Where to: Kochi to London, 27 countries, covering 24,796 kilometers Vehicle: Ford Endeavour 3. The Baid Family MensXP Date: April 8th, 2015. A 111 days trip Travellers: Adventurous couple Anand and Punita with their 12-year-old son, Yash, and 8-year-old daughter, Dhriti. Where to: 11 countries, covering 22,778 kms Vehicle: Fiat Linea Tjet 4. Three Women On A Road Trip To London TriHobo Date: December 2015. On the road for 97 Days Travellers: Three friends, Rashmi Gururaja Koppar, Dr. Soumya Gopinath and Nidhi Tiwari Where to: Delhi to London, covering 23,800 Kms, and crossing 17 Countries Vehicle: Mahindra Scorpio 5. Three Women's Expedition From Coimbatore To London Motoroids Date: 26 March 2017. OnRoad for 70 days Travellers: Meenakshi, 45, Mookambika, 38, and Priya, 55. On an expedition to commemorate 70 years of Indian Independence and promote the 'Rotary India Literacy Mission' Where to: Coimbatore to London, 24 countries Vehicle: Tata Hexa 6. Kamble's Solo Trip (A British National Of Indian Origin) TOI Date: July 2016. On the road for 75 days Travellers: Bharulata Kamble, a British national of Indian origin. She took a solo expedition driving her BMW X3 from the UK to India via the Arctic Circle. She spread awareness on educating girls. Where to: The United Kingdom to India, covering 31,000 kilometers Vehicle: BMW X3 7. Rishad Saam Mehta, A Travel Writer On A 'Wish Come True' Trip Rishad Date: 58 days Travellers: Rishad Saam Mehta. It came to him as an assignment to test-drive the Audi Q7 and write about his experience. Where to: Munich to Mumbai, covering 20,206 kilometers Vehicle: Audi Q7 8. Two British-Indians On A Charity Expedition From UK to India Jagjit Singh's Facebook page Date: February 2016; duration: 14 days Travellers: Jagjit Singh and Rapinder Singh Where to: Gravesend, England to the Golden Temple in Amritsar travelling through 17 countries and covering 12,900 kilometers Vehicle: N/A 9. An Old Couple Drive To London And Back Indiatimes Date: May 20; Duration: six months Travellers: A Mangalore based couple Louis, 61, and Janet D'Souza, 55, took the path less trodden. Where to: Forty countries covering more than 50,000 kilometers. Vehicle: BMW X5 Now, if you have made up your mind and are ready for a trip of this magnitude, start by creating the route map and a schedule which you will follow. You should start preparing for things like currency exchange, visa details, Carnet de Passages(CDP), sim purchases, insurance and all other formalities like the security deposit on the vehicle with the Automobile Association. If you plan to take a one-way trip, the vehicle can be shipped back to India as well. And most important of all, if you think you do not have enough money to make it. Look for as many sponsors you can get for your trip. Happy Travels. Samsung has been working in partnership with KDDI and demonstrated realistic 5G speeds on a moving train in Japan. The engineers were able to achieve download speeds of around 1.7 Gbps on a train that was moving at a speed of 100KM/HR. The tests were carried out from October 17th through the 19th in the city of Saitama in Japan, near Tokyo. For the tests, Samsung's 5G pre-commercial end-to-end solution was used, which is composed of a 5G router (CPE), radio access unit (5G Radio), virtualized RAN and virtualized core. (c) Samsung During the actual test run, an 8K video was downloaded and a 4K video was being uploaded at the same time. Samsung used their own systems and hardware to achieve these speeds. Results from the test show that Samsung's 5G tech has low latency and can support a large number of connections to a single access point. Yoshiaki Uchida of KDDI declared, "the success of today's demonstration in everyday locations such as a train and train station is an important milestone indicating 5G commercialization is near. (c) Youtube The potential that 5G holds is powerful enough to transform the landscape of our daily lives, said Youngky Kim, President and Head of Networks Business at Samsung Electronics. The success of today's demonstration is a result of our joint research with KDDI, which we will continue to pursue as we explore next-generation networks and use cases. This will include research on diverse spectrums and technologies, as well as new business models and applications. Samsung and KDDI hope to have this technology implemented by 2020 as current generation 4G LTE technology is restricted with low download speeds and high service costs. Implementing this technology will change how media is consumed on smartphones and will also make access to the internet easier. 5G is a technology that has been long under development and will hopefully bring high-speed internet connections to all without the limitations of current generation hardware. Were excited to announce that metalbulletin.com is now part of fastmarkets.com. A new look and an improved experience means you can still stay ahead of this fast-moving metals market with price data, news and market intelligence right here on Fastmarkets. Discover more than 2000 prices, news and analysis in primary and secondary metals markets. We cover base metals, industrial minerals, ores and alloys, steel, scrap and steel raw materials. If you already have a Fastmarkets account, youll still have uninterrupted access to your markets by logging in with your current details. A report released by the Government Accountability Office this fall finds the Navy and Marine Corps are falling short in adequate and consistent training for amphibious missions, with stateside units often missing out as next-to-deploy units get precious shipboard training time. The report does fault the services for not doing enough to maximize virtual training and experimentation, but it also points out that a dearth of available amphibious ships are putting a strain on the force. The Marine Corps has long maintained it needs a minimum force of 38 amphibious ships to fight missions around the globe, although officials said they could really use 50. Today, there are 32 amphibious ships in the inventory, and 14 are undergoing maintenance and unavailable for missions, Vice Adm. Andrew Lewis, Deputy Chief of Naval Operations for Operations, Plans and Strategy, told a panel of the House Armed Services Committee Friday. The GAO report, discussed at Friday's hearing, illustrates the effects of the amphibious shipping shortfall. According to the document, a survey of I Marine Expeditionary Force on the West Coast, the Navy could not fulfil 293 out of 314 requests -- 93 percent -- for Navy ship support for training in Fiscal 2016. At II MEF on the East Coast, 19 out of 40 requests were denied. While the report did not include data for III MEF, forward-deployed in the Pacific, it noted that cuts were being taken to planned amphibious exercises there as well. "Officials from III MEF told us that the large-scale amphibious exercise Ssang Yong is planned to be conducted every other year, but that the exercise requires the availability and alignment of two [Amphibious Ready Group-Marine Expeditionary Units] in order to have enough forces to conduct the exercise. These officials stated that this alignment may only happen every 3 years, instead of every other year, as planned," the report states. The exercise, a joint endeavor with the South Korean military, has taken on added significance amid North Korean threats and ballistic missile tests. Like Lewis, Lt. Gen. Beaudreault, deputy commandant for Plans, Policies and Operations, said he agreed with the GAO's findings. "The current inventory of 32 amphibious warships is short of our need to satisfy operational requirements, which does negatively impact the naval force's ability to generate readiness and negatively affects availability for training with larger-scale formations," he said. Beaudreault said the Marine Corps was now focusing on fully preparing next-to-deploy units and working to integrate more experimentation with new concepts into already scheduled exercises. The service recently used the planned exercise Dawn Blitz as a backdrop for a proof-of-concept test in which they fired a High Mobility Artillery Rocket System from an amphibious ship and obliterated a ground target 43 miles away. "We can't afford to have a set of ships to exercise and another set to experiment," Beaudreault said. More amphibious ships are on the way for the Marine Corps, but it will take time. Beaudreault said the inventory of amphibs is expected to grow to 34 ships beginning in Fiscal 2021, and grow toward the goal of 38 ships by Fiscal 2033. -- Hope Hodge Seck can be reached at hope.seck@military.com. Follow her on Twitter at @HopeSeck. Officials say the device was known as an "unexploded ordnance," or an explosive weapon that did not explode and still posed a... The Marine Corps made headlines and delighted tech blogs in October when it obliterated a ground target with a high-mobility artillery rocket system launched from the amphibious transport dock USS Anchorage nearly 43 miles away. But the service's plans for integrating precision fires into maritime operations extend well beyond a dazzling proof-of-concept test. To start, there will be more shipboard HIMARS tests in the near future, said Maj. Gen. Eric Smith, commanding general of the 1st Marine Division. "We'll do it a couple of times, so proof of concept has to be done a few times," Smith told Military.com following a Marine Corps Association and Foundation event near Washington, D.C. in November. "Once it's proven that we can steadily always do that, then the answer is, it's unlimited." Related content: Those follow-up tests have yet to be scheduled, but will involve different weather conditions and parameters, Smith said. "There's no decision to make other than reprove the concept, make sure it's valid. Then the only decision is, where do you employ it, when do you employ it, how much do you use," he said. "The great thing is there isn't much to decide. We own the ships, we own the HIMARS, we own the Marines shooting the HIMARS, and it works." In addition to targeting accuracy, the recent test did allow Marine officials to iron out challenges specific to shooting rockets from ships. Planners first had to adjust targeting software to account for firing from a moving position, developing a capability that effectively did not exist before in the Marine Corps, said Lt. Col. Bradley Sams, program manager for fires at Marine Corps Systems Command. Testers found they also had to use a blast pad to prevent the deck from being damaged by the rocket launcher. But firing HIMARS off a ship may not be the end game the Marine Corps wants to pursue, according to the Marine Corps' experts on the topic. One potential problem with a plan to deploy the rocket system aboard amphibious ships is the space the system takes up. The launcher itself sits on the back of a 22-foot truck frame and comes with dense, rectangular rocket pods. It typically is deployed with a platoon of Marines. "A platoon is a big footprint," said Lt. Col. Dale Butler, artillery and rockets capabilities integration officer at Marine Corps Systems Command. "Just putting 11 of the pods for HIMARS displaces one-fifth of the ammo storage capacity [on an amphibious ship]. A platoon has the capability of carrying 18 pods of ammunition. There's a lot of second- and third-order effects that need to be scrubbed down." The real advantage of the test, Butler said, was to demonstrate the Corps' capability to attack land-based targets from the sea, a concept designed to make the Marines more lethal as they operate increasingly in littoral environments. With that proven, the service may explore a variety of systems and munitions before settling on a solution or concept that works best. Joe McPherson, fires deputy for Marine Corps Systems Command, said the Marine Corps is exploring targeting modifications to the existing guided multiple launch rocket system, or GMLRS, as well as the possibility of equipping the MGM-140 Army Tactical Missile System, or ATACMS, with a seeking device. The Marine Corps is also interested in Raytheon's Naval Strike Missile, an anti-ship and land attack missile that has been tested aboard the Navy's littoral combat ship. The missile has a range of 100 nautical miles, more than double the effective range of HIMARS. There's another option still on the table as well: using the vertical launching system, or VLS, cells that already exist aboard San Antonio-class amphibious assault ships to fire Tomahawks or other missiles. Both the Navy and the Marine Corps are interested in that capability, though a decision hasn't been made yet on a way forward. Once the weapons system is decided upon, employment is another question. The Marine Corps may also explore anti-ship fires capabilities from land or moving HIMARS via amphibious ships to reach land-based destinations. While deploying HIMARs for routine Marine Expeditionary Unit deployments might mean valuable space lost and a lot of downtime for the weapons system, Butler said he could see it being deployed with a larger Marine Expeditionary Brigade for forcible entry operations. He is also interested in putting the rocket launchers on other maritime platforms, such as Navy logistics ships, to create a sort of floating archipelago of fires in a specific region. In a hearing before the panel of the House Armed Services Committee, the deputy commandant for Marine Corps Plans, Policies and Operations, Lt. Gen. Brian Beaudreault, talked about finding ways to extend the Marines' shooting range from the sea up to 400 miles. "The coin of the realm of the future is long-range precision fires," he said. -- Hope Hodge Seck can be reached at hope.seck@military.com. Follow her on Twitter at @HopeSeck. Darren Wolfson of KSTP tweeted today that while the Twins remain engaged and interested in regards to a few big name free agent pitchers, theres no indication yet that they are in heavily on anyone. While that can change quickly, Wolfson acknowledges that the trade market is also a very real possibility. It would seem that Minnesota is in a position to take their time in exploring all possible options. It makes plenty of sense to wonder whether the Twins might wait to see where Shohei Ohtani signs before making any significant pitching acquisitions. The market for pitching is likely to hold fast until the two-way Japanese sensation picks a landing spot, and on the off-chance that he chooses Minnesota, they might be able to focus their resources on other areas of the roster. A particularly weak bullpen comes to mind as another area the Twins will need to improve upon if they expect to contend again in 2018. More notes out of the American Leagues central division Every institution in this country be it private or public institution will always work towards progress, will always work towards development, will always wish its members enjoy to the fullest etc. Kofi Agyei Senior High School was established in 1991 and has produced a lot of SHS graduates into the system. What I know is that every institution will always work to progress but the situation of Kofi Agyei Senior High School is totally different. Why should a school which has been one of the best schools in the Kwabre East District now descend drastically to the backyard. A school that had a good image is now degrading and defaming day in day out. A school that had the largest population in 2008 in the District and second in Ashanti is now loosing it focus. Our motto is pray and work but it looks as if the students pray and sleep. We are not living up to expectations recently. 2007 we had a Headmaster called Mr. Nyame Kwarteng who directed the school along the success path. Unfortunately, he died a mysterious death which wounds have not been able to recover from. In 2012, the school had a headmistress by name Mrs. Elizabeth Cobbold who took charge and since she came, the school has not been able to redeem its image anymore. The school has not been able to increase its enrolment nor maintain the number it had preciously. The school is degrading every blessed day. For her age, the least I talk about it the better. The woman is weak, I dont know if heads have a special age for retirement. Her management is now at the balcony. She runs the school like she is running her own private school. Information l gathered indicates that for more than three years she run the school without a board and only form one when a team of external auditors came to the school to question her. Even with this board l in person will describe it as dancing board who only takes what she says because she has them in her purse. Her management style is least to talk about . If you are teacher and you try to do the right thing or want something better to be done and you have a little misunderstanding with her that will be the end of your happiness in the school. This headmistress has caused the transfer of not less than eight teachers this academic year alone, all because they want her to do the right thing. Almost all the teachers are crying within, the students are crying within, the workers are crying within. Oh my God! is this the legacy some headmaster and headmistress seeks to achieve for their schools? In 2013 some students walked to FM stations in Kumasi to channel their grievances yet the head has not changed from what she has been doing. Students are not comfortable with anything in the school anymore. Thanks to God I'm an old student so I had a feel in the school at it better and historic days. Currently the headmistress wants to make a wacky move by transferring one of the vibrant teachers again after succeeding in offloading about eight. Now it is the turn of the housemaster. Please madam we need our school, if you can't add value don't reduce the value. Don't burry the glories we had previously. Don't starve the school in terms of development and academic successes that the school is known for. The school has great legacies. Let me remind you that one Clement Sogbo placed first in a mathematics contest in Kumasi and proceeded to the national level and placed first in 2006 which was held in Tamale. If you care to know, you are a failure and you are not helping the school to just reflect 2007 to 2012 batch and compare their results to your results as at now and see how drastically you have set the school back. Oh my God I'm really sad to hear that from 2013 to date you can register about 600 students to write WASSCE and out of this students only 20 or 15 will pass. Is it not shameful for you to keep exhibiting ungrateful to the good people and students of GREAT KASH?? Madam we thank you very much for doing your part. If you have nothing good for us again just leave the school for us. Enough is enough. We cannot face this shameless ruling from you again. The corruption at your various offices the least I talk about them the better. But let me chip in this, I know internship students are not suppose to pay any money to any head but your assistant was taking money from students which I can attest to that fact. The two internship students from Winneba, main campus your assistant took money from them before giving them the chance. Also old students are made to pay money before their certificates are given to them. Is this not shameful? If it was to be that they were even taken the certificate for Tertiary it would have been better but this is the case that they have to go and write private exams again. Thank God you came when I was in my final year and I pass the WASSCE without writing any external exams. Please do your work well and leave the teachers to also work. Know your boundaries. You have done your part so please end it and allow someone to continue from there. You see the students were not happy with your plan to transfer the housemaster? Think about it. Have a good day Madam. 02.12.2017 LISTEN Mr. Ishmael Ejekumhene, the Executive Director of the Kumasi Institute of Technology and Environment (KITE), has called on the government to stick to regulations governing the spending of oil proceeds as passed by parliament. He said a strict adherence to the law would help end the situation where millions of petroleum revenue is wasted on projects that can hardly be accounted for. Mr. Ejukum-Hene said this at a stakeholder's workshop in Accra organized by KITE, in collaboration with the Ghana Centre for Democratic Development and the Africa Centre for Energy Policy, to disseminate the findings of a 3-year study on how Ghana has utilised the proceeds from its petroleum resources. He said research conducted by KITE has revealed that many of the projects being funded by the oil proceeds from the year 2010-2016 cannot be located or found in some of the mentioned communities. Mr. Ejukum-Hene said such missing projects are rampant in areas such as school buildings and irrigation projects. He blamed the missing projects on the lack of monitoring and too much spending. Mr. Ejukum-Hene said the various oil discoveries would one day dry up and there should be something to show up from the oil proceeds. He called on members of the public to demand accountability from the government to ensure that the oil proceeds are invested in the right areas for the benefit of all. Mr. Ejukum-Hene also called for the resourcing of the Public Interest and Accountability Committee to promote transparency and accountability in the management of petroleum revenues. 02.12.2017 LISTEN Madam Hannah Owusu-Koranteng, the Associate Executive Director of the Wassa Association of Communities Affected by Mining (WACAM) has urged the government to domesticate the principles of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) directive on mining. She said the association was expecting the government to scale up efforts to ensure that principles such as the 'Free Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC) is domesticated'. The FPIC is expected to empower host communities to be able to decide on whether they prefer mining to other economic activities based on adequate information on mining and its effects on the community. Madam Owusu-Koranteng said this at the opening of a two-day regional workshop on WACAM's experience sharing with extractive sector Civil Societies and community groups from Burkina Faso, Mali, Ghana, Nigeria, and Senegal. She said most governments in the sub-region had ratified the ECOWAS Directives for Harmonisation of Guidelines and principles in the mining sector and that Ghana gazetted the Mining Directive in 2010. Madam Owusu-Koranteng said other important provisions such as the 'No Go Zones', the 'Polluter Pays Principle' and the human rights provisions should form the basis of reforms of the mining regimes in the sub-region. She called for a cost-benefit analysis for countries to assess the social, environmental and economic costs of the minimal revenues from mining. The WACAM Executive Director said there was the need to work together to tilt the balance of power in the mining sector in the interest of the marginalised mining communities and to influence public policy in the sub-region for a strong common mining regime for effective regulation of the sector. She said there was a growing consciousness among Civil Society Organisations in Africa and the sub-region of the need to work together to strengthen awareness creation, share ideas, build coalition and alliances that would harness efforts to influence mining policy reforms. Madam Barbara Oteng-Gyesi, a Deputy Minister of Lands and Natural Resources said Ghana had realised the need to promote integration and linkages development of its mining sectors to spearhead growth and industrialisation to alleviate poverty. She said the development and use of the country's natural resources could be optimised if a broad-based perspective of mining activities, within the context of the long-term national and continental development goals, was adopted. Madam Oteng-Gyesi indicated that if the social and environmental impacts, resulting from mining activities were not properly regulated and managed, it would be difficult to achieve the goal of ensuring that mining took place in a responsible manner. The Police Administration has expressed its appreciation to motorists and the public, especially in Accra, for their cooperation during the long traffic hold up last Thursday. The traffic was as a result of visits by Very Very Important Personalities (VVIPs) into the country on November 30. The appreciation was in a statement signed by Assistant Commissioner of Police David Eklu, Director-General of Public Affairs, and copied to the Ghana News Agency on Friday. It said: 'The Police regret the unintended inconvenience caused as a result of the complex traffic arrangements put in place to facilitate the movements of the VVIPs. 02.12.2017 LISTEN Twenty (20) farmers in the Ahafo-Ano South District, have been honored with prizes for their immense contribution to the development of the area's agriculture. They received knapsack sprayers, wellington boots, cutlasses, key bar soap, and certificates. Mr. Adu Tawiah, adjudged the overall district farmer, in addition to what every award winner got, carried home a refrigerator, full piece of wax print and a radio set. This was at the national farmers day celebration held at Mankranso, the district capital, under the theme 'Planting for food and jobs'. Mr. Joseph Agyemang Dapaah, the District Chief Executive (DCE), hailed the farmers for their hard work and encouraged them to adopt improved farming methods to boost crop yield. That, he said, required closer collaboration and heeding the technical advice of the extension officers. Mr. Johnson K. Adu, the Member of Parliament (MP), pledged to give strong support to farmers - pay part of the cost of agricultural inputs supplied to them. He encouraged the youth to take advantage of the government's flagship 'planting for food and jobs' programme to improve their economic situation. Mr. Kingsford Nyame, the District Director of Agriculture, said extension support to the farmers would be strengthened. The Media Coalition Against Galamsey (MCAG) has said the justice delivery system seems to be the weakest link in the fight against illegal mining popularly known as 'galamsey' in Ghana. The Coalition is of the view that the fines that are being imposed on perpetrators of the illegal act by the law courts are not strong enough to discourage people from engaging in 'galamsey'. Mr. Kenneth Ashigbey, Convener of MCAG, said this during the 6th Town Hall Meeting of the Coalition and the National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE) held in Bole in the Northern Region. He said with the Minerals and Mining Act, Act 900, if a Ghanaian is found to have engaged in 'galamsey', he or she would be fined 2000 to 20,000 penalty units, adding that currently, a penalty unit was GH 12,00 making it GH 2,400.00 to GH 24000.00 fine or up to a prison term of 10 years. 'But we are seeing that the judges are just fining these people GH 2,400.00', he said. The former Managing Director (MD) of the Graphic Communications Group Limited said for foreigners, the fine was 30,000 penalty units to 300,000 or up to a term of 20 years imprisonment. Mr. Ashigbey said when Aisha Wang and four others were arrested by the Immigration authorities and brought to the court, charges preferred against them were only under the Immigration Act while they were suspected to have contravened the Minerals and Mining Act as well. 'It has to take a member of the Coalition, Occupy Ghana to Petition the Attorney-General (A-G) before a change was made', he said. In September, Operation Vanguard also arrested some four Chinese nationals who were suspected to have engaged in illegal mining and they were granted bail, then three days later the same four and one other person were found engaging in the same act, he said. 'When they were brought back to the court, the judge fined them GHC 2,400.00 but they were actually having GH 60,000.00 with them at the court there, so immediately they asked that they should take the fine out of it and give them, their balance', he said. 'We were expecting that a fine of GH 360,000 would have been given but the judge fined these Chinese GH2,400.00 which is definitely against the law', Mr. Ashigbey said. The Convener of the MCAG said based on this observation, the Coalition has petitioned the A-G and the Chief Justice for them to look into the case so that justice was actually delivered and were enough to serve as a deterrent to discourage people from engaging in 'galamsey'. 'We are asking the Chief Justice and the A-G to look into the sentences that are being handed over to these people so that we can have a strong justice delivery system to aid in the fight against galamsey in the country. The MCAG/NCCE Town Hall Meeting was well attended by traditional rulers, farmers, staff of decentralised departments and agencies, students, the media and other members of the general public. 02.12.2017 LISTEN Queenmothers within the Awutu Beraku Traditional Area have called for the institution of proper bye-laws to deal effectively with sanitation and hygiene matters in their communities. They expressed regret that though they had the closest contact with members of their communities, they were sidelined in the decision making processes in matters of governance and developments. This came to light during an engagement by the Voice for Change (V4C) Advocacy Programme with female traditional leaders of Awutu Beraku and Awutu Senya East districts in the Central Region on Friday to find ways of dealing with the sanitation and hygiene problems in their communities. The meeting, therefore, sought to assess the critical roles played by traditional authorities in sanitation and hygiene service delivery and management. The V4C Partnership Programme is an evidence-based advocacy being implemented by SNV (Netherlands Development Organisation) in partnership with the International Food and Policy Research Institute and funded the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The five-year programme is being implemented by SNV and its partner Civil Society Orgnisations (CSOs) in Ghana and other developing countries. It aims to strengthen the capacities of local CSOs to generate reliable and relevant data and carry out evidence-based advocacy for sustainable development in key focus areas. These are Renewable Energy, Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) and Food Security and Nutrition. The Ghana WASH component of the project, dubbed: 'Ghana Sanitation and Hygiene for All (SH4ALL), is directed at intensifying the voice of CSOs and the citizenry to demand more equitable, affordable and sustainable sanitation and hygiene services and improved policy implementation at the district level. The target groups include actors in Awutu Senya East Municipality and Awutu Senya District Assembly, traditional authorities, waste management companies, micro-finance institutions and banks. Others are Community-based Organisations, assembly members, unit committees and the media. Intervention Forum (IF), a non-governmental organisation, is one of four local implementing partners under the WASH Component in Awutu Senya East Municipal and Awutu Senya District assemblies. Madam Nora Ollennu, the Chief Executive Officer of IF, told the queenmothers that the V4C Programme recognised the roles and contributions by traditional heads in the provision and management of equitable and sustainable sanitation and hygiene services. The engagement, she said, was of strategic importance not only to the project but also to the attainment of safe sanitation, cleaner environments and improved health and living conditions for the citizens and commended the two assemblies for the high level of responsiveness to the initiative. She said assembly and unit committee members were not happy about the constraint in mobilizing citizens for community cleanup exercises as well as the growing apathy levels among citizens. This, she noted, had led them to appeal for the passage of customary laws by traditional heads to support them to carry out effective sanitation exercises. Stephen Kwame Quaye, the District Chief Executive of Awutu Senya West, expressed the need for the people to continue with the age-old practice of good sanitation in the communities. He expressed worry about the growing heaps of waste in the communities and urged all to help in dealing with the situation. 'We have decided to spend money on sanitation and we shall, in collaboration with traditional authorities, especially our queenmothers, pass sanitation bye-laws to ensure proper sanitation in our communities,' he said. During an open forum, the quuenmothers, led by Naakye Dode Akaabi XIV, Paramount Queenmother of Awutu Traditional Area, called for the institution of communal labour to rid the communities of filth. She called for stiff punishment for sanitation offenders, devoid of favoritism, adding that they should be fined to serve as deterrent. Mr Kofi Acheampong Boateng, the Coordinating Director, Awutu Senya District, reiterated the need for communities to address sanitation and hygiene matters with all seriousness. He said the Assembly was coming out with bye-laws that would compel all persons putting up houses and structures to provide toilet facilities within their premises. Model public toilets would, however, be provided by the Assembly to cater for travelers and visitors, and urged all to comply with this directive. Mr Boateng said Ghana was classified by the World Health Organisation as having performed very poorly in its open defecation assessment, and implored the traditional leaders to help reverse this trend. GNA As the country marks the 33rd National Farmers' Day today, some women farmers in the Savelugu/Nanton Municipality have called on the government to review the land tenure system to enable them to benefit from the Planting for Food and Jobs programme (PFJ). They said they did not own land, a situation which denied many of them the opportunity to benefit from the PFJ, which required beneficiaries to have at least an acre of land to be selected for the PFJ. Madam Abiba Alhassan, a farmer at Zaazi, a community in the Savelugu/Nanton Municipality, who summarized the views of other women farmers in the area, said addressing the land acquisition challenges facing women farmers would help them to benefit from the PFJ, which would ensure income to take care of their families. Madam Alhassan was speaking at a community engagement at Zaazi facilitated by the Youth Empowerment for Life (YEfL), a youth development oriented non-governmental organization, to assess farmers' opinions on the implementation of the PFJ. Madam Alhassan said only one woman was selected for PFJ from the Zaazi community even though a number of them engaged in agricultural production in the area. She lauded the PFJ as it enabled farmers to increase their acreage of production and income. Government earlier this year launched the PFJ to amongst others boost agricultural production whiles creating jobs. Mr Abdul Ganiyu Alhassan, Technical Advisor on Advocacy, Youth and Gender at YEfL under the Empowerment for Life Programme, appealed to government to introduce an animal rearing component to the PFJ to benefit women who did not have land. He expressed need for government to review the land policy and put women into groups for block farming with access to tractor services to enable them to benefit from the PFJ. More so, he said, there is the need for government talk to chiefs to release land for women to develop for the PFJ for increased production. GNA By Albert Futukpor, GNA 02.12.2017 LISTEN Accra, Dec 1, GNA- About 5,500 jobs for women, persons with disability and the youth are expected to be created from the European Union (EU) Adentan Mushroom project, Mrs Philomena Norman, Project Coordinator of the Programme has said. The project funded by the EU with an amount of 820,000 euros is in collaboration with the Adentan Municipal Assembly (AdMA), the Centre for Local Governance and Advocacy and the Local Government Network. The three-year project, is aimed at promoting local economic development and job opportunities in the Municipality as well as help improve the environment through sustainable practices along the production chain in the mushroom industry. She said this in Accra when an EU delegation visited the project in Accra. Mrs Norman said the project was also to develop an environmentally sustainable production chain in mushrooms in the municipality and promote its production for job creation, reduction of poverty and increased revenue. She encouraged residents within the municipality to take advantage of the opportunity to increase employment rate and expand the local economy. Mrs Norman announced that a spawn laboratory was currently under construction to serve as a training and quality control centre, adding that with support of the Business Advisory Centre, the project had identified a number of mushroom farmers and provided them with enhanced training. She stressed that women groups have also been mobilized and equipped with knowledge on how to add value to the mushroom by processing of product into pizza, bread and chips. Mr Paolo Salvia, the Acting Ambassador of the EU delegation in Ghana said the idea to fund the project was part of the EU's decentralization process in the country aimed at reducing poverty. He said it was the first time the EU was engaging in such funding initiative in the country and was hopeful that the project would be beneficial to all stakeholders involved and achieve the purpose for which it was established. Mr Alexander Nii-Noi Adumuah, Municipal Chief Executive for the AdMA said the project was in line with government agenda of 'one district one factory' to scale-up jobs for the citizenry. He encouraged other municipalities across the country to consider venturing into such project as an avenue to create jobs for the people in the community and contribute to the reduction in the rate of unemployment. She added that plans were advanced to expand and upgrade road infrastructure that connected farming communities to marketing centres. GNA By Kodjo Adams, GNA 02.12.2017 LISTEN Most Revered Mathew Kwasi Gyamfi, the Catholic Bishop of Sunyani, has advised health professionals to research and be abreast of the issues in order not to put the lives of patients at risk. He gave the advice at a joint matriculation ceremony for 298 students admitted for the 2017/2018 academic year to pursue general nursing and midwifery programmes of the Holy Family Nursing and Midwifery Training College at Berekum in the Brong-Ahafo Region. Out of the number, 151 are being trained at the Berekum Campus whilst 87 are also at the Saint Mary's Catholic Hospital Campus at Drobo in the Jaman South District. Most Rev. Gyamfi asked health workers to cultivate the habit of reading and using technology to seek for all the essential information needed in the execution of their duties. He entreated health workers to sacrifice and with tender loving care, provide efficient health services to the citizenry. He admonished the matriculants to study seriously to be able to complete the training successfully to distinguish themselves as excellent professionals in practice. Miss Monica Nkrumah, the Principal of the College, said the College was given accreditation by the Nursing and Midwifery Council of Ghana in September, this year, to run post Nurse Assistant Clinical (NAC) and Nurse Assistant Preventive (NAP) midwifery programmes. She stated that the first batch of 60 students for the post NAC/NAP programmes was admitted this year and that increased the total student population to 836 for both campuses. Miss Nkrumah warned the fresh students against deviant behaviour and indulging in social vices and stressed the need to lead modest and decent lives to make their stay on campus fruitful and productive. GNA By Regina Benneh, GNA Mr. Dominic Nitiwul, the Minister of Defense on Thursday entreated the general public and other law enforcement agencies to cooperate with the Military to promote peace, law and order in the country. He observed that there were a lot of illegalities such as smuggling, illegal chain saw operations and mining going on in the country, which the military alone could not prevent, unless with the cooperation of all Ghanaians. 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. He expressed satisfaction that the operations of the Military in the fight against 'galamsey' (illegal mining) had been very successful and would significantly save the nations environment from further degradation. Mr. Nitiwul commended the Military for their role and comportment in the government's effort to prevent and prohibit 'galamsey' operations without any negative incidence and urged them to collaborate with other security agencies to ensure that the country's boarders are totally safe and secured against activities that could disturb national peace. 'You are to be very watchful, especially at the countries boarders, to ensure that the peace of the nation is maintained', he emphasised. Mr. Nitiwul stated that all the required resources needed by the Garrison would be provided by the government in the shortest possible time to promote effective and efficient performance to help in addressing all security concerns in the region and the entire country. He said there are plans to renovate the various Military barracks to ensure a decent environment and accommodation for personnel to motivate them, adding that, each barracks would also receive five 50-seater air-conditioned buses to facilitate their movements and operations. Mr. Nitiwul entreated the personnel to remain loyal and disciplined, and also exhibit professionalism to maintain the integrity and dignity of the Military. He appealed to the media to be circumspect in their reportage about the Military in the area of politics. The Defence Minister, before the durbar, went round the Garrison to inspect a sewage treatment plant, a stand-by power generator, a swimming pool, condemned officers quarters and a foundation block of a Day-Care Centre under construction. Earlier in the day, Mr. Nitiwul and his entourage paid separate courtesy calls on Mr. Kwaku Asomah-Cheremeh, the Brong-Ahafo Regional Minister and the members of the Sunyani Traditional Council. GNA By Regina Benneh, GNA During the summer of 2015, millions of migrants thronged into Europe across Central Mediterranean from Libya to Sicily and across Eastern Mediterranean from Turkey and the Balkan route to Greece in one of the most dramatic exodus of human beings from one region to another since the Second World War. In a bid to stop the influx, Europe paid billions of Euros to Turkey to control the crossover through Eastern Mediterranean. In February this year, Italy and the rest of the European Union agreed to pay Libyan Government of National Accord (GNA), the UN-backed interim government that is struggling to hold control of the country, to keep refugees from arriving in Italy through the Central Mediterranean, and instead put them into detention camps in Libya. The accord signed Feb. 3, provides for Italy to pay 220 million ($236 million) to the Libyan coastal guard and provide training to help them catch the vesselsprimarily rubber dinghies. The Libyan coast guard will be charged with sending the boats back to Libya and putting people into camps. Did Europe has a preconceived idea? Annalisa Merelli reported to Ouartz, (qz.com) The move (by European Union) effectively chokes off migrants from the so-called Central Mediterranean route between Libya and Sicily. That route became the most trafficked last year after Turkey agreed to keep migrants from reaching Europe via the Eastern Mediterranean and the Balkans into Greece. Last year over 181,000 refugees came to Italy via the Central Mediterranean route while more than 4,500 died at sea. Currently, most of the migrants and refugees are rescued at sea by the Italian coastal guard, and end up in shelters in Italy, elsewhere in Europe, or are given repatriation orders. The Feb. 3 agreementas well as the US administrations attempt to ban refugeesunderscores the lack of Western welcome faced by people fleeing war and instability in the Middle East. The detention centers in Libya have no procedure to handle an influx, Hehenkamp said, and are simply warehouses managed by militias, where abuses are common. MSF has access to a few camps around Tripoli, and has found under detention at least 40 asylum seekers holding documentation of their status of refugees. Two have since been freed and put under the care of international humanitarian authorities. The UN High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) has called the conditions of migrants currently held in Libya deplorable. A spokesperson for the European Council wrote in a statement that one of the priorities expressed at the summit by the leaders was to ensure adequate reception capacities and conditions in Libya for migrants, and that the signatories of the agreement reaffirmed their determination to act in full respect of human rights, international law and European values. But this pledge may be impossible to fulfill in the current political climate in Libya, according to MSF and other organizations, such as Amnesty International, that have strongly criticized the deal. Its an illusion to pretend that at the moment there is a partner [in Libya] that you can work with, Hehenkamp said. The agreement itself notes that efforts to stabilize Libya are now more important than ever, and the EU will do its utmost to contribute to that objective. According to European Council president Donald Tusk, the agreement should help reduce the number of irregular migrants and save lives at the same time. In 2008, Italy and Libya made a similar pact that did halt the flow of migrants leaving from Africa until 2011, when the Libyan civil war erupted. But that agreement between Italys Silvio Berlusconi and Libyas Muammar Gaddafi didnt allow anyone to get into the detention centers to check conditions, which were described as horrific by those detained there, said Hehenkamp. They are saying they want to save lives at sea, says Hehenkamp, but their ultimate motivation is to keep people from coming to Europe. Indeed, the Mediterranean has now become Europes impenetrable wall. While Tusk may celebrate the accord as an important and encouraging sign that things are about to change for the better, Iverna McGowan, a director of Amnesty International, contended that this plan is just the latest, but perhaps the most callous indicator of European leaders turning their back on refugees. The Europeans feared a political consequence, if the migration was not stopped by all means. Has the Libyan slave trade helped solved the European problem of migration, especially from Africa? Understandably, considering populist movements throughout the continent, European leaders are scared of political consequences brought on by the migrant crisis, said Hehenkamp. But without progress toward stability throughout the Middle East, the refugee problem wont go away. People fleeing war and repressive regimes will increasingly turn to illegal smuggling operations. [Migrants and refugees] will find a way [to reach Europe], Hehenkamp said, just a more dangerous and difficult one. More people will profit from it, he says, Since CNN first reported of the Slave Trade in Libya, the international community has taken over to help the migrant problem, especially from Africa. Now it is no more Europeans only-problem, but all. Nigeria and Ghana have began to fly home their citizens locked in Libya. It appears that Europe has found the solution. Before February or even the summer of this year, thousands of migrants were in Libya waiting to cross the Mediterranean to Italy. Some had been there for several years. Those who crossed over to Europe did not also complain that the Libyans had been selling them. How come this evil treatment in this short time? Was it hidden from the eyes of the world all these while? Was the Libyan Slave Trade a part of the deal reached by Europeans with Libyans to solve the crisis? Or was it an unexpected event that resulted from the Libyan Camp Deal? There are so many questions than answers. Whatever the answers may be a solution on both sides of the continents seems to have been found. Edward Bamfo-Darko 02.12.2017 LISTEN Scores of Passengers on board a VIP bus are in critical condition following a head-on collision on with a Trailor Truck Friday dawn. The accident occurred at Teacher -Mante near Suhum in the Eastern Region on the Accra-Kumasi Highway. The VIP bus from Kumasi heading to Accra collided with the Trailer while overtaking another vehicle. The victims have been rushed to the Nsawam and Suhum government Hospitals. A search on the driver side of the VIP bus uncovered some quantities of Tramadol, a drug for pains. An eyewitness told Starr News, the VIP Bus was from Kumasi and was overtaking a Vehicle while the Trailer Truck was from Accra so the VIP crashed head-on with the Trailer. Many passengers are seriously injured . He added that we found out that the driver has taken tramadol drug. Because we found quantities of tramadol on the driver side, they take the Tramadol to harden them to drive carelessly . 02.12.2017 LISTEN The President of Groupe Nduom, Dr Papa Kwesi Nduom has urged government as a matter of urgency make fuel stations sell out points for pre-mix fuel to enable fishermen to buy pre-mix fuel directly at fuel stations. In a Facebook post, Dr Nduom who is also the National Committee Chairman of the Progressive Peoples Party (PPP), believes making the pre-mix fuel readily available for the fishermen will help curtail all the diversions and high cost of the product. According to a report by the National Petroleum Authority (NPA), there were 12 major diversions of pre-mix fuel in January alone. The NPAs BRV Tracking System and Returns revealed in all instances, although the product was documented to be bound for the Volta Region, they ended up in Accra Why cant a fisherman take his or her money to a petrol station and buy pre-mix fuel without fuss? Why allow greedy politicians to mess around with the livelihood of the fishermen who are already struggling to make a living? he quizzed. Dr. Nduom also urged government to safeguard the waters from illegal fishing by both locals and foreigners. About 1,500 fetish priests and their followers have converged at the Manhyia Palace in Kumasi from Friday, December 1, 2017 to kick start the final funeral rites of the late Asantehemaa, Nana Afia Kobi Serwaa Ampem II, who died a year ago. Otumfuo Sumankwahene, Barfuo Asabre Kugyawoasu II, revealed that the funeral is scheduled from Dec 1 to Dec 11 and told Adehye FM's Elisha Adarkwah, that preparations are far advanced for the week long final funeral rites. He was quick to add that he will not hesitate to drive out any fake or quark fetish priest from the display ground at the opening ceremony, if found out. He, therefore, demanded that all the fetish priests perform the ancient days of priesthood without faking. Otumfuo Kyeame, Barfuo Kantankrakye, also urged the public to join Manhyia and sympathise with Otumfuo, as he mourns his late mother. He said security will be tight throughout the programme to ensure safety of mourners. He, therefore, advised sympathizers to comport themselves and abide by the directive of the security men. President Akufo-Addo's New Patriotic Party (NPP) administration seems to be doing something right that is catching the attention of the world. Latest to join the list of leaders who have commended the way in which the government is steering the affairs of the nation is the visiting Prime Minister of Holland, Mark Rutte. This was when he paid a courtesy call on the president at the Flagstaff House. Mr Mark Rutte touted Ghana's credentials as a democratically free country with respect for human rights and freedom of the press. For him, these values are crucial and important for the Netherlands government, saying, We are actually eager as a country to work together with Ghana. In economic terms too, Ghana is making excellent progress; our countries have a long tradition of development ties but now we see the emphasis shifting from aid to trade, an important step. He therefore noted, It's our joint aim that young Ghanaians and other Africans can build a bright future in their own country rather than risking their lives to travel to Europe a journey that almost always fails. The issue, he said, was topical at the just-ended European Union (EU)-Africa Union (AU) Summit held in the Ivory Coast. In a response, President Akufo-Addo touted the relations between the two countries, calling for greater boost and dynamism. I know that the presence of the Prime Minister here, however brief it is, is meant to be a signal that the Netherlands values the friendship of Ghana, values the association with Ghana and that together we are now going to look at this new paradigm of our relationtalking about a Ghana beyond aida relationship with our partners that is not built on aid but trade and investment, he articulated. Inside State House in Harare, Robert Mugabe was in the tightest spot of his 37-year rule. Tanks were on the streets and troops had occupied the state broadcaster, from where the army had announced it had taken control of Zimbabwe. Mugabe, 93 years old but still alert, remained defiant. At a tense meeting with his military top brass on Nov. 16, the worlds oldest head of state put his foot down: Bring me the constitution and tell me what it says, he ordered military chief Constantino Chiwenga, according to two sources present. An aide brought a copy of the constitution, which lays out that the president is commander-in-chief of the armed forces. Chiwenga hesitated before replying that Zimbabwe was facing a national crisis that demanded military intervention. Mugabe retorted that the army was the problem, then the beleaguered president indicated that perhaps they could find a solution together. The generals wanted Mugabe to go, but they also wanted a peaceful coup, one that would not irreparably tarnish the administration aiming to take over, according to multiple military and political sources. The president finally accepted defeat only after he was sacked by his own ZANU-PF party and faced the ignominy of impeachment. He signed a short letter of resignation to Parliament Speaker Jacob Mudenda that was read out to lawmakers on Nov. 21. The country erupted into ecstasy. Parliamentarians danced and people poured onto the streets in their tens of thousands to celebrate a political downfall that sent shockwaves across Africa and the world. Reuters pieced together the events leading up to Mugabes removal, showing that the armys action was the culmination of months of planning that stretched from Harare to Johannesburg to Beijing. Drawing on a trove of intelligence documents from within Mugabes feared Central Intelligence Organisation (CIO), Reuters reported in September that the army was backing Emmerson Mnangagwa, then vice president, to succeed Mugabe when the time came. The report detailed how Mnangagwa, a life-long friend and former security chief of Mugabe, might cooperate with Mugabes political foes in order to revive the economy. As the pressure built, Mugabe became increasingly paranoid about the loyalty of army chief Chiwenga. His spies, who permeated every institution and section of society in Zimbabwe, were warning him the military would not accept Grace as president. Mugabe is very worried of a coup, one intelligence report, dated Oct. 23, said. In late October, Mugabe summoned Chiwenga to a showdown, according to another of the documents, dated Oct. 30. It said Mugabe confronted the army chief about his ties to Mnangagwa and told him that going against Grace would cost him his life. Chiwenga was warned by Mugabe that it is high time for him to start following. He mentioned to Chiwenga that those fighting his wife are bound to die a painful death, the intelligence report said. Chiwengwa refused to be intimidated. He stood his ground over his loyalty to Mnangagwa, the report said. After another tense meeting with Mugabe on Nov. 5, Chiwenga left Harare on a pre-arranged official trip and travelled to China, a major investor in Zimbabwe. A day later, Mugabe sacked Mnangagwa as vice president and purged him from ZANU-PF, the liberation movement that Mnangagwa had served since his youth and for which, as a young militant caught bombing a train, he had nearly been executed. For the generals, Mugabe had gone too far. The military immediately activated a Code Red alert, its highest level of preparedness, a military source said. Security personnel, who are friendly to me, warned me that plans were underfoot to eliminate me once arrested and taken to a police station, Mnangagwa said in a Nov. 21 statement. It was in my security interest to leave the country immediately. From Harare, he managed to escape over the border into neighboring Mozambique, where he caught a plane to China, according to one source familiar with his movements. There he met up with Chiwenga, the source said. An intelligence report, dated Oct. 30, said Beijing and Moscow both supported regime change out of frustration at Zimbabwes economic implosion under Mugabe. Chiwengas trip to China culminated in him meeting Chinese Defence Minister Chang Wanquan in Beijing on Nov. 10. Two sources with knowledge of the talks told Reuters that Chiwenga asked if China would agree not to interfere if he took temporary control in Zimbabwe to remove Mugabe from power. Chang assured him Beijing would not get involved and the two also discussed tactics that might be employed during the de facto coup, the sources said. Having got wind of the talks in China, Mugabe summoned his still-loyal police commissioner, Augustine Chihuri, and his deputy, Innocent Matibiri, to detain Chiwenga on his return to Harare, government and security sources said. The pair assembled a squad of 100 police and intelligence agents. But the plot leaked and Chiwenga supporters managed to pull together a counter-team of several hundred special forces soldiers and agents as their commanders plane approached. Realising they were outnumbered and outgunned, Chihuris police team backed down, allowing Chiwenga to touch down without incident, the security source said. Two days later, Chiwenga and a group of military commanders demanded a meeting with Mugabe at his official State House residence in Harare. They said they were very alarmed at the firing of Mnangagwa and told Mugabe to rein in his wife and her G40 faction, whom they accused of trying to divide the military, according to the government official, who was present at the discussions. What do you think should be done? Mugabe demanded of the soldiers as he sat slumped in an armchair. The generals asked him to give assurances that they too would not be purged. Mugabes response was lukewarm, the government source said. Hours later, Chiwenga summoned reporters to the militarys main barracks near Harare to issue a statement. We must remind those behind the current treacherous shenanigans that, when it comes to matters of protecting our revolution, the military will not hesitate to step in, he said, reading from a prepared text. The following afternoon, Reuters reported six armoured personnel carriers heading toward the headquarters of Mugabes Presidential Guard on the outskirts of Harare. At the time, the citys residents were on edge but still unsure what it all meant. At around 6:00 pm on Nov. 14, Mugabes motorcade headed to his private 'Blue Roof' residence, a heavily fortified compound in the capitals leafy northern suburb of Borrowdale. Increasingly concerned, Grace put in a call shortly after 7:00 pm to a cabinet minister asking to get WhatsApp and Twitter shut down, according to one source familiar with a recording of the conversation. The minister, whose identity Reuters is withholding for safety reasons, replied that such a move was the responsibility of state security minister Kembo Mohadi. No-one will stand for a coup. It cannot happen, said Grace, commonly referred to as Amai, which means mother, according to a source who heard the recording. Mugabes voice is then heard on the line: As you have heard from Amai, is there anything that can be done? The minister gave the same response, about the responsibilities of state security and the line went dead, the source said. Two hours later, two armoured vehicles rolled into the Pockets Hill headquarters of the Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation (ZBC), according to ZBC sources. Dozens of soldiers sealed off the site and stormed into the studios where they accosted staff, snatching their phones and halting programmes. State-owned ZBC switched to broadcasting pop music videos. Mugabes inner circle, nearly all of them G40 loyalists, had no idea what was under way, according to four sources familiar with their conversations. Information Minister Simon Khaya Moyo called Defence Minister Sydney Sekeramayi to ask if he had any information about a possible coup. Sekeramayi said no, but tried to check with military chief Chiwenga. As ministers in the G40 faction tried frantically to work out what was going on, Chiwengas men closed in on Mugabes compound. According to a source briefed on the situation, Albert Ngulube, a CIO director and head of Mugabes security detail, was driving home around 9:30 pm after visiting Mugabe. He met an armoured car on Borrowdale Brooke, a side road leading to Mugabes house. When Ngulube confronted the soldiers and threatened to shoot them, they beat him up and detained him, the source said. Ngulube was later released, but had suffered head and facial injuries, the source added. Other G40 ministers were also picked up by soldiers. Finance minister Ignatius Chombo was found hiding in a toilet at his house and beaten before being detained at an undisclosed location for more than a week. On his release on Nov. 24, he was hospitalized with injuries to his hands, legs and back, his lawyer told Reuters, describing the armys behaviour as brutal and draconian. Soldiers used explosives to blow the front door off the house of Jonathan Moyo, the main brains behind G40, according to video footage of the house seen by Reuters. Others burst through the front gates of the residence of local government minister Saviour Kasukuwere, another key Grace supporter. Both men managed to escape to Mugabes residence. Contacted by Reuters shortly after midnight in the early hours of Nov. 15, Kasukuwere was audibly stressed. I cant talk. Im in a meeting, he said, before hanging up. For another week, Mugabe clung on to the presidency as Chiwenga and his forces tried to engineer a peaceful, and quasi-legal, exit for the long-serving leader. But as parliament began impeachment proceedings on Nov. 21, Mugabe finally gave up. After 37 years in control, his letter of resignation said he was stepping down out of concern for the welfare of the people of Zimbabwe. Story by MacDonald Dzirutwe, Joe Brock and Ed Cropley, Reuters There are certain ideas that cannot be conveyed eloquently enough unless one resorts to ones native language. Thus, whilst trying to alert his fellow countrymen to the proliferation of false rumours about himself and his government in the Ghana of his time, our first President, Dr Kwame Nkrumah, inserted the earthy Ga term, aker.aker (literally, they say. they say) into his English text. The term went viral. The Hon Joseph Osei-Owusu, MP for Bekwai and First Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly, has just scored a similar goal for the term yemmo won tuo [lets shoot them!] in his native Twi language. In an interview on the pestilence Ghana is currently inflicting upon itself galamsey, (See ). Hon Osei-Owusu expressed, in pithy language, the exasperation that fills the heart and mind of a Ghanaian patriot when he or she sets eyes on the devastation that galamsey has wrought, and continues to wreak, upon our landscape, our rivers and streams and our food and cocoa farms. He said: (I paraphrase) The most severe punishment should be visited upon these people who are destroying our rivers and streams, particularly, the Chinese. For which Ghanaian could go to China and do anything of this sort? Weve been borrowing money to try and clean up some of the rivers. Yet, when the water clears up a bit and you come back, you see them back to their polluted self. The Operation Vanguard people even report that the galamseyers give mobile phones to little children and station them along the roads so that they can send signals to the galamseyers, telling them when the Vanguard soldiers and policemen are passing in their vehicles. So by the time the Vanguardmen get to the galamsey operational areas, the galamseyers would have vanished. Maybe they are doing all this because they think we are weak-minded. We should do shoot them so that they will realise that we are not a weak-minded people. It is just too distressing There are Ghanaians showing them what time to move stealthily to the selected areas and that sort of thing! The Hon Osei-Owusu is one of the most literate people in our current parliament. He also seems to have a sense of mission as an MP. When he lost the primary election of the NPP for his Bekwai Constituency, he unusually contested the seat of MP for the constituency as an independent candidate. He beat the NPP official candidate and won! This is the type of independent-minded legislator that Ghana needs badly. To watch your country going to the dogs and keep quiet about it because one does not want to step on foreign or local toes, is a treasonable act, in the moral sense of the term. I therefore hope that MPs will rally round Mr Osei-Owusus call for harsher punishments to be imposed on galamsey operators. Indeed, legislation is urgently needed to make long terms of imprisonment MANDATORY for galamsey operators. This is because the judiciary, aided by a very abysmal performance often put up by our prosecuting authorities, are making a laughing stock of the brave men in uniform who defy tough terrain and personal danger to arrest galamsey operators. In one instance, a court at Koforidua fined persons arrested for carrying out galamsey operations such paltry sums of money that the total of the fines imposed on them was lesser than the physical cash taken from them at the time of their arrest. So they walked out of court with some change to collect from the authorities as the balance of what the court had been presented with as an exhibit! In fact, the Media Coalition Against Galamsey has had to file a case in court pointing out that an appeal for a review of the bail conditions imposed on a group of Chinese and Ghanaian galamseyers should NOT be heard by the court where the appeal was lodged because that court is an inferior one. The adjudication on the appeal should be made by a higher court, the Media Coalition contends. Now, if the Coalition had not raised such an objection,, would the states legal representatives necessarily have done so themselves? We cannot take it for granted because the precedent set by Mr Martin Amidu (n the Woyome saga) teaches us that state officials can sleep on the job. Meanwhile, some heartening news: Afrobarometer Org., an NGO that carries out surveys of public opinion on issues of contention, has just published the results of a survey in which one of the questions asked was whether the respondents approved or disapproved of galamsey. Three-fourths(74%) of Ghanaians said people should not engage in illegal small-scale mining for any reason. Only one in five respondents (21%) said citizens should be able to make a living through 'galamsey,' though it is illegal. So, if the Association of Small-scale Miners, which says it is going to form a political party, thinks that the Ghanaian electorate is stupid enough to back a party whose members are ruining its rivers, streams and water-bodies, as well as its food farms and forest reserves, the Association has a new think coming. The Afrobarometer survey shows that the Government has the populace firmly behind it. So the Government should boldly tell the Association: Bring it on! The government, indeed, should use its overweening popular support to do what concerned people like the Hon Osei-Owusu advocate and bring urgent legislation before parliament, giving full vent to the desire of the majority of the populace to see harsh measures urgently enacted to bring an end to the evil galamsey menace once and for all. By CAMERON DUODU 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 France's 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. SDV Pru District to get 39 dams under one-village, one-dam Richard Kofi Boahen ([email protected]), Adjalaja-Beposo The Pru District Assembly in the Brong Ahafo Region has begun the process of constructing 39 dams across the length and breadth of the district to provide irrigation to farmers so that they could undertake an all-year-round farming. To this end, the district has undertaken feasibility studies and submitted proposals to government for work to begin on the construction of the dams in 2018. The Pru River and the Volta Lake would play pivotal roles in this exercise. The Pru District Chief Executive, Stephen Jalulah, disclosed this in an interview with the modernghana.com on the sidelines of the 33rd Farmers Day celebrations held at Adjalaja-Beposo near Prang. He said the Pru district was a predominantly farming area and so the Assembly would do everything possible to protect the interest of the farmers to enable them carry out their farming activities with ease to boost food production and ensure food security. Mr. Jalulah said irregular rainfall pattern remained a major challenge facing farmers in the Pru District and expressed the hope that the construction of the 39 dams under the governments One-Village, One-Dam policy would be of great relief to the people. Touching on post-harvest losses, Mr. Jalulah said plans were far advanced to put up a warehouse in the district for the storage of foodstuff produced in the area. According to him, proposals for the setting up of at least two factories in the district were also being worked on and assured that the Pru District would never be left out in the distribution of the national cake. The district, he said, would have Rice Processing Factory as well as Fruit Processing Factory, under the second batch of factories which would be rolled out by the One-District, One-Factory Secretariat next year. When completed, the two factories would add value to the raw materials which are produced in high quantities in the area while creating thousands of direct and indirect jobs and improving the livelihoods of the people of the area. Meanwhile, 18 farmers were honoured at this years edition of Pru District Farmers Day celebration which took place at Adjalaja-Beposo near Prang under the theme, Farming for food and jobs. 50-year-old Yaw Atta, who has been farming for the last 16 years, was adjudged the 2017 District Best Farmer. He has 130 acres of yam, 50 acres of maize, 109 acres of rice, and ten acres each of cassava and ground-nuts as well as 50 sheep, 30 goats, 25 cattle and 95 birds in his poultry, among others. Prizes for the award winners included Motor-bikes, Tricycles, Bicycles, and Refrigerators, Sound systems, Wellington boots and machetes, among others. The DCE of the area, Stephen Jalulah congratulated them and encouraged them to work harder in the coming years. From Richard Kofi Boahen ([email protected] or 02486936370 END The presidents assertion at the recent Aljazeera interview, that it will take a change in public opinion caused by advocacy to bring about decriminalization of homosexuality in Ghanaian laws proved he was realistic and honest about the topic. He recognized that the issue cannot be dodged forever and at the same time invites for a conversation to be had, even if it would be in the long run. Although the coalition agrees with that assertion, we are of the view that the advocacy must go on now. We therefore invite for a fair and honest national conversation where all stakeholders are brought on board, where all views are respected and not bullied into silence and where divisive propaganda politics are not used to score political points. This is a topic about the humanity and dignity of a Ghanaian whose sexual orientation falls in the minority and do not therefore deserve to be treated with disrespect and abuse. For a nation striving to develop all hands must be on deck. The contributions of all Ghanaians, including the LGBTQ community must be encouraged and supported. This is why putting our brothers and sisters in jail for having consensual same sex encounters or relationships, rather than encouraging them to contribute meaningfully to society, is an injustice that must be addressed as a nation. As a coalition, we are aware of the likes of 'pastors' and other religious leaders who have recently graced the media because of their hate speech towards gay people. We believe that people should have the right to voice their opinions and beliefs for civil discussion, but they should not be allowed to incite violence, prejudice or harm of any kind to another human being or group of human beings because of who they are and who they love. You don't like homosexuality, Fine, lead by example and don't be gay then. Just don't make gay people who believe in the existence of God feel that who they are is a major problem and an abomination in the eyes of God, and therefore hated by God Himself. Because the God that you religious leaders talk about we know is loving to all creatures including gays. So, pastors and imams, PREACH LOVE and not hate! To fellow Ghanaians who after the Presidents interview with Aljazeera are expressing a whole lot of negative views and discontent regarding the issue, note that not every Gay Ghanaian is affected by the hate you spreading and no matter how much hate messages you share on social media it will not change who we are. However, as a Coalition we do know that others, including LGBT youths are more sensitive to things of that nature and as a result some end up committing suicide and that is why we will continue to be the voice of those suffering silently and even taking their lives. As a Coalition, we are also aware that in the mainstream Ghanaian media, the discourse on homosexuality is often biased, inflammatory and dishonest. The media always give titles to their reportages that are sensational and sometimes lead to the abuse of LGBT people. The question is, what other national issues were discussed during the Presidents interview with Aljazeera? And why did the media prioritize and make so much noise about the Presidents comments on LGBT and not so on the other issues discussed? The Coalition appreciates the presidents remarks and contributions from a cross section of the Ghanaian society, because to us it is an indication that the nation recognizes the existence of the LGBT community here in Ghana, and recognizes that they are abused on a daily basis. The coalition is not calling for same sex marriage, neither are we calling for decriminalization of a non-exiting law. We are rather calling on the nation to put in place mechanisms that will protect the LGBT Community who are also HUMAN BEINGS from verbal abuse, physical abuse, arbitrary arrest, unfair expulsion from educational institutions, blackmails and in some extreme cases killing of innocent human beings just because they identify as LGBT. Thank You. Nana Kweku Nyanfreku II President 02.12.2017 LISTEN Requisite skills, honesty and good leadership have been identified as the greatest developmental needs of the country. It was observed that the country would develop if political leaders would stop giving false hopes to the people but rather work for the betterment of the people. These sentiments were shared at a forum aimed at educating entrepreneurs in Ghana held on in Tamale on Thursday. The chapter director of Startup Grind Tamale, Mubarak Sulemana said the forum formed part of 200 events undertaken by the organization to educate, connect and inspire entrepreneurs across the globe The Chief Executive Officer of Public Speaking and Entrepreneurial Institute, Ibrahim Mustapha said graduates should stop putting out curriculum vitaes to companies but look for ways to establish their own businesses. He also they should stop lamenting over capital but rather have feasible ideas so that people would assist them with capital. A resource person at the forum, Adu Poku Richard said people should stop trying to establish their own businesses because they can't find jobs. "People should do away with the narrative that there are no jobs so I am going to establish my own business ". He said. He said they should rather build their skills and assess themselves to know whether they are qualified for the existing opportunities in the country or not. According to him "the best entrepreneurs are people who are demanded by corporate entities but just forget of them to establish their own businesses ". The branch manager of Guranteee Trust Bank, Haruna Jabir also advised the participants to take the risk to establish their own businesses and register them. He admonished the participants to be confident and believe in themselves about what they want to do. Mr Haruna further urged entrepreneurs to develop tenacity to withstand challenges in their businesses. He however, emphasised that the participants should "see their ideas materialised in a way that leads to the benefit of your societies". The forum which was organised on the theme " The Grand Grind " brought together students, prospective employers, entrepreneurs and other stakeholders for a day of sharing and networking. 02.12.2017 LISTEN Rather than licking his electoral defeat wounds in 2016 with genuine humility and come out with winnable strategies next time around, ex-President Mahama is shamelessly walking everywhere, telling people his loss stemmed from his strong rejection of juicy campaign promises (see: Ghanaweb, The Publisher online). Clearly, Mr. Mahama thinks his electoral trashing was somehow a fluke in that by his brazen Nana Akufo-Addo could not have beaten him to become president today had it not the NPP leaders empty campaign promises to voters. The wise had said over and over that every failure/mistake teaches a useful lesson, especially, if the one or those who failed are ready to learn anything productive from that infraction. Particularly, judging from his recent seedy pronouncement at the NDCs so-called Unity Walk in Tarkwa in the Western part of Ghana, it is obvious former President Mahama is still living in the fantasy world after his crushing defeat. Any savvy politician will modestly learn from his/her mistakes; and then make unassuming effort to contextualize the actual circumstances that led to the electoral failure. But what do we see and hear from Mr. Mahama, lately? Aside from him and his die-hard cheerleaders subtly using their over-advertised NDC Unity Walk to promote Mr. Mahamas second or third presidential bid, the ex-president is cunningly behaving as if he doesnt really know the basis for his massive electoral rejection by the majority of Ghanaians in 2016. If we were to construct a standard form of deductive argument based on Mr. Mahamas false logic, we may have something like this one: Empty campaign promises in 2016 won the presidential elections; Mr. Mahama categorically rejected empty campaign promises; Therefore, Comrade Mahama did not win the 2016 presidential elections. Often, the way some African leaders talk and behave in and out of office makes many of us least surprised that our resources-rich continent is still struggling hard to find its libido to enable it compete confidently and productively among the rich and powerful continents. Sure, in the above argument the premisesmisleadinglysupport the conclusion typical of almost all deductive reasoning. Thus, on its face value, ex-President Mahamas argument appears valid, but the same time it is pathetically unsound. More so, an argument doesnt require true premises or a true conclusion to be valid. On the flip side, a cogent or sound reasoning requires true premises and a genuine conclusion. More importantly, trending toward deductive argument in an unpredictable world of human behavior coupled with raw African politics can only come from unseasoned politicians. Mr. Mahama probably would have been given some form of a pass if elections and political campaigns are mostly based on mathematical analysis. The former presidents contention that then candidate Nana Akufo-Addos presidential victory was the result of empty promises dishonestly ignores several significant socioeconomic factors under the Mahama-led government that adversely crystallized in a clear view of Ghanaians prior to the December 2016 general elections. This is to say there was crystal ball of foreboding events leading to the 2016 general elections that didnt need anyone to have supernatural powers to figure out that then Mr. Mahamas not-so-competent regime was heading toward defeat in the polls. Apparently, ex-presidents inability to make an insightfully humble critique of what actually precipitated his governments implosion at the hands of the current president of the republic is symptomatic of his internalized incompetence. Even in the opposition, former President John Mahama is displaying some of the relics of his inept leadership via unguarded quasi-campaign utterances. It is too early to predict a partys flag bearer; but, the best gift the largest opposition party NDC can ever give the NPP-led government is to choose ex-President Mahama to contest against President Akufo-Addo and Vice President Bawumia ticket. In that likely scenario, the NPP presidential pair will laugh all the way to the electoral bank to cash their landslide check one more time. In any event, this is my unsolicited suggestion to ex-President Mahama regarding the consequential reasons behind his humiliating defeat to Nana Akufo-Addo in the presidential election. Again, like almost all reasoning bordering on deductive, their validity may be assured but the same cannot be said about their soundness. Hence, the valid and sound rationalizations Mr. Mahama needs to be telling smart-thinking Ghanaians in sincere fashion are the following line of inductive argument: I have now realized that most Ghanaians are not politically docile to be taken for granted; I should have exhibited genuine sensitivity to the plight of ordinary Ghanaians instead of telling them Im tone deaf like a dead goat. That, the dumsor, dumsor was my Achilles heels; I could have done much better; That, constructing flyovers everywhere in the cities cannot fool Ghanaians; Majority of Ghanaians are dead serious about multiparty democracy taking roots in Ghana; That, most Ghanaians today have clear understanding that true democracy requires transparency, accountability, and corrupt-free government officials for the system to function well; That as president I should have shown contrition when an investigative reporter exposed the rotten maggots within the GYEEDA, SADA, and later the Burkinabes Ford truck presidential gift; Therefore, taking all these premises into account, I truly understand now why I lost the elections! Bernard Asubonteng is United States-based writer; send your comments to: [email protected] 02.12.2017 LISTEN Normally, I abhor the impishness of coup makers, but General I. K. Acheampong (The Head of State from 1972-78) was an exception to my arousing disgust. Indeed, I had a great deal of respect for the man, primarily due to his great sense of foresight. In my humble opinion, General I. K. Acheampong was an estimable leader who initiated pragmatic policies such as operation feed yourself and affordable housing units. If we stroll down memory lane, General I. K. Acheampong led a group of disgruntled soldiers and in a truculent fashion usurped Prime Minister Dr Kofi Abrefa Busias government in 1972. The mutinous coup makers adopted a taxonomic nomenclature for their government-The Supreme Military Council (SMC). In 1978, General Acheampong was accused of economic mismanagement and was consequently, forced to resign by a group of army officers led by General Akufo. General Akufo and his rabble rousers renamed the government as the Supreme Military Council 2 (SMC2). A sequential account was given that the harsh living conditions at the time prompted a group of patriotic citizens to stand up against the injustices and demanded a democratic rule. But before the country could reach a consensus on the question of civilian rule, a group of disgruntled junior army officers led by Flight Lieutenant Jerry John Rawlings revolted against General Fred Akuffos SMC2 regime on 15th May 1979. However, the cabals failed in their insurrection, which culminated in the arrest and trial of Rawlings and his cohorts. All the same, the judicial process was halted prematurely by a group of soldiers sympathetic to Rawlings, who revolted on 4th June 1979. The rebellious soldiers (mobsters) broke jail and released Rawlings and his cohorts from a lawful custody. After successfully deposing General Akuffo and his Supreme Military Council2 (SMC2) government, the stubbornly impenitent jailbreakers went ahead and formed their own government, which they called as the Armed Forces Revolutionary Council (AFRC) and appointed Flt. Rawlings as their chairman. Rawlings and his friends vowed to purge off the rampant sleazes, corruptions and social injustices which instigated their coup detat. So in their desperate attempt to lustrate the country of the perceived injustices, they carried out what they termed house cleaning exercise,--they dealt with perceived offenders arbitrarily (instant justice was the order of the day). The mutinous coup makers proceeded with their intentions and callously exterminated eight prominent officers, whom they accused of committing sleazes and corruptions without trial. The Officers included General Fred Akuffo, General Kutu Acheampong, General Akwasi Afrifa amongst others. The coup makers transferred power to Dr Hilla Limann and his PNP Party following the successful election in 1979. The story was narrated, in a historical standpoint, that the Limann government assumed office at a time when the economy was stagnant; all credit lines to the country had diminished and were finally blocked due to brutalities and confiscations at the harbours and other points of entry into Ghana. However, through well-executed negotiations, policies and programmes, PNP government back then initiated a prudent approach with the view to resolving the socio-economic problems. It was reported that the PNP government put in dint of efforts to repay the short-term debts and showed commitment to meet the debt obligations. More importantly, DrLimanns government was able, within 18 months, to restore virtually all traditional credit lines (Source: PNC). Disappointingly, however, Rawlings and his cohorts did not give Dr Liman and his PNP government the breathing space to govern the country, as they relentlessly breathed down the neck of President Liman. As a matter of fact, Rawlings and his conspiratorial plotters unfairly kept criticising Dr Limanns administration for what the coup makers perceived as economic mismanagement, until Rawlings and his jailbreaking geezers decided to depose Dr Limann. Subsequently, J.J. Rawlings and the other obstreperous jailbreakers took arms and succeeded in deposing the democratically elected government of Dr Hilla Limann on 31st December 1981. Subsequently, Rawlings and his friends formed a government which they called the Provisional national Defence Council (PNDC) and appointed Rawlings as the chairman. After imposing himself and despotically ruling the country for over 11 years, J. J. Rawlings retired from the military and bizarrely metamorphosed into civilian president in 1992. It is worth stating that Ex-President Rawlings 96 months democratic rule came to an end in January 2001. Disappointingly, though, former President Rawlings memorable achievement was to send us to the membership of the Highly Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC). K. Badu, UK The Economic Fighters League has urged Africans leaders to immediately deploy military to rescue slaves in the Libya slave trade and stop the useless rethorical speeches. According to a press statement issued and signed by Commander Hardi Yakubu , It is unfathomable that in this age, crude slavery where human beings are offered for sale like commodities is happening. But that is the situation in Libya today. He said It is bad enough that such a thing is happening but the fact that it is happening on African soil makes it worse. It is very disappointing, to say the least, that African governments have been very slow in their response to this criminality. "The memory of the Trans-Atlantic slave trade he said is for us to prevent a repetition of such a wicked and barbarian practice. "It is because of this that several Conventions have been passed by the African Union and the United Nations," he added. Commander Hardi Yakubu continued that what is happening in Libya where human beings, especially Africans, are tortured and sold off is a clear violation of these conventions and it calls for the strongest response possible. "We have heard the usual speeches. But these speeches have proven to be very useless in times of crisis over the years. Action is needed. The only strong, logical action at this point is a military deployment to free the captured slaves and wipe out the cockroaches perpetrating this crime against humanity," he poimted out. The commander blamed NATO for creating this mess in once a prosprous nation on the Africa continent. "We note that due to the criminal action by NATO, Libya has no functional government. And there is no authority over militant gangs parading the streets. Therefore it will be foolhardy to expect Libya as a stateless entity to do anything about this grave matter at this time," he noted. Commander Hardi Yakubu urged all well-meaning African countries to put all their military strength together to face the militants involved in the Libyan slave trade. " African countries must therefore deploy troops immediately. The AU must coordinate this military effort through the African Reserve Force," he strongly suggested. "Western countries who are nothing but leeches intruding and causing trouble where they are not welcome must be ashamed. This matter calls on all well-meaning Africans to confront the western threat with utmost seriousness," Commander Hardi Yakubu concluded. 02.12.2017 LISTEN The National Union of Ghana Students with a heavy heart calls for raft attention for the Kumasi Academy following reports of the death of two students from an unknown cause. It is worrying chiefly because 4 students were reported dead from the same school by graphic online (three deaths reported on the 1st of April and another death as reported on 3rd April 2017). It is worrying not only because of the losses but also because similar future occurrences if keen attention is not paid to addressing the issue. The National Union of Ghana Students through its Regional SRC bloc would in the coming days roll out a plan in addressing the myriad of issues emerging from the various SHS campuses across the country. We at NUGS believe that these young men and women require our absolute commitment towards their well-being, hence the need for our prompt action towards their needs. Among the issues to be talked include the -issue of smuggling of food items by school officials as reported from GHANASS, -reported issues on the closure of Afia Kobi and Nungua SHS, -issues on the suspension of 15 students at Krobo Senior High schools as a result of reasons including overstay of exeats and visitation by boyfriends. These are worrying developments that we at NUGS would lead the charge towards addressing same. Signed Eric Nana Agyeman NUGS Press and Information Secretary Elect 0547609877 Amoakohene Frank NUGS President Elect 02.12.2017 LISTEN Accra, Dec. 2, CDA Consult The Association of Oil Marketing Companies (AOMCs) at the weekend challenged the National Petroleum Authority (NPA) to boldly publish the weekly orders of Premix Fuel in the media in an open and transparent manner. AOMCs does not condone and connive with recalcitrant players in the value chain who would like to play an unfair game to sabotage the economy and the States efforts to have a subsidized fuel for fisher folks. It is evident that we as, industry, regulators and State need to critically look at the motivation for bad social enterprises within the Premix Fuel distribution value chain and expose their nefarious activities, Mr Kwaku Agyemang Duah, AOMCs Industry Coordinator told the Communication for Development and Advocacy Consult (CDA Consult) in an interview in Accra. Mr Agyemang Duah explained that as an interim measure to deal with the diversion of Premix Fuel the NPA should equip the Oil Marketing Companies (OMCs) with the tools interface display so that they can monitor the movement of fuel and take drastic action against any illegal acts. Responding to CDA Consults inquisition on recent allegations of diversion of Premix Fuel, Mr Agyemang Duah explained that, the over generalization and absolute inclusion of all OMCs especially those doing genuine business in the illegal deal is unfortunate. Explaining the process, the AOMCs Industry Coordinator noted that the orders for distribution of Premix Fuel to a Landing Beach Committees are allocated to the selected OMCs by the Premix Secretariat on weekly basis. OMCs on receipt of such orders from the Premix Secretariat contracts the transporter for the premix to be sent to the designated Landing Beach Committee. The Landing Beach Committees also immediately they are notified, roll-out mechanism to monitor with the transporter prior to the loading on the Bulk Road Vehicle, Mr Agyemang Duah noted. He said: The Landing Beach Committee then directs the driver of the transporter of the premix fuel to the designated location for the fuel to be discharged. It must be noted that some locations of where the fuel is discharged for a particular Landing Beach Committee invariably does not match the name on the Landing Beach Committee as tank its supposed discharge units, may not be located at the jurisdiction of the Landing Beach Committee. Mr Agyemang Duah explained that after the whole process, the Landing Beach Committee would then issue the appropriate documentation to the OMC involved to connote that the product has been received in good condition. The OMC involved has no mechanism to detect that the product has been divertedit is only when claims have been vetted by the NPA that an OMcs get to know that the product was diverted. NPA then sanctions the innocent OMC by not paying the freight claims and also put a fine against the OMCsin most cases gruel investigations by some OMCs come to the fore that, some Landing Beach Committee members misdirected the Bulk Road Vehicle driver to discharge to some other location with compelling reasons and duly append their signature forthwith. Mr Agyemang Duah noted that OMCs have no means of having a real time knowledge of the diversions as it is not privy to the interface display of the tracking device by the NPA. The AMOCs Industry Coordinator therefore called on all stakeholders to join forces to fight the Premix Fuel Thieves instead of attacking and branding all OMCs. The OMC market is now very competitive and no serious minded business and management team of an OMC would want to dent its brand image with diversion of Premix Fuel. Therefore as an association we collectively want the NPA to adopt a more transparent and open means for distribution of the Premix fuel to the Landing Beach Committees, Mr Agyenmang Duah noted. 02.12.2017 LISTEN For years and years now, since the inception of the Employee Engagement idea, a lot of companies are struggling to maximize employee engagement mainly for financial reasons, or for been hopefully perceived as an amazingly great place to work -this making it easier to attract high calibre/ top talent candidates. FYI: There is no proof that Employee Engagement improves productivity- at least in 2017 we still have no strong case studies proving that to be true. . If you agree that your company or even any organization would not exist without customers (the customers of an NGO/ Non-profit are its beneficiaries), then it is logical to expect that the best results in your Customers Experience could only be achieved if and only if, Customer Experience (CX) becomes the context / the meat & potatoes for every possible type of Employee Engagement. It should not be strictly reserved for customer-facing employees! And obviously here is where HR could help. 8 Ways HR can help with improving your Customer Experience (CX) #1. Cross-functional / cross-disciplinary collaboration. Your Customer / Beneficiary, will always see your organization as "one" and not as a collection of business and functional units or any other forms of Silos. Let me give you a few examples- you might have the best possible Customer Service and interaction in every channel and touchpoint with your Customers, but they will still be repealed / turned off if you employ poor billing, or your distribution / shipment practices leave a huge space for improvement (does it sound familiar Our personal experiences with online Ghanaian sellers are not positive yet); same if any of your physical Customer-visited areas reflect poor hygiene. We always assume that cross-functional collaboration is a given reality and that all teams talk to each other when needed and work happily together; nothing can be further for the truth. Here you need a good (if not excellent) HR Team that has created an Organization(al) Design on solid grounds and is also continuously active in finding ways to champion and really promote in practise true cross-functional collaboration. Tip #1: Stop assuming that, teams know how to collaborate across departments, please! FYI: customer pain usually results from communication gaps and/or weak handovers between functional areas. #2. Make your Employee Induction a Customer-centric process All your new employees need to understand both your business(processes) and who your customers are; and how they can serve them better. FYI / Simple example: At Disney Amusement Parks and other Hospitality services, the new employees are clearly told from Day-1 that they need to treat a customer the same way they would treat a guest in their own home. #3. Remove the Thorn- Employee You cant avoid the reality of unhappy and disgruntled employees. HR can help you reduce the risk by removing (not necessarily firing unless there is a valid grave reason) the relevant employee from that particular contact touchpoint or channel with the Customers. If needed, perform active high- impact Damage Control. #4. Have Emotionally Intelligent (EI) Employees. FYI: LOreal has seen increased profitability as a direct result of EI training programmes delivered to its front-line customer-facing employees. Do you even want to have employees with no customer- compassion? Maybe you should consider training all your staff in Emotional Intelligence; yes, it is not the norm, but there is always a time where we need to employ new ideas. There are plenty of case studies in the internet. #5 Imbed Customer Experience in your Organization Design. Please omit that notion of customer-facing employees! Customer Experience Service Standards are needed for ALL employees, regardless of their job title or organizational/ seniority level. #6. Improve Employees Customer Experience Skills Yes, this is obvious, but if everybody was doing that, Customers will not be running to their competitors. Dont blame untrained employees and also do not send them to generic training courses and expect results specific to your organization/ environment. Simply put, CX starts with EVERY employee trained and engaged with it! #7. Is your Employee Social Media Policy CX-centric? In 2017, you cant afford to ignore Social Media, nor you can afford accidental damage to your Brand by your employees. You should have a clear and well communicated Social Media Policy for all your employees and you should also provide relevant training. Empower all your CX properly-trained employees to participate in Social Media with your customers. FYI: Adobe, IBM, Intel, and several other companies have been doing that for years. My advice on this : is to watch for all employees who do not participate in Social Media. If they are so happy and excited to work in your company, why dont they then share their enthusiasm with your clients? Please use this as a diagnostic tool to spot unhappy employees and help resolve the issues and not as a punishment mechanism for their lack of Social Media participation. #8. CXify your organization. HR should make sure that the Customer Experience element becomes an integral part of every element of your organization and its culture. From having the Customer Experience element in every job description/ every job advertisement, to having it in its planned training offerings for every employee even to having it in every Employee- KPI Setup and Performance Evaluation. Would you really want to promote people who do not make any contribution to your Customer Experience? Do you even want to pay bonuses to those employees? Make sure that everything (processes, procedures, methodologies, tools) and everyone in your Organization Design, Structures and Frameworks, breaths CX in and out! CX and HR: A 2-Way Street Think about it: Your best ideas for employee engagement and training originate with customer feedback. Maybe it is time that your HR integrates with all possible Customer Service and Customer Operations teams (e.g. Customer Delivery even if you make pizza, Customer Support Lines, etc). Have your HR walk and talk to the people on the floor doing the work, understand their challenges, and make sure that their concerns are addressed, and their knowledge is communicated to the rest of the company (does your organization need a Knowledge Base? Do you need to offer new trainings?). HR should not be an isolated kingdom go out there, talk to all employees and get to know their pulse; listen, observe, advise. Otherwise, how will you add value in creating CX policies and in disseminating knowledge/ experiences from the customers back to the whole organization? Customer Service and Marketing Departments, tend to do all sorts of Customer Satisfaction and Happiness Surveys. Unfortunately, survey insights do not propagate back inside the whole company nor do they get captured in any sort of a knowledge base. Also Customer Surveys, are only valuable if your people act on them. And for employee- rating surveys: Focus your employee performance metrics more on their CX enabling behaviours and less on survey ratings- just a suggestion. Btw, when is the last time that you or your Customer- Interfacing employees got engaged directly with your customer and ask the customer their regular personalized feedback on the employees ability to satisfy that customer? In Conclusion Customer Experience is broadly affected by the entire company: its culture, internal handoffs, attitudes, decisions, processes, policies, and actions. Knowledge management, employee engagement, and cross-functional collaboration can be facilitated by HR to achieve greater connectedness, consistency and synergy both internally and externally. It is HR that does create the context and the mindset within your organization business that will ultimately lead to a great Customer Experience. And of course, it is your HR or your partner Recruitment Agency which will recruit your employees who will contribute to and reinforce this mindset. Finally, think of aligning your organization to its customers instead of insisting that your customers align to your organization. How does or can your organizational structure(s) best- serve your customers? Thank you and Good Luck, Irene About the Author: Irene Gloria Addison is the owner of HIREghana [Human Intelligence Recruitment], a niche HRM & Organizational Development Consultancy and a Leader Ghanaian Recruitment Agency, based in Accra. Irene welcomes your feedback/ comments/ remarks/ suggestions via your email message to Press [at ] HIREgh.com. HIREghana can be reached at +233 50 228 5155 or +233 266 555 907 Our website is http://www.hiregh.com 2017 Irene Gloria Addison and 2017 Human Intelligence Recruitment Many people perceived the man of God and Relationship Expert; Counsellor Cyril George Lutterodt as controversial. Apostle Dr. Isaac Owusu Bempah aka The Nation's Prophet and Prophet Akwasi Agyemeng Prempeh who were in New York recently had both respectively said on November 15th at a gathering that "Everything he had said and is saying is true hence called him; "The Most Legitimate and Controversial Counsellor. The Counsellor had come to New York to receive 3G Magazine Publisher's Choice Award which occurred on Nov. 14th, 2017. Whiles in New York, he has become the most sought after Ghanaian celebrity in town who has been interviewed on the Keymama Show on Amansan Radio, Golden Radio Worcester and Vitalghradio1.com. He had received many Invitations to meet and greet persons in high office of governance. Heavenly Jic Inc, one of the most busiest Ghanaian Event Planners in conjunction with 3G Media Inc. the Executive Producer of 3G Awards joined to organize a forum for Ghanaians to meet him personally and asked questions on relationships. The Seminar which occurred on Saturday; Nov. 24th, 2017 was very interesting as fans listened to the Counsellor explained his views on certain topics. He said majority of his followers are his critics who constantly watch him on tv, youtube, listen to him on radio and read about him on social media as wells the print media. It was a fun night and New Yorkers after the discussion understood his point of view and scheduled for further seminars to help married couples. Fans were happy to take selfies with him for social media. Furthermore, by popular demand, the second seminar comes on Saturday, 2nd December 2017. The first show was very educative and full of fun through out the night and New Yorkers will again enjoy the second seminar. Counsellor Lutterodt's time in America is very limited, due to his popular Orgasm Conference on 26th December 2017 at the Trade Fair Center, Accra so he has to return to Ghana, Many seminars have been planned across the USA for his return in 2018. He was full of gratitude for the organizers for his award since this was his first international award in his career as a Counselor and was full of praise for the warmest reception shown him in the USA. Watch out for him from January 2018 with his team. Music was provided by the Majestic Band led by Akrofi and DJ Onasis/R. B.Nice on the wheels of steel. Source: www.3gmediaonline.com 02.12.2017 LISTEN "....Corruption, secrecy, corporate raiders, and official tricksters...Why is Dr. Amin Adam now telling Ghanaians the Akufo Addo government will secretly 'make use of the direct negotiation option' for contracts still in status, without '...open and competitive bidding...( until)....the middle of next year...'?. Deputy Amin Adam is now begging for more time....Before he was ever Deputy Energy Minister...Amin Adam went all over the world...preaching and condemning secrecy in oil contracts in Ghana and elsewhere in Africa... He was even begging Uganda: 'Emulate South Sudan on oil companies... Uganda'. Now, almost 1 year into the position, Mr. Amin Adam is singing a strikingly different tune... begging for more time...", (Prof Lungu, 30 November, 2017). Dateline! Record! Mr. Amin Adam was stridently arguing for swift passage of laws that would force government officials to reveal who in fact are behind the many oil companies holding oil contracts in Kwame Nkrumah's Ghana. Mr. Amin Adam was strongly arguing for swift passage of laws that would force government officials to reveal who in fact are vying for new oil blocks and contracts. Before he was ever Deputy Energy Minister (owner of that prized deputy oil minister hat, we must say), even after receiving thousands of pounds sterling from the UK DFID development agency to prop up the Ghana oil revenue racket we've written so much about on these same pages, the ACEP Executive Director, Mr. Amin Adam, went all over the world preaching. Mr. Amin Adam was preaching and condemning secrecy in oil contracts in Ghana and elsewhere in Africa not too long ago. Fast forward to March, 2017, and Mr. Amin Adam's appointment by President Akufo Addo as Deputy Energy Minister. And now, almost 1 year into the position, Mr. Amin Adam is singing a strikingly different tune. Deputy Amin Adam is begging for more time. Dateline! DATELINE: NOVEMBER 22, 2013: "... Executive Director of ACEP, Mohammed Amin Adam....called on the government to incorporate a mandatory disclosure clause on oil and gas in the new Petroleum Exploration and Production (PEP)...to include...the PEP Bill disclosure of beneficial ownership in contract on all oil and gas....Amin Adam said the introduction of the mandatory contract disclosure and beneficial owners in contract clauses would promote transparency in the governance of the countrys oil and gas industry...would also address the situation where some politicians secretly establish oil and gas companies and award contract to themselves...". DATELINE: September 24, 2014: "...Mohammed Amin Adam, ACEPs Executive Director.... Africa Center for Energy Policy (ACEP),...(in a)...statement on Friday, July 18....(said)...We also...wish to call on Government to disclose the beneficial owners of all these companies (BlueStar, Heritage Oil, etc), both foreign and local...Government must also adopt an open and competitive process in licensing oil blocks, make contract disclosure mandatory and establish a register for the disclosure of beneficial ownership information...However,...we wish to also call on the government to strengthen Ghanas anti-corruption agencies to identify, investigate and expose corruption in the emerging oil and gas industry.... DATELINE: 12th April 2016: "...(ACEP) is appalled by the quantum of illicit transactions going on in tax havens following the release of the Panama Papers. Particularly, issues relating to transparency on beneficial ownership in oil and mining deals...Unfortunately, we are sad that at this material time when the world is outraged at the dangers of tax and secret jurisdictions on our development, the Government of Ghana has failed in spite of several calls by citizens to incorporate into the Petroleum (Exploration and Production) Bill, a clause for the mandatory disclosure of beneficial ownership information in oil deals...". DATELINE: 21st April 2016: "... Mohammed Amin Adam (Expert) urges Uganda to require disclosure of beneficial companies' owners to promote transparency in extractives industry.....'Emulate South Sudan on oil companies, Uganda advised'...Dr. Mohammed Amin Adam...'In South Sudan, their law requires that a company must disclose all its beneficial owners, as well as the affiliates of the company before they can deal with you as far as oil contracts are concerned....he said........Beneficial ownership information is key in unravelling corruption, addressing issues of illicit financial flows,' he said". So, why is Dr. Amin Adam telling Ghanaians the Akufo Addo government will now secretly "make use of the direct negotiation option" for contracts still in status? That is, without utilizing "...open and competitive bidding...", until "....the middle of next year..."? By what date and time, sirs? Why, His Excellency President Nana Akufo Addo Dankwa Addo? Why, Honorable Mr. Adam? Why? So it goes, Ghana! SOURCES & NOTES: (1) Dateline (a) http://www.ghanaiantimes.com.gh/incorporate-mandatory-disclosure-clause-in-pep-bill-acep/). (b) (https://www.facebook.com/gleeoil3/posts/586601728129968) (c) https://www.modernghana.com/news/685480/panama-papers-frightening-ghana-and-africa-can-do-more-to.html). (d) https://www.newvision.co.ug/new_vision/news/1422683/emulate-south-sudan-oil-companies-uganda-advised). (2) Government places temporary ban on petroleum contract negotiations, Ghanaweb, at: (https://www.ghanaweb.com/GhanaHomePage/NewsArchive/Government-places-temporary-ban-on-petroleum-contract-negotiations-600805). Visit www.GhanaHero.Com/Visions, for more information. SUBJ: Akufo-Addo's Temporary Ban on Petroleum Contracts is a Big Hoax (Part 3)! Support Fair-Trade Oil Share Ghana (FTOS-Gh) Campaign/Petition: https://www.change.org/p/ghana-fair-trade-oil-share-psa-campaign-ftos-gh-psa/ Brought to you courtesy www.GhanaHero.com1 December, 2017. (Powered by: www.GhanaHero.Com). THERE ARE certain ideas that cannot be conveyed eloquently enough unless one resorts to one's own native language. Thus, whilst trying to alert his fellow countrymen to the proliferation of false rumours about himself and his Government in the Ghana of his time, our first President, Dr Kwame Nkrumah, inserted the earthy Ga term, aker....aker (literally, they say.... they say) into his English text. The term went viral. The Hon. Joseph Osei-Owusu, MP for Bekwai and First Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly, has just scored a similar goal for the term yemmo won tuo [let's shoot them!] in his native Twi language. In an interview on the pestilence Ghana is currently inflicting upon itself galamsey, (See Hon Osei-Owusu expressed, in pithy language, the exasperation that fills the heart and mind of many a Ghanaian patriot when he or she sets eyes on the devastation that galamsey has wrought, and continues to wreak, upon our landscape, our rivers and streams and our food and cocoa farms. He said: (I paraphrase) The most severe punishment should be visited upon these people who are destroying our rivers and streams, particularly, the Chinese. For which Ghanaian could go to China and do anything of this sort? We've been borrowing money to try and clean up some of the rivers. Yet, when the water clears up a bit and you come back, you see the rivers and streams back to their polluted, muddy self.... The Operation Vanguard people even report that the galamseyers give mobile phones to little children and station them along the roads so that they can send signals to the galamseyers, telling them when the Vanguard soldiers and policemen are passing in their vehicles. So by the time the Vanguardmen get to the galamsey operational areas, the galamseyers would have vanished. Maybe they are doing all this because they think we are weak-minded. We should shoot them so that they will realise that we are not a weak-minded people. It is just too distressing... There are Ghanaians showing them what time to move stealthily to the selected areas and that sort of thing! The Hon Osei-Owusu is one of the most literate people in our current Parliament. He also seems to have a sense of mission as an MP. When he lost the primary election of the NPP for his Bekwai Constituency, he unusually contested the seat of MP for the constituency as an independent candidate. He beat the NPP official candidate and won! But he stayed with the NPP. This is the type of independent-minded legislator that Ghana needs badly. To watch your country going to the dogs and keep quiet about it because one does not want to step on foreign or local toes, is a treasonable act, in the moral sense of the term. I therefore hope that MPs will rally round Mr Osei-Owusu's call for harsher punishments to be imposed on galamsey operators. Indeed, legislation is urgently needed to make long terms of imprisonment MANDATORY for galamsey operators. This is because the judiciary, aided by the very abysmal performance often put up by our prosecuting authorities, are making a laughing stock of the brave men in uniform who defy tough terrain and personal danger to arrest galamsey operators. In one instance, a court at Koforidua fined persons arrested for carrying out galamsey operations such paltry sums of money that the total of the fines imposed on them was lesser than the physical cash taken from them at the time of their arrest! So they walked out of court with some change to collect from the court authorities, as the balance of what the court had been presented with by way of an exhibit! In fact, the Media Coalition Against Galamsey has also had to file a case in court pointing out that an appeal for a review of the bail conditions imposed on a group of Chinese and Ghanaian galamseyers, should NOT be heard by the court where the appeal was lodged because that court is an inferior one. The adjudication on the appeal should be made by a higher court, the Media Coalition contends. Now, if the Coalition had not raised such an objection,, would the state's legal representatives necessarily have done so themselves? We cannot take it for granted because the precedent set by Mr Martin Amidu (in the Woyome saga) teaches us that state officials can sleep on the job and allow technicalitiesto obstruct the course of true justice. Meanwhile, some heartening news: AfrobarometerOrg., an NGO that carries out surveys of pubic opinion on issues of contention, has just published the results of a survey in which one of the questions asked was whether the respondents approved or disapproved of galamsey. Three-fourths (74%) of Ghanaians said people should not engage in illegal small-scalemining for any reason. Only one in five respondents (21%), said citizens should be able to make a living through galamsey, though it is illegal. So, if the body calling itself the Association of Small-scale Miners (which says it is going to form a political party ) thinks that the Ghanaian electorate is stupid enough to back a party whose members are ruining its rivers, streams and water-bodies, as well as its food farms and forest reserves, the Association has a new think coming. The Afrobarometer survey shows clearly that the Government has the populace firmly behind it in its determination to fight galamsey. So the Government should boldly tell the Association: Bring it on! The Government, indeed, should use its overwhel ming poplar support to do what concerned people like the Hon. Joseph Osei-Owusu advocate and bring urgent legislation before Parliament, giving full vent to the desire of the majority of the populace to see harsh measures urgently enacted to bring an end to the evil galamsey menace once and for all. The Association of Health Services Administrators, Ghana, is calling for an end to the seeming politicisation of their position at Teaching Hospitals in the Country. According to the Association, Government must not allow certain individuals selfish, unprofessional and Parochial interest to politicize the position of the Health Service Administrator in Teaching Hospitals since the appointment of the Director of Administration is well defined by Law. ASHAG says political influence in the appointment of administrators adversely affects management in the Teaching Hospitals. The outgoing President of AHSAG, Albert Asiedu Ofei, said this in Koforidua during the 41st Annual Conference of the Association. The Association has also cautioned government over the newly introduced policy placing a cap on internally Generated funds of some government institutions including health facilities. Under the new Policy, the institutions will not retain all their internally generated Funds. AHSAG believes this Policy will deepen the already stressful financial conditions of health facilities in the country which would lead to total collapse of the health system and therefore want government to insulate the health facilities from the Policy. On the capping of IGF, even though it could be said that the Policy is not yet fully operational in the health Sector, caution must be taken from the numerous petitions against its implementation as submitted by various stakeholders including AHSAG. AHSAGs position is that the implementation of the Policy would ultimately lead to the total run-down of the already weak finances of the health Institutions health institutions must, therefore, be allowed to utilize their full IGFs that they generate. However proper accountability through effective auditing must be put in place to ensure value for Money is achieved in the utilization of the IGFs that would be generated, he said. Also, the Association has warned against partisan influence over the Health Service Bill adding that any move to undermine certain professional groups in the Service when the bill is passed into Law would lead to apathy. AHSAG has also called on the Ministry of Health to urgently pass the Legislative Instrument (LI) for the Mental Health Act, 2012(Act 846) so that Health Service Administrators know their role in the delivery of mental health services. The Eastern Regional Director of Ghana Health Service ,Dr. Charity Sarpong, charged the administrators to have comprehensive all year-round procurement management systems to ensure that health facilities do not run short of logistics. Anyone who has come in contact with veteran Nollywood actress, Shan George, will know that she is one fun fellow to be with. One thing the actress hates most is being treated badly and that she will not hesitate to cut the person off her dairy of friends which is why she does not easily accept people into life just to avoid issues. The actress has made part of her personal life known that she is always quick at showing love to people but when her love is taken for granted then she takes a walk. In her words, I'm always quick at showing love to others, I'm also very quick at walking away when it's not being reciprocated. I'm allergic to a one sided love. Finally Nollywood pretty actress, Shirley Igwe will now be allowed to drink chilled water while she goes about her regular business. The actress had some time back been rumoured to be in hot romance with Abuja big boy, Uyi who owns a club in the capital city but she has since denied it and in some cases choose not to talk about it because it was not true. Well, the good news trending now is that the Abuja big boy, Uyi, has just walked down the aisle with his long-time lover, Lee as they become man and wife. Review of CI.133 will aid in ... New York City Has Genetically Distinct Uptown and Downtown Rats Atlantic (Pat) Truffle the puppy from York sees snow for the first time BBC Giant West Antarctic iceberg disintegrates PhysOrg (Chuck L) Germany removes Tesla from subsidies list as too pricey Reuters Controversial Study Claims Smartphone Addiction Alters the Brain Inverse. A junk study trying to confirm a popular hypothesis. Sample size too small on top of the other problems noted in the write up. Bitcoin loses over a fifth of its value in less than 24 hours Reuters (furzy) Bitcoin: an investment mania for the fake news era Financial Times China Trump administration escalates threat to utterly destroy North Korea Defend Democracy Brexit Syraqistan New Cold War Cheap dignity of the Ukrainian revolution Oriental Review (Chuck L). Important. Summarizes an Italian documentary that challenges the US/orthodox narrative about the snipings in Maidan. Western Nuke Nations to Boycott Nobel Ceremony Defend Democracy Big Brother is Watching You Watch Laffaire Flynn Tax Reform. I am bummed that the Senate passed this garbage barge. If you are a voter in a state of one of the Senators that was on the iffy list, like Susan Collins, call or write their office and give them hell for not sticking to their guns. The bill still has to go through reconciliation. The other hope, which is looking thin, is that Doug Jones wins in Alabama. Trump Transition Dasvidaniya, Donna Brazile, the Dismal Dollar Democrat Counterpunch Sex in PoliticsNot! Why women fear a backlash over #MeToo BBC. See the discussion of the Pence rule. Lambert, when he was working in Corporate America and became a manager (late 1990s), adopted an even more stringent version: never be alone with a female staff member at his firm. Pittsburghs Water System Is Why We Shouldnt Run America Like a Business Nation (furzy) Only in Suburbia. Bob recommends the comments too: Today in Questions People Ask Extension Agents: "Is there a way to neuter a walnut tree so it stops producing nuts?" Peter "Yes, like the drink" Coffey (@petercoffey) November 28, 2017 Global manufacturing hits multiyear high Financial Times Will Uber Ever Stop The Bleeding? Bloomberg. More than a year after Hubert Horans series, is Ubers top reporter finally coming around? Uber legal chief warns staff not to spy on rivals Financial Times The 92-Year-Old Woman Who Is Still Shaking Up Wall Street Wall Street Journal Class Warfare Antidote du jour (Stephen L): See yesterdays Links and Antidote du Jour here. NATO Deputy Secretary General Rose Gottemoeller visited Rome on Friday (1 December) to participate in this years MED-Mediterranean Dialogues, addressing security challenges facing the Middle East and North Africa. Speaking on a panel with officials from Morocco, Turkey, and the UK, she emphasised the importance of cooperation for securing peace in the region. Talking about how NATO works with partners in the region, Gottemoeller stressed that "we have the tools" and highlighted the renewed effort of the Alliance on their implementation. "Projecting stability means enhancing our cooperation with our partners in the Mediterranean Dialogue and the Gulf, through the Istanbul Cooperation Initiative," she said. "We need to bring together NATO Allies and partners to do everything we can to project security and stability to the region." During her visit, Ms. Gottemoeller held meetings with Tunisian Foreign Minister Khemaies Jhinaoui, Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Hassan Shoukry, the Advisor to the King of Morocco, Youssef Amrani, and the Secretary General of the Italian Foreign Ministry, Ambassador Elisabetta Belloni. The Deputy Secretary General also met the Secretary General of the League of Arab States, Ahmed Aboul Gheit. She stressed the value of dialogue between NATO and the League of Arab States and praised the positive steps that have been taken to strengthen this cooperation. Proponents for a proposed oak woodland and watershed protection measure are hoping that the second time is the charm. On Friday morning, they turned in more than 7,000 signatures to the county Election Division on a petition to qualify the measure for the June 5 ballot. They need about 3,800 to be from registered, local voters to succeed. It seems like a slam dunk. And yet Last year, proponents collected enough valid signatures, only to have the measure disqualified on a technicality. County officials said the initiative referenced a county policy appendix, so signature gatherers should have carried that document with them in case potential signers wanted to read it. Thats one bit of deja vu that measure co-author Mike Hackett wants to avoid this time around. He noted that the new version doesnt reference that county appendix on voluntary oak preservation practices. Im optimistic, he said with a smile as he, co-author Jim Wilson and other supporters submitted three cardboard boxes packed with signature forms. Registrar of Voters John Tuteur will now examine the petitions to make certain enough signatures are valid. If he determines this is so, he will forward the measure to the county Board of Supervisors to place on the June 5 ballot. Then an election battle will likely ensue between initiative supporters and opponents that include some segments of the wine industry. Among other things, the measure would set a 795-acre limit of additional oak woodlands to be removed in the agricultural watershed. Once the limit is reached, property owners would in most cases have to obtain a county permit to cut down oak woodlands. The county could issue the permit only in certain circumstances. Cutting down oak woodlands to make way for new vineyards is not among them. In addition, the measure would require property owners to replace the lost oaks by a 3-1 ratio, instead of todays 2-1 ratio. It would strengthen setbacks for development near streams in the agricultural watershed zoning area. Hackett said assuring a good future for generations to come means retaining an ecological balance. Napa Valley Grapegrowers recently joined Napa County Farm Bureau and Winegrowers of Napa County in opposing the measure. Napa Valley Vintners helped craft the measure, but later withdrew its support and has announced no further position. The measure would effectively ban vineyard planting in the agricultural watershed, a Napa Valley Grapegrowers press release said. Enough proposed vineyards are presently in the pipeline to likely trip the 795-acre limit immediately, it said. Ag land in viable production is Napa Countys best case against encroaching development, the press release said. The Grapegrowers also said the measures focus on oaks would hurt other native tree species, such as madrones. Thats because property owners wanting to plant hillside vineyards could seek sites without oaks. Hackett disagreed with the Grapegrowers conclusion that new hillside vineyard development would be immediately curtailed. He noted that oak woodland removal approved before Sept. 1, 2017 wouldnt be counted against the 795-acre total. He believes another 6,000 acres of vineyards can be developed, in part because not all of the watershed land has oak woodlands. The wine industry in the long run might embrace the measures requirements, just as it has embraced the countys agricultural preserve laws, Hackett said. This wont hurt them, he said. It will only help them. But at this point, the Water, Forest and Oak Woodland Protection Initiative of 2018 is controversial. If it qualifies for the ballot, voters will likely witness a lively debate. (Natural News) During the last 10 years, there has been one death from measles, but that patient was an adult woman who was on immunosuppressive medications and had other serious health problems. (But between) 2000 and 2017, there were 156 deaths related to the MMR vaccine. David Brownstein, MD Holistic Family Practitioner Up to 90% of the total decline in the death rate of children between 1860-1965 because of whooping cough, scarlet fever, diphtheria, and measles occurred before the introduction of immunisations and antibiotics. Archie Kalokerinos, MD (Article by Dr. Gary G. Kohls and David Brownstein republished from GlobalResearch.ca) According to the records of the Metropolitan Life Insurance Company, from 1911 to 1935 the four leading causes of childhood deaths from infectious diseases in the U.S.A. were diphtheria, pertussis, scarlet fever, and measles. However, by 1945 the combined death rates from these causes had declined by 95% before the implementation of mass vaccine programs. Harold Buttram, MD Critical thinkers and knowledgeable readers who have no ulterior motivation to blindly promote current over-vaccination agendas will agree that the Somali parents who have witnessed the devastating epidemic of Autistic Spectrum Disorders decimate so many of their children since coming to Minnesota, made a wise choice in refusing MMR vaccinations. The Somali community has seen an alarming incidence of ASD (currently 1 out of every 32 of their children are afflicted, the worst prevalence rate in any Minnesota demographic group, even exceeding the 1 out of 48 among the fully vaccinated white male children in Minnesota). Recall that concurrent with the alarming epidemic of ASD was a dramatic increase in live virus vaccines, mercury-containing vaccine and aluminum-containing vaccines. The incidence of ASD before 1986 (when the vaccine industry was exempted from liability for vaccine deaths or injuries) was 1 in every 10,000 Minnesotan children and the rate went to 1 out of 68 by the time the number of antigens injected routinely into Minnesotan children went from a dozen or so to upwards of 80! Something more than coincidence is at work. As noted vaccine researcher Dr Christopher Shaw has stated: Parents refusing to vaccinate according to the recommended CDC schedule are supported by the science. Somali children never came down with autism in their native land. It was only after they became war refugees and emigrated to Minnesota and started accepting CDC- and Minnesota Department of Health-mandated MMR live virus-containing vaccinations (often combined with mercury-containing and aluminum-containing vaccinations) that the epidemic devastated the community. By refusing the MMR, they were accepting the risk of acquiring benign measles infections but they were decreasing the risk of allowing their children to acquiring the dreaded (likely vaccine-induced) autism that would ruin their lives forever. Their decision makes imminent sense and they should be applauded instead of vilified. At least now their temporarily measles-afflicted children will be immune for life from that normally benign disease. Everybody else has to get periodic booster shots that only temporarily enhance one part of the immune system: serologic immunity. Vaccination actually impairs the equally important cellular immunity that makes the vaccinated more susceptible to illnesses in several other ways, including contracting autoimmune disorders. The lucky 50 or so who got the wild-type measles will not have to worry about becoming permanently sickened from MMR-related chronic illnesses. Below is an important chart to ponder: The chart above tells us that the lethality of measles outbreaks had already declined to near zero years and decades before a measles vaccine was introduced into the US in 1963. And yet the CDC, the FDA, the AMA, the AAFP, the AAP and the mainstream media have been deceiving us when they claimed over and over again that vaccines were the reason that benign and ubiquitous childhood illnesses such as measles were eliminated as the deadly diseases that they occasionally had been in the distant past. The truth is that those above-mentioned vaccine-selling groups (who have increasingly been in bed with giant pharmaceutical corporations like Merck and GlaxoSmithKline since the 1950s [who are now their serious paymasters]) have deceived us by not giving credit to the real reasons for the decline in the lethality of common childhood viral illnesses such as measles, diphtheria, whooping cough and scarlet fever: improved nutrition, improved sanitation, improved access to refrigeration and improved understanding of epidemics. There are similar graphs that also show the declining incidence of diphtheria, mumps, whooping cough and chickenpox that occurred before vaccines were introduced! It is useful to note that scarlet fever declined in a similar fashion and there never was developed a scarlet fever vaccine that was introduced by public health entities. Shame on the CDC and Big Pharma for their acts of deception! Recalling the truism that says: Fool me once, shame on you; fool be twice, shame on me, how can we ever trust them again? All of us obedient and frequently duped blind believers in whatever authoritarian experts like the CDC say, need to wise up and do our own research that is independent of entities that have ulterior motives (especially economic ones such as in the case of corporate-controlled Big Government, Big Medicine, Big Pharma, Big Vaccine, Big Media, Big Finance, etc). It is also important to study the unbiased research literature that reveals that measles (or more accurately measles-like) outbreaks can occur among fully vaccinated individuals (such as occurred in the infamously deceptive Disneyland outbreak last year that freaked out so many people to rush to get their boosters a windfall for Big Pharma and Big Medicine and the CDC). Source: AFP Honest research will reveal that the live measles virus in the MMR vaccine can actually cause a generalized rash, fever, malaise and measles-like symptoms, but also contagion, inflammatory bowel disorders and neurodegenerative disorders. Not only that, but the live mumps virus that is also in the MMR inoculum can cause encephalitis and any number of chronic neurological illnesses, including autism. There are also many examples of clusters of measles and mumps outbreaks over the past few decades in fully vaccinated individuals a reality that no TV medical experts or health journalists ever mention when they try to freak out the public to get their booster shots. Read this important item about the measles vaccine from vaccine expert, physician, scholar and author, Dr Suzanne Humphries: and watch her many well-documented videos and other informative videos that are also on YouTube, starting with this one: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=frCcvw3yy98. And then listen to the powerful testimony from the slandered Dr Andrew Wakefield himself, who was infamously smeared by GlaxoSmithKline (the makers of Britains dangerous MMR vaccine) and the media mogul Rupert Murdochs mercenary journalist Brian Deer, who eventually, through a relentless series of Big Lies, managed to get Dr Wakefield de-frocked and exiled to the United States, much to the delight of the sociopathic corporations who benefitted from the neutralization of Wakefield and his truths (or so they thought). The interview is at: http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2010/04/10/wakefield-interview.aspx. Honest listeners will be appalled at how the mainstream media has refused to do its independent investigative journalism and instead has blithely gone along with the libel and slander of an honorable physician and researcher that shined a light on an unwelcome truth: that there is a tight connection between the live measles virus in Glaxos MMR inoculum and severe inflammatory bowel disorders in severely afflicted autism patients, who only became autistic and started suffering with abdominal pain and diarrhea after their MMR shots. * * * The Somali Measles Epidemic in Minnesota and The Brady Principle Dr. David Brownstein Holistic Family Practitioner May 17, 2017 Somehow, a measles outbreak of unvaccinated Somali citizens in Minnesota is supposed to drive a stake in those of us who raise questions about the safety and efficacy of FDA-approved vaccines. According to the powers-that-be, this outbreak of measles is proof that we need more vaccinations, not less. I beg to differ. And, I will make my argument citing the Brady principle. I am sure most adults over the age of 50 are very familiar with the Brady Principle. For those unfamiliar, let me provide you with the information you will need to understand the Brady Principle. Source: Playbuzz From 1969-1974, the Brady Bunch ran weekly as a sitcom. I watched every episode and can still recall most of them. The Brady Principle refers to the episode where all six Brady kids became ill with the measles. What happened to the Brady kids? They stayed home from school, played Monopoly, and Alice cooked for them, and they recovered from the measles infection. During the episode, Marsha Brady stated, If you have to get sick, sure cant beat the measles. The Brady Principle would indicate that measles is not a dangerous disease for most who become ill from it. When I was a child, measles was treated as an illness similar to chickenpox; most children became ill with these childhood diseases and most recovered uneventfully. Back then, measles and chickenpox were not feared illnesses in the U.S. Back to the Bradys. The good news for the Brady kids, and the Somali children, is that they will have life-long immunity from measles. And, the female Brady children (Marsha, Cindy, and Jan) passed their immunity on to their children so that their newborn children would not become ill if there was a measles outbreak. However, this is not the case with vaccinated children as the measles vaccine does not provide life-long immunity and it does not provide antibodies to their newborn children to protect them during a vulnerable time in their lives. The pro-vaccine cartel is screaming that the Somali measles epidemic is an example of why we need more vaccines. They are wrong. Yes the measles vaccine is successful at lowering the incidence of measles. However, this creates a vaccinated population that does not have life-long immunity to a fairly benign illness. Yes, measles can be associated with severe adverse effects and even death. So can the measles vaccine. During the last 10 years, there has been one death from measles, but that patient was an adult woman who was on immunosuppressive medications and had other serious health problems. (1) I performed a search on the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS) and found that from 2000 to 2017, there were 156 deaths related to the MMR vaccine. Somali mothers were not too familiar with autism when they came to the U.S. An article in the Globe and Mall quotes a Somali mother stating, In Somalia, we had kids with Down syndrome and cerebral palsy. But nobody had ever heard of autism, Ms. Hassan recalls. And believe me, its not something you can hide. In the article, Somalis are calling autism the western disease or the vengeance from abroad. (2) Approximately 40 years ago, autism rates in Africa were reported to be much lower than the U.S. (3) However, things changed quickly for Somali parents when they came here and started raising their children. The autism rate in Somali children in Minnesota came to the forefront in 2008-2009 when a Minnesota Department of Health study found that Somali preschoolers, when compared to other children, were two to seven times more likely to receive autism services from the Minneapolis school system. (4) The Somali mothers apparently felt that their children were being affected by the MMR vaccine and began to decline the vaccination. The Somali mothers should have been concerned about the relationship between the MMR vaccine and autism as this was reported by a senior CDC scientist nearly three years ago. (5) The CDC scientist has claimed whistleblower status as he has stated, under oath, that the CDC destroyed, hid and falsified data that showed a clear link between the MMR vaccine and autism. And, the altered CDC data revealed that the most affected group of children were African American boys. Now you can see why some Somali mothers were concerned and chose not to vaccinate. What parent would subject their child to a medical procedure knowing that it could cause a life-long neurological injury in order to prevent a relatively benign illness for the vast majority who become ill with it? Folks, saying vaccines are safe and effective does not make it so. Repeating this line over and over does not make it so. There is nothing wrong with questioning vaccine safety. There is nothing wrong with wanting vaccines to be properly studied for the safety and effectiveness-which has not been done. And, if a parent decides that their child is not going to be vaccinated, there is nothing wrong with that as well. There is something wrong when parents are vilified for trying to make the best medical decisions for their children. In the case of the MMR vaccine, we may have less measles and less measles-associated problems, but we may have other unintended conditions. Our children are the least healthy when compared to other Western countries. Our children are the most vaccinated. Where is the data that more vaccines are going to help them? It is time to let your Congressperson know your thoughts on these issues. Jason Chaffetz, who chairs the Office of Government Reform has been aware of the CDC whistleblower for nearly three years now. It is up to him to call a Congressional hearing to investigate the whistleblowers claims. Mr. Chaffetz refuses to do so. I was happy to hear he will not seek reelection as we do not need more Congressmen like Mr. Chaffetz. We already have enough Congressmen and women who do nothing. What can you do? Call the Office of Government Reform (OGR) and demand a hearing on the CDC whistleblower. The OGR can be reached here: 202.225.5074. I have been calling on a frequent basis for nearly three years. I can assure you that the OGR staffers neither like hearing my voice nor do they like speaking with me. Tell the OGR to call a hearing on the CDC whistleblower after you ask them why they have not acted on this matter before. Make you views heard. We already have over a million U.S. children with autism. This is a new phenomenon. Something is causing this epidemic increase. If it is vaccine related and we do nothing, our Republic may not survive. Read more at: GlobalResearch.ca (Natural News) Come 2018, Moon Express will launch its first mission to the Moon. Though originally slated for late 2017, Naveen Jain, Moon Express co-founder and chairman, told CNBC.com that the launch is definitely going to happen. Moreover, Jain has gone on to state that the first human colony will be on the Moon within the next five years. Its definitely going to be next year, we are in the final stretches of it. And as you can imagine its rocket science, said Jain. We are really looking good and we are still hoping to launch the lander next year. And when we launch and land on the moon, not only (do) we become the first company to do so, we actually symbolically become the fourth superpower. And imagine the entrepreneurs doing things that only the three superpowers have done before. Moon Express is a private spaceflight company known for being the first to receive United States government approval for lunar travel. The company is also one of many competing in the Google Lunar XPRIZE, an inducement prize space competition where private firms will have to land a privately funded spacecraft on the Moon, travel 500 m, then broadcast high-definition images and videos back to Earth. The deadline for this contest is March of next year. To that end, Moon Express has collaborated with American aerospace corporation Rocket Lab. While Moon Express built the lander, Rocket Lab will provide the booster to propel the lander to the Moons surface. According to Jain, however, the $20 million reward isnt the main priority. First and foremost, Moon Express is aiming to mine lunar resources that can be sent back to Earth and use as needed. Once this has been accomplished, setting up human colonies will become the next step. Speaking to CNBC.com, Jain elaborated: I really believe that lunar is going to become like our eighth continent. We are going to have a permanent presence there, we are going to have internet there and we are going to be able to communicate just like we communicate from here to even Australia. (Related: NASA to attempt to grow vegetables on the moon.) He then added: I think that a lunar colony will be set up in the next five years, so its not that far away. I believe in the next 10, 15 years we will be able to have a baby on the moon, and somewhere along the line the parents are going to be looking at the baby and say, We come up from that planet, rightits very exciting times. Moon cave colonies? Its more likely than you think Raising the likelihood of Moon colonies becoming reality is a relatively recent discovery by Japans Selenological and Engineering Explorer probe. As reported by Futurism.com, the lunar orbiter found a gigantic underground cave on the Moon. Situated beneath the Marius Hills, the cave is believed to actually be a lava tube formed by billions of years worth of volcanic activity. The dimensions of the space come to roughly 328 ft in width and 31 mi in length, making it an ideal location for a lunar station. Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency senior researcher Junishi Haruyama explained that lava tubes such as the cave might be the best candidate sites for future lunar bases, because of their stable thermal conditions and potential to protect people and instruments from micrometeorites and cosmic ray radiation. Though the interior of the cave has yet to be fully explored, Haruyama and his colleagues hope that a closer look will provide more details. Thanks to radio waves, however, the researchers think that the space could be filled with ice and water contain inside of rocks. These, according to the researchers, could be used to produce fuel fuel powering the various amenities essential to the survival of lunar colonists. Remain abreast of the space race and all news relating to it by going to SpaceTourism.news today. Sources include: CNBC.com Futurism.com (Natural News) A 2016 study has linked the development of hypertension and organ damage with aircraft noise. According to the official press release by the European Society of Cardiology, Polish researchers found that people who were living close to airports for three years or more have an increased risk of high blood pressure. To come to this conclusion, the researchers randomly selected 201 adults between the ages of 40 and 66. All of the participants had to have lived in areas with low or high aircraft noise for at least three years. They were then divided into two groups based on the amount of aircraft noise they were exposed to: the first group consisted of 100 participants who were subjected to less than 55 decibels (dB) or aircraft noise on average. The second group of 101 participants were exposed to at least 60 dB. The researchers then paired up participants based on their age, sex, and the length of time spent living in the area. Each participant had their blood pressure measured. Through this, the researchers discovered that 40 percent of the participants from the second group had hypertension. Conversely, only 24 percent of those from the first group had this condition. Of those from the second group who had hypertension, they were found to have higher systolic (146 against 138 millimeter of mercury or mmHg) and diastolic (89 against 79 mmHg) blood pressure. Moreover, the researchers found that the group who lived near high aircraft noise showed signs of higher left ventricular masses and stiffer aortas. These were noted as being indicative of asymptomatic organ damage. According to GoiHeart.com, aortic stiffness can raise the likelihood of hypertension and is considered a marker of risk for heart disease. Marta Rojek, Jagiellonian University Medical College researcher and study co-author, said of the results: Our results suggest that living near an airport for three years or more is associated with an increased risk of high blood pressure and hypertension. These changes may then lead to damage of the aorta and heart which could increase the risk of having a heart attack. Following this, Rojek suggested that more effort be put into the management of aircraft noise. European Union regulations say that countries must assess and manage environmental noise, and there are national laws on aircraft noise. Poland stipulates a maximum of 55 dB around schools and hospitals and 60 dB for other areas. Noise can be kept below those levels by using only noise-certified aircraft, redirecting flight paths, keeping airports away from homes, and avoiding night flights, said Rojek. She then added: More work is needed to enforce laws on exposure to aircraft noise as it is detrimental to our health. We also need further research to understand how the damage occurs and whether it can be reversed. Visit Heart.news to read up on more studies concerning heart health. Sources include: Escardio.org GoiHeart.com What to Know At least 75 women have come forward to detail accounts of alleged assault, harassment and inappropriate conduct by Harvey Weinstein Actress Paz de la Huerta accused him of raping her twice in NYC in 2010; her lawyer said she's frustrated there's no criminal charges yet The movie mogul's attorneys have said he denies any claim of non-consensual sex The lawyer for an actress who accused Harvey Weinstein of rape said Friday that she is frustrated prosecutors have not yet brought criminal charges. "Boardwalk Empire" actress Paz de la Huerta publicly accused the movie producer of raping her twice in 2010. She began speaking with police about the accusation in late October. Her lawyer, Carrie Goldberg, said that by now she expected the case would at least have gone before a grand jury, which would decide whether or not to indict Weinstein. "We are deeply concerned about the foot-dragging in convening the grand jury," Goldberg said in an email. Weinstein's attorneys have said he denies any claim of non-consensual sex, and that they would respond in any "appropriate legal forum, where necessary." They had no comment on Friday. New York City authorities initially seemed poised to move quickly on the accusations. In late October, Chief of Detectives Robert Boyce said investigators found de la Huerta's account believable. Since then, police and prosecutors have traveled to Paris to interview de la Huerta and have spoken to other witnesses multiple times, two law enforcement officials said. Prosecutors have also met with Weinstein's lawyers, Goldberg's office said. A spokeswoman for Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr. she could not comment because of the ongoing investigation. The prosecutor's office has investigated Weinstein before, only to eventually back off of filing a criminal charge. In 2015, police conducted a sting after an Italian model accused Weinstein of groping her, secretly recording Weinstein apologizing for this conduct. Vance ultimately decided there wasn't enough proof and didn't bring a case. Following criticism over the decision earlier this year, prosecutors said police arranged the sting without their knowledge and there were other proof issues, but police pushed back saying they'd presented enough evidence. Goldberg said she wonders why prosecutors are putting her client through so much scrutiny. "It exacts a huge emotional toll," she said. "She has to rehash these memories and subject herself to exposure, and for what?" She added: "We've already said we're prepared for whatever the trial may bring." At least 75 women have come forward in the media to detail accounts of assault, harassment and inappropriate conduct by Weinstein. It's not clear how many have gone to police. A box truck driver was arrested Saturday on suspicion of driving under the influence and vehicular manslaughter after ramming into a Bay Bridge toll booth and killing a 46-year-old Catrans employee, the California Highway Patrol said. The crash caused a multi-lane closure for nearly 15 hours, causing a miles-long backup. Around 5:10 a.m., cars were lined up at a toll booth on the Oakland side of the bridge, when the westbound box truck hit the last vehicle in line, causing a chain reaction, according to Officer Vu Williams. The box truck then hit a toll booth. The attendant inside, identified as Si Si Han, a 10-year Caltrans employee, was killed. The driver, 32-year-old Daniel Berk, was ejected from the truck and landed on the road, sustaining major injuries, Williams said. Berk, of Foster City, was taken to a hospital, Williams said. Californias Gov. Jerry Brown order flags be lowered to half-staff to honor Si Si Han and issued a statement, extending condolences to Hans family, co-workers and friends. "Anne and I are deeply saddened to learn of the loss of Caltrans Toll Collector Si Si Han, who died today while serving the traveling public," Brown said. Han is survived by her husband, Ryan, and their 10-year-old daughter, Ashly, the governor said. Flags at the Capitol will be flown at half-staff in her honor. "This tragic incident hurts us all very deeply," Caltrans Director Malcolm Dougherty wrote in a statement. Han is the 36th employee of Caltrans' District 4 who was killed on the job, he said. The collision forced the CHP to shut down the northbound Interstate 880 to westbound Interstate 80 connector, the carpool flyover from westbound I-80 to the toll plaza and two westbound lanes of I-80, Williams said. Six toll booths were also closed. Motorists were asked to expect the closures to remain in effect for at least 8 to 10 hours, but lanes didn't reopen till just before 8 p.m. NBC Bay Areas SkyRanger captured footage of a miles-long backup as well as cars near the toll booth zig-zagging in an attempt to get past the gridlock. The toll booth in question was wrecked by the force of the crash. A part of it flew off and was found on the road. Capitol Corridor bus service between Emeryville and San Francisco was put on hold following the crash, transit officials said. Although the crash scene has been cleared, drivers can expect four lanes to remain closed through the weekend in order to repair the damage. Caltrans and CHP are recommending drivers use alternative routes or hop on BART. Caltrans and the CHP are investigating the collision. Bay City News contributed to this report. Shock waves from a not guilty verdict in the Kate Steinle murder case on Thursday exposed a deep political chasm and generated a viral hashtag, #BoycottSanFrancisco. Steinle, 32, was strolling along Pier 14 with her father on July 1, 2015 when she was fatally shot in the back. A Mexican man, Jose Ines Garcia Zarate, was charged with the crime, but insisted it was an accident. He was acquitted of murder and involuntary manslaughter on Thursday, and found guilty only of being a felon in possession of a weapon. The fact that Garcia Zarate is an undocumented immigrant, who had been deported five times and was wanted for a sixth time, has drawn the ire of politicians and citizens alike, fanning the flames of an immigration debate. A lot of the finger-pointing has been directed at the city of San Francisco because its sanctuary city policy allows officials to decline cooperating with federal deportation efforts. Thats what led Garcia Zarate to be released from San Franciscos jail despite a federal request to detain him for deportation several weeks before Steinle was killed. In the hours after the jury made its decision, thousands of Twitter users on both sides of the aisle vented their frustration on Twitter, using the hashtag #BoycottSanFrancisco. Some people urged others not only to cancel travel plans to San Francisco, but also to stop spending money in California. One Twitter user labeled the city by the bay an American disgrace. Yet another said that the anger is not about immigrants, but illegal immigrants, and found San Francisco guilty of murder. #BoycottSanFrancisco also amplified calls for a border wall, which some dubbed #KatesWall, while praise was heaped on President Donald Trump, who plans to crack down on illegal immigration. On the flip side, however, some on Twitter pointed out that the movement would mean people would have to give up popular services from Silicon Valley, including Google, Facebook, Snapchat, Uber, Airbnb, YouTube, Netflix and ironically even Twitter. Still others asked why #BoycottLasVegas never became a trending topic after 58 people were gunned down by Stephen Paddock, a U.S. citizen. The viral thread also became a place where people pitted one race against the other.[[461343873, C]] The attacks on San Francisco and other cities with similar immigration policies began moments after the jury acquitted Garcia Zarate. President Donald Trump called the verdict a complete travesty of justice, and U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions demanded cities like San Francisco scrap immigration policies barring cooperation with federal deportation efforts. Conservative politicians and celebrities such as former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin and actor James Woods lambasted the city. City officials pushed back and vowed to stand behind their so-called sanctuary city policy. Its what led Garcia Zarate to be released from San Franciscos jail despite a federal request to detain him for deportation several weeks before Kate Steinle was fatally shot in the back in 2015. He had been deported five times before. San Francisco is and always will be a sanctuary city, said Ellen Canale, a spokeswoman for Mayor Ed Lee. It was among the first U.S. cities to establish a sanctuary law in 1989 as part of a national wave of cities adopting policies to help Central American refugees. Since then, San Francisco has consistently been an early adopter of some of the most immigrant-friendly policies nationwide, expanding protections to residents living in the country without documentation. Hundreds of cities have similar policies, which Trump, Sessions and others blame for Steinles death. Prosecutors had charged Garcia Zarate with murder, assault and being felon in possession of a firearm. He called the shooting an accident. He said he found a gun under a chair on the pier and it fired when he picked it up. San Francisco Deputy District Attorney Diana Garcia urged jurors to convict him of first-degree murder. Jurors also considered and rejected second-degree murder and involuntary manslaughter. They did convict him of the firearm charge, which carries a maximum sentence of three years in jail. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement said it would "ultimately remove" Garcia Zarate from the country. Before the shooting, he had finished a federal prison sentence for illegal re-entry into the United States and had been transferred to San Franciscos jail in March 2015 to face a 20-year-old charge for selling marijuana. The sheriffs department released him a few days after prosecutors dropped the marijuana charge, despite a request from federal officials to detain him for deportation. San Franciscos decision to protect criminal aliens led to the preventable and heartbreaking death of Kate Steinle, Sessions said in a statement Thursday night. 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. ICE Deputy Director Thamos Homan said the citys policy is a blatant threat to public safety. At the time of the shooting, then-candidate Trump and others pointed to Steinles death as reasons why the countrys immigration laws should be tightened. The president called the verdict disgraceful Thursday. And Friday on social media, Trump said, 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. Former President Barack Obama had kept his Republican predecessors policy of allowing U.S. immigration officials to ask local police to detain people suspected of living in the country illegally for up to 48 hours. Defense attorney Francisco Ugarte called the verdict a vindication for the rest of immigrants. From Day 1, this case was used as a means to foment hate, to foment division and to foment a program of mass deportation, he said. It was used to catapult a presidency along that philosophy of hate of others. Jurors left the courtroom Thursday without comment, and the judge sealed their identities. Steinles father, Jim, told the San Francisco Chronicle that justice was rendered, but it was not served. Were just shocked saddened and shocked ... thats about it, he said in an interview described as the familys last. Michael Cardoza, a longtime San Francisco Bay Area lawyer, said the prosecutor overreached asking for a first-degree murder conviction, which would have meant that Garcia Zarate intended to kill Steinle despite strong evidence that the bullet ricocheted around 90 feet before striking Steinle. Cardoza said a better case could have been made to convince jurors that Garcia Zarate had a reckless disregard for human life and to convict him of second-degree murder. Garcia, the deputy district attorney, declined to comment. Alex Bastian with the district attorneys office said the verdict was not the one we were hoping for but that prosecutors respect the jurys decision. The California Public Utilities Commission has secretly used millions in tax dollars to thwart a now stalled corruption probe into the agency, three public officials wrote in a strongly-worded letter sent Friday to the states Attorney General. We now know that the CPUC has been blocking your efforts at every turn, Sen. Jerry Hill, Assemblyman Kevin Mullin and San Bruno Mayor Jim Ruane wrote to Xavier Becerra. CPUCs lawyers have impeded your progress, refused to turn over documents, and filed motions to quash your search warrants, their letter continued. At issue is the states 2014 probe into apparent back-door communications between top commission and utilities officials, specifically Southern California Edison and Pacific Gas and Electric. The corruption probe began with searches of the commissions headquarters and the Southern California home of former commission president Michael Peevey. The searches yielded evidence that Peevey was involved in brokering a secret deal that would make Edisons customers pay for the bulk of costs of shuttering the San Onofre nuclear plant. Superior Court Judge William Ryan ultimately upheld the legality of the search warrant, concluding: There were sufficient facts alleged in the affidavit that would lead to a strong suspicion of guilt that Peevey and Edison conspired to obstruct justice, or the due administration of the laws. In their letter, Hill, Mullin and Ruane go even further, accusing CPUC of having misrepresented its need for outside legal services costing as much as $12 million on the grounds it was needed to comply with all applicable legal obligations. The CPUC has clearly made little effort to comply with your subpoenas and search warrants; instead using the monies we approved to obstruct your efforts, according to the letter. The commission is again facing a loss of trust and a question of credibility, the letter concludes. The fact that the CPUC refuses to comply with active investigations into illegal behavior makes one wonder what else it has to hide. The commission defended its conduct on Friday, saying it has fully cooperated with the Attorney Generals office through every step of the investigation and turned over some one million documents so far. The agency appropriately asked questions about the probe to ensure that relevant and appropriate information was obtained and that time and money was not being spent gathering non-relevant documents, officials said. The commission stressed its efforts helped fix a faulty search warrant and led to a significantly narrowing of documents that ended up being turned over, saving $200,000 in costs. The CPUC has not hindered the process and the Attorney General is not waiting for information from the CPUC, the agency stressed, pointing out that prosecutors told the court as of December 2016 that the agency had turned over the sought-after documents. The case is in the hands of the Attorney Generals office, and the next steps are up to the office. The acquittal of an undocumented Mexican immigrant in the shooting death of a woman on a San Francisco pier apparently came down to a question of reasonable doubt, according to experts in criminal prosecution. The jurors were evidently not convinced that the defendant, Jose Ines Garcia Zarate, acted with intent a bar prosecutors needed to clear to convict him of the most serious charges, NBC News reported. "As controversial and tragic as this case may be, and as political as it has become, my best guess is that this turned out to be a very conventional case in that ... the defense just cast doubt on the prosecution's theory," said Robert Weisberg, a criminal justice professor at Stanford Law School. But some observers have questioned why Garcia Zarate was not at least convicted of involuntary manslaughter, a charge that is generally applied to crimes that are unlawful but unintentional. San Francisco city officials have launched a formal probe into allegations of racism and hazing at their fire training academy, NBC Bay Area has learned. The probe, which began this week, is in apparent response to allegations spelled out in a letter sent by eight African American trainees to Fire Chief Joanne Hayes-White. The eight authors, who called themselves the brave men of color, wrote that they were offended by the use of the N-word in a training session and alleged retaliatory, demeaning, punishing, and racist/sexist behavior at the academy. In rebuttal, other classmates have signed a petition saying, each of us is treated fairly, without any indication of racism, sexism, or favoritism by the academy training cadre. This week, three would-be firefighters were dismissed two of whom may be among those who complained. That underscores the urgency of the investigation, says Joe Alioto Veronese, a member of the citys fire commission. We have to get to the bottom of that, says Veronese, who is also a civil rights lawyer. If you fail out of the academy youre out -- theres a long list to get back into the academy, he adds. We need to make sure we are addressing these issues now. Veronese says he hopes the probe will determine if the complaints are legitimate or the product of disgruntled recruits unable to meet standards. If this is a matter of actual racial animus, lets get to the bottom of that, lets root that out. Thats a cancer we need to remove that immediately. Fire department spokesman Jonathan Baxter confirms the complaint is under investigation by the city but said he could not comment further on a personnel matter. Chief Hayes-White declined to be interviewed for this story. The Black Firefighters Association, whose board members spoke out on behalf of the eight recruits, said in a statement: We look forward to the City Attorneys Office taking the necessary steps to conduct a complete, thorough and unbiased investigation." In the next couple of weeks, toll prices in the Granite State could raise anywhere between 18 to 35 cents in order to help fund improvements on the New Hampshire Turnpike. "I'm going through the toll booths all the time," Steve Beauliu said. His work requires him to spend a huge amount of time on the highways and rack up major toll costs. "Its better than ruining tires and potholes and having roads that arent maintained well in the winter," one driver told us. At the New Hampshire welcome center, folks that NBC Boston spoke to really didnt mind an increase. "I was thinking that New Hampshire does a good job of keeping up its roads and its infrastructure," Tony Dionis said. The state estimates that increased revenue could be more than $30 million annually. People driving without EZ Passes could expect to pay 50 cents more for using cash. "That hurts but if it helps pay for infrastructure that is desperately needed and keeps the highways in shape, I guess its a price we have to pay," Beauliu said. Its up to the New Hampshire Executive Council to approve the increase. That could happen on Dec. 6. The decades-long political struggle over fixing the bottleneck in Californias immense north-south water system is nearing a climaxand its not looking good for Gov. Jerry Browns long-sought solution. The State Water Project, initiated nearly 60 years ago by Browns late father, Pat, impounds Feather River water behind Oroville Dam and sends it southward down the Feather and Sacramento rivers into the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta. Huge pumps at the south edge of the Delta suck water into the California Aqueduct, which transports it as far south as San Diego. However, the Delta has century-old levees that are deteriorating, and water draws from it have been curtailed due to the degradation of habitat for fish and other wildlife, leading to a search for solutions that would improve reliability of water supplies and improve habitat. During his first gubernatorial incarnation, Jerry Brown won legislative approval of a peripheral canal to carry water around the Delta, only to see it rejected by voters just weeks before his governorship ended in 1983. More than three decades later, with scarcely a year remaining in Browns second governorship, his successor plantwin tunnels beneath the Deltais teetering. It suffers from declining interest among the water agencies that would have to pay for it and an apparent unwillingness of the federal government to come to the rescue. The uncertain future of WaterFix, as its officially dubbed, was framed in an October report by the state auditors office, which pointed out several managerial shortcomings and concluded that the Department of Water Resources has not completed either an economic or financial analysis to demonstrate the financial viability of WaterFix. Tunnel opponents in the Legislature, organized as the Delta Coalition, smell blood and will stage a hearing in Walnut Grove, as small riverfront town in the Delta, this week to showcase the projects shortcomings and contribute, they hope, to its demise. As with all big public works, the key to WaterFixs future is money. Its estimated cost approaches $17 billion, althoughbased on the states recent record of big projectsone should be skeptical. Construction is supposed to be financed by the water agencies that depend on the state system, particularly the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California, the Westlands Water District that supplies farmers on the west side of the San Joaquin Valley and the Santa Clara Valley Water District, which serves Silicon Valley. Although MWD officially backs the project, its largest member agency, the San Diego County Water Authority, is highly critical, so continued backing in Southern California is not certain. The Santa Clara agency voted recently to support WaterFix, but only after attaching conditions that could be fatal, such as suggesting the project be reduced to a single tunnel. Most ominously, Westlands voted to not participate, and the U.S. Department of the Interior declared that it would not participate financially. The latter is important because Westlands had suggested that it might reconsider its opposition if farmers who get water from the federal Central Valley Project would pay a substantial share of the costs. Brown and his water officials are trying to put a positive face on the situation. After Santa Claras half-hearted approval, Brown declared it a major step forward for California WaterFix and ensures that Santa Clara will have the water it desperately needs. Hardly. Truth is, WaterFix needs a fiscal fix, and soon, to still be alive when Brown departs 13 months hence. Illinois Governor Bruce Rauner has been named the worst Republican governor in America by the National Review. Gracing the December cover of the conservative publication, Rauner is criticized for what the author cites as a number of betrayals and defeats. The governors offense was to have signed what may be Americas most radical abortion-funding law after vowing to veto it, John Miller wrote. The betrayal capped a season of defeats for conservatives, including an income-tax hike, a big bailout of Chicagos public schools, and turning Illinois into what critics of illegal immigration are calling a sanctuary state. Rauner in October announced plans to run for re-election in 2018. "They said it couldnt be done, that it was crazy to think this place could be saved, that we should give up, give in and resign our hopes and dreams to a corrupt culture of permanent political failure," Rauner says at the start of his announcement. "The Madigan machine is just too strong, they say. It will never go away, it will never fail to fail us. Its time to just accept corruption and staggnation as not only what we have but who we are. Well, I say we cant and we wont." But Rauner will face stiff competition in the upcoming race. State Rep. Jeanne Ives has been circulating petitions to take on the incumbent in the Republican primary, along with a number of Democratic challengers. According to an October report by Governing Magazine, Illinois gubernatorial race is leaning Democratic as Ruaner seeks a second term in office. That same publication correctly predicted that Rauner would beat incumbent Governor Pat Quinn when he was elected in 2014, calling the election as a leaning Republican race when they conducted rankings that year. According to polls conducted over the summer, 40 percent of Illinois voters approve of the job that Rauner has done, compared to 49 percent that disapprove of his job performance. Rauners office did not respond to a request for comment on the National Review article. A Chicago Public Schools plan to close four high schools on the citys South Side has been met with an avalanche of criticism, including from students in the area. It makes me feel like Im worthless, Harper High School student Traivon ONeil said. ONeil was one of several students who staged a sit-in at the high school on Friday. Harper is one of four in the neighborhood that CPS is planning on closing to make way for a privately-operated new $85 million charter school that is slated to open in the fall of 2019. The plan has been criticized by the Chicago Teachers Union and elected officials, including State Representative Sonya Harper. Four high schools closing at one time will only add to the instability of a community that is already struggling with the highest rates of unemployment, crime, food insecurity, and a lack of housing for families, she said. Harper, Hope, Robeson, and Team Englewood are all set to close in June as part of the plan, meaning that hundreds of students in those schools will have to transfer to different institutions for the 2018-19 school year. I feel very confident in the transition plan we have in place to support the 330 students left at these 4 schools but at the end of the day as an educator as a parent I believe this is what best for the children, CPS Chief Education Officer Janice Jackson said. According to CPS, students at the affected schools will be provided individualized transition plans, and the opportunity to attend higher-performing schools in the area. We plan to sit down with the parent and the student to find out what transition is best for that child, CPS steering committee member Darlene OBannon said. Some students feel conflicted about the decision, citing the distance to their new schools and the potential extracurricular activities that they may be able to experience in a new building. Its tragic that its closing but there are more extracurricular activities I can be doing that this school doesnt have, student Javon Hairston said. Some parents are still adamant that the school closures are the wrong move, and that the district should invest in buildings that are already standing. These are my kids, and this is our neighborhood, Local Student Council Chairman Bobby Brown said. Why are they always closing schools in our neighborhood? A person of interest was taken into custody after one person was shot and killed in Kent on Friday night. The shooting happened around 6 p.m. at the home on Cornwall Road, according to police. Police said the person in custody is not a suspect and has not be placed under arrest. The person is fully cooperating with detectives while the investigation remains active. There is no threat to the public, police said. No other details were immediately released. A new system in Stonington called Citizens with Autism Safety System (CASS) is helping families and first responders keep people with autism safe. This week the town was awarded for its efforts. CASS launched last month. Its an opt-in program that helps police and emergency service personnel locate missing people who have autism and advises how to interact with them when found. Stoningtons IT Manager, Roger Kizer, developed the program. It stores confidential information a family gives about the way the person communicates which is not always verbal - places they like to go, unique behaviors, sensory issues and more. It also targets bodies of water, including swimming pools, near the last place that a missing person was seen. Kizer said many people on the autism spectrum are drawn to water. I have a niece whos autistic. I know from talking to my sister that when she bolts, she takes off. She has favorite places she likes to go, Kizer said. He worked closely with Stoningtons Human Services Director, Leanne Theodore, to create the program and got significant input from the towns Autism Parent Support Group and the Geographic Information System (GIS) vendor. CASS is part of the towns GIS system, but all of the information is password protected and only accessible to authorized users. The Connecticut Conference of Municipalities awarded Stonington Wednesday with a Municipal Excellence Award for the system. Kizer believes its the first of its kind. The town also received a $1,000 check from Halloran & Sage LLP, a law firm that sponsors the CCM Municipal Excellence Awards. Stonington resident Crystal Wilcox is in the process of signing her 21-year-old son, Billy, up for the program. She remembers the time Billy almost came in contact with a Stonington police officer. The police officer got out of the car. He was not aware. And Billy was screaming and carrying on, Wilcox said. It could have been a potentially turbulent situation if Wilcox didnt step in and tell the cop her son had autism and that shed handle the situation. Stoningtons dispatchers and first responders are now being trained to use CASS. Having triggers, calming methods and things like that, that might be provided to us while were responding, will be critical, said Capt. Todd Olson with Stonington Police. Town officials said the only push-back is that some families are hesitant to sign up because they believe theres a stigma that comes with it. Top Democrats on Friday warned President Donald Trump and other Republicans that they must not interfere in special counsel Robert Muellers probe of Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential election after former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI and agreed to cooperate with Mueller. Congressional investigations must also be allowed to continue, they say. The plea secured by Mueller may prompt the White House and its allies to seek to curtail congressional investigations, as President (Donald) Trump has attempted to do already, or end the Special Counsels work prematurely, Rep. Adam Schiff, the ranking Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, said in a statement. Congress must make it clear that this would not be acceptable, that we will continue doing a diligent and thoughtful investigation, and do everything in our power to ensure the independence of the Special Counsel. In addition to Muellers work, the House and the Senate are both probing Russia interference in the election. A U.S. intelligence assessment released in January concluded that Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered a campaign to undermine public faith in the U.S. democratic process, to help Trump and to harm Hillary Clinton. Schiffs counterpart on the Senate Intelligence Committee, Sen. Mark Warner of Virginia, said in his statement that Trump had already fired the FBI director, James Comey, and had pressured Attorney General Jeff Sessions and top U.S. intelligence officials to interfere with the investigation. Media outlets have reported that Trump is contemplating issuing pardons for his associates and firing Mueller, Warner said. Members of Congress from both parties must make clear that those actions would be fundamentally unacceptable and incompatible with the rule of law, Warner, the committee's vice chairman, said. Trump, a prolific tweeter, was silent in the immediate aftermath of Flynns guilty plea. An opportunity for reporters to question the president a scheduled media event with Libyan Prime Minister Fayez al-Sarraj during which reporters would have been expected to shout out questions was canceled. Trumps lawyer, Ty Cobb, described Flynn as the national security advisor for only 25 days and a former Obama administration official, without noting his role in the Trump campaign or his firing by Obama. Flynn, an early and enthusiastic Trump supporter, resigned from the Trump administration in February reportedly because he lied to Vice President Mike Pence about his contacts with the Russian ambassador to the United States. The false statements involved mirror the false statements to White House officials which resulted in his resignation in February of this year, Cobb said. Nothing about the guilty plea or the charge implicates anyone other than Mr. Flynn. One court document, the statement of the offense, notes that Flynn was directed by a very senior member of the presidential transition team to influence foreign governments, including Russia, to delay a United Nations vote on Israeli settlements or to defeat the resolution. Two people familiar with the matter told NBC News Friday afternoon that the very senior member was Jared Kushner, Trumps son-in-law, who initially was given a broad role in the Trump White House, including working on peace in the Middle East. The document says Flynn contacted the Russian ambassador, Sergey I. Kislyak, about the pending vote and asked that Russia vote against or delay the resolution, but later told the FBI falsely that he had only asked the countries positions on the vote. Elsewhere, the document says that on Dec. 29, 2016, Flynn called a senior official of the presidential transition team at Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach, Florida, to discuss what to communicate to Kislyak about sanctions signed by then-President Barack Obama the day before. The court document does not identify which official Flynn spoke to. Flynn falsely told FBI agents that he had not asked the ambassador to refrain from escalating the situation in response to the sanctions. But the document says that Flynn called Kislyak after his conversation with the transition official, then reported back to that official on the substance of his call with the ambassador. After another conversation with the ambassador, at the end of December, Flynn spoke with senior members of the transitional team about what was said. Republicans had more muted responses to Flynn's plea. As far as I understand, there's nothing here where he was colluding with the Russians, Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina told NBC. And Sen. Shelley Moore Capito of West Virginia called lying to the FBI a grave offense. The top Democrat in the House, Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, asked for an outside independent investigation. The U.S. Congress has a duty to uphold justice, and to take measures to ensure that Special Counsel Muellers investigation proceed without interference from the White House, Pelosi also said in a statement. Democratic Sen. Dianne Feinstein, the ranking member on the Senate Judiciary Committee, said in a statement of Flynns guilty plea: This shows a Trump associate negotiating with the Russians against U.S. policy and interests before Donald Trump took office and after it was announced that Russia had interfered in our election. Thats a stunning revelation and could be a violation of the Logan Act, which forbids unauthorized U.S. citizens from negotiating with a foreign power. Feinstein also argued for the probes to move forward unimpeded. This is just one more proof point that these investigations must be allowed to continue without interference, she said. Republicans in Congress must stop shielding the President and join Democrats to take real, immediate action to counter Russian aggression and prevent further attacks on our democracy, she said. After news of Flynns guilty plea broke, the former U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, Preet Bharara, who also was fired by Trump, tweeted: The (admitted) charges against Michael Flynn make clear that he pleaded directly with the Russians not to retaliate for US sanctions, before Trump took office. Was that with Trumps knowledge and at his request? And Comey tweeted a Bible verse: "'But justice roll down like waters and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream' Amos 5:24." Officials broke ground Saturday on a $1.5 billion, six- station Foothill Gold Line extension from Glendora to Montclair in a ceremony at Citrus College. The 12.3-mile extension, which is expected to take nine years to complete, will add new stations to the Metro Gold Line system in the cities of Glendora, San Dimas, La Verne, Pomona, Claremont and Montclair, and also marks the first Measure M-funded rail project to move forward to construction. "Funding the second phase of the Gold Line Extension is the perfect example of what we're trying to achieve through our agency's comprehensive transportation plan," Metro CEO Phillip A. Washington said. "As we make transit more available in new communities, we are changing the face of Southern California and creating an infrastructure inheritance for our children and grandchildren." A Beacon Economics report released earlier this month predicted the extension's construction would bring a string of economic benefits to the region, including nearly 17,000 jobs, more than $2.6 billion in economic output, more than $1 billion in labor income and nearly $40 million in tax revenues for Los Angeles County. Once passenger service begins, the report predicted the extension will generate an annual benefit to the county of more than $52 million in economic output, $17 million in labor income and nearly $800,000 in tax revenues, while generating 277 jobs. "We know that investing in public infrastructure projects like the Gold Line are economic engines," said Habib F. Balian, CEO of the Foothill Gold Line Construction Authority. "But it is always impressive to see just how much each project directly benefits our region in job creation, economic activity and future revenues -- it is a significant return on investment." The portion of the project within Los Angeles County -- Glendora to Claremont -- is being mostly funded by Metro's Measure M half-cent sales tax that was approved by voters in November 2016, as well as residual Measure R funds from the Pasadena to Azusa segment that was completed under budget. The portion from Claremont to Montclair is being funded by San Bernardino County. A man died and two other men were injured early Saturday in a shooting at a Monrovia restaurant, according to the Monrovia Police Department. The shooting was reported just after midnight on the 100 block of East Olive Avenue at the Gem City Grill, police said. A physical altercation at the restaurant escalated and one person opened fire, according to Monrovia police. All three victims were transported to nearby hospitals, where one man died. Myrtle Avenue and Lemon Avenue have been closed while police conduct an investigation. The conditions of the surviving victims are unknown. Anyone with information on the shooting is urged to call the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Homicide Bureau at 323-890-5500. A Japanese court on Friday convicted a U.S. military contractor of murder and rape charges in the death of an Okinawa woman and sentenced him to life in prison. The Naha District Court also found Kenneth Shinzato, a former Marine, guilty of abandoning the victim's body, court officials said. The 20-year-old woman was found in the forest in May, three weeks after she disappeared while taking a walk. Shinzato was accused of hitting the woman in the head with a club, intending to rape her and stabbing her to death in the neck with a knife. He pleaded guilty to the charges of rape resulting in death and abandoning of the body, but denied murder intent. Judge Toshihiro Shibata upheld prosecutors' demand for life imprisonment, saying there was no room for leniency, Kyodo News reported. The case sparked outrage on the southern Japanese island where residents have long complained about heavy U.S. military presence and crimes linked to them. The anger led to a bilateral pact limiting immunity from Japanese prosecution for civilian workers at American bases. Okinawa has also protested a contentious plan to relocate a Marine Corps air station in the crowded neighborhood of Futenma to a less-populated part of the island. The plan developed after a military aircraft accident near the current base and the 1995 rape of a girl by three American servicemen enraged Okinawans, but has since made little progress due to protests. Opponents want the air station completely removed from the island. Half of about 50,000 American troops stationed in Japan are on Okinawa. The U.S. military says the crime rate among its ranks in Japan is lower than among the general public. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's government wants Japan to play a greater military role internationally and in Japan-U.S. security alliance amid escalating missile and nuclear threats from North Korea. It's a situation that could soil the reputation of a western New York neighborhood: a serial pooper is leaving a mess in peoples' front yards. That's according to a classified ad placed in a pennysaver in Orchard Park earlier this week. "To the person/jogger who is pooping on our lawns in the Village of O.P.: Stop!!," states the ad placed in the Orchard Park Pennysaver. According to the Buffalo News, which first reported the ad, authorities have only received one complaint about feces in their front yard, on Nov. 8. The homeowner told authorities she thought the perpetrator was a runner in the area, and that it wasn't the first time she had found poop and toilet paper on her property. But the ad makes it seem as though multiple homeowners' lawns were "invaded." "We have installed trail cams to identify you!" the ad continues. "The Orchard Park Police are increasing patrols in our area!" Police told the Buffalo News that they are adding patrols to the neighborhood in the village that is home to the Buffalo Bills, but that they "don't have much to go on." It's not the first time a runner's bowel movements have made the news this year. In September, residents in Colorado Springs, Colorado, reported a "mad pooper" defecating on peoples' lawns during jogs. A crowd of protesters booed Saturday as President Donald Trump arrived in Manhattan for a fundraiser, one of several he was attending. The group gathered across the street from Cipriani's in midtown, where the Republican National Convention was hosting a fundraiser for Trump. As a motorcade drove up, the crowd loudly shouted "Boo!" "Environment, immigration, every type of civil liberty or right is being threatened if not destroyed," said protester Maryellen Novak. "We have to take a stand. And whenever he's in town, we're going to tell him he's not welcome." Some held signs that read "Rise and Resist," "Tax Cuts Destroy Lives" and "The GOP is Complicit." One person dressed as the grim reaper and had the words "GOP Tax Scam" written on his scythe. As they waited, the protesters chanted "Shame on You" and "Hey, hey, ho, ho, Donald Trump has got to go." "I think that the chanting does make a difference because when you're out on the streets and letting people know that you're that disappointed with the policies coming down from Washington, people do listen and take notice," said Justin Westbrook-Lowery, from the Bronx. "We're letting Donald Trump know directly that we are opposed to his GOP tax bill and all of those people who will be beneficiaries of it who are in Cipriani's right now, sipping on tea and crumpets right now and all that," Westbrook-Lowery said. Supervisors Ramos, Pedroza elected to Latino Caucus Napa County Supervisors Belia Ramos and Alfredo Pedroza were elected recently to the Latino Caucus of California Counties Executive Committee during the 123rd annual California State Association of Counties annual meeting in Sacramento. Pedroza will serve as caucus vice president for the coming year. Ramos will serve as treasurer. It is the first time two Napa County supervisors have been named to the caucus. Being elected to the caucus means Napa County has a stronger voice at the table when it comes to advocating legislatively for issues that directly impact our community and our economy, Ramos said. Im honored to serve in this capacity and am ready to get to work. The more opportunities we can create to bring in resources to champion our Napa County community, the better, Pedroza said. Our participation helps us strengthen our statewide partnerships, and Im proud to be part of the discussion. Gov. Andrew Cuomo said Saturday that the federal government should be ashamed of its response to help Puerto Rico after it was devastated by Hurricane Maria. Cuomo spoke at John F. Kennedy International Airport before departing to Puerto Rico to check on the recovery there and offer assistance. "In my opinion, the federal government should be ashamed of itself in the way they've handled this," Cuomo said. He criticized Congress for staying up all night to pass their tax plan while not acting on the $94 billion Build Back Puerto Rico bill. "Their priorities are upside down," Cuomo said. They are committed to passing the help-the-rich-people tax act; they should be as committed to helping-the-desperate-of-Puerto-Rico recovery act." One-third of Puerto Rico is still without power 72 days after the hurricane and most households still need to boil water, Cuomo said. Cuomo said New York state has deployed more than 700 people to the island, including doctors, utility crews, state police and the National Guard. The former Stanford University swimmer convicted last year of sexually assaulting an unconscious woman outside a campus fraternity party is appealing. In the 172-page appeal filed Friday in Mill Valley, California, Brock Turner's legal team said the initial trial was "a detailed and lengthy set of lies" and asked for a new trial. Turner's team is also looking to overturn the convictions against him, which mandate he register as a sex offender for the rest of his life. Turner was convicted in March 2016 of three felony counts of sexual assault. A Standford student testified that on the night of the attack in January 2015 he found Turner behind a dumpster lying on top of the partially clothed victim, who police later determined was unconscious. Turner, who was a decorated swimmer at Stanford at the time, pleaded not guilty. The case gained national attention when Judge Aaron Persky sentenced Turner to six months in jail after prosecutors recommended Turner receive a six-year sentence. Turner was released from county jail after serving three months. "What we are saying that what happened is not a crime," said John Tompkins, Turner's legal adviser. "It happened, but it was not anywhere close to a crime." Tompkins said the facts of the case do not reflect the verdict, which is why they are appealing. In the appeal, Turner's legal team claims they were at a disadvantage on three fronts: The jury did not get a lot of evidence that represented Turner's character; The jury was not allowed to consider a lesser offense; The jury was subjected to "extensive 'behind-the-dumpster' propaganda." Stanford law professor Michele Dauber, who is on a committee to recall the judge who sentenced Turner, said it's common for people to appeal. But in Turner's case, she thinks this is just a wasted attempt to retry the evidence. "The jury considered Mr. Turner's victim-blaming arguments and decisively rejected them," Dauber said. "The jury rejected those facts. It's not appropriate for the court of appeals to step in and retry those facts." President Donald Trump changed his story Saturday on why he fired Michael Flynn as his national security adviser, now suggesting he knew at the time that Flynn had lied to the FBI as well as to Vice President Mike Pence about his contacts with Russians during the presidential transition. That was a turnabout from his initial explanations that Flynn had to go because he hadn't been straight with Pence about those contacts. Lying to the FBI is a crime, and one that Flynn acknowledged Friday in pleading guilty and agreeing to cooperate with the special counsel's Russia investigation. Trump's tweet: "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!" Amid questions raised by the tweet, Trump associates tried to put distance Saturday evening between the president himself and the tweet. One person familiar with the situation said the tweet was actually crafted by John Dowd, one of the president's personal attorneys. When asked for comment Saturday, White House Counsel John Dowd told NBC News that Trump's tweet "simply paraphrases what Ty Cobb said yesterday." That Friday statement said, in part, that Flynn "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." It's unclear why Trump would cite lying to the FBI as a reason for firing Flynn. Doing so suggests the president knew at the time that Flynn had done something that is against the law, and therefore the investigation could not be as frivolous as he's been portraying. It's also unclear how he would know that, if information about Russian contacts had not reached him, as he has been implying in his own defense. Flynn was fired from the White House on Feb. 13, and he only acknowledged that he had given an incomplete account to Pence of his conversations with Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak. On Feb. 14, Trump asked FBI Director James Comey to end the bureau's probe in the matter, according to Comey's account, saying, "I hope you can let this go." Comey refused, and Trump fired him, too, in May. Trump has been publicly dismissive of Comey and of special counsel Robert Mueller's continuing investigation, and was often generous in his appraisal of Flynn, except to say his adviser could not stay on the job after misleading his vice president. At the time, Pence said Trump was justified in firing Flynn because Flynn had lied to him. Neither Trump nor Pence indicated concern then that the FBI had not been told the true story. Pence, who served as head of Trump's transition, has not publicly commented on Flynn's plea. Trump turned to Twitter once again later Saturday night, railing about why Flynn was prosecuted but his Democratic opponent Hillary Clinton, was not for her alleged misdeeds. He tweeted: "So General Flynn lies to the FBI and his life is destroyed, while Crooked Hillary Clinton, on that now famous FBI holiday "interrogation" with no swearing in and no recording, lies many times...and nothing happens to her? Rigged system, or just a double standard?" He then added: "Many people in our Country are asking what the "Justice" Department is going to do about the fact that totally Crooked Hillary, AFTER receiving a subpoena from the United States Congress, deleted and "acid washed" 33,000 Emails? No justice!" Clinton was voluntarily interviewed for more than three hours at FBI headquarters in July 2016. She was not in custody during her interview and so, in accordance with standard FBI and Justice Department protocol, her interview would not have been recorded. A Justice Department policy on recorded interrogations applies to individuals who have been arrested and are in custody. It is nonetheless a crime to lie to the FBI about any material fact in an investigation. Comey has said Clinton did not lie to the FBI during her interview. In another wrinkle in the investigation into Trump's ties to Russia, The New York Times reported Saturday that emails among top Trump transition officials suggested that Flynn was in close contact with other senior members of the transition team before and after he spoke to Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak. A Dec. 29 email from K.T. McFarland, a transition adviser to Trump, suggested that Russian sanctions announced by the Obama administration had been aimed at discrediting Trump's victory. She wrote the sanctions could also make it more difficult for Trump to ease tensions with Russia, "which has just thrown the U.S.A. election to him," she wrote in the emails obtained by the Times. A White House attorney told the newspaper McFarland only meant that Democrats were portraying it that way. Republican Rep. Blake Farenthold, two sources told NBC News, settled a 2014 sexual harassment claim by a former employee through the Office of Compliance, which issues payments from a tax-payer funded account. The $84,000 settlement came after Farenthold's former communications director, Lauren Greene, brought a complaint against the Texas congressman in 2014 for sexual harassment and discrimination. Both parties agreed to settle out of court the following year. Sources confirmed the settlement involved Farenthold, and it was first reported by Politico. "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. Green's settlement was paid through the Office of Compliance, which has made more than $17 million worth of payments over the past 20 years for various workplace disputes, but its unknown other than Farentholds $84,000 payment how much of that is for sexual harassment claims. Send us your photos of the Super Frost Moon HERE It was a Supermoon weekend! The moon was full Sunday after being almost full Saturday night. It made its closest approach to the Earth -- the definition of a supermoon. That combination made the moon seem about 14 percent larger in diameter than usual, NASA said. Supermoons typically appear about 30 percent brighter than the usual moon. The Super Frost Moon lit up the sky Saturday night and will do so again Sunday night. Take a look at our time-lapse video. It was a particularly bright supermoon for the United States, thanks to the more intense sunlight that reflects off the moon in winter, NASA said. As if that weren't enough: This supermoon, the only one visible in 2017, was also a Super Frost Moon. Your Photos: Super Frost Moon This last full moon of the year is known as a Frost Moon, Cold Moon or Moon Before Yule. It doesn't always correspond with a supermoon (though it did in December 2016). NASA, which apparently has a sense of humor, suggested dressing for the occasion. "As usual, the wearing of suitably celebratory celestial attire is encouraged in honor of the full Moon." [NATL] Supermoon Sightings From Around The World The brother of a San Diego man tragically killed by a suspected drunk driver in the South Bay said their loved one was a mentor, teacher, and a close friend. "It is a tragedy for our entire family. Its just really hard to deal with," said Dustin Rivera, the brother of victim Alexis Corona. Even though he's the youngest of six, Rivera speaks for the whole family. He said he wants to be strong but the tears still come. "Seeing them all cry and just being broken about it, I just need to stay strong for all of them," Rivera said. Corona, Rivera's oldest brother, killed riding his motorcycle Tuesday night after a suspected drunk driver turned into him on Thermal Avenue near Coronado's Silver Strand State Beach. The force knocked Corona off the bike and into another car. "He loved riding that motorcycle," Rivera said. The driver of the vehicle, Toribio Sanchez, is suspected of being under the influence. He was behind bars Friday night, pending a $1 million bail. Sanchez faces vehicular manslaughter and felony DUI charges in connection with the death of Corona. He pleaded not guilty to all three felony charges in court Friday. Corona's family told NBC 7 their loved one was working as an Uber driver and had been training become a driver for a local delivery service. Rivera said his brother was someone he looked up to, a great debater with a passion for Japanese cartoon art. "It wasn't just my parents that raised me, it was both my brothers and mostly him," Rivera said. Corona's passion for life and family lives on through Rivera and others who will miss him dearly. "He was always the guy that was always having fun and smiling. I want him to be remembered as the guy that was always happy," Rivera said. If convicted, Sanchez could spend the next 30 years behind bars. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement placed the suspect on an immigration hold. Depending on his documentation status, ICE may seek his removal from the country. A former mailman, who had to stop the job he loved when he was diagnosed with Alzheimers Disease, helped debut a USPS stamp Friday that will help fight the disease. Doug Peterson was a mail carrier in Escondido for 27 years before he was diagnosed with Alzheimers Disease a brain disorder that destroys a persons memory and thinking skills five years ago. He may no longer recognize his wife or his kids, but Petersons wife Antonea says he remembers how to deliver mail. He gets mail from all over the world delivered to our house, Antonea said. Every day he sorts through the mail and delivers it through the rooms. Thats how much he loved being a mailman. The United States Postal Service on Thursday unveiled a stamp aimed to raise funds towards finding a cure for the disease affecting Doug, and millions of others around the country. The Alzheimers Semipostal fundraising stamp will be sold for 60 cents; 10 cents of every stamp sold will go towards the National Institutes of Health for Alzheimers research. Antonea was grateful to know the organization that her husband dedicated his life to was aiding in the fight to find a cure. We are privileged to know that the United States Post Office has a stamp that is going to help us find a cure to eradicate this disease, to help find a cure, so that way our children and our grandchildren will not have to go through this. On Friday, Antonea, Doug, scientists and Alzheimers awareness advocates, encouraged San Diegans to support Alzheimers research by purchasing the stamp throughout the holiday season. Gerold Chun is a professor and Senior Vice President at the Sanford Burnham Prebys Medical Discovery Institute. Chun says his organization relies on federal funds, like those the stamp will raise, to research the disease in hopes of finding a cure or treatment. There have been multiple advances to understanding the molecules as well as the genes [in Alzheimers Disease] and so all of this kind of work stems from the federal governments support, Chung said. The number of Americans affected by Alzheimers Disease is increasing. In San Diego, there are more than 53,000 people with the disease and 150,000 people who care for them, according to the San Diego/Imperial County chapter of the Alzheimers Association. It is the third leading cause of death in the county. Theres no medicine to cure it, or slow it down or prevent it so there is a lot of research that we need to do, the associations Sarah Gramby said. A 59-year-old man from Florida who was visiting his family in Chula Vista when he went missing earlier this week was found Friday, police confirmed. Marcus Felton arrived in San Diego on Nov. 14 to visit his adult niece in the Otay Ranch area of Chula Vista. He went missing on Wednesday around 5 p.m. when he stepped out of the family's apartment, Chula Vista police said. The family initially thought Felton was waiting outside in the complex but after several hours, they believed he was missing. Felton was located by U.S. Customs and Border Patrol agents and was returned to his family Friday evening. Prince William made sure to add a Santa Claus visit to his royal duties while in Finland. As he visited a festive market in Helsinki, where he met local residents, he made sure the stop also included the man responsible for all the gift-giving this Christmas. William assured Santa that his son has been in the nice list, handing over Prince Georges Christmas wish list, where for the first time, Georges signature is seen. He hasnt written down any requests, so I think one request is probably OK, said William. The wish list that was addressed to Father Christmas confirms George has been a nice boy this year, asking for a police car, as his third choice. The 4-year old prince seemed to have forgotten to add his first and second choice to his list. Next year, Prince George and Princess Charlotte will be getting an additional present with the announcement of a new royal baby from mom, Kate Middleton. The royal family will continue to grow with the announcement of a new aunt for George and Charlotte now that Meghan Markle is engaged to Prince Harry. A fourth man has been arrested and charged in the killings of two Maryland teens who were found dead the night before their high school graduation Rony Alexander Galicia, 25, of Germantown, was arrested and charged with two counts of first-degree murder and conspiracy to commit the murders of 17-year-old Shadi Adi Najjar and 18-year-old Artem Ziberov, Montgomery County police announced Friday. Najjar and Ziberov were found shot to death on June 5 in a blue Honda Civic in Montgomery Village, the night before they were supposed to graduate from Northwest High School. Police said Galicia was arrested Friday after investigators determined his DNA was found at the crime scene. Three other suspects were arrested in June: Jose Canales-Yanez, 25, Roger Garcia, 19, and Edgar Garcia-Gaona, 24. They were each charged with two counts of first-degree murder and conspiracy to commit first-degree murder. Garcia and Garcia-Gaona are brothers, police said. Manger said Najjar had been shot four times and Ziberov 10 times. Amid the shattered window glass police found numerous shell casings, including some Glaser .40-caliber shells. "We believe there were 30 rounds fired," he said. Manger said investigators learned that Najjar was rumored to have committed a robbery in late 2016. They linked the rumor to a report filed by Canales-Yanez's then-girlfriend who told police on Dec. 14 that the passenger in a blue Honda Civic had grabbed her iPad and dragged her about 50 feet with the car. He said an informant told investigators Najjar was killed in revenge for that robbery. He said an informant identified the three suspects to investigators. He also said that just before Najjar died, he texted someone saying he was going to sell a graduation ticket to Roger Garcia, who was identified as a Northwest High School student. "We're certainly working on the strong possibility that this was a ruse to get the two victims to that location," Manger said. He said a partial box of Glaser .40-caliber ammunition was found at Garcia-Gaona's house. He also said the suspects took Najjar's cellphone. He said the investigation is ongoing and said he hoped the release of the suspects' names would spur others with knowledge of the case to come forward. "We think there's more information that folks out in the community have that can move us even further along with this case," he said. "I am glad they caught them and I hope they rot in hell," Najjar's father, Adi Najjar, told News4 after news of the arrests. An Alexandria, Virginia, man was found stabbed to death late Saturday night near a wooded area of Fairfax County, Virginia. Fairfax County police said Luis Ernesto Bonilla, 27, had trauma to his upper body when officers found him in the 7100 block of Fairchild Drive. Detectives said it was unknown how long his body had been at the location. Police officers, K-9 units and a helicopter were called in to look for clues, but police said they couldn't find any suspects or witnesses. Detectives said they are still in the early stages of the investigation. Police are asking anyone with information to contact Detective Needels at 703-246-7904. You can also contact Crime Solvers by visiting http://www.fairfaxcrimesolvers.org, or text-a-tip by texting TIP187 plus your message to CRIMES (274637). Anonymous tipsters are eligible for cash rewards of $100 to $1000 dollars if their information leads to an arrest. What to Know Flynn was ousted from the Trump administration in February for misleading the White House about conversations with the Russian ambassador Those conversations also resulted in the plea. "I recognize that the actions I acknowledged in court today were wrong," Flynn said Flynn has been under investigation for a wide range of allegations, including lobbying work on behalf of Turkey Michael Flynn, President Donald Trump's former national security adviser, pleaded guilty Friday to lying to the FBI about his contacts with Russia, becoming the first Trump White House official to face criminal charges and admit guilt so far in the wide-ranging election investigation 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 Trump's team in the campaign that sent the Republican businessman to the White House. Flynn spent just 25 days in the White House, but his actions and the Russia investigations broadly have shadowed Trump throughout the year, angering the president and repeatedly distracting from his agenda. Flynn's plea came hours before Republican senators hoped to pass a far-reaching tax bill, which would be a significant victory for Trump. Court papers make clear that Flynn knows the identities of at least two members of Trump's transition team who were intimately aware of his outreach to Russian government officials in the weeks before the inauguration. Mueller's prosecutors did not reveal the names of the officials, but indicated they were senior and within Trump's inner circle. Those officials discussed the details of what Flynn was supposed to communicate to the Russians about U.S. sanctions imposed by Obama administration. One of the officials, described as a "very senior member" of the presidential transition, also directed Flynn to contact foreign government officials, including Russia's, about a U.N. Security Council resolution regarding Israeli settlements. The two senior members of the team was Jared Kushner and K.T. McFarland, two people familiar with the matter told NBC News. Kushner is the "very senior member of the presidential transition team" mentioned in the statement of offense as speaking to Flynn in December about the U.N. resolution regarding Israel, the sources told NBC. McFarland, who was a senior official on the Presidential Transition Team and would later be sworn-in as deputy national security adviser, is the "senior official" at Mar-a-Lago who conferred by phone with Flynn regarding his conversations with the Russian ambassador about sanctions, according to NBC News. On Saturday morning, Trump addressed reporters on the South Lawn of the White House and briefly spoke about Flynn's plea, saying he's not concerned. The president repeated that there was no collusion with Russia. He later tweeted: "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!" Flynn visited his son's house in Virginia shortly after he entered his guilty plea. 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 58-year-old 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. Comey tweeted a Bible passage Friday morning: "But justice roll down like waters and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream." 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. Associated Press writer Michael Biesecker, Desmond Butler and Mary Clare Jalonick contributed to this report. Here is the complete statement issued by former national security adviser Michael Flynn after he pleaded guilty Friday to lying to the FBI about his contacts with a Russian diplomat. ___ "After over 33 years of military service to our country, including nearly 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. "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." Boston police are asking for the public's help in locating a missing 21-year-old. Joseph 'Joey' Brancato was last seen by an acquaintance almost two weeks ago. Brancato, who police say has ties to Winthrop, Massachusetts, was last seen in the area of Mendelsohn Street in Roslindale on Nov. 18. Brancato is described as 5'8'', weighing about 200 lbs. Anyone with information regarding Brancato's disappearance or whereabouts is asked to contact detectives at (617) 343-4566. Christian song-writers to perform in Stalham 2017: Noel and Tricia Richards, well known writers of contemporary Christian hymns and Songs, are giving a concert at Stalham Baptist Church on Saturday December 2. The concert is called An Evening with Noel & Tricia Richards, and will feature conversation in an intimate acoustic setting, including some new songs as well as their classics, such as All Heaven Declares, By Your side and You laid aside Your Majesty. Noel and Tricias songs have been much-loved since the mid-1980s, and many have found their way into regular use in churches across the UK and beyond. They headlined a concert at Wembley Stadium in 1997 that was attended by 45,000 people. Seventeen of their songs feature in the UK Top 500 of the Church Copyright listing. Diana Gordon, a deacon at Stalham Baptist Church, says, I have been exchanging emails with Noel and Tricia for 18 months. They have been based in Mallorca for the last seven years, but I managed to secure a date during their UK tour this year. I'm really excited about the event. Ours will be one of only be three dates in East Anglia this year. Ron Skivington, Church Pastor, said, We believe this concert will prove popular and will help raise money for the planned refurbishment of our School Room which we envisage will serve both church and our local community's needs for the next fifty years. Entry to the concert is free, but by pre-ordered ticket only. Donations towards the church building fund will be accepted on the night. Tickets can be ordered by emailing: concert@stalhambaptist.org.uk The concert will start at 7.30pm, and the doors will open at 7:00pm. Interval refreshments will be available. Stalham Baptist Church is at the High Street, Stalham, Norfolk, NR12 9AZ. Visit: www.stalhambaptist.org.uk/ The photo of Noel and Tricia is courtesy of www.noelandtricia.com/promo-pics Do you have a news story or forthcoming event relating to Christians or a church in East Norfolk? A Norwich church has changed its name for the fourth time in its 170-year history transforming from Surrey Chapel into CityGates Church Norwich. A Norwich church has changed its name for the fourth time in its 170-year history transforming from Surrey Chapel into CityGates Church Norwich. Blues concert fundraiser for Stalham Baptists There will be a free concert at Stalham Baptist Church next Saturday to raise funds towards the refurbishment of premises at the church. Read more Norwich church moves to wrestling ring A Norwich church has temporarily relocated to a boxing ring where self professed 'hard men' will tell their stories of finding faith. The first Tough Talk event is set for November 20. Read more How can we help feed those in need? Andrew Frere-Smith reminds us of the importance of meals, and offers us some food for thought as the rising cost of living impacts our communities. Read more Latest Norfolk Christian community events Events of interest to the Norwich and Norfolk Christian community happening over the next few weeks are listed. Read more John leads Norwich churches trip to Holy Land Experienced Holy Land traveller and former CEO of YMCA Norfolk, John Drake, is leading an inter-church tour from Norwich to Israel and Palestine in March 2023, with a few places still available. Read more Christmas rhyming play by North Norfolk teacher Matthew Pickhaver, who lives in North Norfolk, has just published the third of his series of play scripts on the theme of Christmas, which is now available to buy. Read more Advent and Christmas events at Norwich Cathedral From an Advent Open Evening to Carols in the Cloister and an array of special services and concerts with Norwich Cathedral Choir, there is lots to look forward to at Norwich Cathedral this festive season. Read more Norwich church to hold Sunday healing service Witard Road Baptist Church is hosting a healing service on November 27 led by Rev Ray and Ruth Scorey from Norfolk Healing Rooms. Read more Sheringham youth attend forbidden church The youth group at Lighthouse Community Church in Sheringham were forced to meet at a secret location earlier this month when the Lighthouse building had, supposedly, been shut down by the authorities. Read more Christmas pud workshop at Norwich church Not made your Christmas pudding yet? Don't know where to start? Come along to a Christmas pudding workshop at Norwich Central Baptist Church on November 21 with MasterChef contestant Jane Wyndham. Read more Norwich Foodbank provides over 4,700 food parcels Norwich Foodbank gave out 4,793 emergency food parcels to people across Norwich in the last year with 1,790 of these going to children. Read more Poppies cascading in Sheringham church A fall of poppies cascades from the pulpit in St Andrews Methodist Church in Sheringham, and anyone is welcome to come and see them. Read more Bishop Graham's prayers for COP27 climate conference Bishop Graham is publishing daily prayers on social media for the current COP27 climate conference, and is asking all to join. Read more Discovering the Orange in your life The vibrant colours of autumn have been inspiring regular contributor Jane Walters to focus on the positive. Read more YMCA annual celebration set to inspire YMCA Norfolk is set to hold its much anticipated 2022 annual celebration and awards ceremony on November 17, after almost 3 years since the last event due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Read more Hub manager vacancy at community shop Earlham Community Shop Community Interest Company is looking to appoint a manager for this new venture being developed in the heart of NR5 Norwich. Read more Abbey Days brings Christmas Magic to Wymondham Visitors to Wymondham Abbeys Christmas fair will be able to treat their children to a magic show and fun baking workshop while they browse more than 60 stalls. Read more Paleontologists discover 300 fossilised pterosaur eggs and skeletons found in China Rio de Janeiro : A team of Brazilian and Chinese paleontologists have announced the discovery of about 300 fossilised eggs and skeletons of pterosaurs, a number of them quite well-preserved. Molds and casts of the eggs and the bones found by the team will be on display starting Friday at the National Museum here, Efe news reported. The fossils, some of them of embryos with the bones preserved in three dimensions, were found in 2015-2016 in the northeastern Chinese region of Hami, and they were analysed and described in a joint project by Brazilian and Chinese dinosaur experts. The discovery, which is discussed in the most recent issue of Science magazine, was presented on Thursday at a press conference at the National Museum of the Federal University here. "It's the first time that embryos have been found in a three-dimensional and uncompromised condition, which has allowed many (embryological) details to be seen regarding these flying animals," said Brazilian paleontologist Alexander Kellner, one of the leaders of the research team. Kellner emphasised the importance of the large quantity of eggs: "They're very fragile, which always makes their preservation difficult." Pterosaurs are a group of extinct winged dinosaurs that were the first known vertebrates to be able to fly. One of the key contributions of the study was to discover how, at birth, the reptiles had wing bones less developed than their leg bones, leading experts to conclude that they could not fly until they had gotten somewhat older. "They could have walked but certainly they were not able to fly at first, and so the main contribution of the study is to show that pterosaurs, at birth, required parental care," Kellner said. "Among the behavioural characteristics of these animals that we discovered is that they formed nesting colonies, where several families came to the same sites to lay their eggs and always returned to these areas, implying that they were areas favourable for nest-building. The National Museum is celebrating its 200th anniversary. Business strategy in the hospitality industry once began with marketing and incorporated branding as one of its elements. But in recent years, the brand has moved squarely into the spotlight as the key to success. A new book by Chekitan S. Dev, associate professor of strategic marketing and brand management at Cornells School of Hotel Administration, chronicles the upending of the traditional hospitality business model, from an operations-centric model to a brand-centric model. In Hospitality Branding (Cornell University Press), he describes the past and future of this trend by blending recent history and cutting-edge research, offering hospitality organizations advice on how to survive and thrive in todays competitive global business environment. Dev explains how this change in emphasis on the brand puts all the elements of the business model in play, causing hospitality leaders to completely rethink their businesses by defining their primary purpose as creating and building great brands. Not only has brand become the chief means of attracting customers, it has, more broadly, become the chief organizing principle for most hospitality organizations. The never-ending quest for market share follows trend after trend, from offering ever more elaborate and sophisticated amenities to the use of social media as a marketing tool all driven by the pre-eminence of the brand, Dev said. The book begins with an exploration of the hospitality brandscape, including the past and future of hospitality marketing and branding, challenges and opportunities, branding and the Internet, and a case study on Carnival Cruise Lines. A section on global branding covers global brand expansion, branding beyond borders and brand strategies, concluding with a case study of Ritz-Carlton Bali. The strategic branding section includes material on brand equity, positioning and extensions, and customer loyalty, illustrated by a case study on Taj Hotels, Resorts and Palaces. Dev concludes the book with insights into branding execution, from managing marketing and branding relationships to brand franchising and brand partnerships, ending with a case study of Groupon. Devs research has appeared in journals including Cornell Hospitality Quarterly, Journal of Marketing and Harvard Business Review. He is the recipient of several major hospitality research and teaching awards. A former corporate executive with Oberoi Hotels and Resorts, Dev has served corporate, government, education, advisory and private equity clients in more than 40 countries as consultant, seminar leader, keynote speaker and expert witness. Federal Aviation Administration guidelines already bar passengers from packing spare lithium ion batteries in their checked baggage, and strongly suggest that travelers keep any devices with the batteries in their carry-on bags. That way, any smoke or fire from the batteries could be quickly detected. In the cargo hold, a fire may not be noticed by the automatic suppression system until it has already become a critical problem. American Airlines, so far, is the only United States carrier to announce this kind of restriction. Mr. Feinstein said American Airlines crews were trained to deal with fires in the cabin, but there was much less they could do to extinguish flames in the baggage compartment. For that reason, American Airlines will only allow smart luggage onboard if the battery can be disconnected. The carrier will not require travelers to take out the battery if they are bringing the bag into the cabin. But they must be able to check the bag if there is not enough space in the overhead bin. Just make sure the battery is removable, Mr. Feinstein said. If its not removable, we wont be permitting it to fly in the cargo hold or in the cabin. Smart luggage manufacturers, however, said they were disappointed about the ban. If you make a removable battery, the suitcase will no longer be smart. It will be a stupid suitcase, said Tomi Pierucci, the chief executive and co-founder of Bluesmart. Taking away the suitcases power supply, he said, would disable features like USB charging ports and GPS tracking. If the airline loses your suitcase, you wont be able to find it. The top two executives at NBC News tried to quell any in-house suspicions on Friday concerning their handling of Matt Lauer, the longtime Today show star who was fired on Tuesday. Their communications with staff members came after competing media organizations had expressed skepticism about the official NBC denial. The network had said on Wednesday that its executive ranks had not been aware of Mr. Lauers alleged sexual misconduct involving female colleagues until they had learned of a detailed complaint on Monday. Noah Oppenheim, the news divisions president, met with NBC Nightly News staff members at their daily meeting to tell them about recent conversations that took place between Mr. Lauer and NBC News executives. According to an NBC employee who was present at the meeting and spoke about it on condition of anonymity to discuss internal issues, Mr. Oppenheim said that four executives including himself and Andrew Lack, the NBC News chairman had asked Mr. Lauer repeatedly in recent weeks if he had engaged in inappropriate behavior with staff members and that he had denied any wrongdoing. WASHINGTON The affair felt dissonant from the start: a festive gathering in the East Wing of the White House, thrown by President Trump for the journalists whose work and profession he lambastes on a near-daily basis. The 2 p.m. start time did not sit well among some veterans in the White House press corps, either. As far back as they could remember, the reception had been held in the evening, complete with a presidential photo line, so that spouses and children could go home with a souvenir. But like other Washington traditions that have been disrupted since the arrival of Mr. Trump, the White House holiday party still went ahead on Friday, if in slightly altered form. CNN, Mr. Trumps bete noire among media outlets, boycotted. Breitbart News, the right-wing website run by the former White House strategist Stephen K. Bannon, received its first-ever invitation. Fox News personalities flooded the room, including the hosts of Fox & Friends and Sean Hannity, who attended the party for the first time in years. Bombs in Your Backyard From ProPublica: The toxic contamination of the upstate New York town of Hoosick Falls alerted many in Albany the states sometimes slow-to-react capital to the perils of ignoring the dangers of commercial-use poisons. But even that crisis, still unfolding, seems to pale in comparison to the vast number of toxic waste sites outlined in this excellent examination of the militarys handling of its munitions and other hazardous waste. The extent of the problem is made clear by this interactive map of such sites some converted to parks and wildlife reserves and even housing developments. (Gulp.) ProPublica invites journalists to use the data to research and write more about the bombs in our backyard. I second, and accept. Jesse McKinley, Albany bureau chief _____ ALBANY The New York State attorney general, Eric T. Schneiderman, announced the indictment on Friday of a county district attorney over his handling of a grand jury investigation into the fatal police shooting of an unarmed motorist last year. Joel Abelove, the district attorney in Rensselaer County, was charged with a single felony count of perjury in the first degree and two counts of official misconduct, a class A misdemeanor. The charges a rare instance of a county prosecutor being charged by the state attorney general stem from the death of a 37-year-old black man, Edson Thevenin, who was shot and killed by the police during a traffic stop in Troy, N.Y. on April 17, 2016. The case against Mr. Abelove, a Republican, does not focus specifically on the circumstances of Mr. Thevenins death, who was shot after an altercation with Troy police after a brief chase involving a traffic stop on suspicion of drunken driving. The chase ended with a Troy police sergeant, Randall French, shooting Mr. Thevenin eight times, killing him, after the officer was pinned between his cruiser and Mr. Thevenins vehicle. Some of the activists on the left seem intent on punishing the I.D.C. members for their nearly seven-year relationship with the Republicans and want nothing short of complete surrender, highly unlikely while they still hold the keys to the majority. Phone banking against I.D.C. candidates has also continued this week, as volunteers text and call potential primary voters in their districts, urging them to reject so-called Trump Democrats. The dissatisfaction stems from a variety of concerns, including the lack of enforcement mechanisms for making good on the promises of unity; the planned timing of the unification, after the all-important budget season in March, allowing Senate Republicans to hold power during that period; and the fact that the I.D.C. had promised to return to the fold before, in 2014. That time around, the Democrats suffered humiliating losses in the general election, and the I.D.C. returned to working with the G.O.P. And that makes die-hard liberals very wary. Talk about deja vu, said Zephyr Teachout, who mounted a surprisingly strong Democratic primary challenge to Mr. Cuomo in 2014. Theres a number of questions here, including whether you should believe it at all. Ms. Teachout seemed particularly vexed by the idea that Mr. Cuomo wouldnt call special elections for two soon-to-be empty seats in usually Democratic districts until after the budget, leaving the party short-handed. Its one of the most important budgets in New York history at a time when were facing a national Republican threat, she said. And thats unacceptable. Mr. Cuomo has not said exactly when special elections will occur, but the letter which sketched out the deal on Monday said it anticipated a post-budget special election to fill those seats. The letter was signed by Representative Joseph Crowley, the highest-ranking New York Democrat in the House; Byron Brown, the state party chairman; Christine C. Quinn, the party vice chairwoman; and Hector J. Figueroa, president of 32BJ Service Employees International Union. Leon Cooper, a Navy landing boat commander who survived the costly Battle of Tarawa in World War II and later became a leading advocate for the preservation of the site on that Pacific atoll and the return of Marines remains buried there, died on Nov. 16 in Malibu, Calif. He was 98. His son William said the cause was complications of a fall. On Nov. 20, 1943, the United States launched its Central Pacific campaign with a massive amphibious attack on the island of Betio, a heavily fortified stronghold defended by more than 4,000 Japanese troops in the Gilbert Islands. It was the first phase of a plan to take the Marshall and Mariana Islands. But taking Betio proved far more difficult than the campaigns military planners had expected. Low tides, for one thing, made it nearly impossible for the boats to get to the beach to let Marines disembark. Mr. Coopers boat, which made several runs ferrying Marines of the Second Division from ships offshore, became, like others, stranded on a coral reef. Marines were forced to wade ashore, making them easy targets for Japanese gunners, who were prepared for the assault. On Dec. 1, 1967, the last day of the International War Crimes Tribunals second session, antiwar activists from around the world gathered in Roskilde, Denmark. The panel, also known as the Russell Tribunal after its founder, the philosopher Bertrand Russell, had spent a year investigating Americas intervention in Southeast Asia and was now ready to announce its findings. Tribunal members unanimously found the United States guilty on all charges, including genocide, the use of forbidden weapons, maltreatment and killing of prisoners, violence and forceful movement of prisoners in Vietnam and its neighbors Laos and Cambodia. Russell often stated that he was inspired by the Nuremberg trials. But the Russell Tribunal was not a government body or treaty organization; it had neither the legal authority nor the means to carry out justice after its findings. The tribunals mission was to raise awareness about the impact of the war on Vietnamese civilians. The Nuremberg Tribunal asked for and secured the punishment of individuals, Russell stated during the sessions. The International War Crimes Tribunal is asking the peoples of the world, the masses, to take action to stop the crimes. The philosopher Jean-Paul Sartre presided over the tribunal and helped to recruit 23 other internationally recognized academics, scientists, lawyers, former heads of state and peace activists whose self-professed moral consciousness persuaded them to accept the tribunals invitation. Across two separate sessions, between May 2 and May 10, 1967, in Stockholm, and between Nov. 20 and Dec. 1, 1967 in Roskilde, the members weighed the evidence that each had found during several fact-finding trips to Vietnam between the two sessions. These missions allowed tribunal members to assess the damage the war had wrought on civilians and verify firsthand the claims heard during the tribunals first session. One such mission, which included the labor activist Lawrence Daly, the journalist Tariq Ali and the writer Carol Brightman, returned with indisputable proof that the United States Air Force had deliberately bombed civilian facilities and infrastructure, including hospitals, schools, churches and villages. For anyone who cares about Israel, this is no time for niceties. What we need now is plain speaking, even pained speaking and action. For all of Israels great achievements in its seven decades of statehood, our country now finds its very future, identity and security severely threatened by the whims and illusions of the ultranationalist government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. In its more than three years in power, this government has been irrational, bordering on messianic. It is now increasingly clear where it is headed: creeping annexation of the West Bank aimed at precluding any permanent separation from the Palestinians. This one-state solution that the government is leading Israel toward is no solution at all. It will inevitably turn Israel into a state that is either not Jewish or not democratic (and possibly not either one), mired in permanent violence. This prospect is an existential danger for the entire Zionist project. The government realizes that carrying out its one-state plan must entail steps and practices that necessarily clash with Israeli and international law which is why it has effectively declared war on the Supreme Court of Israel, the free press and civil society, as well as the Israel Defense Forces ethical code. A month ago, Rebecca Traister wrote in New York magazine that with the flood of sexual harassment charges, we see that the men who have had the power to abuse womens bodies and psyches throughout their careers are in many cases also the ones in charge of our political and cultural stories. With the Lauer accusations, this observation has come into sharper focus on one particular picture: the media sexism that contributed to Hillary Clintons loss. The 2016 presidential race was so close that any of a half-dozen factors surely influenced the outcome: James Comey, racial politics, Clinton family baggage, the contentious Democratic primary, third-party spoilers, Russian interference, fake news. But when one of the best-qualified candidates for the presidency in American history and the first woman to get close to the Oval Office loses to an opponent who had not dedicated a nanosecond of his life to public service and ran a blatantly misogynist campaign, its hard to conclude that gender didnt play a role. For arguing that gender shaped the election narrative and its result, feminists have been pooh-poohed, simultaneously told that it was Clinton, not her gender, that was the problem and that her female supporters were voting with their vaginas instead of their brains. The latest harassment and assault allegations complicate that account and suggest that perhaps many of the high-profile media men covering Mrs. Clinton and Mr. Trump were the ones leading with their genitals. Mr. Trump was notoriously accused of multiple acts of sexual harassment and assault, and was caught on tape bragging about his proclivity for grabbing women. That several of the men covering the race shaping the way American voters understood the candidates and what was at stake were apparently behaving in similarly appalling ways off-camera calls into question not just their objectivity but also their ability to cover the story with the seriousness and urgency it demanded. Sexual harassment at the hands of political journalists also pulls back the curtain on how too many of these men view women generally. The journalists in question are accused of a range of behaviors, some more serious than others, from drunken unsolicited kisses to, in Mr. Lauers case, sexual assault (in addition to exposing himself to a colleague and sending another a sex toy with a note detailing how he would like to use it on her). The theme running through nearly all of the complaints is a man in a position of power who saw the women around him not as competent colleagues or as even sovereign human beings, but as sexual objects he could either proposition to boost his ego or humiliate to feed a desire for domination. Well, well, well. We now have a better idea why President Trump went to such great lengths to shield Michael Flynn, his former national security adviser, from the prying eyes of the F.B.I. and various congressional committees over the past year. Unfortunately for Mr. Trump, it didnt work out as he had planned. On Friday morning, Mr. Flynn pleaded guilty to one count of lying to the F.B.I. about his communications with the Russian ambassador, Sergey Kislyak, during the transition period in December 2016. He told the lies on Jan. 24 of this year, after Mr. Trump had been inaugurated and Mr. Flynn was sitting in his West Wing office. Its hard to find a precedent for how quickly Mr. Trumps inner circle has become consumed by scandal. Richard Nixon and Ronald Reagan made it into their second terms before the indictments of their inner circle started rolling in. In contrast, consider whats happened in the last five weeks alone: The president of the United States former campaign chief, Paul Manafort, and an associate have been arrested and charged with multiple federal crimes, including money laundering and tax fraud; one of Mr. Trumps former foreign policy advisers, George Papadopoulos, has pleaded guilty to lying to the F.B.I. about his conversations with Russians; and now his former national security adviser has pleaded guilty to the same offense, admitting that he committed federal crimes from inside the White House. Should we say lock him up yet? Not so fast. Mr. Flynns plea is part of a larger cooperation deal hes struck with the special counsel, Robert Mueller III, who is investigating ties between the Trump campaign and Russian government officials who tried to influence the outcome of the 2016 presidential election. Mr. Mueller, for his part, is holding off on bringing even more serious charges against Mr. Flynn remember the kidnapping plot? despite apparently having more than enough evidence to indict him. Hes also recommending between zero and six months jail time for Mr. Flynn, a small fraction of the five-year maximum sentence he could face, as long as he cooperates. As to Mr. Phillipss free exercise of religion claim, the Supreme Court has said that the First Amendment is not a license to discriminate in the face of neutral, generally applicable laws like Colorados. In 1968, a few years after the Civil Rights Act passed, the court ruled unanimously against the owner of a South Carolina barbecue chain who invoked his religious freedom to refuse to serve black people. The act contravenes the will of God, he claimed. The court called that argument patently frivolous. Recognizing, perhaps, the weakness of the religious-freedom argument, Mr. Phillips now emphasizes his other First Amendment rights freedom of speech and expression. His cakes are his artistic expression, he says, and he should not be forced to express ideas to which he is opposed. Mr. Phillips makes a good case that he is an artist. So might many others who sell the fruits of their labor to those celebrating a wedding. But that doesnt give any of them the right to refuse service to people protected under an anti-discrimination law. If the couple had asked Mr. Phillips to write a message on their cake endorsing same-sex marriage and he had been punished for refusing, he would have a more plausible First Amendment claim, since he wouldnt write that for anyone. But Colorados law doesnt compel Mr. Phillips, or any proprietor, to say anything they dont want to say, or to endorse any specific message. It requires only that they treat all customers equally. Mr. Phillips claims he already does this. Hes happy to sell any of his pre-made products to gay people, he says, or to bake them a custom cake for another occasion. What he wont do is custom-bake anything intended for use in a same-sex wedding. As the Colorado Civil Rights Commission said in ruling for Mr. Mullins and Mr. Craig, thats a distinction without a difference. Since only gay people have same-sex weddings, hes discriminating against gay people. Some free-speech advocates argue that this case is simply a matter of deciding which sorts of expression merit First Amendment protection and which do not. Cake bakers may be a close call, but what about photographers? Florists? Caterers? Calligraphers? In fact, cases like these have already been brought around the country. If the justices rule for Mr. Phillips, they will be hard-pressed to find a clear limiting principle. And that would render public-accommodations laws like Colorados effectively meaningless. This, of course, is precisely the objective of the rear-guard action undertaken by religious objectors who, thwarted in their efforts to prevent gay couples from enjoying the rights and benefits that flow from marriage, are now invoking their own constitutional rights to avoid treating those same couples equally in the marketplace. Americas wild places survive by the grace of a human promise. For more than 150 years, it has been an article of collective faith and national pride that once we protect a wild place, it is to be safeguarded for all time. But in the coming days, President Trump will try to shatter that promise. The president is expected to travel to Utah on Monday to announce that he is repealing protections for as many as two million acres of public land in the American West, an area more than six times the size of Grand Teton National Park, including vast portions of two national monuments in the state, Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante. Mr. Trumps plans add up to the largest elimination of protected areas in American history. He is a vandal in our midst, coming in person to lay waste to the land. This theft of our heritage should awaken us to the damage being piled up across our public lands under this administration. If he succeeds, tens of thousands of Native American sacred sites in southern Utah will be at renewed risk of looting. Red rock canyon lands will face the prospect of being stripped for coal and drilled for oil and gas. And the wild places where we hike and hunt and find solitude may not be there for future generations to do the same. Animal brooches Vhernier creates unusual plays of light and color, as well as volume, by layering rock crystal over opaque gems. Here, the Italian jewelers scorpion has a base layer of red coral and a diamond-tipped sting in its tail. Image The Imugi ring from Cartier. Resonances de Cartier The Imugi ring captures a chimera in midroar. Using a color combination that recalls the Art Deco era, when Jacques Cartier first imagined the mythical creature, the carved opaque-finish rock crystal head contrasts with the intense hues and smooth cabochon cuts of its coral eyes and emerald crest. Image A Belperron cuff. Innovation Suzanne Belperron was daring in her sculpting of hard stones like rock crystal. In this Art Deco cuff owned by Diana Vreeland, angular, light-reflective panels of the transparent mineral are studded with diamonds. Especially at night the stones appear to float and flash over the wrist, said Nico Landrigan, the president of Belperron and Verdura. 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. MICHAEL T. FLYNN, President Trumps former national security adviser, in a statement issued after he pleaded guilty to lying to the F.B.I. about conversations with the Russian ambassador last December. Faced with the prospect of sweeping flight cancellations during the busy holiday season, American Airlines said Friday that it had resolved a scheduling problem that had left thousands of flights without assigned pilots. Customers can rest assured we will have the full schedule covered in December, Matt Miller, a spokesman for American Airlines, said in a phone interview on Friday evening. More than 10,000 flights were in danger of cancellation this week after a scheduling error allowed too many pilots to take time off during the high-volume travel days of late December. But on Friday morning, the airlines president, Robert Isom, met with Daniel F. Carey, the president of the Allied Pilots Association, and they agreed on a plan, said Dennis Tajer, a spokesman for the union, which represents American Airlines pilots. So in record time, the situation was handled, Mr. Tajer said. UF study: Bird evolves virtually overnight to keep up with invasive prey GAINESVILLE, Fla. The federally endangered bird, the snail kite, was faced with an interesting dilemma: The island apple snail was good to eat, but about two to five times bigger than the native snail that the bird usually consumed. Whats a hungry bird to do? Evolve quickly. A study by a team of University of Florida researchers has found that in about 10 years, the snail kite has evolved to develop a larger beak as its new prey, the island apple snail, proliferated and became invasive. The study is published in Nature Ecology & Evolution. Beak size had been increasing every year since the invasion of the snail from about 2007, said Robert Fletcher, associate professor in the department of wildlife ecology and conservation, par of UFs Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences. At first, we thought the birds were learning how to handle snails better or perhaps learning to forage on the smaller, younger individual snails. We needed to know if the birds had evolved or if they had just learned to handle the snails better. From approximately 2000 to 2007, the snail kite experienced major population declines, and there were mounting concerns that the bird was near extinction, Fletcher said. Nonetheless, over the next few years, the snail kites population started rebounding, he said. Monitoring data showed that juvenile kites were surviving their first year of life better, and that several aspects of reproduction were improving, he said. During their research, scientists discovered two factors to the birds survival. The question we were most interested in was are they evolving? Fletcher said. We knew they had a hard time foraging on this larger food source. We observed the birds dropping the larger snails, so we wondered if natural selection was occurring and only the biggest birds could forage and survive. Researchers found that the birds with bigger bills were surviving, and their offspring were inheriting the bigger bills, which helps the bird dig into the snails shell for meat. But was this enough to account for the quick population increase? Only partially, Fletcher said. Its complicated because we see natural selection, in that the birds who inherit bigger bills are surviving better. But, we also see that the birds are growing faster and developing bigger bills each year with this new, abundant prey. In addition, genetics play a big role, Fletcher said. We found that beak size had a large amount of genetic variance and that more variance happened post-invasion of the island apple snail. This indicates that genetic variations may spur rapid evolution under environmental change, he said. The implications are astounding, Fletcher said. In the past, scientists believed that larger animals could not respond or evolve quickly to invasive species, he said. Now, we are waiting to see how this bird will continue to change, Fletcher said. The study has huge implications for Florida, which has more invasive species than any other state, Fletcher said. Land managers have to figure out how to recover endangered species without having to rely on an invasive species, he said. The invasives have such a negative impact on the ecosystem that you dont want to rely on them to save an endangered species. So, there is a real conflict there. Until you came in here, he said about the bill, I never heard anybody bringing it up. Mike Cammel, 48, the owner of Camellone, a pizzeria in Canton, said that between his restaurant and four children, he has had no time to look into the bill. But it seemed to arouse a vague weariness in him, a sense that Washington was a distant world that would never really change things in favor of the little guy. It needs to change, but whether these are the right changes, I really dont know, he said of the tax code. I dont think its going to affect us that much. Its going to be status quo. The bill, which could add $1 trillion to the deficit, presents numerous risks for Republicans. But Representative Jim Renacci, a Republican who represents Stark County and voted for a version of the tax bill in the House, said he expects voters will support it. Most people back home want a tax cut and want a tax break and think Washingtons taking too much of their money, he said. Theyre just concerned theyre not going to get one. Ms. Turk, at the beauty college, had a different view. Her daughter lives in Canada, where taxes are much higher, and she has come to appreciate the relatively lower rates in the United States. She voted for Mr. Trump, and she likes how he has been doing. But she doesnt hate taxes. She likes the services that they pay for, like schools and roads. Some people just want to fight it, she said, standing by a trainee who was learning how to do a permanent. They say we pay too much in taxes! Thats not me. I guess Id have to say probably its the least thing Im worried about. Harvard University has agreed to turn over years of confidential applicant and student records to the United States Justice Department, which has opened an aggressive investigation into whether the university has systematically discriminated against Asian-American applicants, officials said Friday. It was the first time that Harvard had agreed to provide access to records under terms that the Justice Department seemed receptive to. But it added a condition that allowed government lawyers to look at the records only in the offices of Harvards lawyers, according to people close to the case. That condition could make it difficult to do the kind of statistical analysis that the government has said it wants to do. But Harvard has justified it by saying that it wants to protect confidential documents from possibly being leaked to the public. The Justice Department sought records for thousands of high school students 160,000 by one estimate and when Harvard resisted, citing confidentiality, threatened to sue the university if it did not turn over the records by Friday. An undocumented immigrant from Mexico who had been deported 20 times and had been arrested for various offenses was sentenced to 35 years in prison on Friday after pleading guilty to brutally assaulting two women in Oregon on the same day in July. The case was one of several that drew the attention of the Trump administration as it has tried to crack down on and deport undocumented immigrants. Federal officials have held up immigrants like the man involved, Sergio Jose Martinez, as examples of undocumented people who must be expelled from the country, but who have instead been allowed to roam free thanks to so-called sanctuary cities. The sentencing came one day after another undocumented immigrant, Jose Ines Garcia Zarate, who had previously been deported repeatedly, was acquitted of murder, manslaughter and assault charges related to the fatal shooting of Kathryn Steinle, who was killed while walking on a San Francisco pier. (He was convicted of being a felon in possession of a firearm.) Although both cases became politicized, the facts of Mr. Martinezs case and its outcome were starkly different. On July 24, about two weeks after Mr. Martinez, 31, was released from jail, prosecutors say, he entered the bedroom of a 65-year-old woman, forced her to perform oral sex, and assaulted her before stealing her car. Hours later, he assaulted a middle-aged woman in a parking garage. LOS ANGELES When Kathryn Steinle was killed in July 2015 while strolling with her father on a San Francisco pier, Donald J. Trumps campaign was just two weeks old. For the next 16 months, he seized on the killing as an example of the problems with illegal immigration and sanctuary cities. The man who fired the gun, Jose Ines Garcia Zarate, was an undocumented immigrant who had been deported several times and had recently been freed by the San Francisco County sheriff. Even amid the drumbeat of outrage from Mr. Trump and other Republicans over Ms. Steinles death and now, Mr. Garcia Zarates acquittal on Thursday of murder San Francisco and the rest of California have not taken a harder line against undocumented immigrants. And yet the announcement on Friday still hit the White House like a thunderclap. The presidents legal team had no advance warning. His chief of staff, John F. Kelly, learned about it from television. He called Mr. Trump, who was still in the residence part of the White House, to let him know he would be hearing about a Flynn plea deal soon. The presidents reaction, according to one adviser, was that Mr. Flynn is in a lot of trouble. Whether that fear turned into something more immediate about himself or his family, Mr. Trump did not vocalize it, the adviser said. His staff urged him to stay off Twitter, and for the most part, he complied. The president had a cordial, if at times awkward, lunch with Secretary of State Rex W. Tillerson, and then used Twitter to deny any plans to fire him. In the afternoon, Mr. Trump stopped by a White House Christmas party for reporters but stayed less than five minutes. The presidents optimistic outlook last weekend was fueled by his White House lawyer, Ty Cobb, who has consistently assured him that the investigation by Mr. Mueller would most likely conclude by the end of the year. Mr. Cobb has successfully persuaded Mr. Trump for the most part to curb his combative instincts and work in the parameters of Mr. Muellers investigation, turning over requested documents and avoiding incendiary attacks on the prosecutor. But Mr. Trump has been slipping free of Mr. Kellys restrictions for several weeks, speaking with old friends by telephone during his Mar-a-Lago trip and becoming incensed all over again about the Russia inquiry. Friends said he was particularly excitable in his phone calls in the days leading up to Mr. Flynns guilty plea, a mood that seemed reflected by a week of lashing out on Twitter at various targets other than the investigators. He has been so fitful that at one point during his stay in Florida, he told some club members that he was not fretting about whether Senate Republicans would pass his tax proposal because he had a plan. If the Senate failed to approve his tax cuts, Mr. Trump told them, he would refuse to sign a new short-term spending bill financing the government, forcing a partial shutdown. Aides insist that Mr. Trump is not consumed with the Russia inquiry more than he has been at other times. Yet he has been leaning on Mr. Cobb, constantly summoning him to the residence and dialing another lawyer on his team, Jay Sekulow, for consultations, people briefed on the discussions said. The White House made a point of playing down any appearance of concern on Friday. A statement issued by Mr. Cobb diminished Mr. Flynns importance by noting that he served as national security adviser for only 25 days before being fired for misleading Vice President Mike Pence and others about the details of his conversation with a Russian ambassador. File Photo WASHINGTON, Dec. 1 (Xinhua) -- 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 White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders in a statement released in the day. Sanders' remarks came after multiple major U.S. news outlets reported on Thursday morning that the White House is planning to remove the current head of the State Department. Tillerson's relationship with U.S. 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 that the Trump-Tillerson relationship has been scrutinized. In October, when asked if he still had confidence in Tillerson, Trump replied, "Yes." In an afternoon daily briefing, Sanders, further rebutting the reports, said that 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 added. The U.S. State Department also ridiculed the reports on Thursday. White House Chief of Staff John Kelly called the department this morning, saying that "those reports are not true," said State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert in a briefing Thursday afternoon. However, Nauert also hinted that Tillerson, former CEO of Exxon Mobile, an American 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 spokeswoman. Tillerson, 65, a Texas native, was a civil engineer who joined the energy company in 1975 and rose to serve as CEO between 2006-2016. 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 that those steps may cause a brain drain in the U.S. 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 (EU) members to discuss U.S.-EU cooperation on major global issues. Source: Xinhua| 2017-12-02 00:59:26|Editor: Mu Xuequan Video Player Close NEW DELHI, Dec. 1 (Xinhua) -- A leopard was killed by angry residents Friday after it mauled to death an elderly woman in India's northeastern state of Assam, officials said. The leopard was killed at Joypur village in Dibrugarh district, about 435 km northeast of Dispur, the capital city of Assam. "Today a leopard strayed into a village here and killed a 60-year-old woman," a wildlife official said. "This infuriated the residents, who were armed with clubs and sharp weapons. The agitated mobs surrounded the wild animal and killed him in retaliation." According to wildlife officials, the leopard had accidentally ventured into the village from nearby forest area possibly in search of food. Local media reports said the irate villagers chopped up the animal into little pieces and ate its meat. "The mobs then proceeded to consume the leopard's meat as revenge," New Delhi based TV news channel NDTV said. "A photograph shows the leopard's paw, the only body part of the leopard which was left after the villagers consumed the leopard's flesh." Officials said four villagers sustained injuries as the leopard was struggling to escape the cordon laid by the mobs. Wildlife officials said leopards stray into residential areas usually in search of food. However, the human presence makes them insecure, following which they resort to attacking people. At times these creatures are attacked by scared villagers in retaliation which also proves fatal for them. There are strict laws in force in India against the killing of wild animals. Wildlife experts say mass urbanization, denudation of forests, encroachment of forestland, vanishing of buffer zones in the forests and extraction of medicinal plants are some of the reasons responsible for increasing conflict between humans and animals. Every year many people get killed or injured in the growing man-animal conflict across India. Source: Xinhua| 2017-12-02 01:04:28|Editor: Mengjie Video Player Close Chinese Vice Premier Wang Yang, also a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, delivers a congratulatory message to the China Association for Promoting Democracy (CAPD) at the opening session of its 12th National Congress on behalf of the CPC Central Committee in Beijing, capital of China, Dec. 1, 2017. (Xinhua/Pang Xinglei) BEIJING, Dec. 1 (Xinhua) -- The China Association for Promoting Democracy (CAPD), one of China's eight non-communist political parties, will elect a new leadership during its 12th National Congress, which opened here on Friday. Vice Premier Wang Yang, also a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, met congress delegates and delivered a congratulatory message to the association at the opening session on behalf of the CPC Central Committee. Over the past five years, the CAPD has performed its role in multi-party cooperation, said Wang, praising its contributions to promoting reform and opening and socialist modernization. The CPC will uphold and improve the system of CPC-led multi-party cooperation and political consultation, he said. In handling its relationships with other political parties, the CPC will adhere to the principle of long-term coexistence, mutual oversight, treating each other with sincerity and sharing of both good and bad times, according to Wang. Wang said the CPC will support these parties in performing their duties in line with the requirements of socialism with Chinese characteristics for their participation in governance, and consolidate and develop the broadest possible patriotic united front. Wang appealed to the CAPD members to learn and implement the spirit of the 19th CPC National Congress and Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era. CAPD chairwoman Yan Junqi delivered a report on the party's work over the past five years. Yan said the CAPD will study and implement the spirit of the 19th CPC National Congress, and carry out its duties as a participant party. She said the CAPD will contribute more wisdom to completing the building of a moderately prosperous society, the success of socialism with Chinese characteristics for a new era, and the Chinese dream of national rejuvenation. A new party central committee will be elected at the congress. The Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Friday congratulated the CAPD on the opening of its national congress. As a time-tested intimate partner with the CPC and one of the participating parties in building Socialism with Chinese Characteristics, the CAPD has played an important role during the country's process of standing up, growing rich and becoming strong, says the congratulatory message. The CAPD is also an important force in securing a decisive victory in building a moderately prosperous society in all respects, accomplishing Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, as well as realizing the Chinese dream of national rejuvenation, says the message. The CAPD has provided valuable suggestions over the past five years on issues including the balanced development of compulsory education, to boosting the manufacturing industry via the reform of vocational education, and establishing a modern public cultural service system, the message says. The Central Committee of the CPC will continue to follow the spirit of the 19th CPC National Congress and insist on the multi-party cooperation and political consultation system under the leadership of the CPC, it continues. In the meantime, the CAPD is encouraged to follow major tasks raised at the 19th CPC National Congress and give full play to its strength in the development of education and the building of China into an innovative country. Founded in 1945, the CAPD membership mainly consists of intellectuals working in the fields of culture, education, publishing and science. Source: Xinhua| 2017-12-02 01:04:29|Editor: Mu Xuequan Video Player Close JUBA, Dec. 1 (Xinhua) -- A senior South Sudan official confirmed Friday that over 92 rebels have been killed by the army (SPLA) in the wake of renewed fighting in the restive northern town of Leer in Southern Liech State. The Minister of Information Michael Makuei told journalists that the SPLA-in opposition (rebels) under former First Vice President Riek Machar suffered huge losses after they attacked government soldiers on Thursday. "There was an attack on Leer by the rebels on Thursday and in that attack the rebels incurred a lot of casualties, because they are the ones who made the attack when our forces were in the trenches. According to the report we received, they got heavy casualties which amounted to almost 92 killed," Makuei said in Juba. The latest clashes follow a week long fighting late October in which 22 rebels were killed in Rup-Kuai region. Makuei revealed that the rebels attacked government troops in their trenches, which the rebels denied. "Our forces did not give them any hot pursuit in accordance with the directive of the president on cessation of hostilities. Our forces have decided to be in their trenches and wait for whoever attacks them and they are there to defend themselves," Makuei said. However, deputy rebel spokesman Col. Lam Paul Gabriel said the SPLA attacked them first at Gandour area of Leer before they were repulsed. "The SPLA (IO) had been able to maintain its previous position and routed the enemy's forces, leaving behind 53 dead bodies and 93 injured. We lost 5 heroes and 4 sustained minor injuries," said Gabriel. He also said and aggression by the government forces who claim to be observing ceasefire. South Sudan descended into violence in December 2013 after political dispute between President Salva Kiir and his former deputy turned rebel chief Machar led to split within the SPLA, leaving soldiers to fight alongside ethnic lines. The 2015 peace agreement to end the conflict was weakened after outbreak of renewed fighting in July 2016 caused the SPLA-in opposition rebel leader Machar to flee the capital. 40 down and counting: Forces on the verge of wiping out Pakistani terrorists in Valley Mubin did it in Coimbatore: Why do Islamist terrorists shave their body before a suicide mission 200 terrorists bite the Army bullet in Kashmir: How this was made possible India oi-Vicky By Vicky On Thursday when five terrorists were gunned down in two separate encounters, it was a special moment. The number of terrorists killed in the Kashmir Valley has crossed 200. Following the death of Burhan Wani, the situation in Kashmir went out of hand. The pelters were on the streets and terrorists formed a large part of the population. The Army and the Intelligence were worried as the situation was clearly going out of hand. The Government of India was clear that it wanted terrorism wiped out and peace restored in the Valley. It gave the Army a clear hand to wipe out the mess in Kashmir. With absolutely no political interference the security forces had a free hand. Political interference can be a dampener says an official who was part of this cleanup operation. The free hand given to the forces also increased the enthusiasm of the local police who were most crucial in all these operations. It is the local police who have the best intelligence on terrorists operating in the Valley. During these operations, the Hajin area was the key focus. Most of the terrorists operated in this area. The General Officer Commanding of the Srinagar-based 15 Corps, Lt Gen JS Sandhu, said Hajin was an area of focus for the security agencies. "Terrorists had resorted to some atrocities in the area. As a strategy, we had launched several operations in Hajin mid-September onwards. We were practically launching search operations on a daily basis. We had inducted Special Forces in the area and along with the intelligence network, police and the CRPF, the law and order in Hajin was brought under control. We were keeping a watch over the Chandrageer area for the last two-three days and yesterday based upon a specific input, the joint operation was launched in which six terrorists were eliminated", Lt General Sandhu said. IGP, Kashmir, Munir Khan said the Lashkar leadership is sending their relatives to boost the morale of its cadres. "There is a leadership bankruptcy in the Lashkar and other organisations. In a way to motivate their cadres operating in the Valley, they started sending close relatives. It is nothing more than that," Khan said. Top officers involved in the anti-militancy operation said they had plugged loopholes to ensure no repetition of the past as this group had managed to escape at least twice in recent months. OneIndia News 3 year old sexually assaulted in West Bengal India oi-Amitava By Amitava Even before the state of West Bengal could come to terms with the horrific incident of sexual assault of a 4 year old student by two teachers; a 3 year old was sexually assaulted in Raigunj in North Bengal by her uncle. The incident took place in Raigunj, the district head quarters of North Dinajpur district. The 3 year old used to regularly visit the house of Bimal Mondal, a distant uncle in the neighbourhood to play with her cousin. On Friday evening too like any other day she had gone to the house to play. Mondal was alone at home. His wife and daughter had gone out. Taking advantage of this, Mondal allegedly sexually assaulted the three year old. When the victim returned home she was in great trauma. She even complained of abdominal pain. Her clothes were smeared with blood and she was bleeding profusely. When questioned by her mother, the victim broke down and narrated the ghastly incident. She was rushed to the Raigunj District Hospital. "The patient was admitted at the Hospital. She underwent medical examination and treatment. At present her condition is stable" stated Gautam Mandal, Superintendent, Raigunj Hospital. The parents then lodged an FIR at the Raigunj Police Station. Bimal Mondal tried to give the police a slip. He was not at home when police visited his house to investigate. Later at around 10pm police nabbed him from the Raigunj Bus Stand. The accused is a hawker by profession. Charged under different section of the Protection of Children against Sexual Offences Act (POCSO,) Bimal Mondal was produced in the Raigunj Court on Saturday. Meanwhile in the GD Birla School case in Kolkata, the two accused were produced in court on Saturday. The judge granted the prayer of the police and remanded the two accused namely Avisekh Rai and Mohammad Mafizul to police custody. The two will be produced again in court on December 4. They have been charged under different sections of the POCSO Act. The court rejected the bail petition moved by the defence lawyers of the accused. Incidentally a 4 year old was allegedly sexually assaulted by the two in the school toilet on Friday. Both Rai and Mafizul are Physical Training (PT) teachers in the JD Birla School in Kolkata. Protests by parents and guardians of the students continued in the school on Saturday. They demanded the immediate arrest of the Principal of the school for trying to hide facts. A 3 member committee constituted by the Madhya Siksha Parishad of the Education Department after inquiring into the matter has submitted a report to the Government where they have complained of inadequate infrastructure to run a school. The committee is not to happy with the role of the school authorities also. Incidentally the school is not under CCTV surveillance. After heavy protests the authorities have started installing CCTVs on Saturday. The male and female students of class 11 and 12 use the same toilet also. Priyanka Tibriwal, the lawyer representing the family of the victim stated that they would be filing a case against the school principal and the trustee members. OneIndia News For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications Story first published: Saturday, December 2, 2017, 22:59 [IST] Child dies after being run over by TMC MP's car in Bengal 33 former Kamtapur Liberation Organisation (KLO) militants acquitted India oi-Amitava By Amitava 33 former Kamtapur Liberation Organisation (KLO) militants were acquitted by a Jalpaiguri Court in connection with an armed attack on the CPIM Zonal party office in Dhupguri, Jalpaiguri District, West Bengal, 15 years ago. The CPIM has decided to approach a higher court against this judgment. On August 17, 2002, evening an armed attack had been carried out on the Dhupguri CPIM Zonal Office. 5 front CPIM leaders had died on the spot while 11 others were grievously injured in the automatic gun fire. Police had initiated a criminal case against 39 KLO militants namely Tom Adhikari, Milton Das, Nityananda Das, Harshavardhan Das and others. A battery of lawyers represented the accused. "After 15 long years, the former KLO militants have been acquitted owing to lack of evidence and witnesses failing to identify them" stated Avijit Sarkar, defence lawyer. The acquitted claimed that during Left rule they were implicated in numerous false cases. "We were implicated in many such false cases. However, as they couldn't prove anything we were acquitted" stated Tom Adhikari. Somnath Pal, Public Prosecutor, Jalpaiguri stated that out of 59 witnesses only 14 turned up in court. "Many of the witnesses had failed to identify the accused in court" stated Pal. Salil Acharya CPIM leader stated "We are discussing the matter with the State leaders. We will approach a higher court against the order." The Kamtapur Liberation Organization (KLO) was formed on December 28, 1995, by students from the indigenous Rajbongshi community. They launched an armed struggle to form a Kamtapur State comprising of districts of North Bengal and Assam. The outfit was banned by the Indian Government in 1997. OneIndia News A pillow, provocation by ISIS suspects led to beating up of Kashmiris in Tihar India oi-Vicky By Vicky A pillow considered to be an unauthorised item was found in the cell of the Tihar jail where a couple of Islamic State operatives and Kashmiri prisoners were lodged. The security staff on duty questioned the prisoners and asked them to hand over the pillow. This led to an altercation and the suspects of the ISIS provoked the jail staff. These revelations are part of the investigation that was conducted following a Home Ministry directive into the assault of Kashmiri prisoners in the Tihar jail earlier this month. While it was found that the jail security staff had beaten the prisoners, the provocation was something else. The preliminary investigation has found that a group of prisoners arrested in Islamic State related cases had started the scuffle in the first place. Highly placed sources tell OneIndia that three members of the ISIS were in the same cell as the Kashmiri prisoners. They provoked the security staff which ultimately led to the scuffle. The scuffle began when the high-security prisoners were asked to give up a pillow in the cell which has been classified as an 'unauthorised item.' One of the sub-inspectors on duty, Mutthupandi is alleged to have got into the scuffle. He then called for the Quick Reaction Team and then things turned ugly. The prisoners were finally disengaged. In its report to the Home Ministry, the jail authorities said that the all Tamil Nadu personnel on duty have been removed including from the QRT. While the report speaks about a scuffle, it does not mention anywhere that there was the use of excessive force. The jail authorities have said that they have preserved all evidence which includes CCTV footage and the medical report. Further investigations are on. OneIndia News Ayodhya issue: Sri Sri has a tremendous track record of conflict negotiation India oi-Oneindia By Vijay Dwivedi The past few weeks have seen the building up of a momentum for an out-of-court settlement for the 500-year-old Ram Mandir - Babri Masjid dispute in Ayodhya. Ayodhya in Sanskrit means a place where no war has happened. But if one looks closely at the last three decades of Indian politics, one would reckon that Ayodhya has become a battleground of India's most tricky political battles. Many elections have been fought wherein a grand temple in Ayodhya has been in contention. In a sense, the power battle has shifted to those who are for building a temple, and those who are against it. In the center of the current round of negotiations is Sri Sri Ravishankar. Sri Sri has moved with alacrity in the past two months and has met many of the stakeholders and litigants. Since the temple the movement has been such a central theme in virtually all general elections over the last 30 years, it is no wonder that the mediation move has met with mixed reactions by political parties and vested interest groups. One needs to understand what is causing this immense rundown even before the various round of conversations have begun towards the resolution of Ayodhya dispute. The stakes in the current round are high. If there is a mutual resolution, it may wrest away the raison d'etre of many far-right Hindu and Muslim bodies. Let us assume for a moment that Sri Sri's efforts have no steam in them, then why are these right-wing bodies vehemently opposing them? Is it the fear that if there is a resolution, there would not be any more avenues to polarize the country on religious lines? These groups continue to be seen stuck in a specific era by younger members of their respective communities, and that's where Sri Sri and his Art of Living find maximum support. Detractors, in the meantime, are trying to play down Sri Sri's tremendous track record of conflict negotiation and resolution across the globe. Be it the Gujjar agitation in Rajasthan, or working through the Bodo crisis in Assam or bringing peace to North Eastern states like Manipur, Arunachal, and Assam or getting militants from Kashmir Valley to surrender and join the mainstream. Above maybe just a few instances which the author is aware of. Far from home, we have the example of the Colombian government's peace treaty with FARC (the rebel guerrillas who waged an internal war in Colombia that took 2 million lives and left 7 million homeless) in which Sri Sri played a significant role. The FARC resolution was no mean feat and had a far-reaching impact. Just a few months into the peace process initiated by Sri Sri, FARC has decided to lay down arms and join mainstream politics and is now looking forward to supporting democracy after a five-decade armed revolution in Colombia. In all the above instances, the warring groups came together in negotiation knowing fully well Sri Sri's reputation as an impartial negotiator, and that the agreement reached would serve both sides. In the current round of Ayodhya negotiations, the litigants are relying on the same fairness and impartiality which Sri Sri brings to the table. Earlier this year CJI Khehar, while hearing Ram temple dispute at Supreme court suggested an amicable out-of-court solution to the conflict based on negotiations. While the naysayers continue to hope that there is no resolution to the vexed issue, the Apex court's wisdom on this matter needs to be viewed with more seriousness. The Apex court understands that the issue has created fissures in society and any judgment passed by any number of judges would not settle the discord at the emotional level in the two communities. And a decision which does not heal the wounds of any community is a seed for further unrest and conflict between communities. Sri Sri has said that we should stop looking at this problem in the time frame of a few years. If there is a court-mandated solution, first of all, it will create profound emotional grief to one of the communities, particularly at the grassroots level. Secondly, it will keep the option of future legal and legislative review open, if not now, in few decades from today. The Supreme Court will soon start daily hearings of Ayodhya issue from December 2017. The whole hearing and the ruling process may take us up to 2019. The year of the election. Unfortunately, a court ruled decision would once again turn Ram temple into an election issue. In the 21st century India, we must look at having development as an agenda for election rather than polarizing ones. In this context, Sri Sri's mediation is at the right time and place. As for the silent majority, it is time for us to be vocal and lend a supporting hand to the voices of peace and reason. 2018 may be a new dawn for us if we can leave behind the Ayodhya temple issue with an amicable resolution. (Vijay Dwivedi is an engineer by profession and writer by passion.He currently lives in Singapore and continues to keep a keen eye on Indian and regional political and foreign affairs.) OneIndia News Blacklisting Mahmood blocked by China: The man who raised funds under garb of religion in India Confession of a terrorist: Once again the Pak establishment role in terror reiterated India oi-Vicky By Vicky Recommended Video Indian security forces capture LeT terrorists, confession caught on tape, Watch | Oniendia News Mohammad Amir alias Abu Hamas is an 18-year-old terrorist from Pakistan. He is a resident of 776, Street Number 14, Mohalla Power House, Mazhar Camp, Baldia Town, Karachi Pakistan. He was recently captured by the Indian forces after he infiltrated along with another terrorist who was part of the Lashkar-e-Tayiba's recently set up 22 anti-India squads. His confession caught on video, a copy of which is with OneIndia once again reiterates the fact how the Pakistan establishment is directly involved in nurturing terror and terrorism against India. I was trained with 15 others in a camp near Karachi. The camp had several ISI and Pakistan army officers. Every operation that we undertook in the camp was personally overseen by the ISI, he also said. An IB official said that the 22 anti-India squad was launched recently by Pakistan. They have two training units. While the initial training is imparted at a base near Karachi, the other is at PoK. At the PoK base, the final round of training is given before they are launched into the Valley, the officer further noted. Officials say that this is an extremely dangerous squad. It is specifically meant to launch terrorists ahead of the winter. The Lashkar-e-Tayiba wants to send at least 20 of its men into the Valley and keep them on standby during the winter. OneIndia News Cyclone Sitrang likely to become severe cyclonic storm; West Bengal on alert Cyclone Sitrang: Bengal to get moderate rainfall, fishermen advised not to venture into sea Cyclone Ockhi: Navy, Coast Guard step up rescue ops at sea India oi-Chennabasaveshwar By Chennabasaveshwar The Indian Navy Saturday stepped up its rescue operations in coordination with Indian Coast Guard to rescue fishermen stranded at sea. Indian Coast Guard ship rescued another fisherman named Johnson (32) Nautical Miles off Vizhinjam (Kerala) Coast. The rescue team has administered first aid and the survivor is said to be stable. The Navy assets are engaged in search and rescue operations off Kerala coast. INP8i, DO, ALH, Seaking 42B&C have been deployed in the area since morning. Ships from Southern Naval Command and Indian Coast Guard are present in the area. INS Chennai, Kolkata and Trikand of Western Fleet have augmented the operations. Also, INS Shardul is heading to Minicoy island in Lakshadweep for assistance. Over 100 fishermen who have drifted ashore at Androth in Lakshadweep islands are safe and shall be repatriated upon improvement in the weather, stated Indian Navy. Eye of the storm was located at 90 nautical miles of Kavaratti as of 7.30 AM on Saturday. #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 OneIndia News Delhi hospital declares twins dead, family finds boy alive just before last rites India oi-Vicky By Vicky A Delhi hospital declared premature twins dead and handed them over to the parents. However the parents who were about to perform the last rites found that one of them was alive. The police have now registered a case against the Max Hospital in Shalimar Bagh on the basis of a complaint filed by the family. The family told the police that their 20 year old daughter Varsha had given birth to twins-a boy and girl on November 30. The doctors declared the girl stillborn while the boy was declared dead a few hours later. The lady's brother-in-law Deepak said that the twins were allegedly wrapped in plastic sheets and handed over to the family. we were taking the twins for the last rites. The boy was on the lap of a relative when he felt some movement. We immediately unwrapped the baby and found that he was breathing heavily. The boy who has now been named 'Champ' is on life support at a hospital in Pritampura. The doctors are monitoring the boy and say that he had contacted infection because he was exposed to the environment and had been wrapped in plastic, Deepak also said. OneIndia News Instant triple talaq to attract 3 year jail term: Draft law India oi-Vicky By Vicky After the Supreme Court declared instant triple talaq null and void, a draft law prepared by the government has set a stringent punishment for those who commit the offence. Giving instant triple talaq will be illegal and void and will attract a jail term of three years for the husband, according to a draft law aimed to curb the practice which continues despite the Supreme Court striking it down. The draft 'Muslim Women Protection of Rights on Marriage Bill' was sent to the state governments on Friday for their views, a senior government functionary said. They have been asked to respond to the draft urgently, he said. The draft was prepared by an inter-minister group headed by Home Minister Rajnath Singh. The other members included External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad and his junior in the ministry P P Chaudhary. The proposed law would only be applicable to instant triple talaq or 'talaq-e-biddat' and it would give power to the victim to approach a magistrate seeking "subsistence allowance" for herself and minor children. The woman can also seek the custody of her minor children from the magistrate who will take a final call on the issue. Under the draft law, triple talaq in any form -- spoken, in writing or by electronic means such as email, SMS, and WhatsApp -- would be bad or illegal and void. "The provision of subsistence allowance and custody has been made to ensure that in case the husband asks the wife to leave the house she should have legal protection," the functionary said. According to the draft law, which would be applicable to the entire country except for Jammu and Kashmir, giving instant talaq would attract a jail term of three years and a fine. It would be a non-bailable, cognisable offence. The functionary pointed out that after the Supreme Court order, the government was of the view that the practice would end. "But it continues. There have been 177 reported cases of instant talaq before the judgment and 66 after the order this year... Uttar Pradesh tops the list. Hence, the government planned a law," he explained. He said the provisions of the Domestic Violence Act were found to be of little help in such cases even as the government and the Prime Minister's Office were receiving complaints from women. The subjects of divorce and marriage come under the Concurrent list of the Constitution and Parliament is free to pass laws on it in emergencies. But going by the recommendations of the Sarkaria Commission, the government decided to consult states. "The plan is to bring it in the winter session of Parliament," the functionary said. As of now, the draft law is prospective in nature. But if Parliament feels, it can be implemented retrospectively once it is passed and gets the President's nod, he said. Perhaps women who have been given triple talaq before the proposed law comes into force can also seek custody of minor children and subsistence allowance using its provisions, another official said. Once the views of the states are received, the law ministry would move Cabinet with the proposal. As the law stands today, a victim of 'talaq-e-biddat' or instant triple talaq would have no option but to approach the police for redressal of her grievance as a Muslim clergy would be of no assistance to her. Even police are helpless as no action can be taken against the husband in the absence of punitive provisions in the law, they explained. In August, the Supreme Court struck down the controversial Islamic practice of instant divorce or 'talaq- e-biddat' as arbitrary and unconstitutional. But there have been reports of a number of divorces by way of 'talaq-e-biddat' even after the judgement, the functionaries said. Despite advisories being issued to the members of the community against the archaic practice, there seemed to be no decline in the cases of divorce by 'talaq-e-biddat', they claimed. In a recent case of 'talaq-e-biddat', a man working with a leading educational institution divorced his wife through WhatsApp and SMS, the functionary said quoting media reports. OneIndia News Mayawati rakes up EVM row again, says BJP wouldn't have won if ballot papers were used India oi-Vikas By Vikas Recommended Video UP Civic polls 2017 : BSP once again accuses BJP of EVM tampering | Oneindia News BSP supremo Mayawati on Saturday raked up the issue of Electronic Voting Machines yet again and said that the BJP would not have won the elections if the ballot papers were used. Even after BSP's dismal show in the UP Assembly elections earlier this year, Mayawati had said that BJP had been winning due to the faulty EVMs. "If BJP is honest and 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 told the media on Saturday. Despite winning just two out of 16 mayoral seats in the Uttar Pradesh Civic Polls 2017, Mayawati's Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) was the only true competition to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). The BSP not just won two seats but also gave BJP a tough fight in many seats including Jhansi with a sleek margin. The highlight of the BSP's performance was, however, unseating the BJP from Aligarh. The BSP gave the BJP the jitters in Jhansi with a very sleek margin winning 11 seats while the BJP finally managed to win 21. In Kanpur, the BSP won 3 while the BJP won 58, a massive lead. In Lucknow, the BJP won 53 seats while the BSP managed a mere 2. Ghaziabad saw the BSP win 13 seats while the BJP won 57. 53 is the number of seats that the BJP won in Agra while the BSP managed 27. OneIndia News Source: Xinhua| 2017-12-02 01:14:35|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close THE HAGUE, Dec. 1 (Xinhua) -- South Sudan announced on Friday that it will become a State Party of the Chemical Weapons Convention (CCW) and join the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW). Moses M. Akol Ajawin, Director General for International Cooperation at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation of South Sudan, made this remark at the 22nd Session of the Conference of the States Parties to the Chemical Weapons Convention. "We, in South Sudan, would unreservedly like to associate ourselves with the noble goals and objectives of this great organisation," said Akol Ajawin. "South Sudan has no reason to sit on the fence...and South Sudan looks forward to becoming the newest and youngest State Party." OPCW Director-General Ahmet Uzumcu welcomed the anticipated accession of South Sudan to the Convention. "Today, we are one step closer to universal membership. I urge the other nations that have yet to join the Convention, Egypt, Israel and North Korea, to unite with the rest of the world in eliminating all chemical weapons forever," he said. As the implementing body for the Chemical Weapons Convention, the OPCW oversees the global endeavour to permanently and verifiably eliminate chemical weapons. The Convention now has 192 States Parties. Over 96 percent of all chemical weapon stockpiles declared by possessor States have been destroyed under OPCW verification. Enditem With the number of anonymous rogues from Pak rising, here's how BSF is beating down the drones Naeem alias Headley 2 had passed all information to handler in Pakistan India oi-Vicky By Vicky Abdul Naeem who has been dubbed as Headley too had his handler based in Pakistan. He said that his handler went by the name Rehan alias Amjad. All the information that I collected had been sent to him in Pakistan, Naeem who was recently arrested told the National Investigation Agency. Naeem said that he had conducted a reconnaissance of several places. I had even visited the Nepal border from Bihar twice. This, I did to find a safe passage for the terrorists who were to come in from Pakistan to carry out the attack based on the details that I had provided, Naeem also said. Naeem an operative of the Lashkar-e-Tayiba also said that he had visited several places in Agra, Varanasi, Himachal Pradesh and Bihar to gather information about possible targets. On the basis of the revelations made by him, the NIA picked up an associate of his from Pratapgarh. He is believed to be part of the sleeper cell that had been set up by Naeem. The NIA also took two others into custody but released one due to want of evidence. The other person has been taken to Delhi for questioning and will be produced before the court. Naeem revealed that he had used a Hindu name while carrying out the operation. "I had made friends with several Hindus including girls and being with them helped me gain easy access to places without being doubted", he said. This is a similar modus operandi that Headley had used. Born Daood Geelani, he used the name David Headley when he carried out a reconnaissance before the Mumbai 26/11 attack. OneIndia News Places of Worship Act: SC gives more time to Centre to file affidavit by Dec 12 SC rejects plea that sought to bar convicted politicians from heading political parties India oi-Vicky By Vicky A petition that sought to debar persons convicted in criminal cases from contesting elections or floating political parties was rejected by the Supreme Court of India. The plea also sought that those convicted be barred from heading a political party. A Bench headed by the Chief Justice of India, Dipak Misra sought to know how far could the courts go in such matters. Let the government and Parliament look into this, the Bench said. Further, the Bench also observed, " can we stop a convicted person from heading a political party? Will not be incongruent with the right to free speech? Can the court restrain a convicted person from propagating his political views?" The petitioner cited the examples of Lalu Prasad Yadav, Sasikala, O P Chautala and said at present a person convicted for serious criminal offences can float and head political parties despite being barred from contesting the elections. OneIndia News You don't talk to me: Sonia Gandhi told Smriti Irani in Parliament over 'rashtrapatni' row Smriti Irani asks Rahul to fight elections in Gujarat on the issue of development, not religion India oi-Oneindia By Oneindia Gandhinagar, Dec 2: In Gujarat it is "development" versus "religion", this election season. Since the Lok Sabha elections of 2014, the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is fighting polls on the development plank officially, but unofficially the saffron party has never failed to raise its 'favourite' topics--religion and caste--during its campaigns. However, in the run-up to the Gujarat Assembly elections--scheduled on December 9 and 14--the BJP has accused the Congress of indulging in communal politics. The election results will be declared on December 18. The debate over religion taking the centre stage during the Gujarat Assembly elections started after the BJP objected to Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi visiting temples as a part of his campaign trail. According to an estimate, since September, Rahul has visited at least 15 temples in poll-bound Gujarat. Rahul's attempt to woo Hindu voters by visiting and praying in popular Hindu temples across the state has irked the BJP. Some of the top leaders of the BJP, including Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and Madhya Pradesh CM Shivaraj Singh Chouhan, have attacked Rahul for visiting temples in Gujarat. Now, Union minister Smriti Irani has trained her guns on Rahul for allegedly fighting elections in Gujarat on the issue of religion. Talking to reporters, Irani questioned the Congress VP's silence on the killing of cows in Kerala by the party workers. "Why didn't the Hindu inside Rahul say anything when youth Congress workers killed cows in Kerala? So I request that he should fight elections in Gujarat on the issue of development," Irani was quoted as saying by ANI. Why didn't the Hindu inside Rahul Gandhi say anything when Youth Congress workers killed cows in Kerala? So I request that he should fight elections in #Gujarat on the issue of development: Union Minister Smriti Irani pic.twitter.com/pLpzjMPjAG ANI (@ANI) December 1, 2017 The attack on Rahul's 'actual' religion took an ugly turn on Wednesday when reports suggested that the scion of the Gandhi family on his visit to the Somnath temple in Gujarat registered himself as a non- Hindu in the temple's logbook. While the Congress called Rahul's signature fake in the temple register and a conspiracy by the BJP to malign the party VP's reputation, the BJP demanded an answer from the opposition party to clarify Rahul's actual religion. "There is only one visitor's book at Somnath temple that was signed by Rahul. Any other image being circulated is fabricated," the party said on Twitter. OneIndia News Survey being done on NaMo App is costing sleep of the night to many BJP MPs Tech-savvy PM uses NaMo app to inspire BJPs women workers to win Gujarat polls India oi-Oneindia By Oneindia Gandhinagar, Dec 2: Wondering how Prime Minister Narendra Modi is managing his time attending to all his duties diligently, this Gujarat Assembly election season? Actually, the PM is doing very well, juggling with his regular office work and campaigning for the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Gujarat. Since it is difficult to commute from Delhi to Gujarat on a daily basis, Modi has found a solution to remain present in his home turf, Gujarat, even when he is far away in the national capital. Modi, who is known to be tech-savvy, is using the Narendra Modi application (NaMo app) to reach out to his party workers in the poll-bound state. With the help of the app, the PM interacted with the BJP's women's wing workers in Gujarat to inspire them to win the crucial elections for the saffron party on Friday evening. "Prime Minister Narendra Modi interacts with BJP's women's wing workers in Gujarat through the Narendra Modi application," tweeted ANI. Prime Minister Narendra Modi interacts with BJPs womens wing workers in Gujarat through the Narendra Modi application pic.twitter.com/UMm10GLtPI ANI (@ANI) December 1, 2017 Hundreds of women workers of the party spoke directly with Modi in a tech-infused outreach ahead of the Gujarat polls. In order to speak with PM Modi, the women workers of the party download the NaMo app on their smartphones that allowed video chatting facilities. On Thursday, the party's Gujarat election in-charge Bhupendra Yadav told NDTV, "The BJP Mahila Morcha workers will download the app at 4.30 pm on Friday. Between 4.30 and 5 pm, the PM will hold a live interaction with 5,500 active women workers of the party up to block level via the NaMo App." Yadav said the idea was to inspire women, through their interaction with the PM, to campaign and push women to vote for the BJP. "This is a new technology. It will be a video call and women can also ask questions," he said about the event. In fact, Modi attended several election rallies in Gujarat this week. In all his rallies, the PM attacked the Congress and stressed on the need to bring back the BJP to power in the state as the saffron party stands for the development of Gujarat and Gujaratis. The BJP has been in power in the state for the last 22 years. The polls in Gujarat are scheduled on December 9 and 14. The results of elections will be out on December 18. OneIndia News Twitterati has fun with memes after Ivanka Trump's photoshopped images at Taj Mahal goes viral Donald Trump is a warrior; needs four more years as president: Ivanka Telangana police denies security breach during PM Modi-Ivanka Trump dinner India oi-Chennabasaveshwar By Chennabasaveshwar The Telangana police denied reports on security breach as CCTV footage from Taj Falaknuma Palace Hotel made its way out to local TV channels in Telangana when PM Narendra Modi was hosting GES 2017 delegates for a dinner. N Mahendar Reddy, DGP Telangana, Hyderabad, said "There was no security breach as being reported in media. Only visuals from video wall were shot by few TV channels from Command and Control Centre. Later, telecast as part of disseminating information to the public as usual practice." "No live streaming of CCTV Footage from Command and Control Centre took place. A new SOP is being put in place on sharing visuals from Command & Control Centre so as to ensure that only permitted visuals are shared from now onwards," said DGP. He assured that no action shall be taken against any TV channel as being rumoured in social media, reported ANI. Local TV channels had telecast live CCTV footage from Falaknuma Palace Hotel showing PM Modi, Telangana CM K Chandrasekhar Rao and Governor ESL Narasimhan on a sofa talking to each other. The visuals were later picked up by national TV channels. OneIndia News Mayawati rakes up EVM row again, says BJP wouldn't have won if ballot papers were used UP Civic Poll results: Kejriwal's AAP wins 11 seats, makes headway silently India oi-Oneindia By Oneindia Staff Writer Arvind Kejriwal led Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) quietly opened its account in Uttar Pradesh civic polls even as parties like the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) took a massive blow. The AAP silently won 11 seats in the Uttar Pradesh Civic polls 2017. On expected lines, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) won big in the civic polls but it was the AAP that surprised many by winning 11 seats of the many it contested at ward and zone levels. Arvind Kejriwal's party won one seat of Nagar Panchayat chairman, two municipal corporation corporators, eight Nagar Panchayat member seats. The AAP's Munni Devi won Nagar Palika chairman elections from Tindvari of Bundelkhand, Sudhir Dhama won a seat in Kherka Nagar Pallika of Baghpat. AAP won one seat in Rae Bareli and Hapur each. The party had refrained from contesting the elections last year after it received a blow in the assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh but the win of 11 seats has come as a ray of hope for the party. AAP has managed to win seats unexpectedly when parties like the Congress lost in its bastion of Amethi. The BJP emerged a clear winner in the elections winning 14 of the 16 mayoral seats. With this, the AAP is now more confident of its performance in Gujarat assembly elections where the stage is set for a standoff between the BJP and the Congress. OneIndia News UP Civic Poll results: Mayawati's BSP finishes second, unseats BJP from bastion India oi-Anusha Despite winning just two out of 16 mayoral seats in the Uttar Pradesh Civic Polls 2017, Mayawati's Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) was the only true competition to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). The BSP not just won two seats but also gave BJP a tough fight in many seats including Jhansi with a sleek margin. The highlight of the BSP's performance was, however, unseating the BJP from Aligarh. BJP had never lost a mayoral election in Aligarh since 1995 after the system of direct voting was introduced but the BSP changed that on Friday. Mayawati's party, a true silent winner of the UP civic polls, unseated the BJP in Meerut and Aligarh. The BSP gave the BJP the jitters in Jhansi with a very sleek margin winning 11 seats while the BJP finally managed to win 21. In Kanpur, the BSP won 3 while the BJP won 58, a massive lead. In Lucknow, the BJP won 53 seats while the BSP managed a mere 2. Ghaziabad saw the BSP win 13 seats while the BJP won 57. 53 is the number of seats that the BJP won in Agra while the BSP managed 27. Firozabad saw a close fight between the BJP and the BSP with the latter winning 10 seats while the former won 19 out of 70 wards. The win for the BSP comes like a shot in the arm considering the drubbing the party received in the assembly elections. While the Samajwadi Party (SP) and the Congress failed to open an account in the UP civic polls, the BSP emerged the only contender for the BJP whose victory was a given. The BSP, whose traditional vote banks are the Dalits, seems to have managed to draw the support of the Muslims as well giving it an opportunity to threaten the BJP in many seats. OneIndia News At UNSC, US calls on world to tell Russia to stop its nuclear threats Elite US govt hacker charged with illegally removing top secret materials International pti-PTI Washington, December 2: In an embarrassing breach for the crucial electronic espionage body, a member of the US National Security Agency's elite hacking team has been charged with illegally removing top secret materials. The Justice Department said today 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 defence 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. What was stolen included essential source code for so-called Equation Group hacking software from the NSA, said Kaspersky. PTI Risk of his posts 'too great': Facebook, Instagram extend ban on Trump's account till transition is complete Mark Zuckerberg says 'sorry' as Meta fires over 11,000 employees in one go | Full statement Mark Zuckerberg's sister harassed on Alaska Airlines flight International oi-Chennabasaveshwar By Chennabasaveshwar Randi Zuckerberg, the sister of Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg, was allegedly sexually harassed by a co-passenger on Alaska airlines flight. She was flying to Mexican resort town Mazatlan from Los Angeles. Randi put out a letter complaining about her 'disgusting' experience to Alaska Airlines CEO. "Feeling disgusted and 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?" she tweeted. She said flight staff offered that she could move from first class to a seat in the back of the plane. "Why should I have to move? I am the one that is being harassed!" she said in the letter. 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 Two executives from Alaska Airlines assured her that they are conducting an investigation and have temporarily suspended the co-passenger's travel privileges. "Recent events involving sexual harassment onboard our aircraft will not be tolerated. We are committed to finding a solution to pervasive societal problems," stated the airlines. OneIndia News North Korea missile test: Japan to host UNSC meeting on Dec 15 International pti-PTI United Nations, Dec 2: With a focus on finding peaceful ways to pressure North Korea to halt its nuclear and ballistic missile tests, Japan announced on Saturday that it will host a ministerial meeting of the UN Security Council on December 15. 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 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 today from Russia's Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov. "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 at 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." Bessho, asked about Haley's tough words, 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. [Kim continues to irk Trump: Here is all you need to know about North Korea's missile program] "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." Haley called on all countries on Wednesday to cut ties to North Korea. She talked about additional measures against the DPRK and said President Donald Trump called China's President Xi Jinping 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. PTI Source: Xinhua| 2017-12-02 01:14:36|Editor: Mu Xuequan Video Player Close NAIROBI, Dec. 1 (Xinhua) -- Kenya is set to host about 7,000 delegates in the upcoming United Nations Environment Assembly (UNEA), a government official confirmed on Friday. Judi Wakhungu, the Cabinet Secretary for Environment and Natural Resources, said that Heads of States and Government, 100 ministers, environmental scientists, UN agencies, members of the civil society and private sector will be attending the conference that will take place from Dec.4-6. "Governments around the world are looking up to United Nations Environmental Program (UNEP) to monitor and review and establish environmental challenges including pollution," she told journalists in Nairobi. Wakhungu said that Kenya is committed to supporting the work of the United Nations and desires to maintain Nairobi's position as the central hub of the UNEP. UNEA is the world's highest level decision making body on environment and it meets biannually in Nairobi. The last meeting was held in Nairobi in 2015. UNEA has a universal membership of all 193 UN Member States and enjoys the full involvement of UN organizations, specialized agencies, inter-governmental organizations, civil society and the private sector. The Assembly provides a platform for leadership on global environmental policy and aims at delivering a number of tangible commitments to end pollution of air, land, waterways, oceans, and to safely manage our chemicals and waste. Under this year's theme of "Towards a pollution-free planet," delegates will deliver a policy declaration on pollution, linked to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), to signal that humanity can work together to eliminate the threat of pollution and the destruction of our planet. "We have instituted and implemented a wide range of policy and regulatory measures towards eradicating pollution on air, land, water and marine," Wakhungu noted. She said Kenya is expected to showcase to the world how it has managed to implement the recent ban on use of plastic bags. Palestine warns against recognition of Jerusalem as capital of Israel International pti-PTI Ramallah (Palestinian Territories), December 2: The Palestinian president's office has warned of the potentially destructive effects of any move denying their claim to east Jerusalem as the capital of their future state. "The American recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel destroys the peace process," president Mahmud Abbas's spokesman Nabil Abu Rudeina said yesterday in a statement to AFP. "The American recognition of Jerusalem as Israel's capital and moving the American embassy to Jerusalem involves the same level of danger to the future of the peace process and pushes the region into instability," he said. The warning comes as US President Donald Trump is due to decide by Monday on whether to move his country's embassy from Tel Aviv to the disputed holy city. Reports emerged that Trump could again delay moving the embassy but recognise Jerusalem as the capital of the Jewish state. The Palestinians see east Jerusalem as the capital of their future state and fiercely oppose any changes that could be regarded as legitimising Israel's occupation and annexation of its eastern sector. Without referring to Trump or the US by name, Abu Rudeina said any just solution in the Middle East required recognition of east Jerusalem as the capital of an independent Palestinian state. "East Jerusalem, with its holy places, is the beginning and the end of any solution and any project that saves the region from destruction," he said in an earlier statement on the official Wafa news agency. Israel occupied east Jerusalem in the Six-Day War of 1967 and later annexed it in a move never recognised by the international community. No countries currently have their embassies in Jerusalem, instead of keeping them in the Israeli commercial capital Tel Aviv. Trump is due to decide by Monday on whether to renew a six-month waiver on moving the embassy. He pledged during his campaign to move the embassy to Jerusalem but renewed the waiver in May. The US leader has said he wants to relaunch frozen peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians in search of the "ultimate deal" Any major shift in US policy would make that goal more difficult to achieve, Middle East analysts say. PTI Kuchibhotla murder: Widow of Indian-techie can stay in US for now US Navy veteran, accused of killing Indian techie, pleads not guilty International oi-PTI 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. Srinivas 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. PTI For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications Story first published: Saturday, December 2, 2017, 19:59 [IST] Yemen: After failed rebel talks, clashes erupt in Sanaa International pti-PTI Sanaa, December 2 (AFP): As talks between feuding rebel allies failed to broker a truce, clashes erupted in Yemen's capital Sanaa on Saturday. No casualties were reported. It is the third consecutive night of armed violence between supporters of former president Ali Abdullah Saleh and Yemen's northern Huthi rebels, who jointly control the capital Sanaa. Multiple witnesses said heavy gunfire could be heard in southern Sanaa, but there were no immediate reports of casualties. Fighting also erupted near the home of Brigadier Tarek Saleh, a nephew of the former president and commander in the force loyal to the Yemeni strongman. Three people were killed in clashes with the Huthis outside of the commander's home last night, Saleh's General People's Congress (GPC) said. Talks between members of the GPC and the Huthis' political council today failed to reach an agreement between the two parties, a high-ranking GPC source told AFP. An internal rift has shaken the fragile alliance between the Iran-backed Huthis and Saleh loyalists, who joined ranks in 2014 to seize Sanaa. The former enemies drove President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi's internationally recognised government out of the capital, which has been rocked by rebel infighting. The wider Yemen conflict pits the Huthi-Saleh alliance against the Saudi-backed government of Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi. The war has claimed more than 8,600 lives since Saudi Arabia and its allies joined the Hadi government's fight against the rebels in 2015, triggering what the United Nations has described as the world's worst humanitarian crisis. The rebel clashes in Sanaa come as tensions soar between the insurgents and the Saudi-led coalition, which imposed a crippling blockade on Yemen in response to a Huthi missile that was intercepted near Riyadh airport on November 4. Saudi Arabia intercepted and destroyed another ballistic missile fired from Yemen yesterday, state media in Riyadh said. Iran denies it is supplying the Huthis with arms. The coalition, which accuses the rebels of being a proxy for Saudi Arabia's regional rival Iran, says the blockade is meant to stop the flow of arms to the rebels from Tehran. PTI This piece was reprinted by OpEd News with permission or license. It may not be reproduced in any form without permission or license from the source. It makes sense if your .enemy. is your .asset.. (Image by Mel_DJ) Details DMCA Now that Syria and its allies in the Axis of Resistance have done the world a favour by destroying most of the West's terror proxies in Syria, the Canadian narrative is falling apart. In 2016, Prime Minister Trudeau described the terrorists in this manner: "The so-called Islamic State are terrorists, criminals, thugs, murderers of innocents and children and there's a lot of labels for them."[1] He was right that there are a lot of labels for them. But some labels have been conspicuously absent from the Canadian narrative, and these are the most accurate of all: "proxies", "assets", "strategic assets", "allies". These "criminals, thugs, and murderers" are also Canada's proxies in the Middle East and beyond, and the Canadian government needs to take ownership for its criminality. Canada's Public Safety Minister, Ralph Goodale, for his part, recently claimed that chances for rehabilitating these people are "pretty remote", and that pursuing charges against these people is "difficult".[2] Conspicuously absent from Goodale's explanation of why it is difficult to prosecute these individuals is the previously mentioned stumbling block. If the terrorists are Canada's assets, as they are, then prosecuting them would necessarily reveal the government's guilt. Consider the case of Swedish national Bherlin Gildo.[3] In 2015, Gildo's terror trial in the U.K. collapsed because the British intelligence agency M16 was supporting the same terrorists that Gildo was reportedly fighting for. The Canadian government's web of criminal war propaganda is unraveling at the seams. If the press was free, and not an appendage of the government's criminal apparatus of deception, more Canadians might be aware of this. Notes [1] Bill Graveland, The Canadian Press, "Trudeau: ISIS Just 'Terrorists' And 'Thugs,' Not A State." HuffPost, 29 March, 2016.(http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2016/03/29/trudeau-isis-terrorists-calgary-interview_n_9568642.html) Accessed 27 November, 2017. [2] Rachel Aiello, Ottawa News Bureau Online Producer,"Chance of reintegrating Canadian ISIS fighters 'pretty remote': Goodale." CTV News, November 26, 2017. (https://www.ctvnews.ca/politics/chance-of-reintegrating-canadian-isis-fighters-pretty-remote-goodale-1.3693559) Accessed 27 November, 2017. [3] Stuart J. Hooper, "Terror Trial Collapses: Suspect Fighting For MI6 SUPPORTED Fighting Group."21st Century Wire, 4 June, 2015. (http://21stcenturywire.com/2015/06/04/terror-trial-collapses-suspect-fighting-for-mi6-supported-group/) Accessed 27 November, 2017. The original source of this article is Global Research Copyright Mark Taliano, Global Research, 2017 Team Trump Putin (Image by Goat4421) Details DMCA [By Glen Ford, BAR executive editor] 30 Nov 2017 "Pro-western Russian liberals are dismayed, insulted and angry at the non-stop lunacy churned out by U.S. media." The New York Timeslast week opened its pages to critics of the U.S. corporate media's obsession with Vladimir Putin's endlessly alleged, but never proven, campaign to subvert "American democracy." After a year of unrelenting anti-Kremlin propaganda, the Timesbriefly lifted its curtain of censorship to allow a counter-narrative on "Russiagate" -- but only for one discreet group: Russian "dissidents." (See "Why Putin's Foes Deplore U.S. Fixation on Election Meddling," November 23.) These "pro-Western liberals who look to the United States as an exemplar of democratic values and journalistic excellence," as the Timesdescribes them, are dismayed, insulted and angry at the non-stop lunacy churned out by U.S. media. If the Times, the Washington Post,CNN and most of the Democratic Party are to be believed, President Putin is a superman, "an almighty force from a James Bond saga," said Leonid M. Volkov, chief of staff for anti-Putin politician Aleksei A. Navalny . How could the Russian opposition ever hope to overcome such a titan -- a man who can wreck the political order in the world's reigning superpower with the expenditure of only $100,000 on Facebook? "This image is very bad for us," Volkov told the Times. "Putin is not a master geopolitical genius." "U.S. audiences can't distinguish one Russian from the other, and know only one Russian face: Putin's." Putin has been made to look "invincible," said Michael Idov, a Russian-American screenwriter (the closest the Times got to giving a fellow American the opportunity to challenge the corporate Russiagate obsession). The New York Times has cultivated a cabal of pro-western Russian politicians ever since Bill Clinton's presidency, when U.S. bankers helped to create the Russian oligarchy with assets stolen from the wreckage of the Soviet state. Vladimir Putin is credited with taming the oligarchs, who nevertheless remain embedded in the nation's infrastructure. The politicians the Times calls "dissidents" hate Putin, but they are also proud to be Russian, and cannot abide U.S. scape-goating of their nation. The Americans sound crazy. "What is happening with 'the investigation into Russian interference,' is not just a disgrace but a collective eclipse of the mind," said Volko. It is obvious to every politically aware Russian that Donald Trump and his team of incompetents met with hardly any Russians of consequence on his trips to that country -- mostly wannabes and hustlers. But, U.S. audiences can't distinguish one Russian from the other, and know only one Russian face: Putin's. "How could the Russian opposition ever hope to overcome a man who can wreck the political order in the world's reigning superpower with the expenditure of only $100,000 on Facebook?" Journalist Oleg V. Kashin, a Kremlin critic, said: "The image of Putin's Russia constructed by Western and, above all, American media outlets over the past 18 months shocks even the most anti-Putin reader in Russia." Times correspondent Higgins reports that Kashin "complained that the American media has consistently misconstrued the way Russia works, presenting marginal opportunists and self-interested businessmen with no real link to the Kremlin as state-controlled agents working on orders from Mr. Putin." The New York Times and the Washington Post know their way around Moscow -- and if they don't, the CIA will give them directions. Indeed, their friends, the Russian "dissidents," would have been glad to advise the U.S. media on Russiagate, but that would have made a boring story about small time sleaze in a cold climate. What the U.S. War Party needed was a new cold war to accompany Washington's global military offensive. U.S. "liberals" and "progressives" hate Trump more than they value peace, and are not nearly as smart as they think they are. Professor of history Ivan I. Kurilla, who specializes in American studies at the European University in St. Petersburg, said anti-Trump Americans want to foist him on Russia -- politically exiling the Orange Menace to somebody else's country. "American liberals are so upset about Trump that they cannot believe he is a real product of American life," said Kurilla. "They try to portray him as something created by Russia. This whole thing is about America, not Russia." "Anti-Trump Americans want to foist him on Russia -- politically exiling the Orange Menace to somebody else's country." The Times' Russian dissident friends despise RT, the state-supported Russia news agency, but are worried about Washington's demand that RT register as a foreign agent. Until only a few years ago, U.S. NGOs were hyper-active in Russia, spending millions to create and subsidize opposition to Putin's United Russia party, hoping to foment a "color" revolution. Western-oriented political actors in Russia fear that Russiagate will provoke a Kremlin crackdown on activists that are too closely identified with the U.S. The truth is, the "dissidents" interviewed by the New York Times are dependent on western corporate media for legitimacy and visibility. The real opposition in Russia is the Communist Party, which is the second largest party in the country but gets almost no coverage in the U.S. press, while the western-allied opposition hardly shows up in the polls. Next Page 1 | 2 (Note: You can view every article as one long page if you sign up as an Advocate Member, or higher). In 2016, the last time accurate statistics were given, there were over 43 million housing units occupied by renters, up from 38 million in 2010. One would surmise that the great housing bubble burst of 2008-09 pushed millions of Americans out of their own homes and into rental units. Obviously, when you have 38 or 43 million residential rental units, the absentee landlord owns most of those units of housing. The old days of the two family home with the landlord living there and renting the other unit to help with the mortgage etc. are few and far between. Nowadays most rental units are corporate owned and run, with a smaller number owned by individual so called entrepreneurs ... ALL looking to make a buck off of the sweat of another. Having spent almost 2/3 of my baby boomer's life living under the auspices of landlords, whether corporate or individual owned, it sucks! Why? Well, first off, with NO exceptions, the Land Lord (term taken right out of feudalism) always wishes to pay out as little money as they can get away with for the proper upkeep of the unit...period! I have lived in 9 different rental units spanning 45 years. In every instance the Land Lord had to be coerced to do the right thing. In 1968, after our family lived in three different rental units owned by Land Lords, we finally moved into an apartment building owned by one of the largest corporate Land Lords in NYC. It was a horror show! The building was never maintained properly, with building superintendents that came and went like the weather. Then I got married, and my first wife and I moved into an absentee Land Lord owned two family home, with us in the basement apartment. Our Land Lord, a guy who did not even live in our state, did as little as possible to keep the place up to snuff. After a year there we had a baby, and could not save enough to buy a home, so we were forced to remain. One day, when my wife was giving our young son a bath, she screamed! There was this giant bug, followed by another one, crawling around the drain. I got rid of them and called the Land Lord. He said he would try to come by in a day or two, and he had some chemical that would do the trick. I asked him the name of it, and wrote it down. The next day I did some research and found that the chemical was cancer causing and outlawed in NY State. I called the Land Lord up and he laughed. "Well, it's legal in New Jersey, so don't worry about it kid." Well, I told him that if he even showed up at our place with it, I would report him to the board of health etc. My wife and I divorced a few years later and I moved into an upstairs attic apartment on Long Island to be nearer to my new business. The Land Lord was this sweet old widow, who had some rules I did not appreciate. Number one, I was not allowed to have any 'female guests' overnight. Yeah, right! The other thing was that if I put in a window A/C unit, I could not keep it there after the summer was over. She felt that it would cause a draft. What really pissed me off (and I loved the apartment and the street I lived on) was that she controlled the thermostat, which was in her living room. Factor in that the radiators in the apartment were old and the pipes needed to be overhauled... meaning that the steam did not travel up to my place that well... meaning that I had to keep nagging her to raise the thermostat on bitter cold days . What added fuel to the fire (no pun intended) was when she would go away for February to Florida, she would not allow me into her apartment. I had to get the old man next door, who she trusted to watch the place for her, to continually come by and raise the thermostat. On some bitter cold February nights, when it was too late to go and bother the old guy, I had to resort to turning on the oven to heat up my kitchen/ living room. After 10 years of living in the aforementioned apartment, the old lady passed away and her family sold the house... meaning the new Land Lord wanted my apartment and me out. I had just met my future wife and we needed a bigger place for her, her five year old daughter and me. We found an apartment in a nearby neighborhood owned by an absentee Land Lord who owned 19 homes in the area. The one we rented was the upstairs apartment in an old house. It was about 800 square feet and was advertised as a ' three bedroom'. Imagine that! Well, the rooms were so tiny that my future stepdaughter's room would barely fit her bed... so much so that the door could not be closed. The kitchen had a refrigerator that I joked about saying that it had arthritis! The bathroom had a tub that needed the wall tiles to be replaced, and the stairway had NO banister. My 80 year old parents could not visit us for that reason. Why did we stay there? Well, in 1992 on Long Island it was lots of demand with not enough supply... unless you had the fortune to spend on a better unit. We moved to Indianapolis in '95 because of two reasons: A) we could not afford to purchase a decent home on Long Island and B) my son wanted to come live with us and finish college at Purdue University in Indianapolis. When we arrived in Indy we figured we should rent until we get acclimated. The newspaper ads were for mostly corporate owned and operated rental housing. We visited a few and found a good deal in a nice area of town. The model apartment really turned us on, and they had two beautiful racquetball courts and a gym there as well. We moved in and found out what corporate Land Lords were all about. From the outside of the buildings the fresh paint and appearance was fantastic. The apartment looked so modern, with beautiful wall to wall clean carpeting. After being there for a few weeks, the hammer came down on us! One evening as my (now) wife was at the kitchen sink, the whole faucet just flew off her hands and the water spouted all about! We called the main office and had to wait for the handyman to show up... it took a day or two. Then, after the guys came and replaced the faucet, a storm hit Indy. We were sitting in the living room watching television when suddenly the rain just came down from the ceiling like a monsoon! I mean, the ceiling looked like it was made of paper Mache as the water poured onto our carpet. It did the same thing in our master bedroom, just flooding down. We had to use about five or six pots to catch the water! It took the office another two days to get the guys in to patch up the ceilings. I quickly called the corporate office in Chicago (talk about absentee Land Lord!) and got them to let me out of our one year lease... after of course I had to threaten them with every government agency I could think of! There is a better solution to the residential rental dilemma. What should be done is for the local community to buy absentee Land Lord properties using eminent domain. Then, the new community owned rental properties should charge a fair rate to the tenants, and here is the kicker: The tenants could have let us say a % of their rent be kept in escrow to be used towards a future down payment on the purchase of that apartment or home. If we had community run nonprofit mortgage banking, charging only overhead for mortgage rates, that would be golden. Until that day ever comes however, the local community could make a deal with local mortgage banks to at least charge better and lower rates for these tenants. Once they are vetted as to being financially able to handle the ownership. Or, at least have the local community get subsidized by Uncle Sam to actually hold that paper itself, circumventing the private bankers. Either way, there could be a rider thrown in whereupon the new tenant now owner would have to live in the said unit for a few years before being able to sell. AND, NO rentals allowed on these units... forever!! Finally, imagine if you would a society that had fewer Absentee Land Lords and millions of folks finally owning their own place of residence. The neighborhood would have folks who take better care of where they live... period! As an anecdote to prove my point: When we rented on Long Island from that guy who owned 19 such units, two incidents stick out in my memory. He had a yard where we could park our cars, but NOT use the garage. The yard had pear trees that harvested each fall. The pears would fall off the trees and lay in the yard. Our cars would run over them from time to time. The Land Lord called me and said "Why don't you clean up the yard?" I answered him "Well, if you either give me a break on my rent and let me use the garage that you keep locked, I would be happy to." He wouldn't. Then, after a big snowstorm with one foot of snow, I called him up. "You need to shovel the steps and the walk before someone gets hurt." He once again told me that I should do that. "Well, if you give me a break on my rent, or loan me your snow blower I will. If not, code enforcement is going to hear about this, in addition to you facing a lawsuit if one of us falls and gets hurt." He sent his son over within the hour with a blower and the area was cleaned up. From Reader Supported News Donald Trump had better lay off Robert Mueller if he wants the GOP faithful not to attack him and try to pull him out of his political game. (Image by YouTube, Channel: Jordi Minguell Puig) Details DMCA Good governance is a form of power. It serves as an example, and in some cases a beacon, for the rest of the world. It says, "Look at what you can achieve. You can be like us. You should want to be like us." The United States under Donald Trump is not that beacon. Other countries shouldn't want to be like us right now. We don't have good governance in this country. We used to, with a few exceptions, and it didn't matter whether a Democrat or a Republican was in the White House. But Donald Trump is different. He's dangerous. Since at least the end of World War II, many foreign countries have looked to the United States as an exemplar of honest, corruption-free, and democratic governance. Our economy was consistently strong, our people were well-fed and employed, our medical care was the best in the world, most Americans who wanted a home could buy one, our elections were generally untainted, and we were generous with other countries around the world who were trying to stave off poverty, famine, and war. Yes, many U.S. states had to be dragged kicking and screaming into the civil rights era. But overall, the country moved in the right direction. For the most part, our foreign policy since World War II had been bipartisan. (We can argue that it was not so bipartisan under Reagan, but that can be the subject of another column.) Both parties supported detente with the Soviet Union, Nixon's opening to China, the Middle East Peace Process, the opening to Russia after the fall of the Berlin Wall, and the international response to the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait, to name a few foreign policy challenges. But that's not the case under Trump. So far during the Trump administration, the unapologetic draft dodger has relied on the military to dictate foreign policy. It is rarely Secretary of State Rex Tillerson who makes broad foreign policy pronouncements. It is usually Secretary of Defense James Mattis, who is known in Washington as "Mad Dog Mattis" for a reason. It's no surprise, then, that the State Department has been decimated of experienced personnel and that 13 Assistant Secretary of State positions remain vacant. Furthermore, when confronted over the State Department's emasculation, Trump said that we don't need all those senior officials. "I'm the only one that matters" on foreign policy, he said. Of course, he also sent his utterly inexperienced son-in-law, Jared Kushner, to Israel to negotiate a "really, really great" peace deal between the Israelis and Palestinians, only to later remark, "Who ever thought the peace process was this complicated?" In addition, the White House recently announced the closure of the Palestinian Authority's Washington office, only to later realize the blunder and to make a second announcement that the first announcement had been made by accident. Other countries are watching this. And they are by turns amused and horrified. Trump further weakened the country by pulling out of the Paris Climate Accords and by appointing a long list of climate change deniers to senior positions in the Environmental Protection Agency, where they can do further damage to the environment they're supposed to be protecting. Even if you don't believe that climate change is caused by humans, how do you intend to influence the debate and the response if you're literally the only country in the world that isn't a signatory? Other countries are watching. The president consistently works to weaken the independence of the press by calling anything he doesn't like -- or any story that criticizes him -- "fake news." This weakens our very democracy. So many countries around the world do indeed have fake news. Just ask the people of North Korea, Zimbabwe, Iran, Russia, China, and so many other places if they believe the news that they receive. Many don't because it's deliberately slanted. It's meant to propagandize their citizens. But it used to be illegal to propagandize the American people. A free press is all about telling us what the government doesn't want us to know. Having a president who weakens the fourth estate, who weakens freedom of speech and freedom of the press, is dangerous. Remember, other countries are watching. We now have a president who, at best, pretends that racism isn't a problem in our country and, at worst, is racist. He is, after all, the same person who refers repeatedly to Senator Elizabeth Warren as "Pocahontas" because of Warren's profession of Native Americans among her ancestors. He is the same person who referred to a group of African-Americans visiting the Oval Office as "you people" and who said during the campaign that "laziness is a trait in blacks." Other countries are watching! I do not intend solely to bash Donald Trump here, although, in my view, he deserves it. Both political parties have weakened our government and our country by their words and actions. When Republican leaders said upon Barack Obama's inauguration that they wanted him to fail, or that they would do what they could to ensure that he failed, that weakened us. Similarly, when Democrats refused to accept the results of the 2016 election and said the same things about Trump, that also weakened us. When Republicans refused to confirm an Obama Supreme Court nominee because we were "within a year of an election," an outrageous and unprecedented notion, that weakened us. And it also set a dangerous precedent that Democrats undoubtedly will seize upon when they have the opportunity, and they will. This was a breakdown in the democratic process. And other countries saw it. When our political leaders, both Democrats and Republicans, jump to the defense of men accused convincingly of sexual harassment, or, in some cases, sexual assault, uttering nonsense like "He hasn't admitted to anything," (Trump on Roy Moore) or "He has not yet been given due process," (Nancy Pelosi on John Conyers), it weakens us. Other countries see that we don't protect the rights of victims. We condone sexual violence. We do exactly what their governments do. Former Egyptian leader Gamal Abdel Nasser famously said, "The genius of you Americans is that you never make clear-cut stupid decisions. You only make complicated stupid decisions, which make the rest of us wonder at the possibility that we might be missing something." The world is not missing anything here. We are indeed making stupid decisions. The country is off the rails. We weaken ourselves and our nation when we say and do stupid things. This is not a partisan issue. It is a patriotic one. The world is watching! Let's act like the leaders that we want the rest of the world to think we are. Reader Supported News is the Publication of Origin for this work. Permission to republish is freely granted with credit and a link back to Reader Supported News. Like Pavlov's dog, the mainstream media slobbers platitudes every time North Korea launches another test missile. Listening to the blather one would think that once Kim Jong-un has a missile capable of reaching the US, he is going to use it in an unprovoked nuclear attack on the US mainland killing millions of Americans. For Kim to attack the US he would have to be insane, paranoid, and suicidal. Top officials in the US intelligence agencies say he is not. Director of Intelligence Dan Coats has said publicly that Kim is acting very rational; the Secretary of State Rex Tillerson says that Kim is "not insane "; the CIA deputy director of the Korea Mission Center, Yong Suk Lee, says that Kim is not suicidal, either. So we can rest with ease that Kim Jong-un is highly unlikely to wake up one morning and nuke America because he can. According to Yong, Kim "wants to rule for a long time and die peacefully in his own bed."[CNN, October 6, 2017]. Everyone in the mainstream media knows this or should. North Korea is not an existential threat to the US national security. Occasionally the mainstream media does tell the truth, but that does not sell news, or make the military-industrial-security-complex, neocons, and others in the Deep State happy. Instead the mainstream media tell us about the latest war of words and weapon tests, usually instigated by the US, which the media does not tell us. The word-war is exacerbated every time the US threatens, insults and mocks Kim. The US regularly practices nuclear attacks on North Korea by air, land and sea which also get a propaganda response from Kim. North Korea has offered to stop testing nuclear bombs, if the US would stop playing nuclear war games on its border [The Guardian]. The US has been threatening North Korea for over 70 years. What should frighten the American people is the long history of US crazies who would start a nuclear war. President Trump is not the first president that cannot be trusted with nuclear bombs. It is only by sheer luck that the world has escaped a nuclear war or a cataclysmic nuclear accident. There have been many close calls, and one day there will be one too many. The US keeps gambling away with nuclear roulette anyway, threatening North Korea, Iran, Russia, and the enemy du jour. One of the favorite US verbal threats is to say that "all options are on the table", that includes nuclear, but the diplomacy option is usually missing. The US has even used nuclear bombs twice against civilian populations in 1945, and according to many historians unnecessarily, because Japan had already offered to surrender. Hundreds of thousands of Japanese died mostly so that Harry Truman could try to impress Joseph Stalin with a show of US power. During the Korean War (1950 to 1953) President Truman publicly threatened to use the atomic bomb, and the military planned, practiced and shipped nuclear bombs to Asia to be dropped on North Korea. General Douglas MacArthur wanted to use 26 nuclear bombs and start a war with China too [History News Network]. Truman did give General Matthew Ridgeway pre-authorization to use nuclear bombs, even after MacArthur was relieved of his command. Instead the US completely destroyed North Korea with conventional bombs and napalm, killing an estimated 20% to 30% of the population "anyway, someway or another, direct casualties of war, or from starvation and exposure" [Air Force General Curtis LeMay]. The Korean War is called the "Forgotten War" for reasons: the US was humiliated and lost the Korean War; over 50,000 Americans were killed as negotiating chips, they "died for a tie" as to where to draw the Military Demarcation Line between the North and South; and South Korea was "destroyed to save it". The South Koreans deserve a lot of credit for rebuilding a modern highly advanced society in all categories such as education, healthcare, technology, and their standard of living. But contrary to propaganda mythology they did not develop under capitalist free-trade and democracy. The South Korean "miracle on the Han river" was achieved under US backed military dictatorship, a highly planned economy, and billions of dollars from US aid, loans and direct investment. ["Bad Samaritans: The Myth of Free Trade and the Secret History of Capitalism", by Ha-Joon Chang]. Kim Jong-un has very good reasons to fear US threats. He knows that the US is ruthless enough to kill millions of his people and destroy his country, just as the US did in Iraq and Libya. Senator John McCain's daughter Meghan McCain even said on Fox news that the US should assassinate the "Crazy Fat Kid". Words like that, Trump's insults, threats and nuclear war games are going to get bombastic verbal reactions by Kim Jong-un, and cause him to redouble his nuclear and missile programs. [The Nation]. While the US constantly talks about a denuclearized Korean peninsula, it is the US that first nuclearized it, starting with President Harry Truman's threats in 1951. Then in July of 1957 President Dwight D. Eisenhower unilaterally withdrew from section 13(d) of the 1953 Armistice Agreement, which made the introduction of any new weapon systems in the Korean peninsula forbidden to both sides. The US broke the promise so that it could "equip U.S. forces in Korea with modern weapons;"dual capability (nuclear-conventional) weapons, such as the Honest John and the 280 mm. cannon", i.e. tactical nuclear weapons [National Security Council Report]. All during the rest of the Cold War the US stationed at least 950 nuclear weapons in South Korea. The US may have withdrawn its nuclear weapons from South Korea in 1991 as it says, but it still has plenty in Guam and elsewhere that it uses to constantly threaten North Korea with a nuclear attack. While the mainstream media ponders how to get North Korea to sit down at the negotiating table, it is the US that refuses to talk. North Korea has often offered to sign a permanent peace treaty and non-aggression agreement, but the US has consistently rebuffed the offers. The State Department has repeatedly said in news conferences that it will not negotiate with North Korea unless they meet unspecified preconditions first [US Department of State]. What is puzzling is what the preconditions are, and how to get the US to sit down at the table. Incredibly the US and the media constantly repeat that it is North Korea that refuses to talk! Unless there is a diplomatic solution, Kim Jong-un is rationally following in his father's footsteps by developing a credible nuclear deterrent against US aggression. In 2000 President George W. Bush scoffed at President Clinton's nuclear agreement with North Korea, and then he intensified threats in 2002 with his "Axis of Evil" speech. Bush followed that speech by invading Iraq in 2003 with "Shock and Awe", leaving the cradle of human civilization in ruins, and later hanging Saddam Hussein. Bush did not plan to stop with Iraq. General Wesley Clark says that he was told at the Pentagon that Bush planned to invade 7 countries in 5 years: Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, and Iran [YouTube]. It is the US that has been paranoid, unpredictable and insane during the 21stcentury, and it did not start with Trump, but he takes prides in acting more insane. After the initial US invasion of Iraq, a smug looking Bush got out of the passenger seat of a fighter jet that the pilot had landed on the USS Abraham Lincoln. He strutted over to the microphone in his flight suit and gave a premature "Mission Accomplished" speech. Lisa Schiffren gushed in the Wall Street Journal that Bush's performance made him look hot and sexy in his flight suit, adding with admiration that Bush is "credible as a Commander in Chief". The mainstream media has been the cheerleader for all of the Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld, Obama, Clinton and Kerry wars. They are now inciting the US public with propaganda for war with North Korea, Iran and Russia. Next Page 1 | 2 (Note: You can view every article as one long page if you sign up as an Advocate Member, or higher). (Image by gerillatv) Details DMCA The daily fighting of PKK forces against Turkish armed forces are non-stop. Kurds and Turks are killing one another because of the dictator of Turkey known as Recep Tayyip Erdogan. President Erdogan wants to establish the Islamic Erdogan Empire for his descendant similar to Ottoman bey who established Islamic Ottoman Empire. Erdogan is doing this in wrong time. The western and eastern (the US and Russia) are very powerful technologically. They are never going to allow third-world country like Turkey and Iran to do such things. Who wants Islam to have empire with technologies. If Islam had control of atomic bomb, they are going to use it now. The atomic bomb of Pakistan is controlled otherwise Islamist was using such bombs. Islamic fanatics is growing and die out in time because they are without technologies to continue with killing humanity. The era of Prophet Muhammad and Ottoman bay is over. Reference PKK is using the missile to hit Turkish military targets like this in Turkey daily. .gerillatv.org/index.php click here From The Guardian On Wednesday, the US supreme court heard a landmark cellphone privacy case. The ruling will have implications for virtually every single American If you care about privacy, whether it's online or on your smartphone, the coming weeks will define the scope of privacy rights for Americans for the next decade or more. Two issues -- whether the police can track on our cellphone location 24/7 without a warrant, and the potential to curtail some of the NSA's most controversial powers to spying on Americans -- will be decided by Congress and the US supreme court, and it's hard to overstate their significance. On Wednesday, the US supreme court heard a landmark cellphone privacy case called United States v Carpenter. The case, brought by the ACLU, ostensibly involves only one defendant: someone accused of participating in a series of robberies, where the police collected location data from cellphone towers to determine where he was over a series of months. But as the ACLU made clear in oral arguments before the court today, how the nine justices rule in Carpenter will affect the privacy rights of virtually every single American: critically, the police did not get a warrant to access the information, and they argue that they never need one to access any American's location any time they want. Given nearly everyone constantly carries around a smartphone -- which is always connecting to surrounding cellphone towers that can pinpoint where you are -- cellphone location information can paint an incredibly detailed picture of virtually your entire life. Think about it: cellphone location information can reveal when you go to work, when you are home, when you are sleeping, when you wake up, when you go to a bar, attend church, or a political rally. In oral arguments in the case, Justice Sotomayor -- who has been the best justice on privacy issues for years -- put it succinctly: "a cellphone can be pinged in your bedroom. It can be pinged at your doctor's office. It can ping you in the most intimate details of your life. Presumably at some point even in a dressing room as you're undressing." Click Here to Read Whole Article Source: Xinhua| 2017-12-02 01:24:41|Editor: Mu Xuequan Video Player Close WASHINGTON, Dec. 1 (Xinhua) -- The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) said on Friday that it would allow two major Chicago exchanges to launch bitcoin futures products. CME Group and CBOE Futures Exchange (CFE) will become the first traditional U.S. regulated exchanges to trade bitcoin futures. CME said its bitcoin futures would list on Dec. 18, CBOE has not decided the date to launch the bitcoin product, but said it will announce a launch date "shortly". Another exchange, Cantor Exchange, will also launch a new contract for bitcoin binary options. "In working with the Commission, CME, CFE and Cantor have set an appropriate standard for oversight over these bitcoin contracts given the CFTC's limited statutory ability to oversee the cash market for bitcoin," said CFTC Chairman J. Christopher Giancarlo in a statement on Friday. Giancarlo also warned of the risks of the volatility of the bitcoin trading market. "Market participants should take note that the relatively nascent underlying cash markets and exchanges for bitcoin remain largely unregulated markets over which the CFTC has limited statutory authority," said Giancarlo. "There are concerns about the price volatility and trading practices of participants in these markets," he added. Under CFTC regulations, exchanges don't need prior approval from the regulator to launch products for trading. Instead, they only have to file self-certification with the regulator, which means that an exchange should confirm that its product complied with U.S. laws and CFTC regulations. The regulator said in the statement that its move on Friday does not constitute an endorsement of the use or value of virtual currency products or derivatives. It will continue to monitor and analyze the development of the market, said the statement. Bitcoin was traded over 10,000 U.S. dollars Tuesday, surging from about 968 dollars at the beginning of this year, according to CoinDesk. From Consortium News Retired U.S. Army Lt. Gen Michael Flynn at a campaign rally for Donald Trump at the Phoenix Convention Center in Phoenix, Arizona. Oct. 29, 2016. (Image by (Flickr Gage Skidmore)) Details DMCA Russia-gate enthusiasts are thrilled over the guilty plea of President Trump's 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 Flynn's 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 wasn't 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, Flynn's 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 Flynn's 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 Adams's 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 Flynn's publicly known explanation of the conversation with Kislyak deviated somewhat from the transcript of the intercepts, Flynn might be vulnerable to Russian blackmail. Russia's former Ambassador to the United States Sergey Kislyak. (Image by (Photo from Russian Embassy)) Details DMCA 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. Yates's 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 Flynn's interrogation, the Justice Department was under the control of Yates and the FBI was still under President Obama's FBI Director James Comey, another official hostile to the Trump administration who later was fired by Trump. Next Page 1 | 2 | 3 (Note: You can view every article as one long page if you sign up as an Advocate Member, or higher). From The Progressive Warring visions have now erupted over the energy and economic futures of Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands. Will the islands become a cutting-edge green-powered solartopia for the benefit of their long-time residents? Or a fossil-fueled robber baron playground like Hong Kong or Singapore, set to operate for the profit of outside corporate investors? On the solartopian side, Senators Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders have proposed a $146 billion green "Marshall Plan" to rebuild Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands as a prosperous, self-sufficient home for the indigenous citizenry. The bill is co-sponsored by Democratic Senators Ed Markey, Richard Blumenthal and Democratic Representatives Nadia Velazquez and Darren Soto along with Democrat Stacey Plaskett, the Virgin Islands' non-voting Representative to Congress. Representative Plaskett has also joined Congressman Ted Lieu, Democrat of California, in co-signing a letter asking that all Federal Emergency Management Agency funds for rebuilding the electric grids of the islands go for solar energy, wind power, and decentralized microgrids. San Juan Mayor Carmen Yulin Cruz, who famously tangled with Trump over the direction of recovery plans, has said the Sanders-Warren-Lieu approach to rebuilding with green energy provides the blueprint for the "transformation" of the islands to local-controlled self-sufficiency. The Warren-Sanders bill would give local governments $62 billion for economic development, Medicare/Medicaid parity, and other locally determined needs. It would provide $27 billion more for infrastructure, and $13 billion for FEMA to rebuild the grid "with more modern, resilient technologies" than the coal, oil, and gas burners that powered the islands before Maria. Solar panels are already pouring in. Even before Maria, Puerto Rico had plans to add 1.5 gigawatts of solar capacity. At least one big solar array largely survived the storm, allowing a local greenhouse to resume business the day after the disaster. A large wind farm on the south side of Puerto Rico also got through, though its impact has been limited by the crippled grid. After the storm, in consultation with Puerto Rico's governor Ricardo Rossello, Elon Musk's Solar City/Tesla donated a solar array that has successfully re-powered San Juan's Hospital del Nino, making it one of the few hospitals on the island with a reliable source of electricity. As Musk said in a tweet, "The Tesla team has done this [built solar grids] for many smaller islands around the world, but there is no scalability limit, so it can be done for Puerto Rico too." To do more, Tesla announced it would delay the unveiling of its electric-powered tractor-trailer unit to focus on delivering more batteries to Puerto Rico. The German company Sonnen, which was working pre-Maria with local customers to make the Puerto Rican grid more resilient, has been shipping in panels, batteries, and micro-grids aimed at making hospitals and emergency facilities self-sufficient. So has the Houston-based Sunnova, which is retaining ownership of the hundreds of panels it has installed, then charging its customers a rate well below what they were paying before the storm hit. "I am 100 percent backing renewables," said Governor Rossello to the U.S. Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee. "This is an opportunity to make microgrids in Puerto Rico so they can be sustained in different areas." But not everyone shares the vision of a green-powered future. In October, Puerto Rico's national utility, PREPA, made global headlines with a $300 million grid rebuilding contract given to Whitefish Energy, a two-year-old two-man operation based in Whitefish, Montana. Whitefish is the hometown of Trump Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke, whose son had worked for the company. When it began shipping in line workers at huge rates, they were showered by locals with rocks and bottles. Finally the contract was voided and PREPA's president resigned. More recently, PREPA awarded a $200 million contract to Cobra Acquisitions LLC, a one-year-old subsidiary of Oklahoma-based Mammoth, which is primarily in the oil, gas, and fracking business. Nearly all Puerto Rico's pre-Maria power came from fossil fuels. Its future plans still include a $400 million liquid gas terminal. Next Page 1 | 2 (Note: You can view every article as one long page if you sign up as an Advocate Member, or higher). by Harvey Wasserman Progressive.org Will the islands become a cutting-edge green-powered solartopia for the benefit of their long-time residents? Or a fossil-fueled robber baron playground like Hong Kong or Singapore, set to operate for the profit of outside corporate investors? On the solartopian side, Senators Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders have proposed a $146 billion green "Marshall Plan" to rebuild Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands as a prosperous, self-sufficient home for the indigenous citizenry. The bill is co-sponsored by Democratic Senators Ed Markey, Richard Blumenthal and Democratic Representatives Nadia Velazquez and Darren Soto along with Democrat Stacey Plaskett, the Virgin Islands' non-voting Representative to Congress. Representative Plaskett has also joined Congressman Ted Lieu, Democrat of California, in co-signing a letter asking that all Federal Emergency Management Agency funds for rebuilding the electric grids of the islands go for solar energy, wind power, and decentralized microgrids. San Juan Mayor Carmen Yulin Cruz, who famously tangled with Trump over the direction of recovery plans, has said the Sanders-Warren-Lieu approach to rebuilding with green energy provides the blueprint for the "transformation" of the islands to local-controlled self-sufficiency. On the solartopian side, Senators Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders have proposed a $146 billion green "Marshall Plan" to rebuild Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands as a prosperous, self-sufficient home for the indigenous citizenry. Solar panels are already pouring in. The Warren-Sanders bill would give local governments $62 billion for economic development, Medicare/Medicaid parity, and other locally determined needs. It would provide $27 billion more for infrastructure, and $13 billion for FEMA to rebuild the grid "with more modern, resilient technologies" than the coal, oil, and gas burners that powered the islands before Maria. Solar panels are already pouring in. Even before Maria, Puerto Rico had plans to add 1.5 gigawatts of solar capacity. At least one big solar array largely survived the storm, allowing a local greenhouse to resume business the day after the disaster. A large wind farm on the south side of Puerto Rico also got through, though its impact has been limited by the crippled grid. After the storm, in consultation with Puerto Rico's governor Ricardo Rossello, Elon Musk's Solar City/Tesla donated a solar array that has successfully re-powered San Juan's Hospital del Nino, making it one of the few hospitals on the island with a reliable source of electricity. As Musk said in a tweet, "The Tesla team has done this [built solar grids] for many smaller islands around the world, but there is no scalability limit, so it can be done for Puerto Rico too." To do more, Tesla announced it would delay the unveiling of its electric-powered tractor-trailer unit to focus on delivering more batteries to Puerto Rico. The German company Sonnen, which was working pre-Maria with local customers to make the Puerto Rican grid more resilient, has been shipping in panels, batteries, and micro-grids aimed at making hospitals and emergency facilities self-sufficient. So has the Houston-based Sunnova, which is retaining ownership of the hundreds of panels it has installed, then charging its customers a rate well below what they were paying before the storm hit. Next Page 1 | 2 | 3 (Note: You can view every article as one long page if you sign up as an Advocate Member, or higher). From Rolling Stone The technology exists to combat climate change -- what will it take to get our leaders to act? If we don't win very quickly on climate change, then we will never win. That's the core truth about global warming. It's what makes it different from every other problem our political systems have faced. I wrote the first book for a general audience about climate change in 1989 -- back when one had to search for examples to help people understand what the "greenhouse effect" would feel like. We knew it was coming, but not how fast or how hard. And because no one wanted to overestimate -- because scientists by their nature are conservative -- each of the changes we've observed has taken us somewhat by surprise. The surreal keeps becoming the commonplace: For instance, after Hurricane Harvey set a record for American rain storms, and Hurricane Irma set a record for sustained wind speeds, and Hurricane Maria knocked Puerto Rico back a quarter-century, something even weirder happened. Hurricane Ophelia formed much farther to the east than any hurricane on record, and proceeded to blow past Southern Europe (whipping up winds that fanned record forest fires in Portugal) before crashing into Ireland. Along the way, it produced an artifact for our age: The warning chart that the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Agency issued shows Ophelia ending in a straight line at 60 degrees north latitude, because the computer program never imagined you'd see a hurricane up there. "When you set up a grid, you define boundaries of that grid," a slightly red-faced NOAA programmer explained. "That's a pretty unusual place to have a tropical cyclone." The agency, he added, might have to "revisit" its mapping software. In fact, that's the problem with climate change. It won't stand still. Health care is a grave problem in the U.S. right now too, one that Donald Trump seems set on making steadily worse. If his administration manages to defund Obamacare, millions of people will suffer. But if, in three years' time, some new administration takes over with a different resolve, it won't have become exponentially harder to deal with our health care issues. That suffering in the interim wouldn't have changed the fundamental equation. But with global warming, the fundamental equation is precisely what's shifting. And the remarkable changes we've seen so far -- the thawed Arctic that makes the Earth look profoundly different from outer space; the planet's seawater turning 30 percent more acidic -- are just the beginning. "We're inching ever closer to committing to the melting of the West Antarctic and Greenland ice sheets, which will guarantee 20 feet of sea-level rise," says Penn State's Michael Mann, one of the planet's foremost climatologists. "We don't know where the ice-sheet collapse tipping point is, but we are dangerously close." The latest models show that with very rapid cuts in emissions, Antarctic ice might remain largely intact for centuries; without them, we might see 11 feet of sea-level rise by century's end, enough to wipe cities like Shanghai and Mumbai "off the map." The warning chart that NOAA issued shows Hurricane Ophelia ending in a straight line at 60 degrees north latitude, because the computer program never anticipated a hurricane so far north. (Image by NOAA) Details DMCA There are plenty of tipping points like this: The Amazon, for instance, appears to be drying out and starting to burn as temperatures rise and drought deepens, and without a giant rainforest in South America, the world would function very differently. In the North Atlantic, says Mann, "we're ahead of schedule with the slowdown and potential collapse" of the giant conveyor belt that circulates warm water toward the North Pole, keeping Western Europe temperate. Its tipping points like these that make climate change such a distinct problem: If we don't act quickly, and on a global scale, then the problem will literally become insoluble. We'll simply move into a dramatically different climate regime, and on to a planet abruptly and disastrously altered from the one that underwrote the rise of human civilization. "Every bit of additional warming at this point is perilous," says Mann. Another way of saying this: By 2075 the world will be powered by solar panels and windmills -- free energy is a hard business proposition to beat. But on current trajectories, they'll light up a busted planet. The decisions we make in 2075 won't matter; indeed, the decisions we make in 2025 will matter much less than the ones we make in the next few years. The leverage is now. Trump, oddly, is not the central problem here, or at least not the only problem. Yes, he's abrogated the Paris agreements; true, he's doing his best to revive the coal mines of Kentucky; of course it's insane that he thinks climate change is a Chinese hoax. But we weren't moving fast enough to catch up with physics before Trump. In fact, it's even possible that Trump -- by jumping the climate shark so spectacularly -- may run...some small risk of disrupting the fossil-fuel industry's careful strategy....That strategy, we now know, began in the late 1970s. The oil giants, led by Exxon, knew about climate change before almost anyone else. One of Exxon's chief scientists told senior management in 1978 that the temperature would rise at least four degrees Fahrenheit and that it would be a disaster. Management believed the findings -- as the Los Angeles Times reported, companies like Exxon and Shell began redesigning drill rigs and pipelines to cope with the sea-level rise and tundra thaw. Yet, year after year, the industry used the review process of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change to stress "uncertainty," which became Big Oil's byword. In 1997, just as the Kyoto climate treaty was being negotiated, Exxon CEO Lee Raymond told the World Petroleum Congress meeting in Beijing, "It is highly unlikely that the temperature in the middle of the next century will be significantly affected whether policies are enacted now or 20 years from now." In other words: Delay. Go slowly. Do nothing dramatic. As the company put it in a secret 1998 memo helping establish one of the innumerable front groups that spread climate disinformation, "Victory will be achieved when average citizens 'understand' (recognize) uncertainties in climate science," and when "recognition of uncertainty becomes part of the 'conventional wisdom.'" And it's not just the oil companies. As America's electric utilities began to understand that solar and wind power could undercut their traditional business, they began engaging in the same kind of behavior. In Arizona, whose sole reason for existence is the sun, the local utility helped rig elections for the state's public-utility commission, which in turn allowed utilities to impose ruinous costs on homeowners who wanted to put solar panels on their roofs. Next Page 1 | 2 | 3 (Note: You can view every article as one long page if you sign up as an Advocate Member, or higher). Quicklink Not Found Sometimes, authors delete their quicklinks after publishing them. To see if the quicklink was renamed or re-published, please click here. Progressive Content Not Found Sometimes, authors delete their progressive content after publishing. To see if the progressive content was renamed or re-published, please click here. (Image by Egberto Willies) Details DMCA Congressman Denny Heck (D-WA) gave a clinic in how to handle a host who is attempting to minimize the corruption within the Trump administration. He did not give CNN's Erin Burnett any room to leave her spin unanswered. Every Democrat must learn from this; no shouting required. "How much farther do you think this goes Congressman," Burnett asked. "You know there are some who say, 'Look, we're almost at the end. If the biggest charge they have on Flynn is lying to the FBI about a call to the Russian ambassador that we already knew he lied about that's not that bad.' They say ..." The Congressman did not allow Erin Burnett to get away with the diminishment of the severity of Flynn's felony. He interjected assertively. "Erin, wait a minute," Heck said forcefully. "It's a felony, -- he's a felon -- he is a felony, punishable by up to five years in jail. Please don't say it's not that big a deal. He is now an admitted felon. There are two things about investigations that are timeless and universal. Number one is, it's the cover-up that will get you not the underlying crime. And the second is follow the money. We've yet to go down that trail. But I suspect this is the beginning of that. "Do you have a concern though, that to the American people, if it is the cover-up and that there is no crime no collusion with the Russians," Burnett said as she continued an attempt at minimization. "That that will be very difficult to sell to an already extremely divided American public." The Congressman was not biting. His answer was tight, to the point, and factual. "Prima facie there has been collusion," the Congressman responded. "It's hiding in plain sight whether it's all the way back to that June meeting in Trump Tower with Don junior and the Russian national representative or right up into today and the indication that general Flynn was directed to make contact with the Russian ambassador and engage in what was illegal activity." Democrats, that is the way you handle the 'Liberal Media,' the media that is all but liberal. Source: Xinhua| 2017-12-02 02:55:09|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close BUJUMBURA, Dec. 1 (Xinhua) -- The transmission of HIV/AIDS from mothers to children has tremendously reduced in Burundi, said a Burundian health official on Friday in the country's capital city Bujumbura. "The situation of preventing mother-to-child transmission in Burundi is very satisfactory. A lot of positive achievements have been made even if we have not yet completely eradicated the HIV transmission from mothers to their babies," the director of Burundi's PMCT program of the Burundian ministry of health Felicite Nkunzimana told Xinhua in an interview on the World AIDS Day. According to her, the PMCT program is underway in Burundi since 2000 with the creation of the first site at the Community Health Center of Buyenzi in the east African country's capital Bujumbura. Burundi has 1,018 sites countrywide where PMCT services are offered, said Nkunzimana, adding that the number of women who are HIV positive and who got antiretroviral drugs increased from 42 percent in 2012 to 85 percent this year. The HIV transmission rate from mother-to-child during pregnancy or delivery reduced from 21 percent in 2012 to 6 percent by the end of 2016, according to her. She however regretted that some men are still "reluctant" to go for HIV screening and refuse to accompany their wives during pregnancy consultations. Less than 50 percent of pregnant women are accompanied by their husbands during pregnancy consultations, she said. The number of people who live with HIV in Burundi is estimated between 65,000 to 110,000, according to UNAIDS. The central African country has the population of about 10 million. Enditem Dec 2, 2017: Adsorption Resins Market Forecast 2023 Amicogen, Mitsubishi, Dow Adsorption Resins https://goo.gl/XKpb1V http://www.spiremarketresearch.com/global-adsorption-resins-market-2017-demand-insight-key-players-segmentation-and-forecast-to-2022/ A market study Global Adsorption Resins Market examines the performance of the Adsorption Resins market Size 2017. It encloses an in-depth Research of the Adsorption Resins market state and the competitive landscape globally. This report analyzes the potential of Adsorption Resins market in the present and the future prospects from various angles in detail.Get Free Sample Of Report:The Global Adsorption Resins Market 2017 report includes Adsorption Resins market Size, Revenue, market Share, Adsorption Resins industry volume, market Trends, Adsorption Resins Growth aspects. A wide range of applications, Utilization ratio, Supply and demand analysis are also consist in the report.It shows manufacturing capacity, Adsorption Resins Price during the Forecast period from 2017 to 2023.Manufacturers Analysis and Top Sellers of Global Adsorption Resins Market Forecast 2017:1. Mitsubishi Chemical2. Dow3. Amicogen4. Shanghai Hualing ResinFirstly, the report covers the top Adsorption Resins manufacturing industry players from regions like United States, EU, Japan, and China. It also characterizes the market based on geological regions.Enquiry for More Info@Further, the Adsorption Resins report gives information on the company profile, market share and contact details along with value chain analysis of Adsorption Resins industry, Adsorption Resins industry rules and policies, circumstances driving the growth of the market and compulsion blocking the growth. Adsorption Resins Market development scope and various business strategies are also mentioned in this report.The Adsorption Resins research report includes the products that are currently in demand and available in the market along with their cost breakup, manufacturing volume, import/export scheme and contribution to the Adsorption Resins market revenue worldwide.Finally, Adsorption Resins market report gives you details about the market research findings and conclusion which helps you to develop profitable market strategies to gain competitive advantage.About Us:Spire Market Research is a leading market intelligence team which accredits and provides the reports of some of the top publishers in the field of technology industry. We are as a firm expertise in making extensive reports that cover all the necessary details about the market assessments such as major technological improvement in the industry.Contact Us5001 Spring Valley Road,Suite 400 East,Dallas, TX 75244United States Dec 2, 2017: Sparkling Water Market Forecast 2023 Coca Cola, Nestle Sparkling Water https://goo.gl/p9sCz9 http://www.spiremarketresearch.com/global-sparkling-water-market-2017-demand-insight-key-players-segmentation-and-forecast-to-2022 A market study Global Sparkling Water Market examines the performance of the Sparkling Water market Size 2017. It encloses an in-depth Research of the Sparkling Water market state and the competitive landscape globally. This report analyzes the potential of Sparkling Water market in the present and the future prospects from various angles in detail.Get Free Sample Of Report:The Global Sparkling Water Market 2017 report includes Sparkling Water market Size, Revenue, market Share, Sparkling Water industry volume, market Trends, Sparkling Water Growth aspects. A wide range of applications, Utilization ratio, Supply and demand analysis are also consist in the report.It shows manufacturing capacity, Sparkling Water Price during the Forecast period from 2017 to 2023.Manufacturers Analysis and Top Sellers of Global Sparkling Water Market Forecast 2017:1. Nestle2. Danone3. Fiji4. Coca Cola5. Pepsico6. Roxane7. Gerolsteiner8. Ferrarelle9. VOSS10. HildonSparkling Water Market : By Type High Concentration Sparkling Water Low Concentration Sparkling WaterSparkling Water Market : By Application Ordinary Drink Functional DrinkFirstly, the report covers the top Sparkling Water manufacturing industry players from regions like United States, EU, Japan, and China. It also characterizes the market based on geological regions.Enquiry for More Info@Further, the Sparkling Water report gives information on the company profile, market share and contact details along with value chain analysis of Sparkling Water industry, Sparkling Water industry rules and policies, circumstances driving the growth of the market and compulsion blocking the growth. Sparkling Water Market development scope and various business strategies are also mentioned in this report.The Sparkling Water research report includes the products that are currently in demand and available in the market along with their cost breakup, manufacturing volume, import/export scheme and contribution to the Sparkling Water market revenue worldwide.Finally, Sparkling Water market report gives you details about the market research findings and conclusion which helps you to develop profitable market strategies to gain competitive advantage.About Us:Spire Market Research is a leading market intelligence team which accredits and provides the reports of some of the top publishers in the field of technology industry. We are as a firm expertise in making extensive reports that cover all the necessary details about the market assessments such as major technological improvement in the industry.Contact Us5001 Spring Valley Road,Suite 400 East,Dallas, TX 75244United States Offshore Wind Market Outlook to 2024: Top Companies, Trends & Growth Factors Details for Business Development https://www.marketstudyreport.com/request-a-sample/512065//?utm_source=OPR-SP https://www.marketstudyreport.com/check-for-discount/512065//?utm_source=OPR-SP https://www.marketstudyreport.com/reports/offshore-wind-market/?utm_source=OPR-SP https://www.marketstudyreport.com/securecheckout/paymenta/512065?msfpaycode=sumsf/?utm_source=OPR-SP https://www.marketstudyreport.com/reports/global-offshore-wind-turbine-installation-vessels-sales-market-report-2017/?utm_source=RR-SP https://www.marketstudyreport.com https://www.marketstudyreport.com/category/news-releases/ Offshore Wind Market Size, Industry Analysis Report, Regional Outlook (UK, Germany, Denmark, Netherlands, Belgium, China, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan and etc), Application Development status, Price Trend, Competitive Market Share & Forecast, 2017 2024.Rising investment towards the development of clean energy sources from financial institutions including International Finance Corporation (IFC), Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the World Bank will upsurge the market share. The Government of UK has established the Offshore Wind Investment Organization (OWIO) to promote investments towards sustainable energy resource integration. The country has further acknowledged the green investment bank to raise and circulate funds across clean energy projects.Offshore Wind Market size will surpass 60 GW by 2024; according to a new research report.Request a Sample Copy of Global Offshore Wind Market Research Report @Increasing measures to reduce the greenhouse gas emission along with growing electricity demand will significantly drive the global offshore wind market size. In 2016, the member countries of the European Union announced their plan to achieve 21% renewable energy targets by 2020 through concurrently reducing the GHG emission level to 26% from 1990 level.UK offshore wind market will witness strong growth subject to favorable government measures to support the development of sustainable technologies. Regulators have introduced Contracts for Difference to ensure long term stable revenues from electrical infrastructure projects across the country. The Reform further lays provisions to ascertain viable returns to investors along with encouraging investments through leveraging schemes.High-end research initiatives to cater to the competitive energy industry through efficient and cost-effective technology will drive the market size. In 2017, German Federal Network Agency launched an offshore wind tender for 1.5 GW to lower the generation tariff. The government of Netherlands is also targeting to reduce the overall cost by 40% over the next decade. In 2017, Siemens and Statoil in collaboration have established a 30 MW floating wind farm across Norway under the Hywind Scotland project.Enquire Discount on Global Offshore Wind Market Research Report @Wires and cables in 2016 accounted for over 2% of the offshore wind market revenue share. Expanding microgrid networks favored by advancing distributed generation technology will embellish the business landscape. In 2016, Belgium's Tideway awarded USD 14.1 million contract to Prysmian for supplying 33 kV inter array submarine cables for a 309 MW power project.For more information on this report, Please visit at:China market is set to expand to over 12 GW by 2024. Clean energy capacity addition target accompanied by exponentially rising energy demand will uplift the industry size. Increasing government aided funds coupled with asset and financial leveraging facilities towards development of sustainable energy projects will further stimulate the business outlook. In 2017, State Power Investment Corporation announced its plan to develop 800 MW wind farm across coast of Yancheng and Jiangsu.Favorable government polices coupled with increasing investments towards the expansion and enhancement of sustainable energy will foster the U.S. offshore wind market. The National Ocean Industries Association (NOIA) in 2017, have established the country's first offshore wind farm.Order a copy of this premium research report @Related Reports: -Global Offshore Wind Turbine Installation Vessels Sales Market Report 2017In this report, the global Offshore Wind Turbine Installation Vessels market is valued at USD XX million in 2016 and is expected to reach USD XX million by the end of 2022, growing at a CAGR of XX% between 2016 and 2022.Marketstudyreport.com allows you to manage and control all corporate research purchases to consolidate billing and vendor management. You can eliminate duplicate purchases and customize your content and license management.Market Study ReportThe Green Suite #4594,Dover, DE 19901United StatesPhone: 1-201-355-0868US Toll Free: 1-866-764-2150Email: sales@marketstudyreport.comWebsite:News: Masked Bandit Robs Bellagio Poker Room, Remains At-Large (Updated with Video) December 01, 2017 Mo Nuwwarah Editor An armed, masked suspect robbed the Bellagio poker cashiers cage at gunpoint late Tuesday afternoon, and authorities are still searching for the bandit as of late Tuesday night. According to a report from CBS' local Las Vegas affiliate, the attack occurred a little after 3:45 p.m. and involved a lone robber with a mask and a handgun. The suspect demanded money and then fled in a silver Chevy Cruze with Nevada license plates reading 37D147. One of the first reports out of the poker world came from the Twitter account of bracelet winner Randy Ohel. The noted mixed game player apparently stumbled onto the crime scene moments after the robbery when he showed up for a cash game. Ohel said the suspect made off with an unknown amount of loot from a cashier's drawer and then exited via the valet on the north side of the property, facing Flamingo Rd. Ohel didn't believe anyone had been harmed and said it happened "very quickly." James Woods, playing poker a stone's throw from the targeted cage, said hardly anyone even realized the robbery was occurring. He praised Bellagio staff for calmly handing over the money to help make sure nobody got hurt. Doyle Brunson also reported being present at the Bellagio during the robbery, saying the high stakes room housed about $200,000 in cash mere yards away that went untouched. Las Vegas police are reportedly looking for a white male driving the aforementioned vehicle. It's not the first time the Bellagio has been the target of an armed robbery. Back in 2011, the infamous "Biker Bandit" made off with $1.5 million after targeting and successfully robbing a high-limit craps table at the luxurious Las Vegas casino. The perpetrator, who turned out to be one Tony Carleo, foolishly attempted to sell the pilfered chips via TwoPlusTwo and found himself on the business end of a nine-year prison sentence. UPDATE: On Thursday, Las Vegas police released surveillance video of the armed robber at the Bellagio poker cage and making his way out of the casino. Las Vegas police release surveillance video showing suspect robbing the poker room cash cage at the Bellagio Hotel. https://t.co/eWy1fTUHMR ABC News (@ABC) According to reports, the unknown man had stolen a 2011 Chevrolet Sedan, tied up the owner of the car, and fled the scene in the stolen vehicle after executing the robbery inside the casino. The car was later recovered with the owner unharmed, and the robber is still at large. This is a developing story. Lead image c/o Tomas Del Coro It took a lot of poker, played out over five starting legs in four different countries to whittle the 928-strong 2017 Suncity Cup field to the final eight, and it took a further three 60-minute levels to bring play down to the final two. The final two players in question were Koreas Je Ho Lee and Hong Kongs Sparrow Cheung, who cut an deal when play reached heads-up. The pair decided on an Independent Chip Model chop that saw Lee guaranteed a payday of HK$1,605,472 and Cheung HK$1,445,528, with the two playing it out for the all-important title and trophy. The two also decided to speed up the action and reduce the level length down for 60-minutes to 20-minutes and the heads-up battle between the pair was an epic affair. The chip lead changed hands on four separate occasions and both players came within a whisker of busting before hitting the perfect card to survive. Eventually something had to give and the end came not long after Lee had pulled back in front. The final hand saw Lee limp the button and Cheung check from the big blind and all the chips went in on a queen-high double club flop. Cheung was the man to pull the trigger first with a jack-high flush draw, but found himself trailing to Lees king-high flush draw and blanks on the turn and river saw the Korean player win his first major title and take down his largest-ever career score taking home ~$205,528. While Cheung will be disappointed not to have been able to close out the win, the Hong Kong poker professional has ended the best year of his poker-playing career on a high. This was Cheungs 34th final table appearance of 2017 and he already held the number one spot for most 2017 cashes worldwide with a massive 62 in the money finishes. This runner-up finish makes that 63 and brings his career tournament earnings up to over $1.2M. Place Winner Country Prize (HK$) Prize (USD) 1 Je Ho Lee Korea HK$1,605,472 $205,528 2 Sparrow Cheung Hong Kong HK$1,445,528 $185,052 3 Danny Tang Hong Kong HK$642,900 $82,301 4 Lim Chin Wei Malaysia HK$494,000 $63,239 5 Eugene Co Philippines HK$421,400 $53,945 6 Chien Jenyen Taiwan HK$348,700 $44,639 7 Kosei Ichinose Japan HK$261,500 $33,476 8 Sahashi Hideki Japan HK$174,400 $22,326 The day began with eight players, but this became six after a single level, with the final tables two Japanese players becoming the first two casualties. It was Suncity Cup Taipei frontrunner Sahashi Hideki who was the first to fall. Hideki came in as the shortest stack and could not find that all-elusive double-up, getting his last ten big blinds in with queen-jack suited over the top of a Danny Tang open. The Hong Kong player made the call with ace-ten suited, and despite Hideki flopping a flush draw, blanks on the turn and river saw him hit the rail in eighth place. This made Kosei Ichinose the short-stack and the poker pro departed toward the end of the first full level played after moving all-in pre-flop for his last seven big blinds with king-queen suited. It was Tang playing hitman once again, making the call from the blinds with pocket sixes, which held to bring the final table down to six. This opened the floodgate for a slew of speedy eliminations, with Chien Jenyen and Eugene Co departing in a single 60-minute level and Lim Chin Wei taking a big hit at the hands of Sparrow Cheung. It was Cheungs turn to play executioner in the Jenyen bust-out, opening the action with a mid-position raise and then calling the Taiwanese players all-in shove. While Jenyen got the last of his chips in with pocket tens, these could not beat Cheungs pocket queens and the field was down to five. Five quickly became four with Lee earning himself a double-up at Eugene Cos expense in a blind versus blind battle, before finishing the job an orbit later. Co moved the last of his chips in from under-the-gun with ace-five and Lee woke up in the big blind with pocket kings to bring the field down to four. This did not conclude the carnage though, that honor again went to Sparrow Cheung though it was Lim Chin Wei who lit the fuse on a hand that would sizzle slowly before culminating in an explosion of action. The Malaysian player opened the action and picked up two callers before Cheung squeezed big from the blinds and all the chips went in with Weis pocket tens up against Cheungs pocket queens in a hand eerily similar to Jenyens exit hand. Wei was left short and departed shortly after the break, getting the last of it in with queen-ten suited and running into Lees dominating ace-ten to bring the final table down to three. Danny Tang became the third place finisher around 40-minutes later, getting the last of his chips in from the blinds with pocket twos over the top of a Lee button raise. The Korean made the call with ace-six and paired his six to send Tang packing and take play heads-up. That concludes the PokerNews live reporting for the 2017 Suncity Cup Finale Macau. The event showcased some great poker and we hope you enjoyed reading about it as much as we enjoyed writing about it. Watchdog and Public Service reporter Thad Moore is a reporter on The Post and Couriers Watchdog and Public Service team and a graduate of the University of South Carolina. To share tips securely, reach Moore via ProtonMail at thadmoore@protonmail.com or on Signal at 843-214-6576. Source: Xinhua| 2017-12-02 03:25:16|Editor: pengying Video Player Close By Christine Lagat and Wang Xiaopeng NAIROBI, Dec. 1 (Xinhua) -- Mutua Matheka loved adventure since his childhood days and often defied warnings from older relatives and teachers to scale dangerous heights to test his grit and resilience. The 33-year-old architecture graduate developed a passion for adventure photography during his teenage years and gladly embraced any opportunity to capture fascinating landscapes in his locality. Matheka's prowess came to its own in mid July when Chinese technology firm Huawei recruited him to embark on a photography mission aimed at showcasing Kenya's attractions to the rest of the word. His participation in the Huawei-sponsored photography campaign titled "Kenya: Exploring a new point of view" marked an important milestone in his career. During an interview with Xinhua on Thursday evening at the launch of the Huawei digital photography campaign, Matheka said he felt honored to be part of a crew that helped rewrite Kenya's narrative through visual imagery. "Participating in this project to showcase Kenya's unique physical features was a dream come true for me since I have always aspired to harness the power of images to make positive changes in society," said Matheka. Huawei and Kenya's leading mobile phone company Safaricom sponsored the digital photography campaign to help highlight the positive side of Kenya amid polarization witnessed during the prolonged electoral cycle. Matheka and his crew embarked on a seven-day trip to different parts of the country to capture captivating images on top of Safaricom masts using Huawei's P10 smartphone and cameras. His endurance and stamina was tested to the limit when he climbed up to the apex of the cell phone masts to capture thrilling images of hills, water bodies, wildlife and savannah grasslands. "The seven day photographic journey was grueling and I had to endure freezing cold and strong winds on top of the cell phone masts to get the best snapshot," said Matheka. The eight most outstanding images that he captured during the week-long odyssey to Kenya's hinterland, cities and coastal beaches will be displayed on Huawei's digital platforms to be viewed by millions of people globally. Matheka said he was overwhelmed by the positive feedback he received from the public when his snapshots of Kenya's fascinating landscapes were unveiled. "I will always cherish the experience of climbing tall masts at sunrise and sunset to capture our natural beauty using a smartphone camera. Each picture that I took will live to illustrate our timeless and authentic heritage to future generations," Matheka said. He underscored the role of digital technology to re-invent the Kenyan brand that had experienced a beating due to fractious politics and insecurity. "Most of us Kenyans have always viewed the country through the lenses of foreign media and it is high time we harnessed the power of digital technology to tell the positive side of the story," said Matheka. He is currently mentoring upcoming photographers through social media platforms and is optimistic the photography campaign will boost tourism in Kenya. Matheka's companions during the photography journey had kind words for the venture that not only added luster to their careers but also elevated their fame in Kenya and beyond. Trevor Maingi, 27-year-old aeronautical engineering major, was part of the Huawei photography project that helped refine his photography skills. Maingi started engaging in adventure photography two years ago after graduating from a mid-level college and an opportunity to participate in the Huawei explore Kenya project opened new horizons. "It was a whole new experience to travel hundreds of miles to some of the remotest outposts in the country and take a photo of desolate hills, plateau and water points," said Maingi. He also braved chilly mornings to climb up to the apex of cell phone masts and get a better view of captivating landscapes underneath. "The hardest part was carrying a luggage weighing eight kilos while climbing the masts. It was a grueling task that also boosted our physical stamina and resilience," Maingi said. He vowed to utilize his photography skills to inspire and mentor younger peers. Kenya was the first country in the world to benefit from Huawei sponsored digital photography campaign that aims to spotlight the country's positive attributes. Xavier Wong, Creative Director of Huawei Global, said Kenya has made great strides in many spheres hence the need to magnify this progress using digital technology. "Kenya is renowned for wildlife and technological revolution and it is important to showcase these positive developments to the wider world using smartphones and other digital platforms," said Wong. The trial for Russell Laffitte, a former top executive for Palmetto State Bank, continues this week in Charleston's U.S. District Court. He stands accused of helping Alex Murdaugh defraud his former law clients, while using money from his family's bank to prop up the disbarred attorney's shaky finances. Read moreBank official reported Russell Laffitte's handling of Murdaugh client checks as suspicious Protecting the health and safety of our students has always been my top priority as your state superintendent of education. Our commitment to safety begins when the school bus arrives each morning and ends when it drops students off. Read moreSpearman: Electric vehicle investments help transform SC's once-ancient school bus fleet There was a combination of superlative hysteria and political opportunism behind the warnings about the end of democracy leading up to last weeks elections, but it wasnt inconceivable that wed have flare-ups of violence and intimidation, that people who embrace the fantasy that the 2020 e Read moreEditorial: Election 2022 gave everybody something to celebrate Fishermen often announce that they've seen color as a hooked fish darts about in the depths below a boat. And that's exactly what Kenneth Crosby said to fellow "Jon Boat" crew members Jon Vroon and Kenneth Nelson on Nov. 2 as they fished the Hang Em' High Kingfish Invitational. Read moreJames Island crew wins $109K in Kingfish Invitational Source: Xinhua| 2017-12-02 04:35:42|Editor: Mu Xuequan Video Player Close CAPE TOWN, Dec. 1 (Xinhua) -- South Africa, which has the highest HIV/AIDS prevalence in the world, intends to test and treat at least 6.2 million people with HIV by 2020, Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa said on Friday. Thanks to the efforts of the government and all social partners, South Africa has the biggest HIV treatment program in the world, Ramaphosa said at a major event marking the World AIDS Day in Mthatha, Eastern Cape Province. South Africa currently puts 4.2 million people on antiretroviral treatment. "But there is still some way to go because we have about 7.1 million people who are HIV positive," Ramaphosa said. South Africa will be introducing a new treatment combination from April next year, he said. Known as Dolutegravir, the combination treatment is good for patients and relatively cheap, according to Ramaphosa. This in turn "will allow us to put more patients on treatment," he said without elaboration. Ramaphosa reaffirmed the government's determination to achieve the goal of zero new HIV infections, zero discrimination, and zero AIDS-related deaths. New infections are coming down, but too slowly, Ramaphosa said. South Africa, which had an estimated 270,000 new infections in 2016, has set a target to reduce the number to no more than 88,000 by 2020. Ramaphosa urged South Africans to have their health status tested. South Africa launched the "She Conquers Campaign" last year with the aim of having more girls and women tested for HIV. Since then, more than 230,000 adolescent girls and young women have been tested for HIV, among whom 18,000 tested positive and were linked to care. Without this campaign, they may never have known their status and be on treatment, Ramaphosa said. "We call on our traditional leaders, religious leaders, civil society formations, government departments and the private sector to learn more about the campaign and to support it," said Ramaphosa. People should overcome the stigma and discrimination against people living with HIV , which makes it a challenge for people to test for HIV and for those infected to seek treatment, he said. PR-Inside.com: 2017-12-02 00:00:33 Press Information Published by ACCESSWIRE News Network 888.952.4446 e-mail http://www.accesswire.com # 396 Words ACCESSWIRE News Network888.952.4446 FSCwire / Press ReleaseThe following press release was disseminated by FSCwire for American Manganese Inc.--- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- ---Vancouver, British Columbia (FSCWire) - American Manganese Inc. (TSX Venture:AMY). has issued a press release with the following headline:American Manganese Inc. Closes Over-Subscribed Private PlacementTo view this press release on the FSCwire website, please either click on the link below, or copy and paste the link into your browser:If you would prefer, you can also view this press release as a PDF file, please either click on the link below, or copy and paste the link into your browser:For more information on American Manganese Inc., or to see additional press releases issued by this company, please either click on the link below, or copy and paste the link into your browser: http://www.fscwire.com/public-company/American Manganese Inc.Source: American Manganese Inc. (TSX Venture: AMY, OTC Pink: AMYZF, FWB: 2AM, WKN: A0YJSR, ISIN: CA02735A1057)Date: December 01, 2017Time: 6:00 PM EST--- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- ---The story mentioned above was issued on behalf of American Manganese Inc. and disseminated through FSCwire.About FSCwireFSCwire (a division of Filing Services Canada Inc.), is a global newswire dissemination, SEDAR, SEDI, and EDGAR / XBRL service provider.FSCwire is a full service global newswire dissemination company and is fully approved by all exchanges in Canada and the U.S. Press releases can be distributed for all sizes of public, private or not for profit companies and any other organization requiring news distribution. In addition to individual companies; public relations, communications and investor relations firms trust FSCwire to distribute press releases for their respective clients.In addition to newswire dissemination FSCwire also offers EDGAR, XBRL, SEDAR, SEDI, and additional services for publicly traded companies. For more information, please go to our website: http://www.fscwire.com Maximum News Dissemination by FSCwire. http://www.fscwire.com Copyright 2017 - FSCwire (a division of Filing Services Canada Inc.) PR-Inside.com: 2017-12-02 06:24:14 Press Information Published by ACCESSWIRE News Network 888.952.4446 e-mail http://www.accesswire.com # 399 Words ACCESSWIRE News Network888.952.4446 FSCwire / Press ReleaseThe following press release was disseminated by FSCwire for New Age Farm Inc.--- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- ---Vancouver, British Columbia (FSCWire) - New Age Farm Inc. (CSE:NF). has issued a press release with the following headline:New Age Farm Issues SecuritiesTo view this press release on the FSCwire website, please either click on the link below, or copy and paste the link into your browser:If you would prefer, you can also view this press release as a PDF file, please either click on the link below, or copy and paste the link into your browser:For more information on New Age Farm Inc., or to see additional press releases issued by this company, please either click on the link below, or copy and paste the link into your browser: http://www.fscwire.com/public-company/New Age Farm Inc.Source: New Age Farm Inc. (CSE: NF, FWB: ONF, OTC Pink: NWGFF, WKN: A12C9F, ISIN: CA64157D1087)Date: December 02, 2017Time: 12:21 AM EST--- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- ---The story mentioned above was issued on behalf of New Age Farm Inc. and disseminated through FSCwire.About FSCwireFSCwire (a division of Filing Services Canada Inc.), is a global newswire dissemination, SEDAR, SEDI, and EDGAR / XBRL service provider.FSCwire is a full service global newswire dissemination company and is fully approved by all exchanges in Canada and the U.S. Press releases can be distributed for all sizes of public, private or not for profit companies and any other organization requiring news distribution. In addition to individual companies; public relations, communications and investor relations firms trust FSCwire to distribute press releases for their respective clients.In addition to newswire dissemination FSCwire also offers EDGAR, XBRL, SEDAR, SEDI, and additional services for publicly traded companies. For more information, please go to our website: http://www.fscwire.com Maximum News Dissemination by FSCwire. http://www.fscwire.com Copyright 2017 - FSCwire (a division of Filing Services Canada Inc.) President Muhammadu Buhari was banned from entering the United States because Americans had reservations about his religious views, former Vice President Atiku Abubakar said Friday. 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. The U.S. Embassy in Abuja did not immediately respond to PREMIUM TIMES email seeking comments Saturday afternoon. Presidential spokespersons Femi Adesina and Garba Shehu, did not immediately respond to PREMIUM TIMES requests for comments Saturday. Mr. Abubakar, vice-president from 1999-2007, dumped the ruling All Progressives Congress last week Friday, citing failure by the Buhari administration to improve the quality of life in the country and neglect of the youth in federal cabinet appointment. His political allies have indicated that Mr. Atiku was on his way to the opposition Peoples Democratic Party, which has opened its doors to him. At least 17 persons, including two female suicide bombers, were killed while as many as 22 others were injured on Saturday when two explosions went off at a crowded market in Biu town of Borno state, witnesses and police said. A witness, Muhammed Labera, who spoke to PREMIUM TIMES on phone from Biu said the attacks were carried out by two teenage female suicide bombers who launched attacks at different sections of the market. The attacks occurred in two different places in Biu town market. One occurred near the GSM stalls, then another at at the place where chickens are sold, said Mr. Labera. The source said he counted up to 22 injured persons at the hospital even as more were still being taken to the hospital at the time he was speaking with our reporter. As I am talking to you now, those that are seriously injured are being conveyed to Maiduguri, while others are attended to here. But I still can see how relief workers are taking more injured persons to the hospital. He said 15 persons died in the blast alongside the two suicide bombers. The Borno state police command has confirmed the incident quoting 13 dead and 53 injured. The spokesman for the police in Borno state, Victor Isukwu, said the incident occurred at about 11:40 a.m. Today 2/2/2017 at about 1140hrs, two female suicide bombers infiltrated and gained entry into Biu town in Biu LGA, a statement he sent out via WhatsApp reads. One of the bombers detonated IED strapped on her body within Biu Main market, while d other one detonated outside d market square. So far, a total of 13 persons excluding the two suicide bombers, have been confirmed killed in the two explosions. While 53 others sustained various degrees of injuries. Police patrols/EOD teams led by the Acting Area Commander Biu were promptly mobilized and dispatched to scene. The Corpses & the injured persons have been evacuated to General Hospital Biu. Meanwhile, normalcy has been restored and the area rendered safe. Biu is one of the major towns of Borno state that has managed to suffer less Boko Haram attacks. It is also one of the towns that was not taken or sacked by the insurgents since 2009 when the Boko Haram war started. But the town has experienced suicide bomb attacks mainly in its market. The last such attack took place was about two years ago. Former Vice President Atiku Abubakars claims in an interview that for about 15 years President Muhammadu Buhari could not enter the United States on account of his religious considerations is a fictive concoction, the president has said. The response followed Mr. Abubakars interview published Saturday. In a statement Saturday by his spokesperson, Femi Adesina, Mr. Buhari said: This fictive concoction being passed off as truth is mind boggling, coming from a former Number Two man of Nigeria, who should know the truth. At no time was President Buhari, as a private person, ever forbidden from entering any country in the world. Rather, the rest of the world has always held Muhammadu Buhari as a man of sterling qualities, strong on integrity, transparency and accountability. The same testimony is still borne of the Nigerian President by many world leaders today. It is curious that former VP Abubakar had been asked why he had not visited America for over a decade, something that had been a stubborn fact dogging his footsteps. Instead of answering directly, he begged the question, saying Buhari also had been disallowed from entering the same country for 15 years, before becoming President. We hereby make it resoundingly clear that what the former Vice President said only exists in the realm of his imagination. If he has issues to settle with American authorities, he should do so, rather than clutch at a straw. Debate on the 2018 budget took centre stage at the red chamber this week as Senators picked holes in the N8.6 trillion 2018 budget appropriation. The lawmakers also deliberated on different aspects of the budget proposal while the chief whip, Olusola Adeyeye, called for a reduction in the allowances of politicians. Below are major events that transpired at the Senate this week: Tuesday The Senate opened debate on the 2018 budget presented by President Muhammadu Buhari. The Senate was thrown into a noisy session when Eyinnaya Abaribe (PDP, Abia South) said the 2018 budget was fictitious and dead on arrival. At an event marking the 2017 World AIDS Day, chairman senate committee on primary healthcare and infectious diseases, Mao Ohuabunwa, said the senate has resolved to implement 2014 National Health Act which stipulates that one per cent of the consolidated revenue fund be set aside for healthcare provision. Wednesday The Senate President, Bukola Saraki, said some recovered stolen funds cannot be accounted for by the agencies that investigated and recovered them. In related matters, Nigeria is finding it difficult to convince other nations to return funds looted from our treasury. This is because of the other nations exasperation over the management of returned assets, he said. If we are all going to complain, lets face it, he said. I dont want deficit budget. If we dont want it and we want to slash the budget of N8 trillion to N4 trillion, some things must give way including the allowances of all politicians, a lawmaker, Olusola Adeyeye, said on 2018 budget. President Muhammadu Buhari wrote the Senate to seek confirmation of 10 nominees as members of the Code of Conduct Bureau, CCB. As a nation, however, we have to tell ourselves the hard truth. Nigeria, as currently constituted, is certainly not working well. Nigerians are not only dangerously split along ethnic, religious, and sectional lines, the gap is widening on a daily basis, Mr. Ekweremadu said on Nigeria. Thursday The consideration of the 2018 budget suffered a setback as the lawmakers failed to pass the 2018-2020 Medium Term Expenditure Framework, MTEF, and Fiscal Strategy Paper, FSP. The Senate suspended the consideration of the report of its joint committee on Finance, Appropriations and National Planning and Economic Affairs due to the absence of John Enoh, Cross River-PDP, who was to present the report. The Senate President, Bukola Saraki, said he believes ex-President Goodluck Jonathan let corruption thrive during his administration, but was not a power hungry individual. The Senate failed to confirm the Resident Electoral Commissioner, REC, nominee, Bello Mahmud, from Zamfara State. The issue was referred back to the Senate committee on INEC and report back in one week. A prosecution witness, Adoke Usman, has given insight into how a former Chief Judge of Enugu State, Innocent Azubuike Umezuluike, misled the National Judicial Council (NJC), into believing that he did not benefit directly from the N10 million donation made by businessman Arthur Eze (who at the time was a plaintiff before his court) through his company, Oranto Petroleum Ltd, at the launch of his book, ABC of Contemporary Land Law in Nigeria. Mr. Umezuluike, who was arraigned on July 14, 2017 by the EFCC, is facing a one-count charge of fraud. He is accused of abusing his position to confer unfair advantage upon yourself by inviting one Prince Arthur Eze, Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Oranto Petroleum Ltd who was a litigant in pending and concluded civil matters to wit: Suit No. E/388/2010; Prince Arthur Eze versus Diamond Bank and E147/2012, Prince Arthur Eze versus Major Concept Ltd respectively to the launch. Mr. Usman, who was led in evidence by prosecution counsel, Wahab Shittu, told Justice A.O. Onovo of an Enugu State High Court that Mr. Umezuluike deliberately twisted the facts in order to portray himself as someone who was not influenced by the donation. Our investigation in this case revealed that the defendant made false representation before the NJC panel set up to investigate allegations against him as regards the donation of N10 million by Prince Arthur Eze, Mr. Usman said. The EFCC investigator further explained that the statement the former judge made before the NJC was that he never received the said sum from Arthur Eze. According to him, in the course of investigations, operatives recovered deposit slip used to transfer the donation, statement of account and statement from the donor, Prince Arthur Eze himself acknowledging the payment of N10 million to the defendant through his companys Fidelity Bank account. He said: Analysis of the documents all contradicted Umezuluikes denial that he did not receive any money personally. After the donation was made by Arthur Eze, two cases involving him continued being heard by the defendant who was discovered to have used some proceeds amounting to about N15 million from the donation to acquire a federal government treasury bond. Mr. Usman explained further that the action was also a breach of agreement with the publisher, SNAAP Press Ltd who was to oversee the publishing, public presentation, control and management of the sale of the book. Under cross-examination, Mr. Usman denied the allegation by defence counsel, Agu G. Agu that he carted away documents purportedly indicting the Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu and the petitioner Peter Eze, a lawyer from the house of the defendant. Mr. Usman also denied Mr. Agus allegation that Mr. Umezuluike was held by him for several hours, because he had intended to poison him. Mr. Shittu also countered the allegation and sought the protection of the court for the witness, saying it was an attempt to malign and intimidate his witness. Samuel Achuka, the general manager of SNAAP Press Nigeria Ltd, publishers of the book, who also testified, told the court that neither Arthur Eze nor his company, Oranto Petroleum, paid any money to SNAAP Press. The terms of agreement between the author and the publisher were not followed as a committee whose members we did not know was set up and all the printed books sold out at the public presentation, so we could not pay royalties which was agreed to be on N300 and N500 basis for soft and hard copies respectively, he said. The case has been adjourned to January 17 and 18, 2018 for continuation of trial, a statement by Wilson Uwujaren, EFCCs head of media and publicity said. Two suspected armed robbers were in the early hours of Saturday shot dead while allegedly robbing Dangote Cement Company factory in Ibese community of Ogun State. The Public Relations Officer of the State Police Command, Abimbola Oyeyemi, said this known on Saturday. He said the operation was carried out by a seven-man robbery gang. Men of Ogun State Police Command have shot dead two suspected armed robbers who are members of robbery gang that attacked Dangote Cement Company at Ibese in the early hours of today 2/12/17, Mr. Oyeyemi said. He said the gang invaded the company, armed with dangerous weapons and moved straight to the materials section to cart away some armoured cables. Mr. Oyeyemi added that the policemen posted on duty at the company were alerted by the company security men and they promptly moved to the scene. On sighting the policemen, the hoodlums engaged them in a gun battle which lasted for about 45 minutes, the police spokesman stated. He added that at the end of the encounter one of the robbers was shot dead while the other was arrested with serious gunshot wounds but died on the way to the hospital. Mr. Oyeyemi said other members of the gang escaped gunshot injuries. He said exhibits recovered from the suspects include; one locally made single barrel gun, 14 expended cartridges, dagger and a house breaking equipment. He said the commissioner of police, Ahmed Iliyasu while commending the gallantry displayed by his men appealed to members of the public, especially hospitals to report anybody seen with gunshot wounds to the police. The authorities of Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, on Friday confirmed a man, Adewumi Omoboriowo, was murdered on the schools campus late on Thursday, following a fight that went out of hand. Reached by phone, the Chief Security Officer of the University, Babatunde Oyasode, told PREMIUM TIMES that the deceased, child of junior staff of the school, was not a student, and that nothing came of his teams efforts to save his life. We were called that somebody has been stabbed around past 10pm on Thursday, said Mr. Oyasode. On getting to the place we met Omoboriowo and we carried him to the health centre but unfortunately,we were told that he was dead already and then we proceeded to the mortuary. He said the incident was not a cult strike, allaying fears the school has been penetrated by cultists. It was not cult attack, said Mr. Oyasode, it was just a fight that went out of hand. The report we have at the security unit here is that as they were fighting, someone went to his car to pick a jack spanner he used against the deceased who is not an OAU student. The incident leading to Adewumis death happened at the New Bukka, an area on campus hosting bars and restaurants that serve a wide range of customers, including those who are neither students nor staff of OAU. In connection with the incident, Mr. Oyasode disclosed that over 45 people, including students,were arrested and transferred to the police. He said all the students, except those who have questions to answer, have been released. On getting to bukka, we arrested all living individuals we met there even with our students. But those who have been confirmed as our students have been released after the certification by police that they knew nothing about the murder, he said. Meanwhile, operators of the New Bukka told PREMIUM TIMES the management had ordered closure of the facility, following the incident. We have been ordered to vacate New Bukka by the university management pending investigation of the incident, Seun, an attendant in one of the shops said. 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. (NAN) Source: Xinhua| 2017-12-02 05:56:03|Editor: Mu Xuequan Video Player Close 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. 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. (NAN) The Court of Appeal sitting in Calabar, Cross River State, on Thursday overturned the judgment of the Federal High Court in Uyo and declared Senator Bassey Albert of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) as the winner of the partys primary election that held in December 2014. Contention over the Akwa Ibom north east senatorial district seat had lingered on since Mr. Alberts major contender, Bassey Etim, took him to court over the authenticity of his candidature. Prominent in the allegation raised against Mr. Albert was that he contested in the primaries of the governorship election in the State on the platform of the PDP; however on losing out, he quickly switched over to the senatorial ticket where he never took part in the primaries. After the election in 2015, both of them had claimed to be the winners of the primary for the 2015 senatorial election into the Akwa Ibom north east Senatorial District. But Mr. Albert was sworn in, prompting Mr. Etims decision to head to the High Court. HIGH COURT JUDGEMENT In February 2017, the Federal High court sitting in Uyo sacked Mr. Albert. Justice Fatun Riman who delivered the ruling nullified the primary process that produced Mr. Akpan as the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party for the election which saw him to the National Assembly. The court also ordered Mr. Albert to refund all salaries and entitlements he collected as a Senator in the National Assembly. Justice Riman, while delivering the courts ruling, stated that his challenger, Mr. Etim was the authentic winner of the primary. The court therefore ordered the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to immediately withdraw the certificate of return issued to Mr. Albert, and issue same to Mr. Etim from Uruan Local Government. The judge also ordered the National Assembly to swear in Mr. Etim as Senator representing Uyo Senatorial District. SENATE DISOBEYS COURT ORDER Despite the court order, the Senate under the leadership of Bukola Saraki has since failed to swear in Mr. Etim. Mr. Albert, who currently serves as Chairman of the Senate Committee on Gas, has been laying claim to the seat since the Uyo Federal High Court ruled in favour of Mr. Etim. Calling the attention of the Senate to this, a group, Human Right Lawyers and Civil Society Alliance, in June asked the Senate President, Senator Bukola Saraki, to immediately swear-in Mr. Etim, in obedience to court order. Addressing newsmen in Abuja, Ojo Gabriel, the Director of the group, urged Saraki to swear-in Etim. However, despite this and several other calls, Mr. Albert remains a member of the red chamber. PDP WITHDRAWS APPEAL In September, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) requested the Court of Appeal sitting in Calabar to dismiss its appeal against a judgment of the Federal High Court, Uyo which sacked Mr. Albert from the National Assembly and declared Mr. Bassey Etim as replacement. The party said the judgment of the Uyo Federal High Court which sacked Mr. Albert from the Senate for not being its authentic candidate for the 2015 Akwa Ibom senatorial election was not against its interest, hence, unnecessary and ought not to have been filed in the first place. APPEAL COURT JUDGEMENT The Court of Appeal in Calabar, on Thursday, upheld the December 14 party primaries election that produced Mr. Albert. In a unanimous decision that lasted for over two hours, the judges overturned the ruling of the Federal High Court, Uyo that declared Bassey Etim as winner. ETIM HEADS TO SUPREME COURT Counsel to Mr. Etim, Mba Okweni (SAN), however, said they will challenge the decision of the Appeal court at the Supreme Court. Sincerely, I feel that the judgment should be tested further until the Supreme Court makes a pronouncement on the issue and some of the points that have been raised, which we feel are not properly placed. Then, we can have a final statement on it, he said after the Appeal Court judgement on Thursday. We believe strongly that if things continue the way they are going, impunity in our political parties would continue, he said. However, counsel to Mr. Albert, Folaho Ojibara, said they had overwhelming evidence that his client was the legitimate winner of the primary election that eventually led to the 2015 general elections, which he won. He said: The issues before the justices of the Court of Appeal were very clearly narrowed down. The kind of evidence that the appellant presented before the lower court was so overwhelming and the Justices of the Court of Appeal latched on to the evidences. Thiel College's Phi Theta Phi fraternity kicks off its annual Walk-A-Thon to support Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh. They will be fundraising as they walk from Greenville to Pittsburgh this weekend. Thiel College fraternity Phi Theta Phi fundraises for Children's Hospital Contact Thiel College ***@thiel.edu Thiel College End -- Thiel College fraternity Phi Theta Phi is an organization that takes fundraising mile by mile. The organization has earned regional acclaim for its annual fundraising Walk-A-Thon for the Free Care Fund at Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh. The Free Care Fund ensures that all children receive the medical care they need and that no child from the region is denied care because of an inability to pay. This year's goal set by the fraternity is raising $25,000."Over the past 47 years, Phi Theta Phi brothers have collected and donated more than $1.6 million to the Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh's Free Care Fund," Phi Theta Phi president and walk chairman Anthony Donnorummo '19 said. "It is an incredible feeling to be part of an organization that supports an amazing cause that helps families and children in need. I can say with certainty that each brother is proud to be a part of the Walk-A-Thon legacy. The Walk is a central and important aspect of Phi Theta Phi's unique culture."Pre-walk collections were held in Pittsburgh, Sharon, Mercer and Greenville.The fraternity brothers leave Thiel ( https://www.thiel.edu/ ) . at 10 a.m. on Friday, walk through Mercer, Grove City, Slippery Rock and Butler, then end the day in Freeport at Trinity Lutheran Church. On Saturday, they will walk through Natrona Heights, Breckenridge, New Kensington, Arnold, Springdale, Cheswick, Harmar Township, Oakmont, Lawrenceville and finally arriving at Children's Hospital in Pittsburgh. Cash donations will be collected throughout the walk, but checks (made payable to Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh Foundation) can be mailed to Phi Theta Phi Alumni Association, PO Box 365, Greenville, PA 16125. Donations can be made online ( https://www.givetochildrens.org/ donate ). Select "Designation-Other" and type "Phi Walk."About the Phi Theta Phi Walk-a-thonPhi Theta Phi began at Thiel College as a local fraternity in 1966. Two years later, the fraternity started a tradition that has become one of the most successful Greek philanthropy efforts in the College's history. The first Walk-a-thon was in 1968 and raised $1,100. In 2014, Phi Theta Phi was recognized as one of the Top 10 donors to the Fund. The Pennsylvania House of Representatives and the Pennsylvania Senate have cited the chapter for its service, and in 2002, the Association of Fundraising Professionals acknowledged them as an outstanding philanthropic organization. In 2015, the fraternity was recognized for the walk-a-thon with a Service to Thiel Award.Thiel College (https://www.thiel.edu/)is a private liberal arts institution founded in the Lutheran tradition. Located in Greenville, Pa., the College offers 60 majors and minors, 25 varsity sports, and an 11:1 student-faculty ratio to more than 900 students. A dedicated faculty paired with dynamic research and internship opportunities produce numerous graduate school and job placements. Coeducational from its beginnings, the College celebrated its 150th anniversary in 2016 and remains committed to combining tradition with innovation. Midsize Car Segment: Honda Accord Minivan Segment: Honda Odyssey Compact Car: Honda Civic Compact SUV: Honda CR-V The 2018 Edmunds Most Wanted Award winners are determined by analyzing data from the first nine months of 2017 for all models on sale during that period. Vehicles are ranked according to highest overall sales, fastest selling speed, and two types of shopper consideration metrics on the Edmunds site. These rankings are weighted equally to determine the winners in each segment. About Honda Honda offers a full line of reliable, fuel-efficient and fun-to-drive vehicles with advanced safety technologies sold through over 1,000 independent U.S. Honda dealers. The Honda lineup includes the Fit, Civic, Accord and Clarity series passenger cars, along with the HR-V, CR-V and Pilot sport/utility vehicles, the Ridgeline pickup and the Odyssey minivan. Honda has been producing automobiles in America for 35 years and currently operates 19 major manufacturing facilities in North America. In 2016, more than 95% of all Honda and Acura vehicles sold in the U.S. were made in North America, using domestic and globally sourced parts. For More Information Additional media information, including detailed pricing features and high-resolution photography of the Honda Accord, Odyssey, Civic and CR-V is available at hondanews.com. SOURCE American Honda Motor Co., Inc. Related Links http://hondanews.com The forum brought together staff from Mississippi State University's Research and Curriculum unit (RCU), Microsoft's Technology Education and Literacy in Schools (TEALS) program and the Global Teaching Project examining the latest efforts to boost computer science education in schools while exploring ways to help teachers develop the knowledge and skills they need to be successful in the classroom. Representatives from several public and private school districts also participated in the forum with C Spire to identify new strategies and tactics to help accelerate plans to get more of the state's high schools to offer an accredited Advanced Placement computer science course to students as soon as possible. "With the shortage of qualified information technology professionals growing every day, we need to move decisively and quickly to equip teachers and inspire students to pursue computer science education and career paths that will help us meet the needs of our new digital economy," said Carla Lewis, the C Spire CIO who organized the forum. Lewis said teacher training also is a critical piece of the computer science education puzzle and one that C Spire hopes to address by combining forces with the Mississippi Department of Education's Computer Science for Mississippi (CS4MS) pilot program administered by MSU's RCU unit. Workers with a background in computer science are in high demand and short supply in Mississippi. Employers currently have over 1,200 unfilled job openings due to the serious shortage of trained, qualified IT workers, Lewis said. The average salary for qualified IT workers is nearly $69,000 a year, almost double the statewide average. Nationwide, new research estimates the current shortage of 607,708 IT workers will balloon to over 1 million software developers in the U.S. by 2020. "The inventor of the next big thing, the latest app or cutting-edge software may be sitting in a classroom waiting to be inspired and encouraged to become a leader in the digital economy," Lewis said. Besides today's forum, C Spire is doing its part to encourage high school students to pursue a degree and career in information technology and computer science. The company has hosted two computer coding challenges this year for high school students across the state, reaching 43 high schools and over 200 students. The day-long C3 program teaches students to use critical thinking and problem solving skills to solve a fresh computer coding challenge during the competition. Teams compete for college scholarships and other tech-related prizes. C Spire assigns employees with IT backgrounds and experience to help each team navigate the challenge. Lewis said the company-sponsored coding challenges and support for other public and private non-profit programs like the Base Camp Coding Academy are designed to help C Spire deliver on its promise to help create and retain a 21st century technology workforce in its region. The forum and the coding challenges can serve as an important first step to increase interest in computer science, according to Lewis. In 2016, only 16 students in the state took the AP computer science exam and only three schools statewide offered the AP computer science course in 2015-16, according to Code.org, a computer science education advocacy group. Some progress is being made. This year, 105 Mississippi high school students successfully completed the AP computer science exam, a 650 percent increase from 2016. And 52 Mississippi school districts participated in the second year of the joint MDE and RDU CS4MS pilot program, reaching more than 15,000 students. Workforce development is a key part of the broader C Spire Tech Movement initiative designed to leverage the company's technology leadership and investments to help transform its service areas. Other elements of the program include creation of a state-of-the-art digital customer care platform for customers and team members, massive deployment of broadband internet for homes and businesses and other leadership initiatives to drive innovation and development of a 21st century technology workforce. "We live in a software-defined world where code and the internet directly impacts every aspect of our lives," Lewis said. "Computer science drives innovation and creates jobs in our economy, but we need to do more to encourage schools to offer courses, equip teachers and enable young people to pursue IT careers and computer science degrees." About C Spire C Spire is a leading technology company committed to transforming Mississippi through the C Spire Tech Movement, which includes the massive deployment of broadband internet to homes and small businesses, a state-of-the-art digital experience for its customers and team members, technology innovation leadership and the creation and retention of a 21st century technology workforce in its region. The company provides world-class, customer-inspired wireless communications, 1 Gigabit consumer Internet access as well as a full suite of dedicated Internet, wireless, IP Voice, data and cloud services for businesses. This news release and other announcements are available at www.cspire.com/news. For more information about C Spire, visit www.cspire.com or follow us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/cspire or Twitter at www.twitter.com/cspire. SOURCE C Spire Related Links http://www.cspire.com The award was presented to Dr. Strauss during a ceremony at the Comprehensive Cataract Conference 2017 ( CCC 2017 ) in Chennai, India in recognition of his numerous contributions to developing simulation based-training for cataract specialists around the world. Named after Al Ueltschi, a pioneer in simulation training for aviation as founder of FlightSafety International, this award was given in recognition of Mr. Ueltschi's decades of philanthropic work on blindness. In 2010 Al Ueltschi co-founded HelpMeSee, whose mission is to use simulation technology to train the thousands of cataract specialists needed to perform sight-restoring cataract surgery for the millions of blind around the world. For the past 3 decades, Dr. Strauss has dedicated his life to ophthalmology and treating cataract blindness. In 1997, he began volunteering with Mercy Ships as an eye surgeon and provided training for their medical missions. Shortly after HelpMeSee was founded in 2010, Dr. Strauss joined its simulation-based training project as a medical leader. Throughout development of the Eye Surgical Simulator, Dr. Strauss served as a subject matter expert by providing guidance to HelpMeSee and its partners to assure that the simulator accurately replicates the realism of a live cataract surgery. Jim Ueltschi, son of Al Ueltschi and Chairman of HelpMeSee, said, "Glenn exemplifies the spirit, dedication and inspiration of those few people who make miracles happen. He is obviously a very talented ophthalmologist, but he also can write complicated surgical descriptions for simulator engineers, a truly remarkable and rare gift, believe me. Glenn is also a world-class humanitarian. My father would be very proud of him and his contributions to ending cataract blindness. It is fitting that he is the first recipient of this award." Dr. Amulya Sahu, co-founder and chairman of the ISMSICS said "Dr. Strauss is an inspiration for all ophthalmologists. He follows Al Ueltschi's example by paving the path to fighting blindness through training. Thanks to Dr. Strauss' lifelong dedication, millions of poor and needlessly blind people around the world have hope for a brighter future." Upon accepting the award, Dr. Strauss provided his statement, "For me the life of international work in ophthalmology training has been a walk of faith from the beginning. I hope for each of you, this award is an encouragement to continue to strive to work for something that is bigger than all of us: the challenges of global blindness." About ISMSICS The International Society of Manual Small Incision Cataract Surgeons (ISMSICS) is an organization to promote excellence and accessibility in cataract surgery. The organization aims to improve outcomes of cataract surgery while providing better vision to patients at an affordable cost. The organization is surgeon focused and surgeon driven- of, for and by cataract surgeons. ISMSICS is dedicated to research and development in the field of cataract surgery, especially manual small incision cataract surgery, to make cataract surgery more accessible, affordable and give patients the best of vision. About HelpMeSee HelpMeSee is a non-profit organization committed to ending the global health crisis of cataract blindness. Through a focus on simulation-based training for cataract specialists, HelpMeSee has developed sustainable solutions to increase access to safe, affordable treatment. HelpMeSee's goal is to improve quality and expand access to cataract surgical care, including a network of thousands of trained cataract specialists to provide eye care across the developing world. CONTACT: Matthew Hurst, (212) 221-7606 Ext. 127, [email protected] SOURCE HelpMeSee; ISMSICS Related Links http://www.helpmesee.org SAN FRANCISCO, Dec. 1, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- LendingClub (NYSE: LC), America's largest online marketplace connecting borrowers and investors, today announced that it has closed a first-of-its-kind transaction in marketplace lending -- a whole loan transaction structured as a tradeable, pass-through security called a CLUB Certificate*. This first milestone transaction totaled $25 million with an institutional investor seeking a liquid vehicle with which to access the consumer credit asset class. The CLUB Certificate transaction consisted of whole loans structured as a pass-through security. The instrument trades in the over-the-counter market with a CUSIP and is efficiently cleared through the Depository Trust and Clearing Company (DTCC). "This milestone is a perfect example of LendingClub's innovation to meet the needs of our customers on both sides of the platform," said Scott Sanborn, CEO of LendingClub. "We're leveraging all of the capabilities we've developed to quickly react to the needs of both our borrowers and our diverse investor base." "By pooling loans in a pass-through security, we've completed an unprecedented transaction in marketplace lending," added Patrick Dunne, LendingClub's Chief Capital Officer. "The transaction provided efficient access to our asset class in a product that met the investor needs in a single fixed income security that offers the potential for greater liquidity." By continually innovating on products, LendingClub will further deepen and broaden investor access in 2018 and beyond through a variety of new products and structures. *For the transaction, Consumer Loan Underlying Bond (CLUB) Certificate Issuer Trust I (the "Master Trust"), a Delaware statutory trust, established a series of the Master Trust (a "Series Trust"). LendingClub Corporation (the "Depositor") contributed certain loans to the Series Trust, and such Series Trust issued a certificate collectively representing 100% of the entire beneficial interest in such Series Trust (the "Certificates") to the Depositor. The Depositor then sold 95% of the Certificates to the institutional investor. About LendingClub LendingClub was founded to transform the banking system to make credit more affordable and investing more rewarding. Today, LendingClub's online credit marketplace connects borrowers and investors to deliver more efficient and affordable access to credit. Through its technology platform, LendingClub is able to create cost efficiencies and passes those savings onto borrowers in the form of lower rates and to investors in the form of solid returns. LendingClub is based in San Francisco, California. Safe Harbor Statement Some of the statements above, including statements regarding investor demand, our ability to access the securitization markets in the future and our potential for future growth are "forward-looking statements." The words "anticipate," "believe," "estimate," "expect," "intend," "may," "outlook," "plan," "predict," "project," "will," "would" and similar expressions may identify forward-looking statements, although not all forward-looking statements contain these identifying words. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contemplated by these forward statements include: the outcomes of pending governmental investigations and pending or threatened litigation, which are inherently uncertain; the impact of management changes and the ability to continue to retain key personnel; ability to achieve cost savings from recent restructurings; LendingClub's ability to continue to attract and retain new and existing retail and institutional investors; competition; overall economic conditions; conditions in the market for securitizations; demand for the types of loans facilitated by LendingClub; default rates and those factors set forth in the section titled "Risk Factors" in LendingClub's most recent Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q and Annual Report on Form 10-K, each filed with the SEC. LendingClub may not actually achieve the plans, intentions or expectations disclosed in forward-looking statements, and you should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. Actual results or events could differ materially from the plans, intentions and expectations disclosed in forward-looking statements. LendingClub does not assume any obligation to update any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by law. Information in this press release is not an offer to sell securities or the solicitation of an offer to buy securities, nor shall there be any sale of securities in any jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to registration or qualification under the securities laws of such jurisdiction. Additional information about LendingClub is available in the prospectus for LendingClub's member payment dependent notes, which can be obtained on LendingClub's website at https://www.lendingclub.com/info/prospectus.action. SOURCE LendingClub Related Links http://www.lendingclub.com WASHINGTON, Dec. 2, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- The U.S. Senate today passed tax reform legislation that the National Association of Realtors believes puts home values at risk and dramatically undercuts the incentive to own a home. NAR President Elizabeth Mendenhall, a sixth-generation Realtor from Columbia, Missouri and CEO of RE/MAX Boone Realty, offered strong concerns over the bill and said Realtors will continue to work with members of the House and Senate as the process moves forward into a conference committee. National Association of Realtors 2018 President Elizabeth Mendenhall "The tax incentives to own a home are baked into the overall value of homes in every state and territory across the country. When those incentives are nullified in the way this bill provides, our estimates show that home values stand to fall by an average of more than 10 percent, and even greater in high-cost areas. "Realtors support tax cuts when done in a fiscally responsible way; while there are some winners in this legislation, millions of middle-class homeowners would see very limited benefits, and many will even see a tax increase. In exchange for that, they'll also see much or all of their home equity evaporate as $1.5 trillion is added to the national debt and piled onto the backs of their children and grandchildren. "That's a poor foot to put forward, but this isn't the end of the road. Realtors will continue to advocate for homeownership and hope members of the House and Senate will listen to the concerns of America's 75 million homeowners as the tax reform discussion continues." The National Association of Realtors, "The Voice for Real Estate," is America's largest trade association, representing 1.3 million members involved in all aspects of the residential and commercial real estate industries. Information about NAR is available at www.nar.realtor. This and other news releases are posted in the newsroom under the "About NAR" tab. SOURCE National Association of Realtors Related Links http://www.nar.realtor 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. 102 [email protected] MAGA COALITION 1 (866) 776-MAGA [email protected] SOURCE MAGA Coalition LOS ANGELES, Dec. 2, 2017 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The CALIFORNIA ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS (C.A.R.) today issued the following statement in response to the passage of the Senate tax reform bill: "We are disappointed that the Senate voted to pass a tax hike bill on California homeowners. This bill will eliminate the financial benefits for homebuyers and leave hundreds of thousands of Californians worse off than they are today," said C.A.R. President Steve White. "If the goal of this bill is to help middle-class Americans keep more of their hard-earned money, this proposal fails miserably." "We thank California Sens. Dianne Feinstein and Kamala Harris for opposing this legislation that attacks homeownership by significantly reducing incentives for people to buy homes. California already has a severe housing affordability crisis, and this bill will make it that much harder for Californians looking to attain the American dream," said White. Leading the way... in California real estate for more than 110 years, the CALIFORNIA ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS (www.car.org) is one of the largest state trade organizations in the United States, with more than 190,000 members dedicated to the advancement of professionalism in real estate. C.A.R. is headquartered in Los Angeles. SOURCE CALIFORNIA ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS Related Links http://www.car.org Source: Xinhua| 2017-12-02 06:41:16|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close CHICAGO, Dec. 1 (Xinhua) -- Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) grains closed higher on Friday, bolstered by fund-driven short covering and technical buying. The most active corn contract for March delivery went up 3 cents, or 0.84 percent, to 3.5875 dollars per bushel. March wheat delivery rose 5.5 cents, or 1.27 percent, to 4.385 dollars per bushel. January soybeans added 8.5 cents, or 0.86 percent to 9.9425 dollars per bushel. Mounting concerns about excessively dry weather in Argentina, a threat to the country's growing corn and soybean crops, sparking buying. The Argentine and South Brazilian forecast is drier and warmer than yesterday while extreme variable temperatures and dry weather dominates the Plains. With a secondary seasonal low posted this week and funds heavily short, the adverse weather trend could spark a December rally as fund managers close out short positions heading into a New Year. Wheat futures rose after Saudi Arabia issued a tender for almost 500,000 tonnes of milling wheat on Thursday. In a report released after the market closed, the U.S. Department of Agriculture said that soybean processors crushed 176 million bushels of oil seed in October, up from 145 million in September and steady from a year earlier. That was supportive for soybean futures, said traders. Enditem ANN ARBOR, Mich., Dec. 1, 2017 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Over the course of the next three months, more than 100 students will compete for top honors and a record high of more than $100,000 in cash prizes in the 35th annual Michigan Business Challenge, the multi-round business plan competition hosted by the Samuel Zell & Robert H. Lurie Institute for Entrepreneurial Studies. Round one of the competition kicks off today, debuting two new prizes: the Small Giants Positive Business Award a $2,500 prize sponsored by the Small Giants Community and Center for Positive Organizations and a $5,000 Undergraduate Award, sponsored by Daniel Sillman, CEO of Relevant Sports. The Michigan Business Challenge takes student entrepreneurs through new venture creation in a multi-phase business development and planning process. Open to all current undergraduate and graduate students from across the University, proposed businesses may be for-profit or non-profit, and offer products or services to either consumer or industrial markets. Notable companies from previous years' competitions have included SAHI Cosmetics, which recently earned a $100,000 investment from AOL founder Steve Case at the Rise of the Rest pitch competition; PreDxion Bio, which recently graduated from the Y Combinator summer 2017 program; Neurable, which received more than $2 million in investments to build brain-controlled software for AR and VR following a second-place finish at Rice Business Plan Competition; and Companion, which was featured on the first episode of Apple's reality TV series "Planet Of The Apps." "There's no shortage of entrepreneurial talent at the University of Michigan, which makes each year's competition more exciting than the last," said Stewart Thornhill, executive director of the Zell Lurie Institute. "The cornerstone of business education is putting classroom lessons into practice, which is exactly what the Michigan Business Challenge asks participants to do. While the financial resources and new prizes we're debuting are critical to the growth of these student startups, feedback from judges and lessons learned from their peers will be crucial to these entrepreneurs as they set out to launch their businesses." In addition to the new Small Giants Positive Business Award, which will honor the team with the business plan that most effectively incorporates positive business practices, teams whose businesses pursue a mission-driven goal may be chosen in round one to compete in the Seigle Impact Track with prizes totaling more than $26,000 sponsored by the Mark and Robin Seigle Entrepreneurial Innovation Fund. Awards will also be given to the best cross-functional team, teams with impressive marketing efforts, the most successful undergraduate team, and those with the best written and best presented business plans. More than 60 student teams competing today were selected to advance from last month's qualifying round. As part of today's activities, each will make a three-minute pitch to a panel of judges that includes successful entrepreneurs, venture capitalists and angel investors from the local business community. Approximately 20 teams will be chosen to participate in round two in January, where they'll give a seven-minute presentation, followed by 10 minutes of questions from the judges. The culmination of the Michigan Business Challenge will be the semi-final and final rounds, set for February 16. For additional information on the Michigan Business Challenge competition, deadlines, process and eligibility, visit www.zli.umich.edu/programs-funds/michigan-business-challenge. About the Samuel Zell & Robert H. Lurie Institute for Entrepreneurial Studies The Institute and its Center for Venture Capital and Private Equity Finance bring together an impactful combination of deep-seated knowledge, enriching experiences and strategic opportunities from the front lines of entrepreneurship and alternative investment. Students' learning experiences are further enhanced through internships, entrepreneurial clubs, business competitions and campus-wide events that foster valuable networking and engage the business community. The School's five student-led investment funds, with over $9M under management, immerse students in the entrepreneurial business sourcing, assessment and investment process. Founding Zell Lurie advisory board members include Samuel Zell, chairman of Equity Group Investments, and Eugene Applebaum, founder of Arbor Drugs Inc. For more information, visit the Institute's website at www.zli.umich.edu. SOURCE The Zell Lurie Institute Related Links http://www.zli.bus.umich.edu OAKLAND, Calif., Dec. 1, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- USCF has launched two new funds that make investing in private equity strategies available to investors of all budgets. The USCF SummerHaven SHPEI Index Fund (NYSE Arca: BUY) and the USCF SummerHaven SHPEN Index Fund (NYSE Arca: BUYN) seek to track newly developed indexes that are based on the research of Harvard Business School Professor, Erik Stafford. "With BUY and BUYN, investors can access the type of strategy that historically has been offered by private equity firms to a more limited group of investors in higher cost vehicles," said John Love, President and CEO of USCF. "USCF is an ETF innovator in alternative asset classes. We introduced crude oil and other commodity investments to the ETF landscape. Now, we have developed ETFs that increase access for investors to returns intended to be similar to those of private equity strategies - another alternative asset class that traditionally has been unavailable to retail investors. BUY and BUYN provide investors with a new way to diversify along with the liquidity, efficiency, and cost benefits attributable to ETFs." Stamford based, SummerHaven Index Management, has designed the two new indexes based on the Stafford's 2017 paper Replicating Private Equity with Value Investing, Homemade Leverage, and Hold-to-Maturity Accounting which suggests that an investor is able to reproduce private equity returns by carefully choosing a portfolio of publicly-traded equities that possess characteristics similar to the companies that private equity firms are likely to select for investment. SummerHaven and USCF currently collaborate on three exchange traded products and one mutual fund: the United States Copper Index Fund (NYSE Arca: CPER), the United States Agriculture Index Fund (NYSE Arca: USAG), United States Commodity Index Fund (NYSE Arca: USCI) and the USCF Commodity Strategy Fund, respectively. Ashraf Rizvi, Partner at SummerHaven, commented, "We believe that these ETFs, based on our private equity strategy indexes, will provide investors with an opportunity to access returns comparable to an asset class that has traditionally only been available through private markets, with the added benefit of liquidity and transparency and without lockups, vintage risk, investment minimums or takeover premiums." He added, "These ETFs will allow both retail and institutional investors an opportunity to access private equity strategy returns at substantially lower fees." "USCF is thrilled to collaborate with SummerHaven once again," added Love. "They have parlayed their unparalleled research capabilities into game-changing indices that should prove to be an exciting development for the market." The USCF SummerHaven SHPEI Index Fund seeks to track the price and yield performance, before fees and expenses, of the SummerHaven Private Equity Strategy IndexSM. The USCF SummerHaven SHPEN Index Fund seeks to track the price and yield performance, before fees and expenses, of the SummerHaven Private Equity Natural Resources Strategy IndexSM. The Funds do not invest in private equity funds or private equity of companies. About USCF USCF operates on the leading edge of product innovation as an asset management firm offering exchange-traded products (ETPs), exchange-traded funds (ETFs) and mutual funds. The firm broke new ground with the launch of the first oil ETP, the United States Oil Fund, LP (USO), in 2006. Over the next decade, USCF designed and issued fifteen more specialty products across commodity and equity asset classes. USCF currently manages approximately $4 billion in assets from its headquarters in Oakland, California. About SummerHaven Index Management, LLC Headquartered in Stamford, CT, SummerHaven Index Management is focused on creating innovative commodity and equity indices based on rigorous academic research. The firm is led by a seasoned management team with over 110 years of collective financial markets experience with commodity futures, equity and fixed income markets. For more information please visit www.summerhavenindex.com. Definitions: Liquidity the degree to which an asset or security can be quickly bought or sold in the market without affecting the asset's price. Takeover Premium The amount by which the takeover price for each share of stock must exceed the current stock price in order to entice shareholders to relinquish control of the company to an acquirer. Transparency the extent to which investors have ready access to required financial information about a company, such as price levels, market depth and audited financial reports. Vintage Risk when capital is contributed by venture capital, a private equity fund or a partnership drawing down from its investors. Investors can use the vintage year of an investment to further explain its returns. John P. Love and Katie Rooney are registered representatives of ALPS Distributors, Inc. Exchange Traded Product Disclosure: We advise you to consider a Fund's objectives, risks, charges and expenses carefully before investing. Download a copy of a Fund's Prospectus by clicking one of the following: USCI, USAG, USO, USL, USOU, DNO, USOD, BNO, UNG, UNL, UGA, UHN, or CPER which contains this and other information, or contact the Fund's distributor at: ALPS Distributors, Inc., 1290 Broadway, Suite 1100, Denver, Colorado 80203 or call 800-920-0259. Please read the Fund's Prospectus carefully before investing. USCI, USAG, USO, USL, USOU, DNO, USOD, BNO, UNG, UNL, UGA, UHN, and CPER are commodity pools regulated by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. These Funds are not mutual funds or any other type of Investment Company within the meaning of the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended, and are not subject to regulation thereunder. Past performance does not guarantee future results. Commodity trading is highly speculative and involves a high degree of risk. Commodities and futures generally are volatile and are not suitable for all investors. An investor may lose all or substantially all of an investment. Investing in commodity interests subject each Fund to the risks of its related industry. These risks could result in large fluctuations in the price of a particular Fund's respective shares. Funds that focus on a single sector generally experience greater volatility. For further discussion of these and additional risks associated with an investment in the Funds please read the respective Fund Prospectus before investing. Leveraged and inverse exchange-traded products pursue daily leveraged investment objectives which means they are riskier than alternatives which do not use leverage. They seek daily goals and should not be expected to track the underlying benchmark over periods longer than one day. Due to the compounding of daily returns, returns over periods other than one day will likely differ in amount and possibly direction from the target return for the same period. They are not suitable for all investors and should be utilized only by investors who understand leverage risk and who actively manage their investments. For more on correlation, leverage and other risk factors, please read the prospectus. USOU and USOD are new and have a limited operating history. Exchange Traded Fund Disclosure: An investment in the USCF SummerHaven SHPEI Index Fund (BUY) and USCF SummerHaven SHPEN Index Fund (BUYN) may not be suitable for all investors. Investing involves risks, including loss of principal. The market value of shares of common stock can be volatile and change quickly. There is no guarantee that the fund's objective will be met. Fund concentration generally leads to greater price volatility. Foreign investing involves special risks such as currency fluctuations and political uncertainty. Investment in small companies generally experience greater price volatility. BUY and BUYN shares are not individually redeemable. Individual investors must buy and sell BUY and BUYN shares in the secondary market through their brokerage firm. Brokerage commissions may apply. BUY and BUYN is new and has a limited operating history Diversification does not eliminate the risk of experiencing investment loss. We advise you to consider a fund's objectives, risks, charges and expenses carefully before investing. The Prospectus contains this and other information. Download a copy of a fund's Prospectus by clicking one of the following: BUY, or BUYN. Please read any Prospectus carefully before investing. Funds distributed by and not affiliated with ALPS Distributors, Inc. SummerHaven Index Management is not affiliated with ALPS Distributors, Inc. USO001516 Exp. 11/30/2019 SOURCE USCF Beginning with its publication of Stieg Larssons The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo in 2008, the Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group has had great success with Scandinavian thriller authors in the U.S. Now Knopf chairman and editor-in-chief Sonny Mehta believes he has found another Swedish author who will be a bestseller in the States, but, unlike Larsson, this author has been published in America before. Lars Kepler is the pen name of the Swedish husband-and-wife writing team of Alexandra Coelho Ahndoril and Alexander Ahndoril, and three of their six books featuring the detective inspector Joona Linna have been published here by Farrar, Straus and Giroux. But Swedish agent Niclas Salomonsson, founder of the Salomonsson Agency and a longtime Kepler fan, didnt think the books were generating the sales in the U.S. they deserved. Rights to Keplers books were controlled by an agency co-owned by the authors and the Bonnier Group, but Salomonsson was so convinced of Keplers appeal he bought the agency in 2016 and reached an agreement with FSG to buy back U.S. rights. After giving the English-language editions a close read, Salomonsson said he could tell why the books were not working in the U.S.: bad translations and bad editing. With the six Kepler titles selling more than 11 million copies around the world, Salomonsson said he was stunned Kepler hadnt made it big in the U.S. But, he added: After I read the translation I wasnt stunned. They didnt do justice to the original texts. American readers were not reading the real Lars Kepler. Before looking for a new American publisher for Kepler, Salomonsson hired Neil Smith, who had translated the fourth and fifth books in the series for the U.K. editions, to do new translations for the first three books. Armed with much-improved translations, Salomonssons first thought was to reach out to Mehta, because he believed Mehta would know what he had with Kepler. Salomonsson was so determined to get the books in front of Mehta quickly that he flew to New Delhi, where Mehta was spending a few weeks. (It was my first time in India, Salomonsson said.) The trip was worth it. Ten days after meeting, Salomonsson had a deal. Reading The Sandman, Mehta said, he was impressed by the propulsive nature of the story. He added that its protagonist is one of the scariest Ive ever met and that Kepler is a major voice in the thriller genre. Mehta acquired not only The Sandman, which will be released March 6, but three backlist titles and two future books. In addition to using new translations, Knopf is re-editing the books. Mehta believes the series will appeal to Larsson fans as well as readers of Jo Nesb, another Scandinavian author who has become a bestseller for Knopf. The publisher is planning to bring the Ahndorils to the U.S. for a 10-city tour to support the March release. Paul Bogaards, executive director of media relations for Knopf, said the publisher will present the Ahndorils to American readers with fanfare akin to that given to promising debut authors. As part of its marketing push, Knopf has created a comprehensive media kit and lined up some high-profile endorsements. Lee Child, for example, has supplied a blurb for Sandman: Sensational... like meeting Hannibal Lecter all over againtwice. The Kepler titles will also receive a boost from TV and film projects. Steve Golin, founder and CEO of Anonymous Content, has acquired film and TV rights to the six Joona Linna books. Golins credits include producing such Oscar-winning films as The Revenant and Spotlight and serving as producer of TV series such as 13 Reasons Why, Mr. Robot, and True Detective. The first Kepler project will be a TV series based on the first book, The Hypnotist. Simultaneously, Golin will develop a feature film based on The Sandman. Following the March release of Sandman, Vintage will stagger the release of the previous three books in trade paperback next year: The Hypnotist in July, The Nightmare in September, and The Fire Witness in November. Public streaming services are becoming a key springboard for local video-on-demand (VOD) content, Business Bureau has revealed. According to the analysts, most of the over 250 over-the-top (OTT) platforms available across Latin America are privately-funded, being either independent or belonging to pay-TV operators. However, public platforms are gaining ground, especially as a distribution window for Latin America-produced content.The increasing trend is led by Argentinas Cine.ar Play, which has over 700 local VOD titles available and more than 700,000 registered users. It also offers a transactional VOD (TVOD) service for the latest premieres and has just released a free international catalogue Funded by Colombias minister of culture, Retina Latina is a free VOD service that competes in the local market with 160 films produced in the country. Chile has Ondamedia, supported the the Consejo Nacional de la Cultura y las Artes, with over 300 titles, and Antel has just supported the launch of ClickVeo! in Uruguay Mexico doesn't have its own public platform, but the Instituto Mexicano de Cinematografia sponsors a content package in the SVOD platform Filmin Latino, enabling subscribers to access a free local catalogue of nearly 1,000 titles.In an industry in which OTT offering is growing larger, multi-screen users have become more demanding. OTTs should try to be different, and content quality is one of the distinguishing factors. Local content shows proximity to the audience and enables the platform to increase the reach of local directors, artists and producers, said Tomas Gennari, EVP, Business Bureau Source: Xinhua| 2017-12-02 07:26:25|Editor: pengying Video Player Close HOUSTON, Dec. 1 (Xinhua) -- U.S. oil and oil service companies are rushing to Mexico's newly freed market when the country ended the government-set fuel prices in its central and south region, local media reported on Friday. On the U.S.-Mexico border, U.S. trucks and trains scurry southward from Texas refineries to fuel distribution terminals in Mexico, the report said. At the same time, an increasing number of foreign firms plan to invest in port terminals, fuel storage facilities and other logistics infrastructure in Mexico in order to compete with state-owned Petroleos Mexicanos, the primary fuel vendor and distributor in the country. Chevron Corp, Exxon Mobil Corp, Royal Dutch Shell Plc and BP Plc are among the international companies investing in service stations in Mexico and are now seeking to import fuel. On Thursday, Mexico's energy regulator announced the end of government-set fuel prices in the remaining central and southern regions where price caps were still being applied. After years of preparation, Mexico finished liberalizing prices for gasoline and diesel across the country. I want your listeners to know that by the end of this week theres gonna be some strong signals to China and North Korea that the military option is very viable,Senator Lindsey Graham told Tony Perkins on his radio show Wednesday. The South Carolina Republican, who in recent months has conveyed President Trumps most chilling threats to the Kim regime, did not specify what he had in mind, but he did lay down a marker. As Graham told Perkins, Now, nobody wants a war with North Korea, thousands, maybe millions, could get hurt or get killed but the president has to pick between our homeland security and regional stability and he has told me, he has told the Chinese, that hes not going to live under the threat of a nuclear attack from North Korea and if he has to use military force he will and if theres going to be a war its going to be in Chinas backyard. Senator Graham did not specify what those strong signals would be. So what did he mean? Perhaps he was thinking of oil. Recommended: 8 Million People Could Die in a War with North Korea At about the same time of the Graham interview, Nikki Haley, the U.S. ambassador to the U.N., delivered her own threat to use force. China must show leadership and follow through, she said at an emergency session of the Security Council. China can do this on its own, or we can take the oil situation into our own hands. In substance, Graham said the same thing, albeit with less stark words. During the Perkins interview, he revealed what he thought was the last stop before a military strike. Heres the only option that I can see that would possibly work, is if China basically cut off the energy that North Korea needs to survive or threaten to do so, the senator told the president of the Family Research Council. Recommended: Why North Korea Is Destined to Test More ICBMs and Nuclear Weapons Will America attack the Friendship Pipeline running between China and North Korea or hit the Norths only operating refinery? The Trump administration hasor is trying to give the impression that it hasrun out of patience with sanctions. Since this spring, American leaders, officials, and diplomats have been persuading, cajoling, and forcing their counterparts around the world to cut off the flow of funds to the Kimist state. As a result of the maximum pressure campaign, countries are sending home North Korean workers, closing North Korean diplomatic missions, and shutting down North Korean businesses. Recommended: North Korea Has 200,000 Soldiers in Its Special Forces Recently, there have been signs of financial stress in the Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea. There are reports, for instance, that some officials, members of the regimes favored class, are not getting rations from their special distribution channel. Kim is now requiring an acceleration in loyalty payments, indicating cash flow problems. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, speaking in public last week, talked about shortages of fuel. There are even rumors that North Korean police are rounding up homeless children and shipping them off to labor camps so they can turn out products for sale. At the moment, Haley looks like she is laying the groundwork for more Security Council sanctions on North Korea, which would be the tenth set since 2006, but the reality is that the Trump administration does not need new rules to starve the Kim regime. The presidents September 21 executive order, by itself, can frustrate Pyongyangs dangerous ambitions. Executive Order 13810 basically says that anyone doing business with North Korea cannot do business with the United States, thereby forcing countries like China to choose between the two. Beijing apparently does not think the Trump White House is serious about enforcement of 13810. From all indications, Chinese companies are still doing brisk business with the North. For example, two-way trade between the two states was up 3.7% in the first three calendar quarters of this year according to Beijing and appears to be continuing at more or less the same pace now. It is possible, therefore, that the American threats to use forcefrom Graham, Haley, and othersare merely an attempt to intimidate Chinese officials to end commercial ties with the Kim regime. Whatever the case, the threats to strike the North must be feeding Pyongyangs already heightened sense of paranoia and are definitely contributing to the mood of dread and helplessness in Seoul. At the same time, the war talk is creating an air of triumphalism in Washington. In the American capital, most everyone assumes the United States can attack North Korea without major consequence to the homeland. If theres going to be a war to stop him, it will be over there, Graham, referring to Kim Jong Un, told NBCs Today show in August. If thousands die, theyre going to die over there. Theyre not going to die here. President Trump, the senator said, told me that to my face. An American first strike on North Korea may not result in a limited conflict, however. On August 10, Global Times, a Beijing tabloid controlled by the authoritative Peoples Daily, laid out what appears to be Chinas official position on its treaty obligations to Pyongyang. China should also make clear that if North Korea launches missiles that threaten U.S. soil first and the U.S. retaliates, China will stay neutral, the paper declared in an editorial titled Reckless Game Over the Korean Peninsula Runs Risk of Real War. If the U.S. and South Korea carry out strikes and try to overthrow the North Korean regime and change the political pattern of the Korean peninsula, China will prevent them from doing so. In short, an American strike on North Korea can trigger historys next great conflict, so the senator is too confident predicting there will be no casualties in the American homeland. Graham brings Douglas MacArthur to mind. The general, as his troops pushed North Korean forces up the peninsula in the Korean War, confidently told President Truman in October 1950 that the Chinese would not come to the aid of the Norths Kim Il Sung. The Chinese in fact did intervene, the following month. Seven decades later, Beijing may surprise Washington again by rescuing Kims grandson. This time, however, both sidesnot just Americahave nukes. Reprinted with permission from The National Interest. Gordon G. Chang is the author of Nuclear Showdown: North Korea Takes On the World. Follow him on Twitter @GordonGChang. As thousands of Georgia and South Carolina fans tailgated across campus yesterday, two Georgia gubernatorial campaigns joined fans in the decades-old tradition on their road to the 2018 election. Thanksgiving is behind us so that means Christmas carols are playing on repeat, decorating houses with lights and holiday ornaments, decorating Christmas trees and getting in the holiday spirit. From Christmas cookies to holiday cakes, many Athens restaurants and bakeries are selling a wide array of holiday themed foods. Martinsville is building a new police station. What you need to know. At least two Afghan security officers were killed and 10 other people, including soldiers and civilians, were injured in the eastern province of Nangarhar, officials said on December 2. The two killed were intelligence service members and one was director of the Jalalabad intelligence department, said Attahullah Khogyani, spokesman for the provincial governor. The attack took place when a rocket was fired toward a private TV station in Jalalabad, followed by a blast as security arrived at the scene, followed by a third explosion. An Islamic State group affiliate claimed responsibility for the attack. In another incident, a magnetic bomb attached to an Afghan army recruiting booth exploded in Kabul, injuring at least three people. No group claimed responsibility for this attack. Magnetic bombs are part of a new tactic to target Afghan government officials. Based on reporting by dpa and AFP U.S. President Donald Trump has repeated his denials that there was any collusion between his presidential campaign and agents of the Russian government. Speaking briefly to reporters as he left the White House on December 2, Trump said there was "absolutely no collusion." Later, Trump amplified his remarks in a post on Twitter. "I had to fire General Flynn because he lied to the Vice President and the FBI," Trump wrote. "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 comments came one day after Trump's former national security adviser, Michael Flynn, pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI about his contacts with the Russian ambassador during the transition period between the November 2016 election and the time Trump took office in January 2017. According to media reports, Flynn has agreed to testify that he was ordered by an unnamed senior transition team official to establish connections with the Russian government. Flynn faces up to five years in prison for the charge of lying to the FBI, but his sentencing could also depend on the extent of his cooperation with investigators. Flynn resigned as national security adviser in February after serving in the post just 24 days amid revelations that he misled Vice President Mike Pence about his contacts with then-Russian Ambassador to the United States Sergei Kislyak. Trump's lawyer, Ty Cobb, released a statement on December 1 saying Flynn's guilty plea does not implicate anyone other than Flynn. "The false statements involved [in the indictment] mirror the false statements to White House officials which resulted in [Flynn's] resignation in February," Cobb's statement said. Flynn is the fourth person to be criminally charged in connection with the investigation. Former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort and his business associate Rick Gates were indicted in October on charges that included conspiracy and lying to federal agents. Former foreign policy adviser George Papadopoulos, meanwhile, has pleaded guilty to lying to FBI agents and was cooperating with Muellers investigators. In January, a U.S. intelligence finding charged that the Russian government undertook a concerted effort to influence the 2016 election in favor of Trump. With reporting by AP and Reuters WASHINGTON -- An American stockbroker who made a fortune in the Russian market in the 1990s and 2000s and later co-founded a posh Moscow nightclub before leaving the country died of blunt force injuries suffered as a result of a fall from a Washington, D.C. building. The findings, released on November 16 by the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner (OCME), confirm that Dan Rapoport died on August 14 after falling from a height, but do not conclusively explain the circumstances leading up to his death. Washington police told RFE/RL that an investigation into his death had ended and declined further comment. Earlier this year, a police spokeswoman told RFE/RL that foul play was not suspected, but that final conclusions were pending the autopsy. Rapoport's untimely death triggered much speculation because he had voiced support for ardent Kremlin foe Aleksei Navalny before leaving Russia and, while living in Kyiv in recent years, had been a vocal supporter of Ukraine and an outspoken critic of Russian President Vladimir Putin. Washington metropolitan police found Rapoport's body on August 14 on the sidewalk outside 2400 M Street, a nine-story apartment building in the northwest part of the city. The medical examiner's report said Rapoport, 52, died of multiple blunt force injuries due to fall from height and described the death as sudden/unexplained. The report also said the manner of his death was undetermined. The OCME said no other information would be immediately released. A preliminary police report said officers responded to a report of a jumper on the evening of August 14, and the man, later identified as Rapoport, was taken to a nearby hospital, where he was declared dead. The apartment building has an open rooftop with a pool, running track, and seating area for residents. The police report said officers found $2,620 in cash on Rapoport when they discovered his body on the sidewalk, along with headphones, a cracked cell phone, a Florida drivers license, and other items. He was wearing flip-flops, perhaps indicating he had been at the pool on the roof prior to falling. Brianna Burch, a police spokesperson, told RFE/RL in August that there did not appear to be anyone with Rapoport at the time and there were no listed witnesses. In follow-up correspondences with RFE/RL through early November, the police continued to say they did not suspect foul play. Rapoport had recently moved back to Washington after spending several years working in finance in Ukraine. He told RFE/RL in an interview in Washington in June that business had been tough due to the countrys high political risk and war with Russia. While some friends said they did not believe he would have committed suicide, others said he had appeared depressed. Go-To Location A native of Latvia and a fluent Russian speaker, Rapoport emigrated with his family to the United States in 1980. After graduating from a U.S. university, he moved to Russia in the early 1990s as a wave of privatizations swept across the country. The sale of former state-owned companies created a booming stock market, minting a new generation of millionaires, Russian and foreign. Rapoport was respected within Russian financial circles, where he worked for more than a decade at a local brokerage called CenterInvest, making his way up to managing partner. He claimed his clients included some of the nation's wealthiest tycoons. In 2007, he opened a swanky nightclub in downtown Moscow called Soho Rooms, which became the go-to location for Moscows elite. In 2012, he left Russia and returned to the United States, saying the stock brokerage industry that had made him a fortune "had died" as commission fees shrunk with improvements in technology. But in a media interview prior to his departure, he also criticized the direction Russia had taken under Putin and expressed support for Navalny, who was jailed last year on what Western governments say were trumped-up charges. It has really become unbearable to live in Russia, Rapoport told media outlet FinParty in June of that year. We are all now dependent on one ruler. If this person decides that you will give birth to his child, then you will give birth, and if he decide to put you in prison, then you will serve time. He told FinParty that he would give up his American citizenship and return to Russia if Navalny became president, saying the opposition leader was sincere in his desire to fight corruption. He is a real hero of our time and deserves respect, Rapoport said of Navalny. Rapoports frustration with Russia and his decision to leave may have been triggered by pressure on his businesses, friends and family have said. Under Putin, the raiding of profitable businesses by -- or with the help of -- the nations security services has flourished. Rapoport allegedly lost his stake in Soho Rooms when his partners teamed up with security officials. "Our flight to Washington is in 12 hours. It's sad to leave Russia, but for thoughtful people, living here has become unbearable and disgusting," Rapoport wrote on his Facebook page on June 13, 2012. When Rapoport moved to Washington, where he said his parents lived, he set up a company called Rapoport Capital to advise and assist technology startups as well as venture capital funds on fundraising options. In 2016, four years after leaving Russia, Rapoport set up an office in Kyiv and opened a private equity fund. It was tough going. Ukraines economy struggled amid an ongoing war with Russia-backed separatists in two eastern regions and the slow implementation of Western-backed reforms. In social-media posts over the ensuing years, he was a vocal supporter of Ukraine and an outspoken critic of Putin. Rapoport gained a degree of publicity in January 2017 after The New York Times reported that the daughter and son-in-law of newly elected President Donald Trump had purchased a mansion owned by him and his first wife. The mansion was located in an exclusive neighborhood of the U.S. capital. In 2018, the open-source investigative organization Bellingcat reported that Rapoport, who was Jewish, had been the creator of a fictional persona named David Jewberg, who was frequently quoted in Ukrainian media as a senior Pentagon analyst. With reporting by Todd Prince in Washington, D.C. and Mike Eckel in Prague The Kosovar justice minister says Prime Minister Ramush Haradinaj has been removed from an international arrest warrant issued by Serbia. Today, I was informed that Interpol has removed 18 people from Kosovo that are wanted by Serbia and this list also includes the prime minister, Justice Minister Abelard Tahiri said on December 1. After todays decision, all these individuals are free to travel outside the country without any problem, he added. Haradinaj is a former guerrilla commander who fought in Kosovos battle for independence from Serbia. Serbia did not immediately comment on the reports. He has been arrested twice on a warrant from Serbia -- in Slovenia in 2015 and in France earlier this year -- but was released both times. Haradinaj was also charged with war crimes, tried, and cleared twice by the UN war crimes tribunal in The Hague. Western-backed Kosovo declared independence from Serbia in 2008, a move recognized by 115 countries, although not by Serbia or Russia. Haradinaj, the leader of the center-right Alliance for the Future of Kosovo (AAK), was appointed Kosovos prime minister on September 9, helping to end months of political instability in the Balkan country. Serbia is an official candidate for European Union membership, while Kosovo is seeking the status. The EU has urged Pristina and Belgrade to normalize relations and is sponsoring talks aimed at ending years of hostility. Based on reporting by RFE/RL's Balkan Service and Reuters Source: Xinhua| 2017-12-02 07:26:26|Editor: Yamei Video Player Close Photo taken on Dec. 1, 2017 shows a poster with red ribbon logo on the exterior wall of a government building in downtown Brussels, Belgium, on the occasion of World Aids Day. (Xinhua/Ye Pingfan) by Xinhua writer Wang Jiangang UNITED NATIONS, Dec. 1 (Xinhua) -- People with Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) are living longer and healthier than at any time since the outset of the AIDS (acquired immunodeficiency syndrome) epidemic in 1981. On World AIDS Day, which falls on December 1, the United Nations is sending out a cheering message -- the goal of wiping out the epidemic by 2030 appears within reach. BIG STRIDES Almost 21 million of the 36.7 million people worldwide living with HIV had access to antiretroviral therapy (ART) in 2017 -- a huge jump from the 685,000 people undergoing treatment in 2000. Deaths related to AIDS fell to 1 million in 2016 from 1.9 million in 2005, according to UNAIDS, the Joint United Nations Program on HIV/AIDS. If not treated, HIV can lead to AIDS. This progress puts the world on track to reach the global target of 30 million people on treatment by 2020, Michel Sidibe, Executive Director of UNAIDS said in his message on the Day. UNAIDS data show substantial progress has been made toward reaching the "90-90-90" target designed to help wipe out AIDS by 2030. The goal calls for 90 percent of people living with HIV to know their HIV status by 2020; 90 percent of those diagnosed to receive sustained ART; and 90 percent of individuals on ART to achieve viral suppression. "More than two-thirds of all people living with HIV globally knew their HIV status in 2016," Sidibe noted. "Among those who knew their HIV status, 77 percent were accessing antiretroviral therapy and 82 percent of people on treatment had suppressed viral loads." The availability of affordable, generic antiretroviral medicines has made HIV treatment accessible, he said. The 1.8 million people who were newly infected in 2016 represent a 39 percent drop from the 3 million who became infected at the peak of the epidemic in the late 1990s, according to UNAIDS. AIDS is no longer the high-profile public health menace it once was thanks to the discovery in 2011 that antiretroviral treatment can not only suppress HIV in the bloodstream and reduce the risk of spreading the virus, but also, some experts predict, eventually end the epidemic. FUNDAMENTAL HUMAN RIGHT "The right to health is a fundamental human right, everybody has the right to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health, as enshrined in the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights," Sidibe noted. The world will not achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which include the target of ending AIDS by 2030, without people attaining their right to health, Sidibe said Friday, marking World AIDS Day with a strong appeal for the full realization of this fundamental right by everyone, everywhere. Indeed, the right to health is linked to all the SDGs and "is interrelated with a range of other rights, including the rights to sanitation, food, decent housing, healthy working conditions and a clean environment." Sidibe pointed out the most marginalized and affected still face challenges in accessing urgently-needed health and social services, asserting "we all must continue to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with the people being left behind and demand that no one is denied their human rights." "For all the successes, AIDS is not yet over. But by ensuring that everyone, everywhere accesses their right to health, it can be," he concluded. For her part, Audrey Azoulay, the Director-General of the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), stressed the right to quality education for all, because the two goals -- health and education -- go hand in hand. "This linkage stands at the heart of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the UNAIDS 2016-2021 Strategy, she explained. As outlined in UNESCO's Strategy on Education for Health and Well-Being: Contributing to the Sustainable Development Goals, health and education are mutually reinforcing: healthy learners learn better, and better-educated learners are healthier. "They are also mutually dependent -- without the right to education we cannot truly fulfil the right to health," Azoulay continued, stressing that in a world where young people -- especially girls and young women -- bear a disproportionate burden of HIV and AIDS, "we all must recognize that comprehensive sexuality education is central to their right to health, and to the health of all societies." CHALLENGES CALL FOR MORE EFFORTS Although big progress has been made, challenges still remain in the fight against this epidemic. Some parts of the response to HIV are lagging behind. "In some regions of the world, hard-won successes are being reversed, with rising numbers of new HIV infections and AIDS-related deaths," UN chief Antonio Guterres warned, calling for "a renewed commitment to finish what we have started and to make the AIDS epidemic a thing of the past." Picking up that thread in her message, Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, the Executive Director of UN Women, said that according to UNAIDS, every four minutes, three young women become infected with HIV. "They are clearly not enjoying their right to health, nor will they, until we are able to reverse the inequalities and discrimination that fuel HIV spread. Those whose health and future are currently least prioritized must become our focus, if we are to achieve the changes we seek," she said. As such, leaving no woman or girl behind in the HIV response means ensuring their meaningful participation and engagement in designing that response, improving access to services and demanding their right to health. "To do that, we foster women's voices and leadership and support their place at decision-making tables," Mlambo-Ngcuka continued, adding that in 2016, UN Women supported networks of women living with HIV in 31 countries to increase their engagement in the national HIV responses. "This World AIDS Day, UN Women call for a commitment to prioritize and reach all the women and girls being left behind in the HIV response: every last woman and girl." Nikola Gruevski, the leader of Macedonias VMRO-DPMNE, says he plans to step down soon as the head of the countrys conservative opposition party. His comments, made in an interview published on December 1 by Kurir News come just over a month after the ruling Social Democratic Union (SDSM) won a sweeping victory over the VMRO-DPMNE in two rounds of local elections. The results delivered a severe blow to the VMRO-DPMNE, which had ruled much of the country for more than a decade and spurred debate within the party over its leadership. Gruevski, who faces criminal investigations involving allegations of corruption and a wire-tapping scandal from during his time as the countrys prime minister, complained of irregularities in the election but conceded defeat. Regardless of the outcome of the election analysis, even if it finds that objectively my responsibility for the defeat was small or nonexistent, I will submit my resignation, Gruevski said in the interview. He added that he hopes his departure would help to settle the overall political atmosphere in the former Yugoslav republic. Gruevski did not specify when he would resign as party leader but said it could happen within the next two weeks. Meanwhile, Macedonian deputies voted on December 1 to lift the immunity of six VMRO-DPMNE members to allow them to be prosecuted over an attack by protesters on the parliament building in April. The action was supported by 67 of the 120-member chamber. Opposition lawmakers boycotted the vote, claiming it was politically motivated. The public prosecutor has charged 36 people with a terrorist threat to the constitutional order and security" over the storming of parliament that left more than 100 people injured. The six MPs could not be detained or tried unless their immunity was lifted. With reporting by Kurir, BalkanInsight, AP, Macedonian Informaton Agency, and AFP French President Emmanuel Macron has called on all parties in Iraq to dismantle militias, including the government-backed Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF). Macron made the comments in Paris on December 2 during a meeting with Iraqi Kurdish region Prime Minister Nechirvan Barzani and his deputy, Qubad Talabani. Macron called for talks between Kurds and Baghdad to resolve tensions that spiked after Iraq's autonomous Kurdish region held an independence referendum on September 25. "It is essential that there is a gradual demilitarization, in particular of the Popular Mobilization Forces which established themselves in the last few years in Iraq," Macron said, "and that all militias be gradually dismantled." The Iraqi government has denied allegations that the Iran-backed PMF has engaged in systematic human rights abuses. Macron also called for the implementation of the part of the Iraqi Constitution that was intended to settle the status of territories disputed by Baghdad and the Kurdish region through a referendum. The meeting with Macron was the most high-profile diplomatic reception Iraqi Kurdish leaders have had since the September referendum. Based on reporting by Reuters, AP, and AFP WASHINGTON -- U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson is scheduled to meet Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in Vienna next week, with Syria and Ukraine to be on the agenda, a senior State Department official has said. The official on December 1 said the meeting is set to take place on the sidelines of an Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) meeting in the Austrian capital, most likely on December 7. There is a meeting thats been scheduled with Foreign Minister Lavrov, said the official, speaking on condition of anonymity. We have a fairly robust set of discussions under way with the Russians on a lot of global issues -- [North Korea], Ukraine, and certainly Syria, the official said when asked if Tillerson would address the six-year civil war in Syria during his upcoming European trip. Tillerson is scheduled to travel to Brussels, Vienna, and Paris on December 4-8 for NATO, European Union, and OSCE meetings. The State Department official said Ukraine will very much be on the agenda during the OSCE talks. The OSCE plays a role in Ukraine, particularly with the Special Monitoring Mission, the official said. The secretary really has a heart forthe safety and security of the Ukrainian people in the east in the occupied territories who continue to be the target of military operations with the encouragement and participation of forces from the Russian Federation. The official added that the United States continues to pursue negotiations with Russian counterparts, citing the meetings of U.S. special envoy Kurt Volker and Kremlin aide Vladislav Surkov. Volker was named earlier this year to lead efforts to end the conflict in eastern Ukraine. Russia-backed separatists control parts of the Luhansk and Donetsk regions of Ukraine, including the border between those areas and Russia, which Kyiv says is used to ship weapons and military personnel in from Russia. Fighting between government forces and Russia-backed separatists has killed more than 10,000 people in Ukraines east since April 2014. The official said whatever settlement is eventually decided upon for Ukraine, it must fit into the framework of the so-called Minsk agreements. Several cease-fire deals announced as part of the Minsk accords -- September 2014 and February 2015 pacts aimed at resolving the conflict -- have failed to hold. It needs to be an outcome that would have a UN force encompassing the contested area and not just ratifying the gains that the Russians have made on the ground, the official said. Tillerson's trip comes after U.S. media reported that President Donald Trump was preparing to fire the secretary and replace him with Mike Pompeo, the current head of the Central Intelligence Agency. However, Trump in a Twitter posting on December 1 wrote that the reports are "fake news." Trump said Tillerson "is not leaving and while we disagree on certain subjects, (I call the final shots) we work well together." Tillerson told reporters in Washington during an appearance with Libyan Prime Minister Fayez al-Sarraj that the reports were "laughable." So far, checking into a standard Uzbek hotel has gotten you a bed, bathroom, and TV set, at a minimum. But Uzbek authorities say there will soon be a few new additions to many hotel rooms, with copies of the Koran, the Bible, and "the books of other official religions" on hand for guests. Officials have also ordered that at least 10 percent of rooms have Islamic prayer mats and 30 percent of rooms indicate on the ceiling the direction of the city of Mecca, which pious Muslims are obliged to face during their prayers. The order comes as the new administration of President Shavkat Mirziyoev is seeking ways to increase international tourism to the relatively unfrequented former Soviet republic, home to a segment of the storied Silk Road trade route, ancient mosques, and a renowned carpet-weaving industry. According to the state tourism and religious-affairs agencies, the sacred texts and prayer rugs will be added to the amenities list starting on January 1. While long customary in some hotels around the world -- including in the United States, where Gideons Bible is a catchword for the practice -- major chains have recently opted away from providing sacred texts in their rooms under at least some of their brands. Meanwhile, in post-Soviet Uzbekistan, where officials have for years warned of the dangers of religious and other forms of extremism, authorities have taken tentative steps over the past year toward loosening restrictions on religious practices. The sacred-texts directive was announced both by Uzbekistan's national tourism committee and its Islamic-affairs directorate on their official websites. An inventory list obtained by RFE/RLs Uzbek Service obliges hotels to place religious books and prayer mats in at least 10 percent of their rooms. The prayer mats should be in 30 percent of the rooms, it says. The practice of placing religious texts in hotels is thought to have begun in the United States around a century ago when three traveling Christian missionaries put Bibles in hotel rooms to spread the Gospel. Some U.S. hotels later added other sacred books to their nightstands, although many have recently discontinued the tradition. Some hotels in Arab countries provide a prayer rug and a copy of the Koran in their rooms. The Uzbek tourism agency said that the move is aimed at promoting tourism and catering to the needs of hotel guests -- both foreign and local visitors. It comes just days after a dedicated Islamic prayer room with a separate space with ablution facilities was opened for the first time at Tashkent International Airport. Uzbekistan recently allowed major mosques to use loudspeakers for calls to prayer for the first time in more than a decade. It had been banned since a bloody government crackdown on antigovernment unrest in the eastern city of Andijon in May 2005 that the government of the late President Islam Karimov blamed on Islamic extremists. Mirziyoev, who came to power after Karimovs death in 2016, has relaxed some of the restrictions. Mirziyoev announced on September 1 that around 16,000 people had been removed from a blacklist of potential religious extremists. Addressing a gathering of Muslim clerics and officials, Mirziyoev said that 9,500 people removed from the list had already been provided with jobs. Many thousands of people were blacklisted during Karimovs 27-year rule, which saw the rise of the militant Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan (IMU) group and cracked down hard on Islamists in the name of combating religious extremism. Several religious figures arrested on dubious charges under the previous regime have been released from prison in recent months, although detentions of journalists and others have tempered hopes of a fuller thaw. Human Rights Watch (HRW) has welcomed the releases but said thousands more convicted on dubious charges still remain in Uzbek prisons. The decision was made Friday at a meeting of the Imperial House Council, which was chaired by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and included parliamentary leaders, supreme court judges and imperial family members. Akihito manifested his wish to abdicate, previously, in August 2016, citing his age and health. When I consider that my fitness level is gradually declining, I am worried that it may become difficult for me to carry out my duties as the symbol of the State with my whole being as I have done until now, he said at that time. Image from the Japan The timing was chosen so that Akihito can abdicate after reaching his 30th anniversary on the throne. Legislation allowing Akihito to abdicate within three years was enacted earlier this year, because the 1947 Imperial House Law does not provide for abdication.. Preparations will include deciding a new era name and a new home for the emperor and the empress. The countrys monarchy is 2,000-year-old. The current male-only succession rules prohibit women from succeeding to the Chrysanthemum Throne and female members lose their royal status when they marry a commoner. In Tokyo on Friday locals expressed their sadness at the loss of their Emperor. The suspicion of an improvised explosive device has been confirmed, German police said on Twitter. The device was defused in a controlled explosion. However, even if the package contained a cylindrical object with cables, batteries and nails, no detonator had been found. Germany has been on high alert for possible jihadist attacks after last Decembers deadly attack when a failed Tunisian asylum seeker drove a truck into a Christmas market in Berlin in December 2016, killing 12 people and injuring another 56. Christmas market in Potsdam Germany has since been targeted again in attacks with radical Islamist motives. The ISIS 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, in particular because of its involvement in the coalition fighting ISIS in Iraq and Syria. As a result of Fridays incident, police in Potsdam said that they will bolster their presence at the Christmas market with extra officers from Germanys rapid response and support division. Source: Xinhua| 2017-12-02 07:31:27|Editor: Mengjie Video Player Close PUNTA DEL ESTE, Uruguay, Dec. 1 (Xinhua) -- China's Belt and Road Initiative should serve as an inspiration to Latin America and the Caribbean, president of the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), Luis Alberto Moreno, said on Friday. Addressing the opening of the 11th China-Latin America and the Caribbean (China-LAC) Business Summit here, Moreno said "anyone who looks into the initiative will see that it is truly amazing given its scale and goal of integrating countries in different parts of the globe." "The initiative should inspire us in this region as well to speed up our process of integration and thus transform ourselves into a major regional stage," said Moreno. The initiative China proposed in 2013 comprises the overland Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st-Century Maritime Silk Road, seeking to revive and expand the ancient Silk Road trade routes and connect Asia, Africa and Europe through better infrastructure, greater trade and enhanced people-to-people exchanges. According to Moreno, there are elements of the initiative that Latin America can adopt, such as creating a regional free trade zone. An LAC free trade area is a goal "we can and must reach," said Moreno, noting the integration of subregional trade blocs like the southern cone's Mercosur (Southern Common Market) and the Pacific Alliance, which gathers Pacific facing countries, can help. "The increasing proximity between Mercosur and Pacific Alliance countries should encourage us to continue working to attain that goal," said Moreno. As for China, the IDB head said the Asian giant "is highly likely" to surpass the United States as a leading investor in the region, and that "it is preparing to make the great leap to becoming the world's largest economy." "We hope that more business meetings take place to deepen ties with China," Moreno said. The China-LAC Business Summit this year, which runs till Saturday, drew some 2,500 business leaders, including 700 from China. Back home at Southold, first black director aims to broaden reach Sarah Taylor performed in "The Nutcracker" as a girl and now as a "party parent." She's trying to get more kids exposed to ballet. After tackling topics such as how to make a T-shirt and how to drill for oil, the "Planet Money" podcast team at National Public Radio has a new topic to explore: how to launch a satellite into space. The team did just that for real a few weeks ago. "We wanted something that was clearly different and exciting," Robert Smith, host of "Planet Money," told Space.com. The team was thinking about recent news and remembered a SpaceX rocket launch had just happened, he said. "'Why don't we go to space?' [we asked]. I, for one, did not think it was possible at all," he said. "I just did not. I thought maybe we could watch a rocket go off, but how would you even start?" [Cubesats: Tiny, Versatile Spacecraft Explained (Infographic)] (opens in new tab) A photo posted by on The satellite series began Wednesday (Nov. 29). It continues tonight (Dec. 1), Wednesday (Dec. 6) and Friday (Dec. 8). Two more episodes will air sometime in January. You can follow the series at https://www.npr.org/sections/money/ and www.npr.org/spacemission. With the help of listeners and some representatives from the space industry who are used to launching amateur experiments, the "Planet Money" team began hunting down options to launch a satellite. The team quickly realized that a journalist's deadline and a space industry deadline are very different; even some small cubesat missions take years to develop. The elegant solution was to "adopt" a satellite, "Planet Money" producer Elizabeth Kulas told Space.com. The team got to name a mini-satellite in production by Planet Labs (now called Planet), a company that observes Earth with a swarm of small "Dove" satellites. No money was exchanged and no contract was signed, but NPR did receive a few perks from the arrangement. Specifically, the team got to laser-etch something of their choosing on the satellite. "The satellite says on the side, 'Hello and welcome to 'Planet Money'' in the waveform of a voice," Smith said, referring to a reproduction of the waveform that statement produces, spoken out loud. The team also had to agree on a name. Given that "Planet Money" talks about economics, several puns were thrown around. "No Free Launch," "Money to Burn" and "Battleship Free Enterprise" were among the names considered, Kulas said. But in the end, the podcast went with the simple "Pod 1." "Pod" came from the word "podcast," and "1" is supposed to refer to the first of a series of NPR satellites (which Smith said was meant more as a joke than an actual possibility). (opens in new tab) A photo posted by on And as with all proper missions, the "Planet Money" team also designed a mission patch. The patch includes a squirrel (a reference to the series of episodes in which the podcast created a T-shirt, which featured a squirrel), an astronaut, a small model of the satellite and 11 stars to represent all members of the "Planet Money" team even the intern. The satellite launched on Halloween (Oct. 31) aboard an Orbital ATK Minotaur C rocket from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. Smith was among the members of "Planet Money" who saw the launch in person. He said he's listened over and over again to the excitement he had in his voice on that day. "'It's so bright. Go out there and look at it!' It was super-exciting." [Planet Labs Photos of Earth from Space (Gallery)] (opens in new tab) A photo posted by on "Space fever" and choosing a mission While the launch itself was exciting, the team realized it had forgotten something key to its work: choosing something for the little satellite to do as it collects imagery of Earth from space. There still is some time to figure this out, however, as Pod 1 won't start its work until after configuration. That means the mission will begin no earlier than February. The satellite itself is expected to last two or three years before atmospheric drag from its low-Earth orbit causes the spacecraft to enter the atmosphere and burn up. "A lot of people [we talked to] said, 'You know, this right here is one of the problems you see in the space world,'" Smith acknowledged. "People are so excited to go to space that they haven't spent as much time as perhaps they should [thinking] about what kind of data you're going to get, and how you're going to get that data, and what the business plan is. We'd fallen into the trap of space fever." As will be discussed in the podcast tonight (Dec. 1), the team is considering a couple of options. One is to track the global avocado supply to try to predict guacamole levels during the Super Bowl and how much the guacamole will cost. "It's kind of a joke," Smith acknowledged, but he said it is a good way to show listeners the path of commodities and supply chains. Another possibility is following the lead of economics researchers who often try to improve conditions for developing countries, Smith said. For example, insurance helps farmers in places like Ghana grow more crops. But to predict the yield, dozens of people need to go to remote villages to measure the height of a crop like corn a process that could be simplified using satellite imagery. The "Planet Money" team said that it will keep listeners updated on how the mission is doing and will reveal what the data will be used for. Follow us @Spacedotcom, Facebook and Google+. Original article on Space.com. Updated 12:25 p.m. Eastern. WASHINGTON The co-founder of a new congressional caucus devoted to NASA said he hopes to use it to advocate for the agency's needs in Congress once a new administrator is in place. Rep. Steve Knight (R-Calif.) co-founded the new NASA Caucus in October with Rep. Marcy Kaptur (D-Ohio). The bipartisan caucus now has about 50 members, he said in a Nov. 30 speech at a Commercial Spaceflight Federation breakfast here. "We're going to talk about what NASA can do, what the private industry can do, what commercial spaceflight is going to be doing, what everything is going to be doing, all meshed together," he said. [US Will Return to the Moon, Mike Pence Says] Knight said later that the caucus didn't have any specific legislative priorities at this time. Rather, he said he was waiting for the Senate to confirm the nomination of Rep. Jim Bridenstine (R-Okla.) to the position and get his input on his priorities for NASA. "I don't want to get out in front of a possible new administrator," Knight said. "We'll talk to the new administrator, talk to the caucus as a whole, and try to find out how we can help." He added that he's invited Bridenstine to speak to the caucus once confirmed. Knight endorsed the nomination of Bridenstine as NASA administrator. "Jim Bridenstine will do an exceptional job," he said, saying he had the attributes to be a good leader for the agency. "I am hopeful Jim will be the next administrator, and I think that he will." While not talking about specific priorities the caucus had, Knight, whose district includes part of Edwards Air Force Base, where NASA's Armstrong Flight Research Center is located, said that the agency's work in aeronautics was a priority for him. "Our push is always to make sure NASA is putting money into aerospace; it is the 'big A' of NASA," he said. "They've been a little lacking in the funding." He was less interested, though, in human missions to Mars, at least in the 2030s timeframe others in Congress have supported. "I know that there are people out there that think we're going to be on Mars in 2033," he said, an apparent reference to Rep. Ed Perlmutter (D-Colo.), a fellow member of the House Science Committee who frequently advocates for a 2033 human Mars mission in committee hearings. "I'm not of those people. I still think there's a lot of things we need to do before we can get to Mars in the next 16 years." (A spokesperson for Rep. Perlmutter told SpaceNews Dec. 1 that he is also a member of the NASA Caucus.) Knight said the impending retirement of Rep. Lamar Smith (R-Texas), the chairman of the science committee who announced in November he would not run for reelection in 2018, could be a factor in lobbying for future NASA budget increases. "He's been a good advocate in trying to make sure that we're starting to bump up NASA's budget," he said of Smith. "It's going to be interesting on who's going to take over [the committee] because I think that's going to be one of the positions that we're looking at to keep bumping up NASA a little bit." Knight, who also serves on the House Armed Services Committee, weighed in on some elements of the final version of the National Defense Authorization Act. He said he expected one provision of the bill, which would prevent the Defense Department from buying satellite services involving spacecraft launched from Russia or China after 2022, would have to be later amended. "I think that 2022 [deadline] will probably have to move," he said. "I don't know that we're going to get there, and I don't know that that's going to be achievable." He added he didn't support the "Space Corps" provision in the original House version of the act, but not in the final version. "I am not a fan of the Space Corps," he said, arguing that resources should be provided to the Air Force to carry out its space responsibilities rather than create a "whole new bureaucracy" of a Space Corps. "I think the Air Force is the best place for it." This story was provided by SpaceNews, dedicated to covering all aspects of the space industry. Source: Xinhua| 2017-12-02 07:43:56|Editor: pengying Video Player Close Egyptians attend a Friday prayer at the Al-Rawda Mosque where a terrorist attack took place in Bir al-Abed of North Sinai, Egypt, on Dec. 1, 2017. A terrorist attack took place here on Nov. 24, killing at least 305 Muslim worshippers, including children, and wounding over 120 others. (Xinhua/Ahmed Gomaa) New York, Nov 22, 2017 Ahead of the UN Security Councils 22 November meeting on Western Sahara, the Front POLISARIO reiterates its support to the mission of the Personal Envoy of the Secretary-General for Western Sahara, Mr. Horst Kohler, and urges Council members to provide necessary contribution to the relaunch of the UN peace process. The Frente POLISARIO expects the Security Council to uphold its responsibility towards the People of Western Sahara and to ensure full respect to their inalienable right to self-determination and independence. The Council has the duty to guarantee that its own resolutions are respected and fully implemented. In this regard, UNSC resolution 2351(2017) has requested the Personal Envoy to provide an update on progress towards a lasting and just solution to the conflict of Western Sahara, as a question of decolonization, within six months of his appointment. This update to be held next February should comprise a concrete framework for the path forward that would culminate in urgent time-bound, face-to-face negotiations between the Frente POLISARIO and Morocco. In the interim, it is more than necessary that the Council addresses ongoing issues in order to create more favorable conditions for the new negotiating process. Morocco continues to reject the return to Western Sahara of the AU observers that were illegally expelled by Morocco in March 2016. There has still been no technical mission to the Guerguerat region of Western Sahara to examine the very serious problems created by Moroccos unilateral violation of the terms of the cease fire, as called for in UNSC Resolution 2351 (2017). Likewise, Moroccos ongoing, widespread human rights abuses and plunder of natural resources in the occupied Territory of Western Sahara suggest a culture of impunity that is not conducive to a constructive and lasting peace process. The POLISARIO welcomes increased regional engagement on these issues in the form of greater AU-UN cooperation on Western Sahara. With a new Personal Envoy in place and a clear Security Council mandate the peace process should be resumed bearing in mind that the respect of the right of self-determination of the people of Western Sahara must be the principal guidance for any credible efforts by the United Nations aimed at ensuring a lasting and just solution to the conflict of Western Sahara, the last African colony in the agenda of the United Nations. For the Frente Polisario, the right of self-determination of the people of our country is inalienable and, therefore, not negotiable, said Ahmed Boukhari, the Frente POLISARIOs Representative to the UN. SPS 125/090 Abjdjan, Dec 1, 2017 (SPS) -President of the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR) and Secretary General of the Polisario Front Brahim Ghali affirmed Thursday that Western Saharas participation in the 5th African Union-European Union Summit in Abidjan was a victory for the Sahrawi people and their just cause. In a statement on the sidelines of the 5th AU-EU partnership Summit in Abidjan, the Sahrawi president said that Africas unified position and the commitment of member countries to the Constitutive Act thwarted Moroccos attempts to exclude SADR and proved showed Africans Moroccos malicious intention to dislocate African unity." SADR President also hailed the consensual position of African countries on the participation of AU member countries to any partnership between African and its partners. This position shows to the whole world and all partners that SADR cannot be ignored as a permanent founding member of the AU. Speaking on the sidelines of the Summit, Deputy Minister and Advisor to the Sahrawi Presidency Bashir Mustapha Sayed said that what happened at the Summit would "lead to appeasement in the region and boost the building of the Great Arab Maghreb with Western Sahara. SADRs participation in this meeting is "an achievement and a victory for the Saharawi cause," he said. (SPS) 062/SPS/APS W hat were you doing when you were 18? While most of us probably have hazy memories of nights out in Magaluf, Amika George is fighting for rights to free sanitary products for disadvantaged teenage girls. The A Level student began her campaign, aptly named #FreePeriods, in April this year after reading a report that stated there were girls across the UK who were living in such crippling levels of poverty that they could not afford menstrual products during their period. A phenomenon known as period poverty, which was once prevalent in third world countries has become more commonplace in the UK of late as more young women struggle to be able to afford sanitary products a basic need for women on their period. I had absolutely no idea that it was happening in the UK, that girls as young as 10 were routinely missing school because they werent able to access protection, the north London resident told the Standard. It seemed abhorrent to me that there were children creating almost primitive, makeshift solutions such as socks stuffed with stolen toilet paper, or newspaper and I was disgusted that no help was being given to them. These children would face enormous anxiety while sitting in lessons, fearful that theyd bled onto their uniform, so the easiest solution was often simply to miss school. It was clear to me that missing lessons means falling further behind in academic progress, and these children find they are such a long way off from attaining their goals and ambitions, all because they bleed. This report sparked something in Amika who began researching deeper into the topic and launched her campaign which petitions the UK Government to give free sanitary products to children on free school meals. She explained: To me, this seemed logical, as these are the ones who are from families that are facing real financial challenges, who have been means-tested already. Many of these families depend on food banks to be able to eat. For them, period protection is so far down the list of priorities that its an unattainable luxury. As the government already has a list of children on the free school meals, Amika says they know who these families are that may need extra help and hence can begin to implement a system that ensures these children have no impediments to learning. Luxuries equivalent to the 18k women spend on periods in a lifetime 1 /8 Luxuries equivalent to the 18k women spend on periods in a lifetime 20 Mulberry Bayswater bags Alexa Chungs favourite handbag in a classic oak hue costs a splurge-worthy 895 to buy - but you could buy 20 with your 18k budget Getty A night in the Apartment at The Connaught, London If youre looking for a less practical luxury to splurge your money on, you could blow it all on a night at Mayfair's premier penthouse suite - with lofty living spaces, a luxury four-poster bed and roaring fires to boot. A Tiffany engagement ring (with 5000 spare to spend on the wedding band) A refund on a lifetime of sanitary products is equivalent to being able to buy Tiffany's Soleste ring - a brilliant diamond encircled by a double row of bead-set diamonds... with a cool 5K to spare on a complementary wedding ring. Tiffany A Bente 24 boat Doing away with periods for good could get you your own personal Bente boat. Sailing around the coast or making a lifetime of trips to Boots? We know which one wed choose... Bente 25 Iphone 6 Plus handsets Liable to losing your phone? you can buy 25 32G iPhone 6 Plus back up handsets with change to spare. Getty A Tibetan Mastiff and Samoyed puppy (two of the worlds most expensive breeds) 18k will get you two of the most and expensive and coveted breeds in the world - a Tibetan Mastiff can cost up to 7,000 while a thoroughbred Samoyed can set you back 10,000. Getty Since beginning her campaign, Amika has spoken to girls who are going through their period with just one tampon. If a tampon is left in for too long it can cause major health issues like toxic shock syndrome. Amika added: [The girls] darent ask their parent for money because they know there just isnt any, and often we are talking about very young children here. Menstrual products can be picked up for a pound, and Ive had people saying to me who cant afford a pound ? but this demonstrates a real lack of understanding of the extent of poverty that exists in the UK today. A report by Meghan Markle (yes, that Meghan Markle) for TIME magazine revealed when a girl misses school because of her period, cumulatively this puts her behind her male classmates by 145 days. Globally, 113 million girls in India between 12 and 14 are at risk of dropping out of school because they cant access adequate protection for their period, which means something their body does naturally is stopping these girls from enjoying the same equal learning platform that their male counterparts do. Amikas campaign, which you can find on Change.org, already has in excess of 80,000 signatures with the goal being to reach 150,000. The ideal result is for the Government to make a statutory pledge to provide free menstrual products to girls who need them but my campaign is two-pronged in that Im working to smash the ridiculous, gender-biased taboo surrounding periods, Amika explained. We need to normalise conversations around menstruation- thats so important! There are lots of fantastic organisations working to end the stigma and it's working. We need to embrace our periods and understand that our bodies should be celebrated for all the wonderful things they do. Talking in hushed tones is simply not necessary! We also need much more education about menstruation. Girls often find that when they get their period, theyre not equipped with enough knowledge to understand whats normal and whats not, or even how to cope with the bleeding. Just eight months into her campaign and Amika has already received an overwhelming amount of support. The high school student even gave her first TEDx talk on the campaign last month and says juggling homework, exams, university applications, speaking engagements, meetings and campaigning is not easy. But Amika is determined to fight the good fight until we hear that a statutory pledge has been made to end period poverty in the UK. How can you get involved in the #FreePeriods campaign? freeperiods.org, design by Alice Skinner Amika has organised a peaceful protest to take place on Wednesday December 20 from 5-8pm at Parliament Square in London, encouraging everyone that comes to wear red and stand up for the disadvantaged children that cant do so themselves. YouTube superstar Tanya Burr has been confirmed as one of the speakers at the protest and it is a call for Theresa May and the government to take action on period poverty in the UK. You can also sign the #FreePeriods petition here, and head to their website where you can find details of the protest, sign up to the newsletter and email and tweet Education Secretary Justine Greening. To find out more about Amikas campign and #FreePeriods, visit the website freeperiods.org. A south London council is in talks to ban pro-life campaigners from harassing women outside abortion clinics. Southwark council is the third local authority in the UK to consider creating buffer zones which would force anti-abortion campaigners to stand further away from clinic entrances. It comes as home secretary Amber Rudd promised an in-depth review into intimidation against women at family planning clinics. Women across London have reportedly been handed pictures and models of dismembered foetuses and told they will be haunted by their baby. Southwark councillors this week voted overwhelmingly to explore the option of buffer zones. It came after reports of protesters outside the Colombo Street clinic wearing body cameras, holding graphic banners and handing out misleading leaflets. The manager of the Southwark clinic, run by charity the British Pregnancy Advisory Service, said they were delighted, adding protesters had been unnerving clients and staff and intimidating and upsetting women. Protest: Pro-life campaigners outside the clinic in Ealing, which voted to consider introducing buffer zones. / Sister Supporter Southwark council noted: This motion is not about the arguments for or against abortion but rather about a womans legal right to go to a clinic without intimidation or harassment. In October, Ealing council was the first to pass the landmark decision to consider introducing measures to stop protesters approaching women at the Marie Stopes clinic. Portsmouth council was the second to vote for considering a public spaces protection order to be brought in outside the abortion clinic. The vote in Ealing came after more than 3,000 campaigners signed a petition put forward by womens rights group Sisters Supporter. Last week, Government minister Ms Rudd ordered a review, saying: While everyone has a right to peaceful protest, it is completely unacceptable that anyone should feel harassed or intimidated simply for exercising their legal right to healthcare advice and treatment. Pro-life campaigners outside an abortion clinic. / PETER MUHLY/AFP/Getty Images The decision to have an abortion is already an incredibly personal one, without women being further pressured by aggressive protesters. It came after calls grew for the Government to act on harassment at abortion clinics, with shadow home secretary Diane Abbott urging cordons should be used "wherever necessary". The treatment unit manager of Southwarks Bpas clinic said: I am delighted that the Southwark Council has voted to explore solutions to this important issue. The women who attend our clinics do so for a huge variety of reasons, and each individual woman deserves to have the right to access reproductive healthcare without being confronted by the views of others. Some women are accessing our services in the midst of unimaginably difficult circumstances, and for some vulnerable women anonymity is really important. We aim to offer a completely non-judgmental and supportive environment for all of our clients, to enable them to access safe terminations of pregnancy as well as other sexual health services. Protesters make this more difficult and the presence of protesters can be unnerving for both clients and staff. It can be intimidating and upsetting for people (women, their families/friends) who are often already working through a difficult period in their life. G overnment departments have been warned against using antivirus software made by tech firms with links to Russia amid concerns over national security. In a letter to Whitehall chiefs, Ciaran Martin, head of the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC), said that Russia has the intent to "target UK central Government and the UK's critical national infrastructure". He added that there are "obvious risks around foreign ownership" of companies that produce anti-virus (AV) software. He went on to describe Russia as a "highly capable cyber threat actor" which uses cyberspace for "espionage, disruption and influence operations". Mr Martin said that 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." Russia stands accused of meddling in the 2016 US election, while MPs have questioned if the 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 country's 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. "This includes espionage, disruption and influence operations. Russia has the intent to target UK central Government and the UK's 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 world's largest cybersecurity firms which has headquarters in Moscow. Mr Martin said it is hoped they can develop an independent means on checking the company's products to "give the Government assurance about the security of their involvement in the wider UK market". The company's co-founder, Eugene Kaspersky, has denied any wrongdoing by the company, telling the BBC earlier this week: "It's 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 don't want people doing things like ripping out Kaspersky software at large, as it makes little sense," he said in a blog. "There's 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." T housands of driving tests have been cancelled as examiners prepare to stage a 48-hour walk-out in a row over the new driving test. A last ditch appeal to the Transport Secretary to resolve the ongoing dispute failed leading members of the Public and Commercial Services union to walk out from Monday, the day the new test in launched. The union said thousands of tests have been cancelled next week. General secretary Mark Serwotka wrote to Chris Grayling last week urging him to intervene in the row. He said: "Learner drivers inconvenienced by this have our sympathy but the blame lies squarely with Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) and the government. "A completely inadequate, last minute reply from the minister to me is so disappointing, and fails to address the causes of this dispute. "He repeats the misinformation of DVSA management that travelling time was settled three years ago. This is completely wrong. Some issues were resolved in 2015 but travelling time was left to further negotiations. "Talks have failed as DVSA insisted on imposing new rosters." The union said examiners are being told to work longer, harder and for no extra pay when the new tests are introduced. Mr Grayling said in a letter to the union that most of the issues in the dispute had been resolved and negotiations could continue if industrial action was called off. Union members have voted by 84 per cent in favour of strikes on a 70 per cent turnout. DVSA Chief Executive Gareth Llewellyn said: PCSs pointless industrial action over an employment contract they convinced their members to overwhelmingly accept 3 years ago - will not be understood by our customers. We have made PCS an improved offer, to the one they accepted but the union is deliberately misleading its members by claiming the better offer we have put to them requires staff to work longer for less, when it does precisely the opposite. PCSs shameful efforts to link the dispute to the new driving test in an attempt to broaden support for its unreasonable position, shows a total disregard for learner drivers, who have worked so hard to be ready to take their test. A police force has split opinion for running a Christmas advent calendar countdown of some of its wanted suspects. Each day in December, Essex Police is releasing a new mugshot of a suspected criminal who is being hunted by officers. But the festive-themed criminal appeals have sparked a backlash among some members of the public, who claim it is "distasteful" to use a traditionally joyful period for catching suspects. Isnt it a bit creepy to associate the hunt for criminals with an advent calendar? Jenny Noakes said on social media, while Christopher Fairholm called it inappropriate. Sue Webster said: You couldnt make it up while Sarah Mahoney said: Whilst I understand and support the posts in social media to catch criminals, I find it so very distasteful that you are using an advent calendar to promote your posts to catch wanted criminals! Tiras Downie, 38, was day one's wanted person. / Essex Police But others loved the idea, adding the themed appeal has clearly caught the publics attention. These criminals ruin peoples Christmas so why not just support the police and share the post, Becky Collins wrote on Facebook. Barry George called it a brilliant idea while Susan Wiles said: I think its clever and funny. Great idea, Essex Police, Shirley Simmons wrote. Keep good work going. Peter Hogg joked: Can you put up a picture of Father Christmas on the 25th wanted for breaking and entering and trespass. Police chief inspector Richard Baxter said they are hoping to catch the advent suspects by Christmas Day. We have a number of people wanted in the west and want to highlight what offences they have committed and why they are wanted, he said. Ricky Bennett is day two's advent calendar suspect. / Essex Police They will have the opportunity to come forward but if they dont we will continue our search for them. "Public appeals for information have previously proved successful and we've chosen the Christmas period to highlight those who are wanted to appeal for help in catching them before Christmas. The 24 suspects, all wanted for criminal activity in west Essex, will be plastered on the forces Facebook page and website until Christmas Eve. Behind the first advent window was Tiras Downie, 38, known to be living in Lambeth and wanted on suspicion of breaching a court order. The second wanted person, Ricky Bennett, is also wanted for breaching a court order. He has links to Romford, Rochester, Dagenham and Chafford Hundred. Anyone with any information on the people Essex Police has put out is asked to please call 101 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111. A British man who was allegedly tortured in jail by police in India has been detained for a further two days, it has been reported. Jagtar Singh Johal, from West Dunbartonshire in Scotland, has been in custody in Punjab for nearly a month after being accused of conspiracy to murder Hindu leaders. On Saturday, the BBC reported he had his jail sentence extended for a further two days and would reappear at court in Ludhiana on Monday. A new phase of the "Free Jaggi Now" campaign has been launched, urging people to contact their MP about Mr Johal. In a letter to the public, organisers the Sikh Federation UK said: "I am deeply concerned and worried that despite the profile of this case the British authorities have been repeatedly prevented by the Indian authorities from obtaining private access to a British citizen alleged to have been tortured. "The British authorities must take direct action to safeguard Jagtar by demanding an independent and full medical assessment that can detect the torture he has been subject to." The extension of Mr Johal's sentence comes as John Swinney, Scotland's Deputy First Minister, said he would raise the issue with authorities while he is on a four day visit to India which began on Saturday. A Scottish Government spokesman said: "We are deeply concerned about the detention of Jagtar Singh Johal. "Scottish Government officials have been in regular contact with the Foreign and Commonwealth Office about this case. "The Deputy First Minister will raise this issue while he is in India on a four-day trip to strengthen education and business links." Reporting by Press Association. T ara Palmer-Tomkinson has left her 2.3 million estate to her siblings after she died without having children. In a heartbreaking will, the socialite left her fortune to the children she hoped to have before she died, The Sun reported. The reality star and socialite wrote in a will in 2004 -13 years before her death - that she wanted to leave her estate to her children once they reached 25, according to the newspaper. However, sadly, she did not have children before she died at the age of 45. Ms Palmer-Tomkinson was found dead in her central London apartment in February. Her estate was estimated to be worth 2.34m and will now be passed on to her brother James and sister Santa Montefiore. The socialite who had been diagnosed with a non-malignant brain tumour, died from a perforated ulcer and peritonitis. She was diagnosed with an auto-immune disease in the year before her death. Ms Palmer-Tomkinson was the daughter off Olympic skier Charles Palmer-Tomkinson and wife Patricia in 1971. In one of her final interviews with the Daily Mail, Ms Palmer-Tomkinson was reported to have said of her young party girl-self: Id like to go back to that young girl and shake her. I did things Im very ashamed of. I put my family through so much. I thought Id be married and have two children by now. I imagined Id be living in the country. Following her death, her sister said in a heartbreaking interview: "When I got the call to say she was unconscious, I was envisaging myself going in, holding her hand and saying, It's OK, I'm here. He just looked at me and said, I'm sorry, ma'am, you can't go in because she's already passed. That's how I found out she had died. It was like hitting a brick wall. I don't think I'll ever get over those few words. D onald Trump has broken his silence after the presidents former national security adviser Michael Flynn pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI about his contacts with Russia. In a tweet on Saturday, Mr Trump said he "had to fire" the retired army general "because he lied to the FBI", but maintained Mr Flynn's actions during the presidential transition were lawful. He added there was "nothing to hide". It came as the US President vowed there there was no collusion between his successful election campaign last November and Russian meddling. President Trump tweeted: "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!" His tweet suggested he had changed his story on why he fired Mr Flynn, now indicating he knew at the time that his aide had lied to the FBI and Vice President Mike Pence. Mr Flynn was forced to resign in February after less than a month in his post following concerns he misled the White House about conversations he had with Russia's then-ambassador Sergey Kislyak. The meeting between Mr Flynn and Mr Kislyak took place in the transition period, before President Trump officially took office. He was charged and this week pleaded guilty to making a false statement to the FBI after lying about his conversation with the Russian official. Retired United States Army lieutenant general Michael T. Flynn during the Trump campaign. / Getty Images The charges were brought by special counsel Robert Mueller, who is investigating Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election. Intelligence agencies in the US say Vladimir Putin, Russia's leader, ran an effort to influence last year's presidential vote in Mr Trump's favour. Mr Flynn, 58, was a key player in the presidential election campaign and served as Mr Trump's first national security adviser. He is the first former national security adviser to be charged with a felony since the mid 1980s. President Trump responded to the plea on Saturday as he left the White House to head to New York for fundraising events expected to raise millions of dollars. Mr Trump said: "What has been shown is no collusion, no collusion. There's been absolutely no collusion." Mr Flynn is the fourth person involved in President Trump's campaign who was charged as part of the Mueller probe. His guilty plea was called by some "the biggest development yet" in the Trump-Russia scandal. It is thought the guilty plea could turn Flynn into a potentially key government cooperator after it was reported he has entered into a plea deal with Mr Muller and has agreed to co-operate in the enquiry. Donald Trump meets Vladimir Putin at G20 - In pictures 1 /12 Donald Trump meets Vladimir Putin at G20 - In pictures US President Donald Trump and Russia's President Vladimir Putin shake hands during a meeting on the sidelines of the G20 Summit in Hamburg, Germany AFP/Getty Images U.S. President Donald Trump gestures as he meets with Russian President Vladimir Putin during the their bilateral meeting at the G20 summit in Hamburg, German Reuters U.S. President Donald Trump speaks with Russian President Vladimir Putin during their bilateral meeting at the G20 summit in Hamburg, Germany Reuters U.S. President Donald Trump meets with Russian President Vladimir Putin during their bilateral meeting at the G20 summit in Hamburg, Germany Reuters US President Donald Trump and Russia's President Vladimir Putin shake hands during a meeting on the sidelines of the G20 Summit in Hamburg, Germany Reuters U.S. President Donald Trump meets with Russian President Vladimir Putin during their bilateral meeting at the G20 summit in Hamburg, Germany Carlos Barria/Reuters Russia's President Vladimir Putin talks to U.S. President Donald Trump during their bilateral meeting at the G20 summit in Hamburg, Germany Reuters US President Donald J. Trump shaking hands with Russian President Vladimir Putin during the retreat at the opening day of the G20 summit in Hamburg, German EPA US President Donald J. Trump shaking hands with Russian President Vladimir Putin during the retreat at the opening day of the G20 summit in Hamburg, German EPA The plea deal might mean a shorter possible jail term for Mr Flynn than the five years normally reserved for people who make false statements. According to White House lawyer Ty Cobb, nothing about Mr Flynn's guilty plea implicates "anyone other than Mr Flynn". Mr Flynn said during the hearing: "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." The Russia investigation has persistently followed Mr Trump the first year of his presidency, angering the president and repeatedly distracting from his agenda. Early on in his administration, Mr 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 Mr Trump asked him in a private Oval Office meeting to consider ending the investigation into Mr Flynn. Mr Comey has said he found the encounter so shocking that he prepared an internal memo about it. Children light candles during an HIV/AIDS awareness campaign on the occasion of World AIDS Day in Kolkata, India, December 1, 2017. (Xinhua/REUTERS) by Xinhua writer Wang Jiangang UNITED NATIONS, Dec. 1 (Xinhua) -- People with Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) are living longer and healthier than at any time since the outset of the AIDS (acquired immunodeficiency syndrome) epidemic in 1981. On World AIDS Day, which falls on December 1, the United Nations is sending out a cheering message -- the goal of wiping out the epidemic by 2030 appears within reach. BIG STRIDES Almost 21 million of the 36.7 million people worldwide living with HIV had access to antiretroviral therapy (ART) in 2017 -- a huge jump from the 685,000 people undergoing treatment in 2000. Deaths related to AIDS fell to 1 million in 2016 from 1.9 million in 2005, according to UNAIDS, the Joint United Nations Program on HIV/AIDS. If not treated, HIV can lead to AIDS. This progress puts the world on track to reach the global target of 30 million people on treatment by 2020, Michel Sidibe, Executive Director of UNAIDS said in his message on the Day. UNAIDS data show substantial progress has been made toward reaching the "90-90-90" target designed to help wipe out AIDS by 2030. The goal calls for 90 percent of people living with HIV to know their HIV status by 2020; 90 percent of those diagnosed to receive sustained ART; and 90 percent of individuals on ART to achieve viral suppression. "More than two-thirds of all people living with HIV globally knew their HIV status in 2016," Sidibe noted. "Among those who knew their HIV status, 77 percent were accessing antiretroviral therapy and 82 percent of people on treatment had suppressed viral loads." The availability of affordable, generic antiretroviral medicines has made HIV treatment accessible, he said. The 1.8 million people who were newly infected in 2016 represent a 39 percent drop from the 3 million who became infected at the peak of the epidemic in the late 1990s, according to UNAIDS. AIDS is no longer the high-profile public health menace it once was thanks to the discovery in 2011 that antiretroviral treatment can not only suppress HIV in the bloodstream and reduce the risk of spreading the virus, but also, some experts predict, eventually end the epidemic. FUNDAMENTAL HUMAN RIGHT "The right to health is a fundamental human right, everybody has the right to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health, as enshrined in the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights," Sidibe noted. The world will not achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which include the target of ending AIDS by 2030, without people attaining their right to health, Sidibe said Friday, marking World AIDS Day with a strong appeal for the full realization of this fundamental right by everyone, everywhere. Indeed, the right to health is linked to all the SDGs and "is interrelated with a range of other rights, including the rights to sanitation, food, decent housing, healthy working conditions and a clean environment." Sidibe pointed out the most marginalized and affected still face challenges in accessing urgently-needed health and social services, asserting "we all must continue to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with the people being left behind and demand that no one is denied their human rights." "For all the successes, AIDS is not yet over. But by ensuring that everyone, everywhere accesses their right to health, it can be," he concluded. For her part, Audrey Azoulay, the Director-General of the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), stressed the right to quality education for all, because the two goals -- health and education -- go hand in hand. "This linkage stands at the heart of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the UNAIDS 2016-2021 Strategy, she explained. As outlined in UNESCO's Strategy on Education for Health and Well-Being: Contributing to the Sustainable Development Goals, health and education are mutually reinforcing: healthy learners learn better, and better-educated learners are healthier. "They are also mutually dependent -- without the right to education we cannot truly fulfil the right to health," Azoulay continued, stressing that in a world where young people -- especially girls and young women -- bear a disproportionate burden of HIV and AIDS, "we all must recognize that comprehensive sexuality education is central to their right to health, and to the health of all societies." CHALLENGES CALL FOR MORE EFFORTS Although big progress has been made, challenges still remain in the fight against this epidemic. Some parts of the response to HIV are lagging behind. "In some regions of the world, hard-won successes are being reversed, with rising numbers of new HIV infections and AIDS-related deaths," UN chief Antonio Guterres warned, calling for "a renewed commitment to finish what we have started and to make the AIDS epidemic a thing of the past." Picking up that thread in her message, Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, the Executive Director of UN Women, said that according to UNAIDS, every four minutes, three young women become infected with HIV. "They are clearly not enjoying their right to health, nor will they, until we are able to reverse the inequalities and discrimination that fuel HIV spread. Those whose health and future are currently least prioritized must become our focus, if we are to achieve the changes we seek," she said. As such, leaving no woman or girl behind in the HIV response means ensuring their meaningful participation and engagement in designing that response, improving access to services and demanding their right to health. "To do that, we foster women's voices and leadership and support their place at decision-making tables," Mlambo-Ngcuka continued, adding that in 2016, UN Women supported networks of women living with HIV in 31 countries to increase their engagement in the national HIV responses. "This World AIDS Day, UN Women call for a commitment to prioritize and reach all the women and girls being left behind in the HIV response: every last woman and girl." Countries & Areas Search for country or area A Afghanistan Albania Algeria Andorra Angola Antigua and Barbuda Argentina Armenia Australia Austria Azerbaijan B Bahamas Bahrain Bangladesh Barbados Belarus Belgium Belize Benin Bhutan Bolivia Bosnia and Herzegovina Botswana Brazil Brunei Bulgaria Burkina Faso Burma Burundi C Cabo Verde Cambodia Cameroon Canada Central African Republic Chad Chile China Colombia Comoros Costa Rica Cote dIvoire Croatia Cuba Cyprus Czechia D Democratic Republic of the Congo Denmark Djibouti Dominica Dominican Republic E Ecuador Egypt El Salvador Equatorial Guinea Eritrea Estonia Eswatini Ethiopia F Fiji Finland France G Gabon Gambia Georgia Germany Ghana Greece Grenada Guatemala Guinea Guinea-Bissau Guyana H Haiti Holy See Honduras Hungary I Iceland India Indonesia Iran Iraq Ireland Israel Italy J Jamaica Japan Jordan K Kazakhstan Kenya Kiribati Kosovo Kuwait Kyrgyzstan L Laos Latvia Lebanon Lesotho Liberia Libya Liechtenstein Lithuania Luxembourg M Madagascar Malawi Malaysia Maldives Mali Malta Marshall Islands Mauritania Mauritius Mexico Micronesia Moldova Monaco Mongolia Montenegro Morocco Mozambique N Namibia Nauru Nepal Netherlands New Zealand Nicaragua Niger Nigeria North Korea North Macedonia Norway O Oman P Pakistan Palau Palestinian Territories Panama Papua New Guinea Paraguay Peru Philippines Poland Portugal Q Qatar R Republic of the Congo Romania Russia Rwanda S Saint Kitts and Nevis Saint Lucia Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Samoa San Marino Sao Tome and Principe Saudi Arabia Senegal Serbia Seychelles Sierra Leone Singapore Slovakia Slovenia Solomon Islands Somalia South Africa South Korea South Sudan Spain Sri Lanka Sudan Suriname Sweden Switzerland Syria T Taiwan Tajikistan Tanzania Thailand Timor-Leste Togo Tonga Trinidad and Tobago Tunisia Turkey Turkmenistan Tuvalu U Uganda Ukraine United Arab Emirates United Kingdom Uruguay Uzbekistan V Vanuatu Venezuela Vietnam Y Yemen Z Zambia Zimbabwe In mid-November the Indian procurement bureaucracy won another victory and persuaded the government to cancel a half billion dollar deal worked out in 2016 for an Israel firm to set up a factory and team with an Indian firm to produce Spike ATGMs (anti-tank guided missiles). The army has been warning for over a decade that without a new ATGM India would be at a serious disadvantage. But the procurement bureaucracy and DRDO (the Indian Defense Research and Development Organization) said it could develop and build a comparable ATGM in four years. This was an absurd claim, even by DRDO standards. To justify their ATGM claim DRDO cited its recent success in developing the Nag missile. Citing Nag was a bad joke to anyone familiar with that project. The Nag, like most DRDO efforts was supposed (sometimes even promised) to enter service several times over the last decade but there was always another problem to fix. In development since the 1990s the first successful Nag test (just the rocket motor) was announced in 2001 and more successful tests (of other components but never a complete system) were announced periodically since then. This is how DRDO operates when it comes to weapons development, especially guided missiles. Nag had several more successful tests in 2017 but is still not quite ready to enter production. Yet the government cited the Nag as proof that DRDO could produce an ATGM comparable to Spike in less than five years. That would be a miracle and the soldiers this missile is being created for will need a miracle if they have to wait for Nag Lite. Which is what the ATGM version would be. The Nag ("Cobra") ATGM is a 42.3 kg (93 pound) missile that is too heavy to carry. It is more similar to the American Hellfire. Nag has an 8.2 kg (18 pound) warhead and is "fire and forget" (the operator gets the target in the cross hairs and fires, the missile will remember where the target is, and DRDO says it will work eventually). The Nag moves at 230 meters a second for up to 6,000 meters (8,000 if air launched). The Nag is a top attack missile that detonates its tandem (to defeat reactive armor) warhead when above the vehicle and thus easily penetrates the thinner top armor. The main problem with Nag is that, so far, it will not consistently perform as advertised. Nag is attempting to duplicate the American Hellfire, which was introduced in the early 1980s and has since been successfully copied by China, Russia, Turkey, Israel and Iran. All these missiles are laser guided but some have had fire and forget capability added. The Israelis are very good at that sort of thing, but not DRDO. No one in the military believed the DRDO could develop anything like Spike but this was not about what DRDO could do but about the incompetence and corruption that has characterized DRDO for decades. DRDO may not be of much use for the military but for Indian politicians it is a vital part of getting elected and staying in power. DRDO provides jobs, credible (but false) promises and cash for that. Meanwhile Israel remains a major military supplier for India and may yet get to deliver the ATGMs Indian soldiers need. It was not supposed to work out this way but there were signs. When the Spike purchase details were all agreed to India had still not signed a contract in 2017 when that was supposed to happen. The army keeps complaining about this sort of thing especially since procurement bureaucrats selected the Israeli Spike ATGM in 2014 and agreed to terms of the $525 million deal (for 8,356 Spike ATGMs and 320 control units) after two years of negotiations. The main competitor for this contract was the American Javelin missile which was rejected as being too expensive. The Spike contract was almost signed in 2013 but was withdrawn at the last moment when it was suspected that some bribery was involved. There was no corruption but that delayed the process another year. What apparently pushed the contract towards signing recently was a planned trip by the new India prime minister to Israel in June and the potential embarrassment if he showed up with another procurement disaster still unresolved. The historic visit of the Indian prime minister to Israel got everyones hopes up but in the end DRDO did what it does best, and that does not include developing weapons on time or ever. The Indian prime minister agreed to several other new deals but explained he could not sign the Spike contracts just yet. The Israelis understood as they have been dealing with the Indian procurement bureaucracy for more than two decades and know how this works; unpredictably but eventually. While Indian troops would have preferred Javelin they found that the Israeli missile Spike MR was widely considered as effective as the Javelin. Entering service in the late 1990s the Spike MR missile, with the container it is stored and fired from, weighs 14 kg (30.8 pounds), while the CLU (with thermal sight and battery) weighs 12.8 kg (28.3 pounds). Like Javelin, Spike MR has a range of 2,500 meters and is "fire and forget." France recently went looking for a MILAN replacement and the two finalists were Javelin and Spike MR. Javelin won. The result would have been the same in India were it not for inability to reach an agreement on technology transfer. Javelin entered service in 2002, it weighs 22.3 kg (49 pounds, with disposable launch tube and battery/seeker coolant unit) and is fired from a 6.4 kg (14 pound) CLU (command launch unit). The CLU contains a 4x day sight and a 9x heat sensing night sight. The missile has a tandem (two warheads, to blast through reactive armor) that can hit a target straight on or from the top. This latter capability enables the Javelin to use its 8.2 kg (18 pound) warhead to destroy any existing tank (including the U.S. M1). Maximum range is 2,500 meters. Best of all, the seeker on the missile is "fire and forget." That is, once the operator gets the target in the CLU crosshairs and fires the missile, the computer and seeker in the missile warhead memorizes the target and homes in on it. The infantry loves this because it allows them to take cover once the missile is fired and shows the enemy where they are. Meanwhile Indian troops are stuck with a 50 year old French design. Since the 1970s some 30,000 Milans have been produced in India, under license from European firm MBDA. India has also produced nearly 3,000 launchers. India believes that against Pakistan (the enemy that is most likely to use a lot of armored vehicles against India) Milan can still get the job done. But more modern ATGMs get the job done better and at the loss of fewer Indian infantrymen. This is a popular attitude, and the army was not happy with all the delays in selecting a new ATGM. Then there is China, which has more modern tanks and is actively developing new armored vehicles. Against China Milan had outlived its usefulness and China is the principal weapons supplier to Pakistan. The basic Milan is a 1.2 meter long, 125mm diameter, 7.1 kg (16 pound) missile. It has a minimum range of 400 meters and maximum range of 2,000 meters. At max range the missile takes about 13 seconds to reach its target. The missile is guided to the target by the operator via a thin wire. The launcher weighs 21 kg (46 pounds). The missile can penetrate about a meter of armor, making it effective against all but the most modern tanks (M-1, Challenger, Leopard II). That means Milan will still destroy all the tanks Pakistan currently has aimed at India. The Indians pay about $30,000 per Milan missile and have had good success with them in combat. The Javelins cost more than twice as much but are much more effective. Since the 1970s, over 350,000 Milan missiles and 30,000 launchers have been built worldwide. However the more modern ATGMs are wireless and require much less effort on the part of the operator. The main problems with the Milan are time in flight and the need for operator guidance. Since ATGMs first saw action three decades ago, operators quickly discovered that in the time it took (up to 15 seconds) for the missile to reach its target, enemy troops would often shower them with machine-gun fire and force the ATGM operator to miss the target. The most recent ATGM designs sought to deal with that. Another Javelin feature is "soft launch", where the missile is popped out of the launch tube by a small explosive charge, small enough to allow the Javelin to be fired from inside a building. Once the missile is about eight meters out, the main rocket motor ignites. The minimum range is, however, 75 meters. It takes about 20 seconds to reload a CLU after a missile has been fired, while Spike MR needs only 15 seconds. Indian troops got a chance to fire Javelins in 2010 and were very impressed. Not just because of its ease of use and accuracy but because the missile is combat proven and is known to be very effective at non-vehicle targets. The CLU also performs well as a night vision device, which is how many American troops used it in Iraq and Afghanistan. The Spike was tested as well and was considered a satisfactory alternative to the Javelin. India already has a lot of Israeli military gear and Indian users are pleased with it. This ATGM disaster goes back a long way and demonstrates a major flaw in the Indian armed forces. After several years of testing and negotiation, in early 2013 the Indian Army decided on a supplier for a new ATGM for its 356 infantry battalions. The deal was about to be awarded to an Israeli firm when the entire process was cancelled over fears that corruption may have been involved. No one was accused of taking a bribe but so much of that had occurred in India that the politicians overruled the generals and ordered them to run the search again and come up with at least two finalists not tainted by any corruption. The politicians were under a lot of pressure to curb corruption, and this move made it look like someone was making an effort. The selection process was repeated and the results were the same. This time the contract went through, or so everyone thought. Another example was how the Indian army had originally wanted to buy the Javelin and the Americans were willing to allow production to take place in India. That deal fell apart because Indian procurement officials were unwilling to guarantee that U.S. technology would not be stolen. Israel pitched its similar Spike missile and did not consider potential technology theft to be a deal breaker. India has been building the French designed Milans since the 1980s but there had long been calls to replace it with a more modern design. There was also growing pressure to use Indian designed weapons. In the 1990s India decided to develop their own ATGM. Despite a two decade effort to develop an effective ATGM to replace Milan, the Indians came up empty. The Milan design was updated several times since it first appeared in 1972 but there are several other more recent designs that are more effective and army leaders wanted one of these. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has given the KardiaBand its stamp of approval, AliveCor announced Thursday. Thedevice is the first FDA-cleared personal electrocardiogram (EKG) accessory designed for use with an Apple Watch. The KardiaBand allows users to take EKG readings in order to distinguish between normal sinus heart rhythms and atrial fibrillation (A-fib), the most common type of serious heart arrhythmia, which can lead to strokes or other heart-related problems. The KardiaBand can record an EKG in just 30 seconds. The user simply touches an integrated sensor, and the results are then displayed on the face of the Apple Watch. AliveCor also announced the release of SmartRhythm, a new feature in the Kardia app. Itrelies on artificial intelligence to monitor a users heart rateand determine the correlation between heart activity and physicalactivity. It can detect when a users heart rate and activity are outof sync and promptly send an alert. KardiaBand paired with SmartRhythm technology will be life-changingfor people who are serious about heart health, said Vic Gundotra, CEOof AliveCor. Gundotra previously helmed Google+. These capabilities will allow people to easily and discreetly checktheir heart rhythms when they may be abnormal, capturing essentialinformation to help doctors identify the issue and inform a clear pathof care to help manage A-fib, a leading cause of stroke, and otherserious conditions, he added. KardiaBand, which is now available for US$199, works in conjunction with AliveCors Premium$99 a year subscription service. The combined system providessubscribers with SmartRhythm notifications on Apple Watch, unlimitedEKG recordings, and automatic detection of A-fib or normal sinus rhythms. Users can email unlimited EKG readings to anyone, including adoctor, and are provided with unlimited cloud access to all EKG readings, along with weight and medication tracking. All ofthis data is mailed to users in a monthly paper report with fullreadings from the device. Heart of the Matter Although AliveCors KardiaBand is the first EKG device available forthe Apple Watch, it is just a small part of Apples fitness-monitoring efforts. The company recently announced its Apple Heart Study app, the first researchstudy to utilize Apple Watchs heart rate sensor to collect data onA-fib. Apple partnered with Stanford Medicine to perform that research. Smartwatches could become increasingly useful to help monitor heart-relatedmedical issues. There are millions of people with frequent or infrequent heartarrhythmia who could benefit from a band like KardiaBand, said RogerEntner, principal analyst at Recon Analytics. It would help diagnosis and speed up treatment in cases where andwhen it occurs, and it would certainly be a driver for people who haveheart arrhythmia, which is often a side effect of diabetes and otherheart disease, he told TechNewsWorld. Health and Technology One issue might be how easy, convenient and even comfortable such adevice would be to wear, especially for extended periods. Further, someusers might rely on these devices as replacements for regulardoctors visits. Its fine to instrument a person, as it enables closer monitoring,suggested Roger Kay, principal analyst at Endpoint TechnologyAssociates. In general, early warning gives more information and is mostly not tooinvasive, but of course people still need to be treated by healthcareprofessionals, he told TechNewsWorld. The app cant do anything but tell you whats going on at a detailedlevel, so it makes sense for people at risk, Kay noted.Still, the device and app are a diagnostic tool to make it easier to treat,not a replacement for treatment, Recon Analytics Entner added. Onlya doctor can do that. Widening the Market As health costs continue to rise, smartwatch monitoringdevices could offer some financial benefits. Users might not feel the need to rush to theemergency room every time they felt slightly off. Its possible that health and fitness monitoring devices will continue to become more highly specialized. This is the old Swiss Army Knife versus dedicated functionwearables debate, explained Robin Raskin, founder of Living in Digital Times. From my point of view, smartwatches wont really take off until theyhave some super useful functionality in the workplace, like payments orphysical access to buildings and computers, she told TechNewsWorld. That said, AliveCor builds great products and this one, Im sure,works well, added Raskin. More widespread acceptance may come via a mobile phone attachment, however, so it is unlikely that KardiaBand will broaden the smartwatch market, suggested Raskin. I dont think too many people would buy and wear a device like theKardiaBand without the need, added Entner. On the other hand, I do think that if you own a watch and suspect you haveheart issues or just want info, said Raskin, this is a fabulous product. Researchers have found a way to use neural networks to create DSLR-quality photos from snapshots taken with low-end smartphones. A team of scientists at the ETH ZurichComputer Vision Lab recently published a paper describing a deep learning approach that uses neural networks to translate photos taken by cameras with limited capabilities into DSLR-quality photos automatically. We tackle this problem by introducing a weakly supervised photo enhancer a novel image-to-image GAN-based architecture, wrote Andrey Ignatov, Nikolay Kobyshev, Kenneth Vanhoey, Radu Timofte and Luc Van Gool. GAN, or generational adversarial networks, is a new type of algorithm that can produce artificial images and even video, explained Aditya Kaul, a research director at Tractica. The technology is moving fast because the source code is open and people can experiment with the algorithm and improve it, he told TechNewsWorld. Network Foolery GAN technology uses a bit of trickery to get its results. It uses two neural networks that try to fool each other, Kaul said. One network generates images and tries to fool the other network that theyre real. At the end, you get a set of images where you cant tell the difference between the real image and the artificially generated image. In their experiments, the researchers used two data sets one made up of images from a phone camera, the other composed of high-quality photos. Then they used several neural networks to bring the quality of the phone photos up to that of the high-quality images captured with a DSLR. The researchers posted a number of examples at the CVL website. The side-by-side shot comparisons show how the scientists method improves the phone photos. iPhone 6 Camera Nexus 5X Camera What the researchers are doing is in the same vein as what photographers have been doing for years, said Rob Enderle, principal analyst at the Enderle Group. Its not taking a better picture, he told TechNewsWorld. Its rendering the picture so its better than it would otherwise be without using artificial intelligence. Thats what weve been doing in darkrooms and with Photoshop for some time. Not for the Fussy As impressive as the researchers results are, pro and semi-pro photographers wont be shelving their DSLRs any time soon. This will please people who arent overly fussy but want to get better pictures, suggested David D. Busch, creative director of the David Busch photography guides. It can simulate a lot of things so the pictures do look better, he told TechNewsWorld. However, many serious photographers would disapprove of the changes made to the photos on the researchers samples page, Busch noted, even though they did look better than the originals. The changes added a lot of contrast and lost detail, he said. If someone is a poor photographer, this has some applications but I dont see it threatening digital SLR cameras. Improving the Baseline This is a good example of how technology can be used to improve the baseline of whats acceptable, said Jeff Orr, a senior practice director for mobile devices at ABI Research. The researchers tried to determine what makes an image good and apply those things to an unknown image to make it better, he told TechNewsWorld.It doesnt always work, but its a good example of how software can make suggestions to enhance a photo, and it can only get better. This research is trying to bridge the gap between what a smartphone can capture and the aesthetics of a DSLR, said Ross Rubin, principal analyst at Reticle Research. However, that doesnt mean that an algorithm can replace the quality of a DSLR. The algorithm cant do anything with data that isnt there, Rubin told TechNewsWorld, so its helpful to have both the highest quality input with the algorithm. Future Threat? As the processing power in phones increases, they could pose a threat to DSLRs. You can already compensate with software for some things that a lens can do, Rubin said. DSLR camera makers should be concerned about developments like those from Zurich, in his view. Theyve seen the point-and-shoot market evaporate as smartphone image quality improved, Rubin pointed out. Now, as the photo quality is augmented by the incredible processing power in these phones, which far exceed what we see in DSLRs, phones pose even more of a threat to camera makers. The CVL researchers technology has applications beyond making smartphone pictures prettier, Tractias Kaul noted. It can be used to identify cancer cells in photos, enhance starlight and augment automated driving applications, for example. Theres also a dark side to the technology, Kaul said. There is a fear that this technology can be misused for fake news and things like that. According to the President of the National Institute of Civil Aeronautics (INAC), twelve airlines have requested to operate with Venezuela. | Read More Source: Xinhua| 2017-12-02 08:26:37|Editor: Liangyu Video Player Close PARIS, Dec. 1 (Xinhua) -- Wesley Said's late goal handed Bordeaux their fifth straight road loss in Ligue 1 as they lost at Dijon 3-2 in the 16th round action on Friday. Dijon replaced Bordeaux on the 10th position with 21 points. Bordeaux were one place behind on 20 points. Bordeaux saw their advantages erased twice in the match featuring two mid-table sides. After Jonathan Cafu broke the deadlock in the 13th minute, Dijon got the match back on Cedric Yambere's header on 34 minutes. Bordeaux got the upper hand again two minutes later, as 20-year-old Malcom witnessed his long-range strike hit the target. Trailing by 1-2 into the second half, Dijon had their response in the 52nd minute from Benjamin Jeannot. Said made it harder to bite for Bordeaux when he converted Xeka's pass into the winner with just three minutes remaining. Paris Saint-Germain, who possessed a 10-point advantage atop the table, will visit promoted sides Strasbourg on Saturday. Matt Lauer, Louis C.K., Al Franken. Photo: Getty Images Thursday morning, the day after he was fired from NBC and accused of sexual assault by multiple women, longtime Today show host Matt Lauer issued an apology statement, which his now former co-host Savannah Guthrie read on air: 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. As I am writing this I realize the depth of the damage and disappointment I have left behind at home and at NBC. Some of what is being said about me is untrue or mis-characterized, 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. Lauers is the latest in an exhausting series of apologies issued by powerful men following allegations of sexual misconduct against them, none of which are especially good, and many of which are infuriatingly bad. In one of the worst, Garrison Keillor, the former host of the radio variety show A Prairie Home Companion, called the accusations against him poetic irony of a high order because If I had a dollar for every woman who asked to take a selfie with me and who slipped an arm around me and let it drift down below the beltline, Id have at least a hundred dollars. Louis C.K. wrote over 400 words, none of which were sorry. If it sounds like theres no winning for the men writing these apologies, its because there isnt. Theres no such thing as a good apology for sexual assault, but there sure as hell are bad ones. Here are some ways not to apologize. 5 Times Matt Lauer Was Inappropriate Dont say you dont remember. After Leeann Tweeden accused him of groping her during a USO tour in 2006, Al Franken told reporters: I certainly dont remember the rehearsal for the skit in the same way, but I send my sincerest apologies to Leeann. After he was accused of assaulting a teenager when he was in his 20s, Kevin Spacey wrote: I honestly do not remember the encounter, it would have been over 30 years ago. To not remember is a luxury, one that is not afforded to most victims of assault. Saying you dont remember can not only sound like a denial, or like youre trivializing a survivors experience, it suggests youve behaved inappropriately so often that you cant keep track of every person youve groped, harassed, or worse. Dont tell us how youre doing. Kevin Spacey was recently photographed jogging around his $36,000/month sex rehab clinic in Arizona; Forbes estimated Louis C.K.s net worth at around $52 million; Matt Lauers salary was reportedly $25 million a year. And gargantuan sums of money aside, we live in a society that has long protected powerful men from being held accountable for their actions, and punished those who dare to speak out against them. So, we know how youre doing. Youre fine. Dont tell us how much youve learned. I have learned a great deal as a result of these events, and I hope others will too, Charlie Rose said in a statement to the Washington Post, after eight women accused him of unwelcome sexual advances, including walking around naked in front of them and making lewd phone calls. My journey now will be to learn about myself and conquer my demons, Harvey Weinstein wrote in his apology for the New York Times. The fact that Weinstein had an army of spies working to suppress the allegations against him suggests that he had an inkling he was doing something wrong. Learning is more impressive when its not just inspired by getting caught. Dont expect immediate redemption. Its easy to issue an apology. Its harder to implement change. In the coming months and years, these men will be judged not on their statements of regret, but on the actions they took, or did not take, to undo the damage they did and to change the society from which they profited. Or, at the very least, maybe theyll just be quiet for a little while. Source: Xinhua| 2017-12-02 10:06:57|Editor: Yang Yi Video Player Close Uruguayan President Tabare Vazquez delivers a speech during the opening ceremony of the 11th China-Latin America and the Caribbean (China-LAC) Business Summit at the Punta del Este Convention Center, in Punta del Este, Uruguay, on Dec. 1, 2017. Uruguayan President Tabare Vazquez said Friday that his country aims to sign a comprehensive cooperation agreement with China in 2018, along with other members of Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC). (Xinhua/Nicolas Celaya) PUNTA DEL ESTE, Uruguay, Dec. 1 (Xinhua) -- Uruguayan President Tabare Vazquez said Friday that his country aims to sign a comprehensive cooperation agreement with China in 2018, along with other members of Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC). "We aim to agree on a joint plan of action for cooperation," Vazquez said at the opening of the 11th China-Latin America and the Caribbean (China-LAC) Business Summit in Punta del Este, Uruguay. Vazquez said he received an "interesting proposal from China" with "bold" ideas, such as creating a free trade zone between CELAC and China, stepping up financial cooperation and developing infrastructure. Vazquez acknowledged there are "several hurdles and geographic distances that we must overcome to optimize this partnership and continue making progress in ties with China," which he described as the "champion of international trade and engine of global commerce." Uruguayan Foreign Affairs Minister Rodolfo Nin Novoa also underscored his country's ties with China, and its agricultural sector's role in supplying the Chinese market. "We want to contribute to China's food security. Uruguay is home to 3 million inhabitants and produces food for 30 to 35 million people," said Novoa. "We are interested in partnering with the 'new normal' China," said Novoa, referring to the Asian giant's transition from an export-driven economy to a consumer-driven economy. "Uruguay has strengths in many areas. We want to be allies, with an emphasis on joint development projects in the field of agriculture," said Novoa. China is Uruguay's leading trade partner, with bilateral trade standing at some 3.373 billion U.S. dollars, accounting for 20 percent of the South American country's total international trade in goods. Bilateral trade grew 19 percent in the first nine months of the year, reaching 3.250 billion dollars, and Uruguay's exports to China have grown 22 percent a year on average in the past decade, according to Uruguay's export promotion agency Uruguay XXI. The two-day China-LAC business summit helped lay the groundwork for next year's ministerial meeting of CELAC, which is a regional bloc of 33 countries with a population of some 600 million. The bloc seeks to deepen political, economic, social and cultural integration in Latin America and the Caribbean, and reduce the influence of the United States in the region. Sonia McCalls mobile home was stolen before she could move in. (Devon and Cornwall Police) 70-Year-Old Mobile Home Owner Rights Campaigner Has Mobile Home Stolen Thieves Didnt Rob this HomeThey Stole This Home A 70-year-old widow, recognized by the British government for her efforts to secure equal legal rights for mobile home owners, has been robbedof her mobile home. Sonia McColl had been forced to sell her mobile home because she received numerous death threats at that address, all related to her campaign to protect people like herselfmobile home owners at the mercy of mobile home park operators. McColl decided to move to an undisclosed address, and bought a second-hand mobile home. While the home was waiting in a storage yard to be shipped to its permanent address, the entire mobile homeforty feet long and weighing some 11 tonswas stolen. Im devastated and shocked, I still am, Im numb, McColl told the UK Daily Mail. Theyve taken everything Ive got. The theft left McColl both broke and homeless. She had spent all her cash to buy the new home and have it repaired. She had it insured for everythingexcept theft from a supposedly secure storage yard. She cannot afford to buy another homeshe cannot even afford to rent one. Im staying with some friends at the moment, she said. I dont know what Im going to do. The Devon and Cornwall police are asking anyone with information to contact them via phone or email. Police Constable Marie Gorfin said: The home would have to had to been taken by a specific low loader trailer that is capable of taking a caravan of this size and by someone that knew what they were doing. This is a very high value and emotive crime as victim is now homeless and clearly distraught. We are urging anyone with information to come forward to police by emailing us via 101@dc.police.uk or by calling 101 quoting CR/102371/17. Revenge Theft McColl and some people around her believe that her home was stolen as an act of revenge for McColls years of campaigning for the rights of mobile home owners, according to The Sun. McColls family persuaded her to sell her home in a park in Dorset after she received numerous death threats at that address. McColl responded by moving to Devon. Before she could have her new mobile home shipped to her new property, it was stolen. McColl told the Daily Mail that she started campaigning to stop park owner abuse, such as sale-blocking and unfair fees. I ran a campaign that changed the law so that could not happen anymore, and Im currently doing one that is trying to stop them taking 10 percent commission when people sell their homes, she told the Daily Mail. Consequently I did have death threats. I used to live in a park home in Dorset and after losing my husband and dog I received a number of death threats telling me to abandon what I was doing. My family convinced me to sell my home and move elsewhere so I put my home up for sale, sold it, and moved to another location just as the campaign was taking off. I moved to Devon. McColl said that she had the new home insured while on a park site or in transit, but that insurance didnt cover the unit while it sat in sellers storage yard. It was in their yard, they said it was secure but obviously it wasnt, she said. The company originally contracted to move the home backed out at the last minute. McColl hired another, and that shipper was expected to show up on Saturday, Nov. 25. The mobile home was stolen between 6 p.m. Nov. 22 and 6 a.m. Nov. 23, according to the Devon and Cornwall Policebut was not reported missing until the next day. McColls son David Randall told Leasehold Knowledge Partnership that It is stretching credulity to believe that this is just a piece of bad luck. I am sure that this is a planned form of revenge. My mother has fought so hard to help and assist the lives of thousands of park homeowners, he explained. This has culminated in her now suffering total loss of everything. A Campaigner for Mobile Home Owners Rights McColl, who lived in a park in Wareham, Dorset, decided mobile home owners needed to be organized, so she started the Park Home Owners Justice Campaign. She was known across the UKand in Parliamentfor her tireless battle to protect mobile home owners rights. Many UK mobile home owners are retired people living in mobile home parks on very tight budgets. McColl learned that park owners were taking advantage of their tenants. Its her view that the park owners were counting on their tenants old age, limited legal knowledge, and limited budgets to get away with making extra money off them. These practices were facilitated because the BH@HPA (British Holiday and Home Park Association), the trade group supporting the mobile-home industry, sat on the secretariat board of the All Party Parliamentary Group for park homes, the government committee which drew up laws concerning mobile homes and mobile home parks. Park owners, for instance, would find out when a tenant planned to sell a lot, and would contact the buyer and offer a home and lot at a competitive price, thus gaining a new tenant and trapping an old one who couldnt sell his or her home. Also, park owners, due to lobbying efforts, had gotten a law passed which gave the park owners a 10-percent commission every time a home in that park soldeven if the park owner had nothing to do with the sale. This would often cut out most of the profit from the sale which the elderly owner usually needs. Groups like Park Home Owners Justice Campaign already succeeded in getting that commission reduced from 25 percent to 10 percent, and aim to get it removed entirely. In 2014, McColl was awarded an OBE (Order of the British Empire) for her efforts to protect the rights of mobile-home owners. Do you think a Sonia McColl was robbed for revenge? Do you think there should be a government investigation? Post your comments below. If you liked this article, consider sharing it with your friends. File photo: Barnaby Joyce speaks in the House of Representatives on February 11, 2016 in Canberra, Australia. (Photo by Stefan Postles/Getty Images) Australias Former Deputy PM Wins By-Election in Coalition Boost SYDNEYAustralias former deputy prime minister Barnaby Joyce cleared the way for his return to parliament on Saturday, winning a by-election just over a month after he was kicked out over a dual citizenship crisis that cost the government its majority. Joyce was not only returned in his New England seat in New South Wales but was forecast to have lifted his primary vote by at least 10 points, giving Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull a welcome boost after a tough few weeks. This has been a stunning victory, Turnbull told supporters as he joined Joyce at a pub in the town of Tamworth. Exit polls were predicting the largest swing to the government in the history of by-elections in Australia, Turnbull said, adding it was a vindication of his coalition. Were getting the band back together. Joyce was one of the Citizenship Seven whose eligibility to sit in parliament was thrown into doubt when it was found they were dual citizens, a status that is barred for politicians under Australias constitution to prevent split allegiances. The High Court ruled on Oct. 27 that Joyce, along with four of the seven other lawmakers, was ineligible to remain in parliament, forcing a by-election. Joyce was found to be a dual citizen of New Zealand, a status he has since rescinded. The deputy leader position, traditionally held by a member of the junior coalition partner, the National Party, had remained vacant since the High Court ruling. The result comes at a difficult time for Turnbull, who earlier this week reversed his long-held opposition to a full-blown inquiry into the countrys scandal-hit financial sector amid mounting political pressure. Turnbull has also seen a splinter within his center right Liberal-National coalition over same-sex marriage, with the conservative faction, led by some of the Nationals, angered by his promise to push through legislation after an historic public vote in favor of the unions. The last day of campaigning for the by-election was marred by a call from New South Wales Nationals state leader and deputy premier John Barilaro for Turnbull to step down as a Christmas gift to the nation. The comments were quickly rebuffed by Liberal Party lawmakers and Joyce, who said they were very unhelpful and insulting. Reporting by Jane Wardell And while youre here Support our media by sharing this article with your friends and family. It takes less than a minute. Thank you! Dog Shoots Man After Hunting Partner Leaves Loaded Gun on Ground A hunting dog shot a man in central Iowa after his hunting partner left a loaded gun on the ground. The dog stepped on the trigger and shot the man in the back from 22 yards away, according to a press release from the Iowa Department of Natural Resources (DNR). The incident took place on Nov. 29 around 1:20 p.m., when a party of four men was out hunting pheasants. The victim, 36-year-old William Rancourt of Lebanon, New Hampshire, was with another hunter from New Hampshire, along with two Iowa men and two dogs. His injuries are not considered life-threatening. Ken Lonneman, a DNR conservation officer, told the Des Moines Register Rancourts injuries were fairly moderate. Shotguns are extremely dangerous at close range, Lonneman told the Des Moines Register. In this case, there was a good distance between the muzzle and the wound, but if the victim had been closer, his injuries would have been more severe. Rancourt was alert and able to walk when an ambulance arrived. After being transported to a hospital, X-rays were taken to make sure no shotgun pellets remained in his body, according to Lonneman, via the Register interview. Rancourt was shot with birdshot, as opposed to the more powerful buckshot or slugs, according to the DNR release. This less powerful and more dispersed type of ammunition, along with the 22-foot distance, likely contributed to Rancourt coming away still conscious and alert. Lonneman said to the Register that the incident is a good warning about checking to make sure the safety is active on any gun set down. This will ensure that the gun cannot be fired. Birdshot is a kind of ammunition designed to hit birds in flight, and can be used for other kinds of small animals, according to the Rem870 website. As the distance to the target increases, the shot pattern of the tiny pellets becomes more dispersed and therefore less powerful. It is the least powerful type of shotgun ammunition. This is probably why after former Vice President Dick Cheney accidentally shot a man using birdshot on a hunting trip in 2006, the man also survived. Even though pellets still remain lodged in his body, Harry Whittington told the Daily News last year that he is still in good health. From NTD.tv Please support independent journalism by sharing this article with your network. FBI: Woman Arrested After Testing Toxic Substance on Senior Home Residents A 70-year-old woman has been arrested after she admitted to making and testing a poisonous substance on residents living in a Shelburne, Vermont, retirement facility. Betty Miller has been charged with possessing a biological agent under federal laws after ricin was found in her Wake Robin apartment on Tuesday, Nov. 26, the FBI said in an affidavit. On Wednesday, Miller told health care providers that she had attempted to poison other Wake Robin residents by putting homemade ricin into their food and beverages over the past several weeks. She then drove herself to UVM medical center for evaluation and observation. During that time, no other residents reported symptoms consistent with ricin poisoning. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), ricin is a poison naturally found in castor beans. If the beans are chewed and swallowed, the released ricin can cause injury. This poison can be turned into a powder, and purified or refined into a terrorist or warfare agent. Ricin works by getting inside the cells of a persons body and preventing the cells from making the proteins they need. Without the proteins, cells die. Eventually, this is harmful to the whole body, and death may occur, the CDC website reads. Symptoms of ricin poisoning depend on how it was taken. Through inhalation and ingestion, it can cause a person to develop breathing difficulties, fever, cough, nausea, tightness in the chest vomiting, diarrhea, low blood pressure, seizures, blood in the urine, and within days it can cause the liver, spleen, and kidneys to stop working resulting in death. According to the affidavit, investigators found a wicker basket filled with pill bottles in the kitchen cupboard, with two bottles labeled Ricin and Castor beans. The bottle labeled Ricin was approximately half full of a yellowish-white powder and was confirmed to be ricin. Miller told investigators she got interested in the plant-based poison during summer. After harvesting 30-40 castor beans growing on the property of Wake Robin, she then made her ricin powder using instructions from the internet. The FBI said she had made between two to three tablespoons of ricin on two separate occasions in her kitchen. Miller said she ultimately wanted to use the ricin for self-harm and decided to test the effectiveness of the poison on her fellow residents on three separate occasions. The FBI also said Miller did not hold a registration allowing her to possess ricin. The U.S. attorney is pushing to keep Miller locked up as the investigation continues, reported NBC. From NTD.tv Dear reader, We have a little favor to ask of you. We work hard to deliver important and interesting articles to you. Please help support independent journalism by sharing this article with your friends and family. It takes less than a minute. Thank you! (Clockwise from L-R) A view of Honolulu's Waikiki beach; North Korea's intermediate-range strategic ballistic rocket Hwasong-12 lifting off from the launching pad at an undisclosed location near Pyongyang; North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un. (Patrick Baz/AFP/Getty Images and STR/AFP/Getty Images) North Korea Threat Has Hawaii Testing Warning Sirens Hawaii has tested its nuclear warning siren just before midday on Friday Nov. 30 for the first time since the Cold War. Some 180 sirens played on Hawaiis most populated island of Oahu while a further 385 were heard across the state, reported the Star-Advertiser. The local paper said residents first heard the typical attention alert (used for hurricanes and tsunamis) which was followed by the new one-minute attack warning tone. Resuming the monthly tests is a part of a program intended to warn Hawaii residents of an impending nuclear missile attack from North Korea, which launched an intercontinental ballistic missile on Nov. 29 that was capable of delivering a nuclear warhead to much of the U.S. mainland. Here is Hawaii testing its nuclear attack warning siren from Ala Moana Beach Park in Honolulu. pic.twitter.com/kh9EPElvNL Honolulu Civil Beat (@CivilBeat) December 1, 2017 The European Council on Foreign Relations think tank released a report last month saying North Koreas top potential nuclear targets included Hawaii. Bruce Teasley, a 63-year-old tourist from Oregon, told the Star Advertiser the test reminded him of air-raid sirens used during WWII and the surprise air attack on Pearl Harbor by Japanese forces on Dec. 7, 1941. I got goose bumps, Teasley told the paper in an interview conducted just outside the Pearl Harbor memorial visitor center. Then I just started imagining the guys who were sitting here on duty that day [in 1941] when the attack happened and what must have going through their minds, he said. Hawaii just tested its nuclear attack warning siren for the first time since the end of the Cold War: pic.twitter.com/hSeqXpAVQ4 Casey Tolan (@caseytolan) December 1, 2017 Melissa Henderson, another visitor from the U.S. mainland, told the Star Advertiser she was aware of the planned tests and was initially anxious. I was very concerned and even second-guessing whether or not we should still come in light of what I read, said Henderson. I guess [thats] the state of the world that were in today, she said. It was just very frightening, on one hand, the fact that we have come to the point where we have to actually test sirens in light of the threat of nuclear war, said the 43-year-old from Louisiana. But on the other hand, it is good that we are being proactive as a country in doing something to protect ourselves, she said. During the cold war, Hawaii would test a warning siren in case of a missile attack. That attack warning tone will again being tested each month, due to the threat of a nuclear missile from North Korea. @Hawaii_EMA says the threat is unlikely. pic.twitter.com/NfMuecBivc ABC News (@abcnews) November 29, 2017 In the case of an attack, residents have to promptly respond to the alertsas any launch to impact warning time for Hawaii is 15 minutes or less. They have been instructed to have a designated place to go for shelter. After any nuclear blast, Hawaiian residents would need to remain in shelters until the agency has fully evaluated the radiation and fallout. A report by ABC radio said that this could take between a couple of hours or as long as two weeks. If a nuclear attack were to hit Hawaii, most probably centered on Honolulu, officials believe there could be around 18,000 fatalities. If you enjoyed reading this article, please support our independent journalism by sharing it on social media. From NTD.tv Heroic Texas Woman Killed While Trying to Help Suspected Drunken Driver A woman from Mesquite, Texas, was killed Thursday night, Nov. 30, after she tried to help a man who had crashed his car. Police said the man was arrested later for drunken driving, according to NBC DFW. After the incident, Dallas County Sheriffs deputies identified the driver as Develtrick Adair, 25. Adair was traveling onto the eastbound ramp of U.S. 175 at South Great Trinity Forest Way when he lost control of his vehicle and spun out into the middle lane of the highway. He then crashed into a guardrail at about 11:45 p.m., FOX4 reported. Theresa Ware, 56, stopped at the scene to assess the mans condition and ended up pulling him out of his car. According to FOX4, the woman then asked another driver to watch him as she called for help. Witnesses told NBC that the man appeared dazed after he crashed. As Ware was phoning for help she was struck by a pickup truck. She was transported to Baylor Medical Center in critical condition and later pronounced dead, according to NBC. According to police, the driver who hit Ware stopped at the scene after the crash and is not expected to face any charges. But Adair did try to run away from the scene on footafter Ware got hit by the truck. Officers soon caught up and arrested him, FOX4 reports. If I can say anything to her family I wish you could have seen her heroic efforts to try to help this guy, stop him and stop traffic to make sure he was safe and no one else got hurt, Laride Conerly, a witness told FOX4. The witness told FOX4 that he wants Wares family to know, You had a great hero in your family. The driver of the truck that struck Ware pulled over at the scene and cooperated with investigators. The identity of the truck driver had not been released as of writing on Friday, Dec. 1. Adair is expected to face DWI charges. He has a criminal record and prior drug convictions. From NTD.tv Please help support independent journalism by sharing this article with your friends and family. It takes less than a minute. Thank you! McDonalds Manager to Collect $110,000 For Helping Capture Alleged Serial Killer Delonda Walker will receive $110,000 for providing police with a crucial piece of evidence that led to the successful arrest of a man suspected of killing four in Tampa, Florida. Walker, a manager of a McDonalds restaurant in the Ybor City neighborhood, was approached by a coworker on Tuesday, Nov. 28, around 2:30 p.m. The coworker handed her a bag and told her not to look inside, The Daily Mail reported. But she did and found a gun inside. She didnt think much of it. Just thought it was strange that there was a gun in there, said Brian Dugan, chief of Tampa Police Department, during Friday press conference. She decided to tell a police officer, unaware that she was providing a key piece of evidence. That was the bit of information that we were looking for, Dugan said. That is what we needed. Seminole Heights neighborhood has been through a rough two months. On Oct 9, Benjamin Mitchell was shot dead after getting off a bus at night. Two days later Monica Hoffa, 32, was found dead, also from a shooting incident. On Oct. 19, Anthony Naiboa, 20, was shot. He took the wrong bus from his new job and never made it home. On Nov. 14, Ronald Felton was just crossing a street when a man dressed in black came up behind him and shot him. None of the victims were robbed. They all walked down a street at night within a half-mile area of the neighborhood. All four murders were committed with the same weapon, Dugan said. It was the gun handed to Walker by the coworker, Howell Emanuel Donaldson III. Donaldson, 24, was arrested and, on Friday, charged with four counts of first degree murder. Multiple law enforcement and community groups offered rewards for information leading to the murderers arrest, including the Crime Stoppers, Florida Department of Law Enforcement, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, FBI, Southeast Seminole Heights community group, Old Seminole Civic Association, Raise Tampa, Richard Gonzmart of the Columbia Restaurants Group, and others. It was reported that Walker was denied part of the reward, but Dugan fixed that. Let me be clear, she will receive all $110,000, Dugan said. She will receive every penny of that. He said, however, it may take some time for all of the checks to reach Walker. Walker refused to answer questions from media and asked for privacy. She, however, released a statement read by Tampa Mayor Bob Buckhorn during the press conference. I went to work on Tuesday intending to serve customers and to do my job. The day turned out very differently. When confronted with this situation, I wanted to do the right thing and I reached out to a nearby police officer. Receiving a reward never entered my mind. Looking back, I am grateful to know I was helpful in assisting law enforcement. I hope you can understand that out of respect for the continuing investigations as well as the victims and their families, I will not be answering questions, Walker said. Family members of one of the victims, Monica Hoffa, thanked Walker on Thursday night for helping catch the alleged killer. She took all of that worry that was out there away and she made us all whole again, said Hoffas father, Kenny Hoffa, WFTS Tampa Bay reported. So day one of our family healing started when we got the phone call, but it really started when she turned that gun over to the police, Kenny Hoffa said. Shes a hero to all of us and our family, shes part of our family now. While youre here Share! We work hard to deliver the most important and interesting news every day for you, but would like to ask a little favor in return: Would you please share this story with your friends? You can just click the share button below. Thank you! Obama FBI Tried Silencing Whistleblower on ClintonLynch Tarmac Meeting, Documents Reveal The FBI tried covering up a secret meeting between former President Bill Clinton and former Attorney General Loretta Lynch on June 27, 2016, in Phoenix, Arizona. The meeting took place just six days before former FBI director James Comey cleared Hillary Clinton of charges in her email scandal. During testimony in May, Comey said he believed the tarmac meeting undermined the Justice Departments credibility on the Clinton email case; and Comey also revealed Lynch directed him to describe the investigation into Clinton as a matter, wording that aligned with the Clinton campaigns framing. Judicial Watch, a conservative, nonpartisan watchdog group, filed freedom of information requests with the FBI and Department of Justice (DOJ) for records on the meeting. The FBI initially claimed there were no records, but after DOJ documents revealed communications on the meeting with the FBI, the FBI agreed to release the documents. On Nov. 29, the FBI provided the 29-page report to Judicial Watch, which the watchdog group published on its website the same day. The documents are mainly emails from after the meeting and reveal that the FBI tried covering up the secret meeting by silencing a whistleblower who had revealed it to the public. The documents show the FBI worked to make sure no more details of the meeting would be revealed to the American people. Tom Fitton, president, Judicial Watch In an email, the FBI cites a July 1, 2016, news article from the Observer, which cites an unnamed security source who was allegedly present during the nearly half-hour meeting between Bill Clinton and Lynch as saying that [Clinton] talked in her plane for at least 20 to 25 minutes, and the FBI is standing face to face with the Secret Service and just chatting on the hot tarmac like, What the hell? The FBI, in its email, urged what appears to be 22 agents, whose names are redacted, to read the Observer article. The bureau states that the unnamed source in the article may be a Phoenix police officer who helped with the motorcades, and that it had contacted the Phoenix office and would contact the locals who assisted in what it described as an attempt to stem any further damage. It states incidents like this are why agents discretion and judgment are the foundations of the AGs trust in our team, which is why we can never violate that trust, like the source did in this article. The AG presumably refers to the former attorney general, Lynch. The emails revealed the FBI aimed to punish and silence the alleged police officer, first stating, We need to find that guy and bring him or her before a supervisor and opr, and also suggested the bureau should require personnel to sign nondisclosure agreements in the future. The mention of opr presumably refers to the Office of Professional Responsibility, which would investigate misconduct by law enforcement. Another email says that an affiliate in Phoenix said the meeting between Lynch and Clinton lasted for close to an hour and that they seem to think its somehow connected to the Benghazi report released today. The June 28, 2016, Benghazi report from House Republicans detailed the Sept. 11, 2012, attacks on the U.S. embassy in Libya, which killed Ambassador Chris Stevens, U.S. Foreign Service officer Sean Smith, and CIA contractors Tyrone Woods and Glen Doherty. The incident sparked the investigations into then-Secretary of State Hillary Clintons emails. According to a Judicial Watch release, the ClintonLynch tarmac meeting came just days before former FBI Director James Comey held the July 5, 2016, press conference in which he announced that no charges would be filed against Mrs. Clinton. It adds that in his May 3 testimony before the Senate judiciary committee, Comey said the LynchClinton tarmac meeting was the capper among a number of things that had caused him to determine that Department of Justice leadership could not credibly complete the investigation and decline prosecution without grievous damage to the American peoples confidence in the justice system.' Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton said in the release that the new documents show the FBI was more concerned about a whistleblower who told the truth about the infamous ClintonLynch tarmac meeting than the scandalous meeting itself. The documents show the FBI worked to make sure no more details of the meeting would be revealed to the American people. No wonder the FBI didnt turn these documents over until Judicial Watch caught the agency red-handed hiding them, Fitton said. These new documents confirm the urgent need to reopen the Clinton email scandal and criminally investigate the resulting Obama FBI/DOJ sham investigation. The Assembly hall of the lower house of the Polish Parliament (Sejm) in Warsaw, Poland. On Nov. 24, 2017, the Sejm passed a resolution condemning the ideology and consequences of the Bolshevik Revolution. (Krzysztof Biaoskorski/ Chancellery of the Sejm). Polish Parliament Condemns Ideology and Consequences of Bolshevik Revolution On Nov. 7, the 100-year anniversary of the outbreak of the Bolshevik Revolution in Russia, Polish Parliament member Jozef Brynkus submitted to the marshall of the Sejm, the lower house of the Polish Parliament, a draft of a resolution condemning the ideology and consequences of the Bolshevik Revolution. The Sejm passed the resolution on Nov. 24. The resolution concisely traces the effects of communism on the world, from the Bolshevik Revolution to the present day, with special emphasis on its effects on Poland. The resolution begins: The Bolshevik Revolution that broke out in Russia 100 years ago in November 1917 changed the face of this country and later a considerable part of the world, and its tragic social and economic consequences have been felt in many countries and in Russia itself to this day. Every revolution carried out by a bloody coup brings with it destruction and death. Extreme left-wing revolts, though often covered by beautiful and high-pitched slogans, always lead to terror and crime and harm individual people and entire societies. The blade of aggression of the Bolshevik revolution was aimed against the basic values of humanity and the traditions of European civilization. Born from the criminal ideology of communism, fueled by anti-humanitarian and anti-Christian slogans, it has left its cruel mark on the lives of many generations Communisms Beginnings in the Bolshevik Revolution The Black Book of Communism reports on the bloody beginnings of communism in Russia, as the coup of Nov. 7 led by Vladimir Ilyich Lenin was followed by a very violent phase. This violence was imposed on the Party by Lenin himself as soon as it seized power, wrote Stephane Courtois, one of the authors of this book. Lenins primary objective was to maintain his hold on power for as long as possible, wrote Courtois. Lenin established a dictatorship that quickly revealed itself to be both bloody and terrorist in nature. Caught between the will to apply his doctrine and the necessity of retaining his grip on power, Lenin created the myth of a worldwide Bolshevik revolution. In November 1917 he wanted to believe that the revolutionary fire was going to engulf all countries involved in the war, and Germany above all others. But a worldwide revolution did not come about, and after Germanys defeat in November 1918, a new European order emerged This was already obvious when the Red Army was defeated in Warsaw in 1920, wrote Courtois. The Soviet Army invaded Poland in 1920 in order to spread the Bolshevik revolution to the West. The resolution comments on this history, and how Poland stopped further communist expansion to the West: One of the greatest victims of the Bolshevik revolution was Poland. In 1920 Polish soldiers through their fortitude were able to stop the progress of the revolution in Europe. The failure of the Leninist theory of European and worldwide revolution left the Bolsheviks quite isolated and in a head-to-head conflict with an increasingly anarchic Russia. In a desperate attempt to hold onto power, the Bolsheviks made terror an everyday part of their policies, seeking to remodel society in the image of their theory, and to silence those who, either through their actions or by their very social, economic, or intellectual existence, pointed to the gaping holes in the theory. Once in power, the Bolsheviks made Utopia an extremely bloody business, wrote Courtois. Communism Goes Worldwide Communism went on the offensive again in 1939, with Poland the battleground and the rest of the world on the sidelines. The resolution says: However, when in 1939 communists allied with the national socialists a hecatomb could no longer be prevented, all the more so as many countries of the civilized world still indifferently accepted the demagogy of the Germans and with applause the hypocritical propaganda of the Soviets. In August 1939 Germany and the Soviet Union signed a non- aggression pact, called the MolotovRibbentrop Pact. The pact contained a secret protocol in which the two allies divided the lands between Germany and USSR into their spheres of influence. The next month their armies both invaded Poland and met at a demarcation line. The British-Polish historian Norman Davies writes in his article Britain and the Warsaw Rising that in 1945 at the Yalta Conference, Western leaders abandoned all effective influence in Poland and Eastern Europe in return for Stalins co-operation in Germany and in the Far East. The Yalta agreement gave free rein to the spread of communism in Poland and Eastern Europe, as stated in the resolution: From 1945 the importation of communist revolution to many countries within and outside Europe had become possible as a result of the misguided policy of the anti-German coalition of allied Western powers. Hundreds of millions of the victims around the world were added to the millions of the Bolshevik Revolution victims, and the horrific effects of communist economic experiments have ruined the economies of dozens of countries around the world. The authors of the Black Book of Communism estimated that the total number of people killed by communism approaches 100 million including an estimated 20 million deaths in the Soviet Union and 65 million deaths in China. The concluding sentence of the resolution reads: The Sejm of the Republic of Poland condemns the ideology that led to the tragedy of many millions of people and pays homage to all the victims of the Bolshevik Revolution. Controversy Over Extreme Leftists The resolution was adopted with 283 votes in favor, and 4 abstentions. However, 173 deputies did not participate in voting, objecting to language in the resolution regarding extreme leftists. The majority of those not voting belonged to the Civic Platform Party and the Modern Party. Civic Platform is currently the largest opposition party, and none of the partys deputies participated in voting on the resolution. Civic Platform deputies proposed an amendment to remove from the text of the resolution the part stating that revolts made by extreme leftists always bring terror, lead to crimes, and harm individuals as well as societies. However, they agreed with most of the resolutions other statements. Rafal Grupinski, a Civic Platform deputy, in his speech during a session of the Polish parliament brought up an example that explained the partys proposed amendment to the resolution. He said: 1905the extreme leftist revolution began with Bloody Sunday in St. Petersburg. Then there were hundreds of victims in Warsaw, Lodz, etc. What was the effect? Restoration of the Polish language in schools restoration of the Polish language in municipalities, the possibility of publishing newspapers, creating associations. The left is not just a disastrous card in the European history. The amendment, however, was rejected by the Committee on Culture and Media. Piotr Babinetz, a deputy representing the Law and Justice party, said that the draft of the resolution was a result of the joint efforts of his party and the Civic Platform party. He also said that the revolution in 1905 was socialist and leftist but not extreme leftist and it preceded the Bolshevik revolution. According to Babinetz the extreme leftist revolts the resolution refers to are, for instance, movements inspired by Che Guevara that commit murders. The majority of the deputies representing the Law and Justice party participated in voting, and those who participated voted in favor of the resolution. Robert Winnicki, a non-partisan deputy, said that extreme leftist movements were responsible for terrorist acts that recently took place in Europe. Mikolaj Jaroszewicz contributed to this report. Reliance Takes Your Home Comfort Seriously While it doesnt have the same eye appeal as stone countertops or hardwood floors, your furnace and air conditioner s are critical to the comfort of your home. You may not give much thought to your furnace, water heater or air conditioner until it isnt working, but thats where Reliance Home Comfort can provide peace of mind. The company, with more than 50 years of experience, sells, and repairs furnaces, air conditioners, water heaters, provides plumbing services and sells water purification systems and water softeners. Reliance has 1.7 million customers across Canada It serves a diverse clientele, including the Chinese community and provides brochures in Chinese; its call centre has agents who speak Mandarin and Cantonese. Earlier this year, CKP (Canada) Holdings Ltd., a subsidiary of Cheung Kong Property Holdings Ltd., became an investment partner in Reliance. The company has stringent hiring and training processes for every team member, from call centre agents to its technicians. The company has been cited as one of the 10 Most Admired Corporate Cultures and its CEO and president Sean OBrien has been honoured with a Most Admired CEO award. Creating a culture where team members take pride in their work and deliver first-class customer service are key Reliance values. One of our strengths is our turnaround time, Sreekanth Kumar, regional sales manager for Reliance, told the Epoch Times in an interview. Our call centre is in Oshawa and when a call comes in, it immediately goes to our service team and a technician is deployed. A quick turnaround is part of customer service excellence. When a technician visits a homeowner who is interested in new equipment, he or she will analyze the homes heat loss and gain using software, explain how heating and cooling systems operate, ask questions about the clients lifestyle, and help to choose the best HVAC (Heating, Ventilation, Air Conditioning) system tailored to the customers needs and budget. Providing excellent after sales services is another of Reliances strengths. With people moving on average every five years and systems costing $12,000 to $20,000 to purchase, our company is very big on the rental proposition, says Kumar. A system may include a furnace, air conditioner, and NEST or Ecobee Wifi thermostat that can be programmed with a smart phone, with rental packages running from $69 to $200 a month. The advantage of renting is that homeowners pay nothing upfront and Reliance will maintain and repair the equipment at no cost. Reliance provides a host of protection and maintenance programs. Heating protection plans, for example, begin at just $9.99 per month and include parts and labour, a full service guarantee; unlimited service calls and have no deductible or hidden costs. Heating and cooling protection plans begin from $16.49 per month. The company has also ventured into plumbing services, which homeowners are embracing. Customers pay a flat fee per month and Reliance plumbers will come to deal with common water emergencies such as leaks or to install new fixtures. Reliance carries its own line of SmartAir appliances, as well as brand names such as Rheem, Amana, Bosch, Goodman, and Carrier and can provide customers with a good, better, or best option. Homeowners are becoming more interested in equipment such as HRVs (Heat Recovery Ventilators), which supply a constant stream of fresh air into the home and help to maintain good indoor air quality, and tankless hot water heaters which provide a constant stream of hot water on demand. Heating and combi boilers are also gaining popularity and are one of the most efficient means to heat a home, by using hot water as the heat source. They are versatile and can be used through conventional heat distribution methods, as well as for radiant and in-floor heating, and to heat driveways, hot tubs, and pools. Reliance is a participating contractor in government rebate programs available to homeowners who upgrade homes built prior to 2000 to save on energy. The Enbridge Home Energy Conservation Rebate offers an incentive of up to $2,250 is based on energy-saving measures for homes such as: insulation, air sealing, furnace, boiler and/or water heater replacement. It requires before and after energy audits by a certified auditor, which Reliance can arrange. Union Gas offers a similar rebate program. Both pre- and post-retrofit energy audits must be completed by December 31, 2017. For more information on Reliance Home Comforts services, visit www.reliancehomecomfort.com Tracy Hanes is a GTA-based freelancer specializing in real estate and home-related topics. Source: Xinhua| 2017-12-02 11:17:07|Editor: Mengjie Video Player Close 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.) Russian President Vladimir Putin speaks with Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu as they attend a ceremony for Russia's Navy Day in Saint Petersburg on July 30, 2017. Russia has tried to position itself as a key player in the North Korean nuclear crisis. (ALEXANDER ZEMLIANICHENKO/AFP/Getty Images) Russian Lawmakers in North Korea During ICBM Test Say Pyongyang Morally Ready for War Russian lawmakers claim North Korea is ready for war and only the Kremlin can negotiate a peace deal. China may be North Koreas critical trading partner, but as the nuclear crisis on the Korean Peninsula has unfolded, Russia has strengthened ties with the communist regime, even echoing North Korean propaganda. That includes Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov denouncing additional sanctions against the Kim regime following the latest missile test and blaming the United States for the current situation. The Kremlins efforts to buddy up to North Korea only go so far, however. Russia has continued to call for the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula and also condemned North Koreas most recent missile launch. As it happened, Russian officials were in North Korea on Nov. 28, when the regime sent an intercontinental ballistic missile 10 times higher than the International Space Station in an effort to develop a nuclear weapon meant for the United States. Rather than leave North Korea when they realized the weapon was launched, the lawmakers stayed three days longer, meeting with several North Korean officials, including Deputy North Korean Foreign Minister Sin Hong Chol and Deputy Chairman of the Central Committee of the Workers Party of Korea (WPK) Ri Su Yong. Upon their return to Russia on Dec. 1, one of the lawmakers claimed North Korea would not disarm and was prepared for nuclear war with the United States, Russias RIA news agency reported. They said they wont disarm, there cannot even be any talk of that, Svetlana Maksimova, a representative in the lower house of Russias national legislature, the State Duma, told the agency. Another member of the delegation, Kazbek Taisayev, told RIA that North Korea would rather avoid war, but was ready to fight. They do not want war, they want to live normally, but if there is a threat from the United States, then they are morally ready for that war. Taisayev told Sputnik News that North Korea was also ready to enter talks to avoid war, but only Russia could negotiate a deal. They are ready to talk and to hold talks. But they obviously mistrust everyone, except for Russia. My impression is that only Russia could act as a guarantor of such talks, said Taisayev. The claim bolsters Russias effort to position itself as a major player in international affairs, an important goal of the Vladimir Putin government, according to Russia analysts. In earlier interviews with Epoch Times, Russia experts said that Putins popularity in Russia is fuelled in part by nationalist sentiments and the belief that the Russian leader is making the country influential again. But negotiating a deal that could resolve tensions on the Korean Peninsula is more than a chance for Russia to flex its diplomatic muscles, it also addresses a serious security concern. With North Koreas steady steps towards building a nuclear-tipped ICBM, the United States and its Asia allies have begun re-investing in military capability. Two weeks ago, the U.S. Congress approved a $700 billion 2018 defense budget with $12.3 billion for ballistic missile defense. That money could go a long way towards the U.S. strengthening its defense against a future North Korean nuclear missile. Congress has tasked the defense department with developing cutting edge technology like hypersonic and directed energy weapons. Kims nuclear program has also inspired Japan, the United States, and South Korea to deepen their military cooperation. So while Russia may be using closer ties with North Korea to bolster its influence in the region, the best outcome Moscow could hope for is North Koreas denuclearization. Otherwise, the United States and its allies will invest in defensive capabilities that Moscow would be hard-pressed to match. While Russia may be okay sharing a border with another nuclear-armed communist dictatorship, it doesnt want war. Nor does it want an arms race with the United States, Japan, and South Koreathree of the most innovative countries in the world. Support independent journalism. Share this article. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) gives a thumbs-up as he and his Director of Operations Stephanie Muchow head for the Senate floor at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, DC. on Dec. 1, 2017. Senate Republicans moved one step closer to delivering a tax reform bill to President Donald Trump before Christmas. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images) Senate Passes Tax Bill, Giving Republicans Big Victory The Senate passed the bill by a vote of 51-49 WASHINGTONThe U.S. Senate passed a sweeping tax bill, a significant milestone for Republicans in getting tax reform over the finish line. The Republican-controlled Senate passed the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act by a vote of 51-49 in the early hours of Saturday, Dec 2. Sen. Bob Corker of Tennessee was the only Republican who voted against the bill, citing concerns about the tax bills potential additions to the budget deficit. Tax Reform gained momentum after Republican holdouts offered their support one after another. Senator John McCain (R-Ariz.) announced his backing on Nov. 30. Other opponents Sens. Jeff Flake (R., Ariz.), Ron Johnson (R., Wis.), and Steve Daines (R. Mont.) also came on board hours before the vote, giving Republicans a sigh of relief. All Democrats voted against the bill, arguing that the tax cuts benefit the rich over the middle-class and will swell the budget deficit over the next 10 years. The U.S. House of Representatives passed its tax bill on Nov. 16, which diverges from the Senates plan. As a next step, both the Senate and the House would work together to draft a single bill. House Republican leaders have scheduled a vote for Dec. 4 to go to conference with the Senate on the tax bill. For tax reform to become law, both chambers have to pass the same legislation and send it to the president. Republicans have an ambitious schedule to turn the bill into law by the end of the year. If they succeed, it will be the first major tax reform since 1986. Biggest Tax Bill and Tax Cuts in history just passed in the Senate. Now these great Republicans will be going for final passage, wrote President Donald Trump in a tweet on Dec. 2. 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 Thank you to House and Senate Republicans for your hard work and commitment!, he wrote. Trump is confident that the chambers will work out their differences and pass tax reform as a Christmas gift to Americans. Here is how the Senate bill compares to the House bill: 1. Cuts the corporate income tax rate to 20 percent in 2019 Both bills agree on reducing the corporate income tax rate from 35 percent to 20 percent, which is the centerpiece of this tax reform. But the Senates tax cut would only take full effect in 2019. Some are concerned that the delay would disappoint businesses, which would put off investment. According to some experts, however, this delay in the tax cut could indeed boost investments. They believe the full expensing provision of the tax bill is more important than tax cuts. Full expensing would allow companies to immediately deduct 100 percent of the cost of capital investments from their tax bill. Businesses will have larger tax savings from writing off the costs of their investments at high tax rates and a year later will pay lower taxes on the payoffs from those investments. 2. Offers better tax relief for pass-through entities The Senate bill differs significantly from the House bill on pass-through entities, like partnerships and limited liability companies that pay taxes on business profit as personal income. With its revised version, the Senate provides a better relief for pass-throughs. The Senate plan continues taxing pass-through entities at the individual rate, with a top proposed rate of 38.5 percent. But it allows a 23 percent business income deduction (up from 17.4 percent in the original Senate bill). Republican senators Daines and Johnson who earlier voiced concern over how pass-through entities were to be taxed, said yes to the Senates bill after securing further tax relief for these businesses. The House bill, by contrast, caps the pass-through tax rate at 25 percent. It also sets anti-abuse rules that allow only 30 percent of a companys revenue to be eligible for that rate and the other 70 percent to be treated as wage income subject to the individual tax rate. To avoid individuals abusing the lower tax, both bills have guardrails, which include the exclusion of professional services. Many service providers such as consulting, law, and financial services companies cannot benefit from preferential treatment. 3. Applies slightly higher rates for repatriation Both tax bills want to level the playing field between U.S. and foreign companies. So they both move from a worldwide taxation systemwhich taxes income earned anywhere in the worldto a territorial system, only taxing income earned inside the home country. As a transition to the territorial system, there will be a one-time tax payable on profits U.S. multinationals have already accumulated overseas. The Senate bill proposes a rate of 14.5 percent (up from the 10 percent originally proposed) for liquid assets and 7.5 percent (versus 5 percent originally planned) for other assets. These rates are slightly higher than the Houses proposal. Both the House and Senate tax reform bills include significant rules to limit tax avoidance, such as the strategy of base erosion and profit shifting, which is used by companies to artificially shift profits to low- or no-tax countries. 4. Maintains seven individual tax brackets The Senate bill keeps the seven individual tax brackets while the House bill condenses them for simplicity. The Senate bill reduces the rates on taxable income to: 10 percent (for incomes up to $9,525 for individuals; $19,050 for married couples filing jointly) 12 percent (for incomes between $9,525 and $38,700 for individuals; between $19,050 and $77,400 for couples) 22 percent (for incomes between $38,700 and $70,000 for individuals; between $77,400 and $140,000 for couples) 24 percent (for incomes between $70,000 and $160,000 for individuals; between $140,000 and $320,000 for couples) 32 percent (for incomes between $160,000 and $200,000 for individuals; between $320,000 and $400,000 for couples) 35 percent (for incomes between $200,000 and $500,000 for individuals; between $400,000 and $1 million for couples) 38.5 percent (for incomes over $500,000 for individuals; over $1 million for couples) The House bill, by contrast, condenses the current seven tax brackets down to four: 12 percent, 25 percent, 35 percent, and 39.6 percent. And it increases income limits for each tax bracket. In addition, both the Senate and House bills nearly double the standard deduction. In the Senate bill, the deduction increases from $6,350 to $12,000 for individuals and from $12,700 to $24,000 for married couples filing jointly. 5. Repeals the deduction for state and local taxes (SALT) The Senate bill repeals the deduction for SALT and allows deductions up to $10,000 for property taxes, in line with the House. In the original version of the bill, the Senate entirely repealed the deduction for SALT and had no exception for property taxes. However, Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) who has been pushing for an amendment allowing property tax deduction, announced the change in the bill via Twitter. The Senate tax bill will include my SALT amendment to allow taxpayers to deduct up to $10,000 for state and local property taxes, she wrote in a tweet on Dec. 1. Those who benefit from the SALT deductions are mostly taxpayers in high-tax states, and hence this provision drew a lot of criticism from states like New York, New Jersey, and California. 6. Maintains the current mortgage interest deduction rules The Senate would keep the current rules that allow the deduction of mortgage interest for newly purchased homes up to $1 million. It eliminates the deduction for equity debt. Meanwhile, the House proposal caps the mortgage interest deduction to the first $500,000 in principal value. In addition, the Senate would keep a number of popular tax credits and deductions that would be repealed by the House tax bill, including medical expenses, teacher expenses, and student loan interest. 7. Provides higher child tax credit The Senate bill increases the child tax credit from $1,000 to $2,000 per child. This is above the $1,600 proposed in the House bill. 8. Keeps the estate tax (death tax) but doubles the threshold The Senate proposal keeps the estate tax and doubles the threshold for the value of inheritance to $11.2 million. The House bill, in contrast, increases the threshold to $10 million and eliminates it completely in six years time. 9. Repeals Obamacares individual mandate Senate Republican leaders decided on Nov. 14 to include the repeal of Obamacares individual mandate in the revised version of the bill. The individual mandate provision requires most Americans to have a basic level of health insurance coverage or else pay a tax penalty. Sphinx Head Found Buried in California Sand Dunes A well-preserved, almost 100-year-old head of a sphinx statue was dug up from sand dunes northwest of Los Angeles. The 300-pound plaster head was found during the excavation of a movie set in the Guadalupe-Nipomo Dunes some 130 miles from Los Angeles. The archeologists seek to recover the set of a 1923 epic silent film The Ten Commandments produced and directed by Cecil B. DeMille. The movies, at the time lavish, $1.5 million budget allowed for a production of dozens of massive Sphinxes, gates, and pharaoh statues to conjure up an image of ancient Egypt in the sand dunes of Santa Barbara County. When the filming was done, the props were left behind and over time disappeared under the ever-changing dunes. No one seems to know for sure why DeMille abandoned the set. One theory says he buried it intentionally to prevent other filmmakers from using it since moving it would have been too expensive. In recent years, some archaeologists have worked on excavating the props. One sphinx head was discovered in 2012 and another sphinx in 2014. The most recent discovery stands out for its excellent condition. The majority of it is preserved by sand with the original paint still intact, said Doug Jenzen, executive director of the Dunes Center, according to the Mirror. The head measures 5 feet x 3 feet x 8 feet and was found unexpectedly when digging for another sphinx piece. There were 21 sphinxes used in the film. Most of them are still hidden in the sand, together with the other props. This is significant and shows that were still learning unexpected facets to historical movie production such as the fact that objects in black and white films were actually painted extremely intense colors, Jenzen said. Filmmaker Peter Brosnan wanted to excavate the movie set in the 1980s, but the dunes were protected as a natural treasure. Brosnan spent decades trying to convince the government to allow a dig, according to Quartz. When he finally succeeded, he only found pieces. The recent discovery gives archaeologists a hope that some well-preserved remains from the golden era of Hollywood can still be recovered. While youre here Share! We work hard to deliver the most important and interesting news every day for you, but would like to ask a little favor in return: Would you please share this story with your friends? You can just click the share button below. Thank you! Student Forgets Lunch Money, Receives Moldy Peanut Butter Sandwich A mom was disgusted after her son sent her photos of a moldy sandwich that was given to him after he forgot his lunch money at school. Amy Wittaker Anders, of Avon, Indiana, wrote in a Facebook post that her son forgot his lunch money and was instead, given a moldy peanut butter sandwich. A photo shared by Anders showed that the bread had a greenish-blue tint. The school replaced the boys moldy sandwich, but he didnt eat it out of fear, WISH-TV reported. I have no idea how someone could not see this was bad when handing it out, Anders wrote in her Facebook post. The boy told his mom that another student was also given a moldy sandwich two weeks before that. We are grateful to be made aware of the situation and have reached out to the parents and apologized. This is an unacceptable human error and we are looking into it to ensure that this never happens again, the Avon Community School Corporation said in a statement to WISH. In New York City, there have been reports of students being given moldy pizza. Its probably a good thing that they pulled pizza off the menu that has like black mold on the underside, said Stuyvesant student Oliver Frank of Brooklyn, CBS New York reported. And in Maryland, there were reports of moldy and undercooked food being served in Prince Georges County Public Schools. Youre giving us something thats not healthy, that can possibly cause us to die and its just unacceptable, one high school student told Fox5. Ive gotten lunch where my mandarin orange has mold on it, another student noted. There have been incidents where the lunch lady had to collect our fruit cup because they were expired. Our milk has been expired. Open up apple juice cartons and its been green. Its just disgusting. Update: Missing Texas Girl Has Been Found The missing Texas teenager that gained national media attention has been found, police announced on Thursday, Nov. 30. Fifteen-year-old Heaven Ray Cox was reported missing since last Sunday, where she left a note behind stating how she could be headed to California. Her mother, Tammy Cox, wrote that her daughter had been located and was found safe on a Thursday evening Facebook post. She has been found and is safe!!! Thanks to everybody for all you have done for one little girl, please dont forget that there are others out there still missing. Much love!!! Tammy wrote. According to the Orange County Sheriffs Office in Texas, investigators were able to locate Heaven at a residence in Louisiana. They found her unharmed. In a news release, the department said that they have not ruled out pending criminal charges in the case, adding that they will continue to interview all persons involved. The residence where Heaven was found belonged to a relative of a person that Heaven knew. According to Tammy, Heaven had been in contact with a much older man before she left her familys home. She said her daughter was in contact with a predator who has apparently been manipulating her for some time. The sheriffs office did not mention anything about the possible predator and noted that the investigation will continue. The full statement from police can be seen below: HEAVEN COX HAS BEEN FOUND SAFE!! After following several leads and speaking with numerous individuals, Orange County Investigators located Heaven Cox at a residence in Louisiana. Heaven was unharmed and has been reunited with her family this evening. Preliminary reports are that Heaven left her residence last Saturday on her own accord, but we will continue to speak to all persons involved. We have not ruled out pending criminal charges. The residence where Heaven was located belonged to a relative of a person that was known by Heaven. This investigation will continue and we will relay further information as it becomes available. We would like to thank everyone across many states for their assistance and prayers involved in locating Heaven. In an updated Facebook post, the mother said she is thankful for the overwhelming response and support she received. Again, thank you to everyone for your concern, support and overwhelming response in getting our information out at the speed of light. We are grateful to God, family, friends and millions of people we dont even know, Tammy wrote. Please help support independent journalism by sharing this article with your friends and family. It takes less than a minute. Thank you! From NTD.tv Fresh Corn Season Might Be Over, but You Can Still Have Delicious Cornbread Using Frozen Corn Source: Xinhua| 2017-12-02 11:32:12|Editor: pengying Video Player Close CARACAS, Dec. 1 (Xinhua) -- Representatives of the Venezuelan government and opposition parties arrived in the Dominican Republic on Friday for two days of dialogue to resolve the country's political crisis. Venezuelan Communications Minister Jorge Rodriguez, who heads the government delegation, said: "We have come with an already established and agreed on agenda." Rodriguez, accompanied by President of the National Constituent Assembly (ANC) Delcy Rodriguez, told reporters the government aims to demand "very firmly" that the opposition work to convince the United States to abandon its economic and financial "attacks" against Venezuela. President Nicolas Maduro's administration "is being attacked" by sanctions and economic embargoes that attempt to sway the internal affairs of the country, he said. While the government wants economic relief, the opposition is after electoral guarantees that the country "is in a position... to provide," said Rodriguez, adding Venezuela has one of the world's "most transparent electoral systems." The head of the opposition delegation, Julio Borges, who serves as president of the National Assembly (AN), or Congress, said he was there "to fight for the basic rights of the Venezuelans." Via dialogue, "we are building a path towards the future" that "does not exclude anyone," said Borges, who represents the coalition of opposition parties, known as the Democratic Unity Roundtable (MUD). "We have to fight on all the paths: in the streets, at the National Assembly, in the international field, and in this negotiation... to achieve the changes the country needs," said Borges. In Caracas, Maduro pledged "to negotiate" with the opposition following the round of talks, which conclude Saturday. "Let's dialogue and negotiate for the country," Maduro said during an event with Venezuelan youths. "For years, I have been proposing national dialogue as the only path to peace," Maduro added. The two sides have been locked in a bitter power struggle since Maduro defeated the MUD's presidential candidate by a narrow margin in 2013. Source: Xinhua| 2017-12-02 11:52:16|Editor: pengying Video Player Close WASHINGTON, Dec. 1 (Xinhua) -- U.S. President Donald Trump on Friday denied media speculation that the White House plans 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 Union members. Telefonica Brasil S.A., together with its subsidiaries, provides mobile and fixed telecommunications services to residential and corporate customers in Brazil. Its fixed line services portfolio includes local, domestic long-distance, and international long-distance calls; and mobile portfolio comprises voice and broadband internet access through 3G, 4G, 4.5G, and 5G as well as mobile value-added services and wireless roaming services. The company also offers data services, including broadband and mobile data services. In addition, it provides pay TV services through direct to home satellite technology, IPTV, and cable, as well as pay-per-view and video on demand services; network services, such as rental of facilities; other services comprising internet access, private network connectivity, computer equipment leasing, extended service, caller identification, voice mail, cellular blocker, and others; wholesale services, including interconnection services to users of other network providers; and digital services, such as entertainment, cloud, and security and financial services. Further, the company offers multimedia communication services, which include audio, data, voice and other sounds, images, texts, and other information, as well as sells devices, such as smartphones, broadband USB modems, and other devices. Additionally, it provides telecommunications solutions and IT support to various industries, such as retail, manufacturing, services, financial institutions, government, etc. It markets and sells its solutions through own stores, dealers, retail and distribution channels, door-to-door sales, and outbound tele sales. The company was formerly known as Telecomunicacoes de Sao Paulo S.A. - TELESP and changed its name to Telefonica Brasil S.A. in October 2011. The company was incorporated in 1998 and is headquartered in Sao Paulo, Brazil. The following companies are subsidiares of Sysco: 2234829 Alberta ULC, 2234842 Alberta ULC, A. M. Briggs Inc., A.M. Briggs, Almacen Fiscal Frionet Caldera S.A., Almacen Fiscal Frionet Limon S.A., Appert's Foodservice, Arnotts (Fruit) Limited, Asian Foods, Bahamas Food Holdings Limited, Bahamas Food Services Limited, Brake Bros, Brake Bros Foodservice Ireland Limited, Brake Bros. Foodservice Limited, Brake Bros. Holding I Limited, Brake Bros. Ltd., Brakes Foodservice NI Limited, Buchy Food Service, Buckhead Beef Co., Buckhead Meat & Seafood of Houston Inc., Buckhead Meat Company, Buckhead Meat Midwest Inc., Buckhead Meat of Dallas Inc., Buckhead Meat of Denver Inc., Buckhead Meat of San Antonio LP, Buzztable Inc., CAKE Corporation, Central Seafood Co., Christys Wine & Spirits Limited, Clafra Aktiebolag, Colorado Boxed Beef Co - Specialty meat-cutting division, Corporacion Frionet Sociedad Anonima, Crossgar Foodservice, Crossgar Foodservice Limited, Crown I Enterprises Inc., Cucina Acquisitions (UK) Limited, Cucina Finance (UK) Limited, Cucina French Holdings Limited, Cucina Fresh Finance Limited, Cucina Fresh Investments Limited, Cucina Lux Investments Limited, Curleys Quality Foods Limited (Third Party), Davigel Belgilux S.A., Davigel Espana S.A., Desert Meats & Provisions, Distagro, Doerle Food Service, Doughtie's Foods Inc., Dust Bowl City LLC, Eko Fagel Fisk o mittemellan AB, Enclave Insurance Company, Enclave Parkway Association Inc., Enclave Properties LLC, European Imports, European Imports Inc., Figg Inc., Freedman Meats, Freedman Meats Inc., Freedman-KB Inc., Fresh Direct (UK) Limited, Fresh Direct Group Limited, Fresh Direct Limited, Fresh Holdings Limited, FreshPoint, FreshPoint Arizona Inc., FreshPoint Atlanta Inc., FreshPoint California Inc., FreshPoint Central California Inc., FreshPoint Central Florida Inc., FreshPoint Connecticut LLC, FreshPoint Dallas Inc., FreshPoint Denver Inc., FreshPoint Hawaii LLC, FreshPoint Inc., FreshPoint Las Vegas Inc., FreshPoint North Carolina Inc., FreshPoint North Florida Inc., FreshPoint Oklahoma City LLC, FreshPoint Pompano Real Estate LLC, FreshPoint Puerto Rico LLC, FreshPoint San Francisco Inc., FreshPoint South Florida Inc., FreshPoint South Texas Inc., FreshPoint Southern California Inc., FreshPoint Tomato LLC, FreshPoint Vancouver Ltd., Freshfayre Limited, Fruktservice i Helsingborg AB, GHS Classic Drinks Limited, Gilchrist & Soames Inc., Gilchrist & Soames UK Limited, Guest Packaging LLC, Guest Supply, Guest Supply Asia Limited, Guest Supply Singapore Pte. Ltd., International Food Group, Isakssons Frukt & Gront AB, J & M Wholesale Meats, J. Kings Food Service Professionals, J. Kings Food Service Professionals Inc., Kent Frozen Foods, Les Ateliers Du Gout, Liquid Assets Limited, M&J Seafood Holdings Limited, M&J Seafood Limited, Manchester Mills LLC, Mayca Autoservicio S.A., Mayca Distribuidores S.A., Menigo Foodservice AB, Mitshim Etatu Supply LP, Newport Meat Company, Newport Meat Northern California Inc., Newport Meat Pacific Northwest Inc., Newport Meat Southern California Inc., Newport Meat of Nevada Inc., North Star Holding Corporation, North Star Seafood, North Star Seafood Acquisition Corporation, North Star Seafood LLC, PFS de Mexico S.A. de C.V., Palisades Ranch Inc., Pallas Foods, Pallas Foods Farm Fresh Unlimited Company, Pallas Foods Unlimited Company, Pauleys Produce Limited, Promotora del Servicios S.A. de C.V., Restaurangakdemien AB, Restaurant of Tomorrow Inc., Rohan Viandes Elaboration SAS, SMS Bermuda Holdings, SMS GPC International Limited, SMS GPC International Resources Limited, SMS Global Holdings S.a.r.l., SMS International Resources Ireland Unlimited Company, SMS Lux Holdings LLC, SOTF LLC, SYY Netherlands C.V., SYY Panama S. de R.L., Serca Foodservice, Servicestyckarna I Johannes AB, Servicios Ameriserve S.A. de C.V., Shenzhen Guest Supply Trading Co. Limited, Societe Civile Immobiliere (SCI) Bianchi Montegut, Societe Civile Immobiliere (SCI) De Boiseau, Societe Civile Immobiliere (SCI) De Garcelles, Societe Civile Immobiliere (SCI) J.D. Lanjouan, Societe Civile Immobiliere (SCI) Le Dauphin, Specialty Meat Holdings LLC, Stockflag Limited, Stockholms Fiskauktion AB, Supplies on the Fly, Sysco Albany LLC, Sysco Asian Foods Inc., Sysco Atlanta LLC, Sysco Autoservicio S.A., Sysco Baltimore LLC, Sysco Baraboo LLC, Sysco Bermuda Partners L.P., Sysco Boston LLC, Sysco Canada Holdings S.a.r.l., Sysco Canada Inc., Sysco Central Alabama LLC, Sysco Central California Inc., Sysco Central Florida Inc., Sysco Central Illinois Inc., Sysco Central Pennsylvania LLC, Sysco Charlotte LLC, Sysco Chicago Inc., Sysco Cincinnati LLC, Sysco Cleveland Inc., Sysco Columbia LLC, Sysco Connecticut LLC, Sysco Corporation, Sysco Corporation Director's Deferred Compensation Plan Trust, Sysco Corporation Employee's 401(k) Plan Trust, Sysco Corporation Executive Deferred Compensation Plan Trust, Sysco Corporation Good Government Committee Inc., Sysco Corporation Retirement Trust, Sysco Corporation Supplemental Executive Retirement Trust, Sysco Corporation Supplemental Unemployment Benefits Plan Trust, Sysco Detroit LLC, Sysco Disaster Relief Foundation Inc., Sysco EI VI S. s.r.l., Sysco EU II S.a.r.l., Sysco EU III S.a.r.l., Sysco EU IV Capital Unlimited Company, Sysco EU IV S. s.r.l.., Sysco EU V S. s.r.l., Sysco Eastern Maryland LLC, Sysco Eastern Wisconsin LLC, Sysco Foundation Inc., Sysco France Holding SAS, Sysco France SAS, Sysco George Town II LLC, Sysco George Town Limited S. s.r.l.., Sysco Global Finance LLC, Sysco Global Finance LLP, Sysco Global Holdings B.V., Sysco Global Resources LLC, Sysco Global Services LLC, Sysco Grand Cayman Company, Sysco Grand Cayman II Company, Sysco Grand Cayman III Company, Sysco Grand Rapids LLC, Sysco Guernsey Limited, Sysco Guest Supply Canada Inc., Sysco Guest Supply Europe Goods Wholesalers LLC, Sysco Guest Supply Europe Limited, Sysco Guest Supply LLC, Sysco Gulf Coast LLC, Sysco Hampton Roads Inc., Sysco Hawaii Inc., Sysco Holdings II LLC, Sysco Holdings LLC, Sysco Indianapolis LLC, Sysco International Food Group Inc., Sysco International Inc., Sysco Iowa Inc., Sysco Jackson LLC, Sysco Jacksonville Inc., Sysco Kansas City Inc., Sysco Knoxville LLC, Sysco Labs Europe Limited, Sysco Labs Pvt. Ltd., Sysco Leasing LLC, Sysco Lincoln Inc., Sysco Lincoln Transportation Company Inc., Sysco Long Island LLC, Sysco Los Angeles Inc., Sysco Louisville Inc., Sysco Memphis LLC, Sysco Merchandising and Supply Chain Services Canada Inc., Sysco Merchandising and Supply Chain Services Inc., Sysco Metro New York LLC, Sysco Minnesota Inc., Sysco Montana Inc., Sysco Nashville LLC, Sysco Netherlands Partners LLC, Sysco North Central Florida Inc., Sysco North Dakota Inc., Sysco Northern New England Inc., Sysco Philadelphia LLC, Sysco Pittsburgh LLC, Sysco Portland Inc., Sysco Raleigh LLC, Sysco Resources Services LLC, Sysco Riverside Inc., Sysco Sacramento Inc., Sysco San Diego Inc., Sysco San Francisco Inc., Sysco Seattle Inc., Sysco South Florida Inc., Sysco Southeast Florida LLC, Sysco Spain Holdings SLU, Sysco Spokane Inc., Sysco St. Louis LLC, Sysco Syracuse LLC, Sysco Technologies Cayman Ltd., Sysco Technologies LLC, Sysco UK Holdings Limited, Sysco UK Limited, Sysco UK Partners LLP, Sysco USA I Inc., Sysco USA II LLC, Sysco USA III LLC, Sysco Ventura Inc., Sysco Ventures Inc., Sysco Virginia LLC, Sysco West Coast Florida Inc., Sysco Western Minnesota Inc., The SYGMA Network Inc., Upsys, Victua SAS, Walker Foods Inc., Waugh Foods, and Wild Harvest Limited. Read More Harley-Davidson, Inc. manufactures and sells motorcycles. The company operates in two segments, Motorcycles and Related Products and Financial Services. The Motorcycles and Related Products segment designs, manufactures, and sells Harley-Davidson motorcycles, including cruiser, touring, standard, sportbike, and dual models, as well as motorcycle parts, accessories, apparel, and related services. This segment sells its products to retail customers through a network of independent dealers, as well as e-commerce channels in the United States, Canada, Latin America, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and the Asia-Pacific. The Financial Services segment provides wholesale financing services, such as floorplan and open account financing of motorcycles, and parts and accessories; and retail financing services, including installment lending for the purchase of new and used Harley-Davidson motorcycles, as well as point-of-sale protection products comprising motorcycle insurance, extended service contracts, and motorcycle maintenance protection. This segment also licenses third-party financial institutions that issue credit cards bearing the Harley-Davidson brand. Harley-Davidson, Inc. was founded in 1903 and is based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The following companies are subsidiares of InterContinental Hotels Group: 2250 Blake Street Hotel LLC, 24th Street Operator Sub LLC, 36th Street IHG Sub LLC, 426 Main Ave LLC, 46 Nevins Street Associates LLC, Allegro Management LLC, Alpha Kimball Hotel LLC, American Commonwealth Assurance Co. Ltd., Asia Pacific Holdings Limited, BHMC Canada Inc., BHR Holdings B.V., BHR Luxembourg SARL, BHR Pacific Holdings Inc., BHTC Canada Inc., BOC Barclay Sub LLC, Barclay Operating Corp., Bristol Oakbrook Tenant Company, Cafe Biarritz, Cambridge Lodging LLC, Capital Lodging LLC, Compania Inter-Continental De Hoteles El Salvador SA, Crowne Plaza Amsterdam (Management) B.V., Crowne Plaza LLC, Cumberland Akers Hotel LLC, Dunwoody Operations Inc., EVEN Real Estate Holding LLC, Edinburgh IC Limited, General Innkeeping Acceptance Corporation, Guangzhou SC Hotels Services Ltd., H.I. (Ireland) Limited, H.I. Soaltee Management Company Ltd, HC International Holdings Inc., HH France Holdings SAS, HH Hotels (EMEA) B.V., HH Hotels (Romania) SRL, HI Sugarloaf LLC, HIM (Aruba) NV, Hale International Ltd., Hoft Properties LLC, Holiday Hospitality Franchising LLC, Holiday Inn Mexicana S.A. de C.V., Holiday Inns (China) Ltd, Holiday Inns (Chongqing) Inc., Holiday Inns (Courtalin) Holdings SAS, Holiday Inns (Courtalin) SAS, Holiday Inns (England) Ltd., Holiday Inns (Germany) LLC, Holiday Inns (Guangzhou) Inc., Holiday Inns (Jamaica) Inc., Holiday Inns (Malaysia) Ltd., Holiday Inns (Middle East) Ltd., Holiday Inns (Philippines) Inc., Holiday Inns (Saudi Arabia) Inc., Holiday Inns (South East Asia) Inc., Holiday Inns (Thailand) Ltd., Holiday Inns (UK) Inc., Holiday Inns Crowne Plaza (Hong Kong) Inc., Holiday Inns Holdings (Australia) Pty Ltd, Holiday Inns Inc., Holiday Inns Investment (Nepal) Ltd., Holiday Inns of America (UK) Ltd., Holiday Inns of Belgium N.V., Holiday Pacific Equity Corporation, Holiday Pacific LLC, Holiday Pacific Partners LP, Hotel Inter-Continental London Limited, Hotel InterContinental London (Holdings) Limited, Hoteles Y Turismo HIH SRL, IC Hotelbetriebsfuhrungs GmbH, IC Hotels Management (Portugal) Unipessoal Lda, IC International Hotels Limited Liability Company, IHC (Thailand) Limited, IHC Buckhead LLC, IHC Edinburgh (Holdings), IHC Hopkins (Holdings) Corp., IHC Hotel Limited, IHC Inter-Continental (Holdings) Corp., IHC London (Holdings), IHC M-H (Holdings) Corp., IHC May Fair (Holdings) Limited, IHC May Fair Hotel Limited, IHC Overseas (U.K.) Limited, IHC UK (Holdings) Limited, IHC United States (Holdings) Corp., IHC Willard (Holdings) Corp., IHG (Australasia) Limited, IHG (Marseille) SAS, IHG (Thailand) Limited, IHG ANA Hotels Group Japan LLC, IHG ANA Hotels Holdings Co. Ltd., IHG Bangkok Ltd, IHG Brasil Administracao de Hoteis e Servicos Ltda, IHG Commission Services SRL, IHG Community Development LLC, IHG Cyprus Limited, IHG ECS (Barbados) SRL, IHG Franchising Brasil Ltda, IHG Franchising DR Corporation, IHG Franchising LLC, IHG Hotels (New Zealand) Limited, IHG Hotels Limited, IHG Hotels Management (Australia) Pty Limited, IHG Hotels Nigeria Limited, IHG Hotels South Africa (Pty) Ltd, IHG International Partnership, IHG Istanbul Otel Yonetim Limited Sirketi, IHG Japan (Management) LLC, IHG Japan (Osaka) LLC, IHG Management (Maryland) LLC, IHG Management (Netherlands) B.V., IHG Management MD Barclay Sub LLC, IHG Management SL d.o.o, IHG Management d.o.o. Beograd, IHG Orchard Street Member LLC, IHG PS Nominees Limited, IHG Systems Pty Ltd, IHG Szalloda Budapest Szolgaltato Kft., IHG de Argentina SA, IND East Village SD Holdings LLC, Inter-Continental D.C. Operating Corp., Inter-Continental Florida Investment Corp., Inter-Continental Florida Partner Corp., Inter-Continental Hospitality Corporation, Inter-Continental Hoteleira Limitada, Inter-Continental Hotels (Montreal) Operating Corp., Inter-Continental Hotels (Montreal) Owning Corp., Inter-Continental Hotels (Singapore) Pte. Ltd., Inter-Continental Hotels Corporation, Inter-Continental Hotels Corporation de Venezuela C.A., Inter-Continental Hotels of San Francisco Inc., Inter-Continental IOHC (Mauritius) Limited, Inter-Continental Management (Australia) Pty Limited, InterContinental (Branston) 1 Limited, InterContinental (PB) 1, InterContinental (PB) 2, InterContinental (PB) 3 Limited, InterContinental Berlin Service Company GmbH, InterContinental Brasil Administracao de Hoteis Ltda, InterContinental Gestion Hotelera S.L., InterContinental Hotel Berlin GmbH, InterContinental Hotel Dusseldorf GmbH (Germany), InterContinental Hotels (Puerto Rico) Inc., InterContinental Hotels Group (Asia Pacific) Pte Ltd, InterContinental Hotels Group (Australia) Pty Limited, InterContinental Hotels Group (Canada) Inc., InterContinental Hotels Group (Espana) SA, InterContinental Hotels Group (Greater China) Limited, InterContinental Hotels Group (India) Pvt. Ltd, InterContinental Hotels Group (Japan) Inc., InterContinental Hotels Group (New Zealand) Limited, InterContinental Hotels Group (Shanghai) Ltd., InterContinental Hotels Group Customer Services Ltd., InterContinental Hotels Group Healthcare Trustee Limited, InterContinental Hotels Group Operating Corp., InterContinental Hotels Group Resources Inc., InterContinental Hotels Group Services Company, InterContinental Hotels Group do Brasil Limitada, InterContinental Hotels Italia S.r.L., InterContinental Hotels Limited, InterContinental Hotels Management GmbH, InterContinental Hotels Nevada Corporation, InterContinental Management AM LLC, InterContinental Management Bulgaria EOOD, InterContinental Management France SAS, InterContinental Management Poland sp. z.o.o, InterContinental Overseas Holding Corporation, Intercontinental Hotels Corporation Limited, KG Benefits LLC, KG Gift Card Inc., KG Liability LLC, KG Technology LLC, KHP Washington Operator LLC, KHRG 11th Avenue Hotel LLC, KHRG 851 LLC, KHRG Aertson LLC, KHRG Alexandria LLC, KHRG Alexis LLC, KHRG Allegro LLC, KHRG Argyle LLC, KHRG Austin Beverage Company LLC, KHRG Baltimore LLC, KHRG Born LLC, KHRG Boston Hotel LLC, KHRG Canary LLC, KHRG Cayman Employer Ltd., KHRG Cayman LLC, KHRG DC 1731 LLC, KHRG DC 2505 LLC, KHRG Donovan LLC, KHRG Employer LLC, KHRG Goleta LLC, KHRG Gray LLC, KHRG Gray U2 LLC, KHRG Hillcrest LLC, KHRG Huntington Beach LLC, KHRG King Street LLC, KHRG La Peer LLC, KHRG Miami Beach LLC, KHRG Muse LLC, KHRG NPC LLC, KHRG Onyx LLC, KHRG Palladian LLC, KHRG Palomar Phoenix LLC, KHRG Philly Monaco LLC, KHRG Pittsburgh LLC, KHRG Reynolds LLC, KHRG Riverplace LLC, KHRG SFD LLC, KHRG Sacramento LLC, KHRG Savannah LLC, KHRG Schofield LLC, KHRG Sedona LLC, KHRG State Street LLC, KHRG Sutter LLC, KHRG Sutter Union LLC, KHRG Taconic LLC, KHRG Tariff LLC, KHRG Texas Hospitality LLC, KHRG Texas Operations LLC, KHRG Tryon LLC, KHRG VZ Austin LLC, KHRG Vero Beach LLC, KHRG Vintage Park LLC, KHRG WPB LLC, KHRG Wabash LLC, KHRG Westwood LLC, KHRG Wilshire LLC, KHRG Zamora LLC, Kimpton Hollywood Licenses LLC, Kimpton Hotel & Restaurant Group, Kimpton Hotel & Restaurant Group LLC, Kimpton Phoenix Licenses Holdings LLC, Kimpton Sedona Licenses LLC, Louisiana Acquisitions Corp., MH Lodging LLC, Mercer Fairview Holdings LLC, PML Services LLC, PT SC Hotels & Resorts Indonesia, Pollstrong Limited, Powell Pine Inc., Priscilla Holiday of Texas Inc., RM Lodging LLC, Regent Hotels and Resorts, Resort Services International (Cayo Largo) L.P., SBS Maryland Beverage Company LLC, SC Cellars Limited, SC Hotels International Services Inc., SC Leisure Group Limited, SC NAS 2 Limited, SC Quest Limited, SC Reservations (Philippines) Inc., SCH Insurance Company, SCIH Branston 3, SF MH Acquisition LLC, SPHC Group Pty Ltd., SPHC Management Ltd., Semiramis for training of Hotel Personnel and Hotel Management SAE, Six Continents Corporate Services, Six Continents Holdings Limited, Six Continents Hotels Inc., Six Continents Hotels International Limited, Six Continents Hotels de Colombia SA, Six Continents International Holdings B.V., Six Continents Investments Limited, Six Continents Limited, Six Continents Overseas Holdings Limited, Six Continents Restaurants Limited, SixCo North America Inc., Solamar Lodging LLC, Southern Pacific Hotel Corporation (BVI) Ltd., Southern Pacific Hotels Properties Limited, Universal de Hoteles SA, White Shield Insurance Company Limited, and World Trade Centre Montreal Hotel Corporation. Read More Source: Xinhua| 2017-12-02 12:22:20|Editor: Yang Yi Video Player Close Chinese Vice Premier Wang Yang (R) meets with Natsuo Yamaguchi, leader of Japan's Komeito Party, who is in Beijing to attend a high-level meeting between the CPC and world political parties, in Beijing, capital of China, Dec. 1, 2017. (Xinhua/Li Tao) BEIJING, Dec. 2 (Xinhua) -- The Communist Party of China (CPC) hopes to work with Japan's major political parties, including the Komeito Party, to improve bilateral ties, Chinese Vice Premier Wang Yang said. Wang made the remarks when meeting Friday with Natsuo Yamaguchi, leader of Japan's Komeito Party, who is in Beijing to attend a high-level meeting between the CPC and world political parties. Recalling the meeting between Chinese President Xi Jinping and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe last month, Wang said Xi stressed the key to improving Sino-Japanese relations is mutual trust. "China and Japan should implement the consensus of the two countries' leaders, increase positive engagement, and create a climate for practical cooperation," Wang said. Wang also met with a delegation from the National Committee on United States-China relations on the same day, saying the two heads of state set the direction for future Sino-U.S. relations during U.S. President Donald Trump's state visit to China. Wang said he expected the committee to continue their active role in strengthening understanding and cooperation between China and the United States to boost the healthy and stable growth of bilateral relations for a long time. Source: Xinhua| 2017-12-02 12:22:20|Editor: pengying Video Player Close DAMASCUS, Dec. 2 (Xinhua) -- Syrian air defenses responded to a possible Israeli missile attack against military positions in the countryside of Damascus midnight Friday, said a pro-government media outlet. Air defenses were triggered by a missile attack and people in the capital heard explosions in different areas, the al-Watan online newspaper reported, without providing further details. Israel has yet to comment on the report. Syrian pro-government activists said the "Israeli attack" targeted military positions in the Kisweh area in the southwestern countryside of Damascus, causing several explosions that shook the area and reverberated across the capital. Meanwhile, the online media "Damascus-now" posted a video on its Facebook page, showing "the moment when the air defenses destroyed an "enemy target" in western Ghouta in rural Damascus. Witnesses told Xinhua that cautious calm prevailed in western Ghouta following the attack, which came hours after rebels downed a Syrian military helicopter there. Syria's rebels fired a missile at the helicopter near the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights and the Lebanese border, said the London-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. Israeli officials have said several times that they would not accept any Iranian influence near their borders. The Syrian government has repeatedly accused Israel of aiding the rebels near the Golan Heights. Both the Syrian government and opposition are participating in United Nations (UN)-mediated Syria peace talks in Geneva. UN Special Envoy for Syria Staffan de Mistura said Friday he has distributed a 12-point post-war vision document for the Syrian invitees to discuss when they resume their ongoing talks someday next week. Source: Xinhua| 2017-12-02 12:42:23|Editor: pengying Video Player Close SAN FRANCISCO, Dec. 1 (Xinhua) -- U.S. Stanford University Friday warned 10,000 employees and students about possible exposure of their sensitive personal information that may have been accessed illegally from its file-sharing servers on several campuses. The university said in a statement that it has sent alert mails to the employees, including former employees, and students about the possible breach of data, such as their Social Security numbers, birth dates, salaries and confidential financial aid information for MBA students. "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," said Randy Livingston, vice president for business affairs, in the 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," he said. The massive exposure of the private information did not result from a hack but an employee slipup, which was patched up by a tech team without notifying the dean of the Graduate School of Business (GSB) or relevant university offices. Stanford said there is no direct evidence that personally identifiable information was accessed from the GSB file, but all impacted employees and students who may have had personally identifiable information exposed will receive notification letters as a precaution. "The proliferation of file-sharing platforms requires that everyone be vigilant in assuring that confidential information remains secure, old files are deleted and permissions are regularly reviewed," Stanford said. The incident involving employee information from 2008 was the third data breach acknowledged by the campus in the last two weeks. The data exposure was discovered by a GSB student who found a computer glitch that allowed public access to thousands of confidential student financial aid records. "There is no excuse for this compromise of privacy and security, and I intend to do everything possible to ensure that it does not happen in the future," GSB Dean Jonathan Levin wrote to the Stanford community on Nov. 17. Stanford said its Information Security Office is "working closely with IT leadership throughout campus to develop a comprehensive plan for addressing this problem broadly and sustainably across all file-sharing platforms in use at the university." The Information Security Office has contacted file-sharing owners throughout the university to urgently review all file-sharing permissions to prevent similar data exposure in the future, Stanford said. How to watch and what to know about Northern Iowa at South Dakota Source: Xinhua| 2017-12-02 13:12:28|Editor: Mengjie Video Player Close BEIJING, Dec. 2 (Xinhua) -- Chinese securities regulator has approved five IPO applications this week, which will raise up to 3.7 billion yuan (about 559 million U.S. dollars) in the A-share market. Two companies will be listed on the Shanghai Stock Exchange, one on the small and medium enterprises board and two more on the ChiNext at the Shenzhen Stock Exchange, according to the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC). The firms and their underwriters will confirm dates and publish prospectuses following discussions with the exchanges. China has sought to normalize IPOs to improve financing efficiency and direct more money into the real economy since it suspended IPOs between July and November 2015. New shares are subject to official approval under the current IPO system, which is gradually moving to a more market-oriented system. If its power we want to talk about, and how power should now be shared equally, the countrys securities administrators have helpfully compiled data sets highlighting the unsurprising news that its not shared equally, that is. We need to keep hammering at this, now more urgently than ever as corporations audit their frail or possibly non-existent policies on sexual harassment and sexual engagement in the workplace; as we are reminded again of the gender pay gap; as we launch our daughters into the working world with promises that their experiences will be better than our own. (And as we imagine panicked male corporate miscreants keeping a low profile, praying they will not be outed for misbehaviours dating back decades. Music titan Russell Simmons stepped down from his company Thursday in response to an alleged sexual assault in 1991. There is no statute of limitations in these matters.) Who recalls that estimable bystander Government of Ontario PSA that aired in prime time a couple of years back? The inebriated young woman at a party about to be assaulted by a young man. (His line as he looks to the camera: Thanks for keeping your mouth shut.) The discomfited female office worker being shoulder massaged by a male superior. (His line as he looks to the camera: Thanks for minding your own business.) The tag line: When you do nothing, youre helping him. When you do something, youre helping her. Thats a central thought to keep in mind: helping her. Companies stubbornly refuse to get the message. Institutional discrimination time old, shopworn has been endemic in corporations from the year dot. And, yes, I do believe that its tougher to wield discriminatory power in a work place where women are equally represented at the top. Ive written before about my own early career years and the expectation, circa 1980, that the corporate world would organically evolve, that women would naturally take their place as gender parity naturally took hold. I wasnt too keen, then, on quotas. Of course I was wrong. And now along come the securities folks to remind again that progress has been unacceptably slow. Data drawn from participating jurisdictions Alberta, Manitoba, New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador, Northwest Territories, Nova Scotia, Nunavut, Ontario, Quebec, Saskatchewan and Yukon reveal that just 14 per cent of board seats are occupied by women. In 2015, that number stood at 11 per cent. In 2016, the representation of women was 12 per cent. Can we seriously call this progress? Interestingly, issuers that have adopted targets for the representation of women in executive officer positions rose to a paltry 3 per cent. Thats not a typo. From what, one might ask? From 2 per cent. Of the 663 companies examined, just four, by my count, have reached gender parity at the board level. It is the laggards that stand out. Power Corp. of Canada has 12 members on its board. Two of those, 17 per cent, are women. The number of women in executive positions at the time the data was culled from securities filings: zero. I cite Power Corp. because something in its statement of corporate governance practices caught my eye: The Boards approach reflects its belief that governance must be focused on substance rather than the application of generic processes and standardized rules and guidelines. Formal checklists cannot replace real care, responsibility and personal engagement. These attributes are not exclusive. Substance can be married to goals of equality; responsibility is not erased by pursuing gender goals. Dismissing the need to redress the imbalance of power as a generic process is belittling. Its dispiriting to see the phrase issuer elected not to adopt targets with such frequency throughout the data set. Wise corporations should take the current maelstrom of sexual predation as a wake-up call. Clearly, nudging from securities regulators hasnt been enough to cause them meaningfully to embrace gender reform. This is the moment for companies to step forward, with a loud voice, proclaiming their commitment to an equal place for women in the workplace. To those who argue that the two are not connected I say only this: in the end its all about power. Contact Jennifer Wells at jenwells@thestar.ca SHARE: In 2012, Geoffrey Hinton changed the way machines see the world. Along with two graduate students at the University of Toronto, Hinton, a professor there, built a system that could analyze thousands of photos and teach itself to identify common objects like flowers and cars with an accuracy that didnt seem possible. He and his students soon moved to Google, and the mathematical technique that drove their system called a neural network spread across the tech world. This is how autonomous cars recognize things like street signs and pedestrians. But as Hinton himself points out, his idea has had its limits. If a neural network is trained on images that show a coffee cup only from a side, for example, it is unlikely to recognize a coffee cup turned upside down. Now Hinton and Sara Sabour, a young Google researcher, are exploring an alternative mathematical technique that he calls a capsule network. The idea is to build a system that sees more like a human. If a neural network sees the world in two dimensions, a capsule network can see it in three. Hinton, a 69-year-old British expatriate, opened Googles artificial intelligence lab in Toronto this year. The new lab is emblematic of what some believe to be the future of cutting-edge tech research: Much of it is expected to happen outside the United States in Europe, China and longtime AI research centres, such as Toronto, that are more welcoming to immigrant researchers. Sabour is an Iranian researcher who wound up in Toronto after the U.S. government denied her a visa to study computer vision at the University of Washington. Her task is to turn Hintons conceptual idea into a mathematical reality, and the project is bearing fruit. They recently published a paper showing that in certain situations, their method can more accurately recognize objects when viewing them from unfamiliar angles. It can generalize much better than the traditional neural nets everyone is now using, Sabour said. When I walked into his office this month, Hinton, dressed in his usual button-down shirt and sweater, handed me two large white blocks. They looked like something he had found at the bottom of an old toy chest. He explained that the blocks were two halves of a pyramid, and he asked if I could put the pyramid back together. That didnt seem too hard. The blocks were oddly shaped, but each had only five sides. All I had to do was find the two sides that matched and line them up. But I couldnt. Read more: Facebook is now using artificial intelligence to prevent suicide The first AI pop album is on its way Beware the dark side of artificial intelligence Most people fail this test, he told me, including two tenured professors at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. One declined to try, and the other insisted it wasnt possible. It is possible. But we all failed, Hinton explained, because the puzzle undercuts the natural way we see something like a pyramid. We do not recognize an object by looking at one side and then another and then another. We picture the whole thing sitting in three-dimensional space. And because of the way the puzzle cuts the pyramid in two, it prevents us from picturing it in 3-D space as we normally would. With his capsule networks, Hinton aims to finally give machines the same three-dimensional perspective that humans have allowing them to recognize a coffee cup from any angle after learning what it looks like from only one. This is not something that neural networks can do. It is a fact that is ignored by researchers in computer vision, he said. And that is a huge mistake. Loosely modelled on the web of neurons in the human brain, neural networks are algorithms that can learn discrete tasks by identifying patterns in large amounts of data. By analyzing thousands of car photos, for instance, a neural network can learn to recognize a car. This mathematical idea dates back to the 1950s, but the concept has found real-world applications in recent years, thanks to improvements in processing power and the large amounts of data generated by the internet. Over the last five years, neural networks have accelerated the progress of everything from smartphone digital assistants to language translation services to autonomous robots. But these methods are still a long way from delivering machines with true intelligence and new research is needed to deliver the kinds of autonomous machines that so many of the top tech companies are now promising, including conversational computers and driverless cars. Hinton, who is a kind of godfather figure for the AI community, is part of a small but increasingly vocal group of specialists who are working to push the industry into these alternative areas of research. Oren Etzioni, chief executive of the Allen Institute for Artificial Intelligence, based in Seattle, lamented what he called the industrys myopia. Its current focus on neural networks, he said, will hurt the progress of AI in the long run. Eric Horvitz, who oversees much of the AI work at Microsoft, argued that neural networks and related techniques were small advances compared with technologies that would arrive in the years to come. Right now, what we are doing is not a science but a kind of alchemy, he said. Hinton acknowledges that his project in Toronto has so far shown only preliminary results. And others, like Etzioni and Horvitz, believe that very different techniques will be needed to achieve truly intelligent machines. Etzioni said that although machine learning methods would remain at the centre of AI work, they must be augmented with other techniques. They are fundamentally limited because they learn from data. The right data isnt always available. But Hinton believes his capsule networks can eventually expand to a wider array of situations, accelerating the progress of computer vision and things like conversational computing. Capsule networks are an attempt to mimic the brains network of neurons in a more complex and structured way, and he explained that this added structure could help other forms of artificial intelligence as well. He certainly understands that many will be skeptical of his technique. But Hinton also pointed out that five years ago, many were skeptical of neural networks. History is going to repeat itself, he said. I think. SHARE: Adi Sideman, the chief executive officer of the live-streaming startup YouNow, spends his days hawking a new form of digital currency. The tokens are called Props as in what youre giving when you offer someone a fist-bump and Sideman wants people who stream video online to accept them as a form of payment. Creating an economy based on Props is the centrepiece of Sidemans plan to loosen YouTubes hold on the internet. Its a hopelessly audacious idea by any standard except perhaps by the standards of those who trade in digital currencies, where YouNows long-shot makes perfect sense. The first place the Props economy will exist is within Rize, a new live-streaming app that YouNow is releasing in January. People who use Rize will earn the tokens based on a mathematical formula determining how valuable their contribution to the service is. They can convert them into dollars or hold onto them as a bet that Props will increase in value over time. Read more: Another large bitcoin exchange draws warnings NextBlock, a cryptocurrency venture-capital fund, scraps IPO plan How hackers use unsuspecting companies websites to help mine for online currency Sideman is offering Props for free to other developers willing to distribute the currency to the services of their own users. In theory, this will create a flywheel, where demand for Props gets people to use the apps, which further increases demand for Props, until a self-sustaining economy emerges. YouNow, which will hold onto about a quarter of the total supply of the tokens, stands to profit as the value of the coins appreciate. If Props go to zero, its left holding nothing. Or almost nothing. Over the next two months, it will sell off 20 per cent of the total supply of Props and expects to raise $25 million (U.S.) doing so. There will be a billion Props in total a number that wont change over time and YouNow is initially valuing each one at about 12.5 cents. This sort of thing is in the air nowadays. In 2017, investors have poured over $3.6 billion into about 230 initial coin offerings (ICO), the term of art for this sort of token sale, according to the website CoinSchedule.com. The ICO boom is the latest incarnation of the fascination that certain tech and finance circles have for the blockchain, the technology enabling the exchange of virtual items without the control of a centralized entity. Digital tokens based on the blockchain, often referred to as cryptocurrencies, have proved appealing as tools for speculators, since theyll increase in value if the demand for their use grows. The most prominent is Bitcoin, but theres also ethereum (more flexible than bitcoin), NEO (ethereum for China), litecoin (bitcoin but faster), zcash (more private) and ardor (a blockchain for creating blockchains) to name a few. A growing roster of entrepreneurs and venture capitalists say the technology could prompt the biggest change in the architecture of the internet since the rise of Facebook Inc. and Google. Thats the bull case. As happens whenever a new, unregulated way for speculators to make money emerges, the ICO craze also has its share of shadiness, chaos and the threat of government crackdown. Promising projects have descended into infighting; banking regulators recently issued a statement seemingly aimed at Paris Hilton after she hyped a token called Lydian Coin; and Jordan Belfort, the real-life subject of Wolf of Wall Street, called ICOs the biggest scam ever. YouNow wants to thread the line between hype and skepticism. Sideman avoided using the term ICO, saying it carries connotations of speculation. On Tuesday, the company announced it would sell the first batch of Props between $13 million and $19 million worth on Nov. 29 through CoinList, which works only with accredited investors and handles screening for compliance with money-laundering rules. YouNow will sell the rest of the batch of tokens to the general public in December and January. From that point on, people can acquire Props either by earning them by using services that have adopted them or by buying on exchanges that swap cryptocurrencies. YouNows ICO is hardly huge by current standards; the largest sales have brought in upwards of $200 million. But its notable for other reasons. YouNow is already a profitable company with 40 employees, name-brand investors and 40 million registered users, a rarity in a world dominated by brand-new projects. People who work with cryptocurrencies say theyre fielding an increasing number of calls from established companies and predict thats where the next wave of notable cryptocurrency projects will come from. The Props project is an early illustration of what that process could look like. Another thing distinguishing Props is that itll actually be good for something right away. YouNow is plugging Props into an operation that it has spent six years fine-tuning. The companys performers make money by convincing viewers to tip them, and YouNow facilitates the exchange of cash into digital money and back again. On Rize, Props will work in much the same way. In October, the research firm Token Report surveyed 226 ICOs. Fewer than 9 per cent of the tokens had any use other than to be a way to bet on their value going up over time. Most everyone has no users, or technology, or product, said Jake Brukhman, co-founder of CoinFund, a firm that helps companies develop plans for cryptocurrencies and is working with YouNow. Chris Burniske, an investor in blockchain companies and author of the book Cryptoassets, said YouNow is the rare company set up to integrate its tokens into a business it has already built. Its also already created a consumer product used by millions of people. I think it could be the best user experience application weve seen in the crypto space, he said. But he also views companies who develop an interest in cryptocurrencies with skepticism I think its a double-edged sword around the established companies, Burniske said. Investors need to investigate the motivation. Why now? And why a token? Theres a pretty obvious bear case here. YouNows growth has slowed in the face of competition from the biggest companies in tech. Any new service competing with YouTube and Facebook has to be seen as a long shot. But Sideman has bought in to the idea that the blockchain will prove to be the Goliath-slayer that reclaims the internet. While YouNow cant compete with the behemoths on their own terms, Props lets it offer something unique: a kind of equity stake in this new economy. We call it asymmetric warfare, Sideman said. An unfair advantage, so to speak. Sideman, 47, has dedicated the last several decades to developing odd, new ways for people to make and consume media. He built software for DJs in the 1990s, then created an online karaoke business, which he sold to MySpace in 2006. YouNow, which Sideman started in 2011, consists of a website and mobile app designed for people to stream live video of themselves. Its the rare social media company whose business model isnt based on advertising, making money instead off transaction fees. YouNow has raised about $30 million from investors such as Union Square Ventures and the investment arm of Comcast Corp. YouNow attracted a stable of young performers, but it began having trouble luring new users several years ago when Facebook, Google, and Twitter Inc. all began focusing on live-streaming. YouNows users continued to increase the amount of money they spent on the platform, Sideman said, but it felt like the party was over. Frankly, a profitable business with a couple million dollars a month in sales is great, but this is not necessarily what I signed up to deliver, Sideman said. The company began planning a major pivot about 18 months ago. Andy Weissman, a partner at Union Square Ventures who sits on YouNows board, said it hadnt been seeking new funding, but that any startup with venture investors is reaching treacherous territory when its rate of growth slows. YouNows leadership knew it needed to take a big swing if it wanted to be more than middling. When asked whether YouNow was forced into this strategy, Weissman hedged. Forced is a strong word, he said. But its not inaccurate. This August, YouNow laid out its plans for Props in a white paper, the first official step in the ICO process. As with other cryptocurrencies, the idea is that the economy will eventually function on its own. The plan is for independent developers to make apps that automatically distribute Props based on how much value video creators add. Rize passes out new tokens daily, giving more to those users whose videos attract more engagement as determined by an elaborate mathematical formula published in the paper. Its business plan rests on its own Props gaining in value. Were changing our business model completely, Sideman said. This is a deliberate rejection of YouTubes economy, where people post videos, Google arranges for ads to appear on them and the company splits the revenue with the creators. While everyone seems to have the same incentives, the specifics of the ad splits cause persistent friction. Google retains complete control over the most lucrative part of the system the data about the viewers that it can use to target ads. Then again, Google has the worlds largest audience and pays its partners in actual money. Weissman of Union Square Ventures called YouNows plan a grand experiment that relies on several things going the companys way. But a brazen gamble beats the alternative. There were open questions about: How do they compete with Facebook and Google? he said. It may be that this is the only way. YouNow has been holding a series of parties to drum up excitement for Props. Its attempting to appeal to two crowds: people who might use a weird new live-streaming app and people who might invest real money into an unproven virtual asset. The mixture made for an interesting crowd at the most recent event, at YouNows office near Times Square. Sideman, sporting a blue track jacket and bright red sneakers, did a presentation with Philip DeFranco, a popular YouTube creator, demoed the new app and answered questions about liquidity in the Props economy. A handful of YouNow creators were in attendance one hung out near the food table wearing a trench coat, pink boots and a pink sweatshirt, his hood pulled down low. At the bar, a JPMorgan Chase employee strategized with a friend about when to dump their investments in various cryptocurrencies. A nattily dressed former high school teacher quizzed Brukhman, of CoinFund, about a fine point of blockchain economics. A regular presence at these parties has been Rob Paone, who appeals to YouNow both as a potential user and cryptocurrency investor. Paone works a day job as an account executive at Oracle Corp. while betting on cryptocurrencies on the side. One weekend a few months ago when his wife was out of town, Paone recorded a video about cryptocurrencies and posted it to YouTube on a whim. His channel, Crypto Bobby, now has 37,000 followers. Like any cryptocurrency expert worth his salt, Paone is inundated with get-rich-quick schemes. He popped his phone out. ICO, ICO, ICO, he said, scrolling past countless pitches in his email. As a general rule he turns everything down, but he did accept Sidemans proposal to sign on as an adviser in exchange for Props. Another investor is Kunyi Li, an investment analyst at BlockTower Capital, a hedge fund looking to anticipate changes in the value of various cryptocurrencies. He said he hears from multiple venture-backed companies each week who are looking to retool themselves as crypto-economies. Im always wary. Everyone thinks crypto-economics are going to save them, he said. BlockTower generally steers clear of ICOs, but decided to put several hundred thousand dollars into the Props ICO, because the white paper was intriguing and YouNow is already running a multimillion-dollar economy. If YouNow can translate that to Props, itll be a success and a first for Li. I havent seen a tokenized economy that actually works, he said. Read more about: SHARE: After residing in the suburbs for most of their lives, Chris and Todd Kauffman now live in an altared reality: their home is a former church. The Kauffmans and their two teen daughters moved into the heritage building in a small village east of Bowmanville a year ago. Since then, theyve learned that many of their neighbours got married in what is now their living room. The girls basement bedrooms once hosted the annual community Christmas dinner and carol sing. The couple was looking to downsize from their 2,800-square-foot Oshawa house they bought new from the builder in 2003. Their search took them just 11 minutes northeast to the wood-frame church built in 1877 as a Methodist Episcopal Church and becoming a United Church after the church union in 1925. The structure hadnt been used for worship since 1969, when it was moved back on its lot onto a new basement and became a community centre. It had been retrofitted as a renovation resale project before the Kauffmans bought it. The couple was captivated by its charm; at 1,200 square feet, plus 1,000 square feet of finished basement space, the size was just right. It also had a separate garage a priority for Chris, whose woodworking hobby had evolved into a business. She calls her business White Wood Studio, in honour of the churchs white clapboard siding that was added during the first renovation. The Kauffmans are the first full-time residents of the former church they purchased for $624,000 a family in the village occupied it for a summer in the 1970s when their house burned and they soon discovered a few issues. One was that the frames of all 12 of the eight-foot original etched-and-stained-glass Gothic windows were rotting and needed replacing. While lovely, the windows didnt open, didnt let a lot of light into the home or allow occupants to see outside clearly. Chris says because the building has a heritage designation, changes have to be approved by the municipality. And each component floors, windows and walls have separate bylaws. Any new windows had to be made of wood and she discovered it was no easy feat finding a window manufacturer willing to take on the challenge, until she found Toronto company Authentic Windows. The installation wasnt simple. Extensive repairs were required and every window jamb had to be cut out. Now new thermal windows, made of mahogany and painted black, open to allow airflow and provide a beautiful contrast to the white-wood siding. Many of the original windows have since found homes with neighbours who once attended the church. So far the Kauffmans have completed $80,000 in renovations and upgrades, that also include stairs added to the upper loft so Todd, who owns an animation studio, can work from home (he is currently directing the Corner Gas animated series). Chris painted much of the orange-tinged woodwork white to lighten the space. Much of the trim originally had a historic finish known as sponge graining, which was protected by the heritage bylaws. But because the previous owner of the church had removed much of it without authorization, Chris was given approval to paint it. She started woodworking about 10 years ago. I liked the look of old character and wanted to put wainscotting in my previous house, but found it was costly to hire someone. I taught myself and figured it out, she says. I got better with every project and got more and better tools. She built bread boxes, shelves, millwork and cabinets for her previous house, then started offering workshops to others. Chriss handiwork is found throughout the familys church house: shes added trim, chair rails and wainscotting. In the family room, she built side tables and a console table fashioned from floor boards that were left from the church renovation. She also built the large harvest table where the family gathers for meals and has refinished the kitchen island, which is fashioned from wood from pews from the church. Chris, who is sponsored by Ryobi Tools, works on her projects and holds her workshops in the heated garage next to the house. I wanted to get tools in the hands of women, she says. The workshops are also open to men and I like when young couples come. Many millennials dont know how to use tools. I want them to learn good skills. Her workshops focus on constructing simple items such as planters, boxes, trays and decorative clocks. Everything is pre-cut and participants learn to use nail guns and drills, how to sand and refinish pieces, says Chris. I get a lot of repeat clients. I love it. Its really fun. People take a class and get the confidence to use tools. The village used to hold an annual sale in the church/community centre and Kauffman is reviving the tradition with a Winter Market at her home on Saturday, Dec. 2 and Sunday, Dec. 3 featuring her work and that of other local artisans. Details are at facebook.com/whitewoodstudios With just a year of country living under their belt, the former suburbanite Kauffmans find the rural lifestyle suits them. I dont know if we could go back (to the suburbs). We love the views and the feeling we get here, says Chris. White Wood Christmas Market Dates: Saturday, Dec. 2 and Sunday, Dec. 3, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Description: The former church and now a home now will be decorated for Christmas. Owner Chris Kauffman and other artisans will have their handmade goods for sale. Admission: $3. Children are free. Half the proceeds will go to Ronald McDonald House Charity. Contact: Go to facebook.com/whitewoodstudios Read more about: SHARE: My Canada includes three territories and 10 provinces. My Canada veers off the Trans-Canada Highway and embraces places that you cant drive to. My Canada includes the Indigenous people who were here first and everyone who came after. I remember that my boss was dubious when I pitched an ambitious Canada 150 project to create 13 special issues, but I was adamant that I could wrangle multiple stories for each part of the country and she gave me the green light. Now here we are a year later with the Northwest Territories issue and the 13th and final collection of Canada ssssss150 stories. Not only did I send my freelance team across the country to join the Yukon Quest, gaze upward for Jaspers Dark Sky Festival, learn the Freemason secrets of the Manitoba Legislature, take a cargo cruise through remote parts of Quebec, dine on the ocean floor in Nova Scotia and delve into all things Anne on Prince Edward Island, I personally made it to all the provinces and territories. I learned all about being weathered in and how to roll with it. I spent three nights, including Valentines Day, holed up in a hotel in Gander when a fierce blizzard hammered the Maritimes. But I ate super retro Orange Creamsicle Cake trotted out for special occasions and fell so hard for Newfoundland that I bought a vacation home a few months later. I spent another three nights stranded in Winnipeg when a historic March storm hit the west and my flight to Churchill for the RAW: Churchill pop-up dinner was cancelled. For me, thats just the story that got away, but Churchill still hasnt got its train service back and people are struggling. For what its worth, the town can count on me to spread the word about its amazing polar bears, beluga whales and northern lights. A May trip to Newfoundland to see icebergs was almost derailed by an unseasonably late winter that kept most of the boats in the harbour, and a July flightseeing trip from Inuvik to Tuktoyaktuk became a Mackenzie Delta boat trip because of wind. Rain almost stopped me from swimming with salmon in New Brunswick in September, but I changed my flight and made it happen. To travel in Canada, embrace the unpredictable, leave wiggle room for anything that involves the outdoors and always have Plan B at the ready. I despair that most Canadians find it cheaper, easier and more satisfying to leave the country and explore the world, while global tourists from places such as China, Japan, Germany and the U.K. save up to come here. I got to ride trains from Quebec to British Columbia, fish on Great Slave Lake, comfort camp in Albertas Badlands and the northwest edge of the Yukon, swim Saskatchewans Dead Sea, hear bugling elks in Manitoba, howl for wolves in Ontario, ocean kayak in Nova Scotia, see narwhals at the ice floe in Nunavut and help rescue baby puffins in Newfoundland. I almost didnt make it to Prince Edward Island, so rented a car in Saint John, N.B., on one of those weathered out rain days and took a six-hour road trip just to drive over the Confederation Bridge. There are a thousand places that I missed starting with Labrador but I have a mission now and Im just getting started. This series gave me the excuse to explore my country and connect with fellow Canadians. I met great people doing inspiring things wherever I went, especially the Haida, Inuit, Inuvialuit and other Indigenous people I hung out with in British Columbia, the Yukon, the Northwest Territories and Nunavut. The future of Canadian tourism belongs to them. jbain@thestar.ca Read more about: SHARE: Source: Xinhua| 2017-12-02 13:37:32|Editor: Yang Yi Video Player Close A self-driving bus runs on a road in Shenzhen, south China's Guangdong Province, Dec. 2, 2017. 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. 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. (Xinhua/Mao Siqian) SHENZHEN, Dec. 2 (Xinhua) -- 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. LANGLEY, B.C.A funeral services chain in British Columbia is developing a program it hopes will cut the number of drug deaths related to fentanyl among children and young adults. Alternatives Funeral and Cremation Services has created a fentanyl prevention program after a funeral home in the chain reported serving four to five families every month who had lost a loved one to an overdose in Metro Vancouver. The owner of the chain, Tyrel Burton, says the company felt it could no longer tolerate those numbers and unlike other programs focusing on harm reduction, it decided to aim at prevention through the use of visual aids that it describes as powerful, perhaps even controversial. Read more: New Brunswick introduces naloxone kit program in the wake of 17 opioid-related deaths Thompson tragedy should be tipping point for police: harm-reduction worker Editorial: Ottawa must go further to fight opioid crisis The program includes a poster of grieving family members surrounding a coffin, under a banner reading Will fentanyl be the reason for your next family get-together? A casket and hearse are also part of the 45-minute presentation aimed at parents and their children aged 12 and up. The death toll has surged since the powerful opioid fentanyl arrived in the province. Coroners service statistics between January and September of this year show there were 186 deaths involving victims aged 10 to 29. The companys presentation also involves personnel from local victim services and parents who have lost a child or young adult family member to addictive drugs. We felt that we had to do something to reach teens and young adults before they become addicted, Burton said in a news release. This program is our response to what we see as a critical need. Funeral director John Romeyn in nearby Abbotsford said he backs the program after hearing a comment from a grieving dad. I had a father say to me, I was supposed to (be choosing) clothes for my daughter to wear for her graduation. Now Im picking something to wear for her casket, he said. Romeyn said all of those involved in the presentation try to impress on young people that no one is immune from the dangers of fentanyl or other opioids. Weve dealt with pastors children and lawyers kids, and everyday people who are out there either experimenting or the casual user who isnt aware of whats out there, he added. The funeral home plans to visit schools, church youth groups and community centres around Metro Vancouver with presentations, which are expected to begin in early 2018. Read more about: SHARE: VANCOUVERMake no mistake: Justin Trudeau is on a business trip. As the prime minister departed British Columbia for Beijing on Saturday, the official itinerary of his visit to China was conspicuously free of events on human rights or scheduled meetings with advocates there. The same was true for the high-ranking staffers and cabinet ministers along for the journey, government officials said on the eve of the trip. What is on the agenda is a series of tete-a-tetes with Chinas senior-most government leaders, including private dinners with the president and premier, a roundtable with Canadian and Chinese business executives and a keynote speech at the Fortune Global Forum in the city of Guangzhou, which an official from the Prime Ministers Office likened to Davos, the annual world summit of the uber-rich and powerful. And yet Trudeaus date at the dinner table of Chinese power comes as at least three Canadian citizens are languishing in the countrys jails, and human rights campaigners around the world are raising concerns about China under President Xi Jinping. He has been described as an ultra-establishment hardliner who has worked to solidify his control as the countrys paramount leader. Weve seen a sweeping crackdown on freedom of expression, a crackdown on government critics, lawyers, journalists, activists a very worrying and worsening human rights environment, said Gloria Nafziger, a campaigner with Amnesty International. Officials travelling with the prime minister said last week that Trudeau is ready to discuss human rights directly with Xi and with Chinese Premier Li Keqiang when he meets them in Beijing this week. However, the officials noted that the purpose of the trip is to set the stage for greater trade and investment co-operation. Many observers expect that, after months of exploratory discussions between Canada and China, the countries will announce a formal start to free trade talks during Trudeaus visit. International Trade Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne told reporters en route to China Saturday that Canada is approaching trade with its eyes wide open and will not sign a deal that compromises the countrys principles. He said he would raise the cases of imprisoned Canadians with his Chinese counterpart when they meet Monday. There is nothing more important for us (than) to stand with Canadians that need our support abroad, Champagne said, adding that a good bilateral relationship can help even more. The best way to have frank discussions is to engage. Thats what were doing, he said. Global Affairs Canada, meanwhile, would only answer questions about Canadians jailed in China whose cases have been reported in the media, citing privacy legislation. Of those, Huseyin Celil has been imprisoned the longest. An ethnic Uyghur from western China, Celil fled to Canada in the 1990s as a refugee. The father of four, who used to deliver pizzas in Hamilton, was arrested while visiting relatives in Uzbekistan in 2006. He was then extradited to China, and has been jailed on terrorism charges ever since, with his life sentence reduced to 20 years last year, when state media quoted him as saying his crimes caused serious damage to the country. Celils wife, Kamil Telendibaeva, who lives in Burlington, told the Star last year that she hadnt had any contact with him in 10 years. Hes innocent. We want him freed. Release him, she said at the time. Another Canadian, Sun Qian, was arrested in Beijing in February. The Globe and Mail has reported that Sun, a recent convert to the Falun Gong religious movement, was charged with violating a Chinese statute that imposes years-long prison sentences on whoever organizes and utilizes superstitious sects, secret societies and evil religious organizations. Then there is the case of John Chang and Allison Lu, winemakers from B.C. who were arrested in China in March 2016 and accused of smuggling by undervaluing their exports to the country. Their daughter, Amy Chang, has been pushing the Liberal government in Ottawa to intervene on behalf of her parents. Chang has been in jail since his arrest, while Lu has been prevented from leaving China. Brianne Maxwell, a spokesperson for Global Affairs, told the Star in an email that Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland has raised the case of Chang and Lu directly with her Chinese counterpart twice this year, most recently at the APEC summit in Vietnam in November. Maxwell said Canadian consular staff in China have also been in contact with local authorities regarding Sun, while they continue to press for access to Celil to ensure his well-being. We have raised the human rights situation in China at every appropriate opportunity, and we will continue to engage China to live up to its international commitments through frank and honest dialogue, Maxwell said. David Mulroney, Canadas ambassador to China from 2009 to 2012, said Chang and Lus case should serve as a warning to Canadians doing business in China. He noted that Chang had previously travelled on government trade delegations to the country, and said his arrest highlights how a customs dispute can quickly morph into criminal proceedings there. As more and more Canadians get involved in China and China business, more and more of them fall afoul of Chinese laws that are not transparent and heavily in favour of the home team, he said. Its scary, dangerous and unfair. Chinas perspective on human rights and the rule of law differs starkly from Canadas, said Diana Fu, an assistant professor of Asian politics at the University of Toronto. She said the ruling Communist partys philosophy on rights is centred on social rights, such as food, housing and health care. China pulled 700 million people out of poverty. If thats not a tremendous rights achievement, then what is? This is the line of thinking that informs the governments stance towards rights, she said. These social rights take precedence over political rights the freedom of speech, media, association, and a host of other individual liberties that the West sees as inalienable. Even so, pressure is on Trudeau to push China on the western conception of rights while hes in Beijing. A 15-member coalition of human rights groups published an open letter this week calling on the prime minister to place human rights at the top of his agenda. Trudeau is scheduled to arrive in Beijing Sunday night. With files from Tonda MacCharles and The Canadian Press Read more about: SHARE: The Special Investigations Unit is investigating after one man was injured during a police pursuit, following a violent home invasion in Scarborough Friday night. Police rushed to the area in Benshire Dr. and Jarwick Dr., near Lawrence Ave. E and McCowan Rd. just after 11 p.m. following reports of masked men armed with guns seen entering a home, said Toronto police Const. David Hopkinson. When police officers arrived, Hopkinson said the suspects were still on the scene. Police then began an on-foot pursuit where shots were fired by police. The chase began outside of the home on Benshire Dr. and ended in the schoolyard of Bendale Public school. A 25-year-old male suspect was shot by the officers, Hopkinson said. He was taken to hospital with serious but non-life-threatening injuries. Two police officers also suffered non-life-threatening injuries during the pursuit. SIU spokesperson Jason Gennaro said that an investigation is currently underway, involving five investigators, as well as three forensic investigators. Right now the investigation is focused on the interaction between the individual and the police officer in the schoolyard, however we will be looking at all aspects of the incident, Residents of the home were unharmed. Hopkinson said police believe there are up to four suspects were involved in the invasion. Police continue to search the area. The SIU is called to investigate allegations of sexual assault, serious injury, or death involving Ontario police officers. SHARE: Canadas Public Safety Minister announced security funding for a housing project for LGBTQ youth on Friday. Egale Canada, an organization that fights discrimination against the LGBTQ community, will receive $47,000 from the federal government. The money will go toward security installations for the Egale Centre, transitional housing for LGBTQ youth in Toronto due to open in January 2019. The funding falls under the federal governments Security Infrastructure Program, which is meant to improve security for communities at risk of hate crimes. People who will be living here and people who will be working here will want to know that they can do so safely and securely, said Ralph Goodale, the Public Safety Minister. The centre, at the corner of Dundas St. and Pembroke St., will have 25 transitional housing units, five emergency housing units, and counseling for people seeking employment and guidance. Helen Kennedy, the executive director of Egale Canada, said that the funding would help to protect queer-identified youth. Crimes against the LGBT community are the most violent of any hate crimes . . . , so these are really big issues for us, she said. In 2012, Egale found that 23 per cent of homeless youth were part of the LGBTQ community. The funding comes days after Prime Minister Justin Trudeau apologized to LGBTQ Canadians for decades of state-sponsored, systematic oppression, which led to people being arrested, targeted and persecuted because of their sexuality. The country turned a major corner this week with the apology from the Prime Minister, said Goodale, standing in front of the site where the Egale Centre will be built. The Security Infrastructure Program will invest up to $10 million over the next five years to not-for-profit organizations that fit the criteria. SHARE: Cleanup efforts in Torontos Yonge-Dundas area will see a major boost entering the holiday season, Mayor John Tory said Saturday. The mayor called the plan a co-ordinated cleanup and caring effort, with all hands on deck to make sure the heart of the city is kept in the best shape possible. Torys announcement follows a meeting with representatives from the Downtown Yonge Business Improvement Area and Ryerson University two weeks ago, to walk through nearby streets and laneways. Tory said he observed a number of people who were struggling, along with general safety and cleanliness issues, some of which was related to drug use. For the next month, the area will see increased litter pickup and street cleaning. There will also be more outreach staff deployed to serve vulnerable populations in the area, and more police on foot patrols. This effort is not a solution to some of the underlying problems that exist that Ive been working hard on, Tory told reporters at Yonge-Dundas Square on Saturday. We have challenges with mental health and with addiction that are causing a lot of people to be displaced and lonely and struggling, and we have to continue with those efforts. Nearby, a city-run needle exchange program called The Works, near Victoria and Dundas Sts., has been approved by Health Canada as one of three permanent supervised injection services. Tory did not say whether community concerns were related to the injection site, but said that Toronto Public Health would be engaged in the new clean-sweep initiative. Theres no question that weve got something new here with the supervised injection site, he said. I think that what you have to do with anything thats new is adjust yourself to it. The project launched at 5 a.m. Saturday. It will more effectively deploy existing resources, with no anticipated effect on the citys budget, the mayor said. The Downtown Yonge BIA has also hired people who are struggling to help with these clean sweeps, Tory said, adding the city plans to back up the effort through this partnership. Tory said he plans to have a meeting with local stakeholders after the holiday period to reassess the situation. Read more about: SHARE: PARISThe moment was dramatic enough: In a courtroom in The Hague on Wednesday, a military commander from the former Yugoslavia pulled out a small bottle and drank from it, declaring that he had ingested poison to protest his conviction for war crimes. The judges quickly ordered that courtroom curtains block the view of spectators in the public gallery. Live television coverage went dark. But what happened next, beyond public view, was just as shocking, according to lawyers and court officials. The war criminal, Slobodan Praljak, 72, slumped in his chair and began to gasp for breath. He was later taken to a Dutch hospital and pronounced dead. On Friday, Dutch prosecutors announced that Praljak had died of heart failure after ingesting potassium cyanide a highly toxic compound and the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia announced that it would conduct its own independent, expert review of Praljaks suicide. But the key questions how he managed to smuggle the poison into court remained unanswered. Read more: War criminal Slobodan Praljak appears to kill himself with poison seconds after losing appeal Autopsy shows dead war criminal Slobodan Praljak had cyanide in system Defense lawyers at the tribunal say the security arrangements in force for defendants like Praljak and the five other men whose sentences were affirmed Wednesday were rigorous, with body searches when they left their detention centre inside a high-security Dutch prison and again when they arrived at the tribunal building. But, the officials acknowledged, one form of search of body cavities is not part of the routine. Even so, that left the question of how Praljak could have laid hands on the toxin since visitors were supposedly searched, too. And in the months before his final appearance in court, he had seemed to eschew contact with his family and his lawyers. Nika Pinter, his lead counsel, said in a telephone interview from Zagreb, the Croatian capital, that Praljak had told his family not to be present at the judgment. For 13 years, his wife came to visit him in prison every month, the last time I think at the end of October. His stepson and stepdaughter would also visit, Pinter said. However, she added, He forbade his wife to listen to the judgment. And he told her: Dont come to The Hague. Pinter recalled: Last weekend I called him and asked him if he would like me to visit him before the judgment. He said: No, dont come. I called again on Tuesday and told him I would come to court early to meet him. He told me: No, dont come. Ill see you in the courtroom. She said she believed he wanted to spare her from what followed. From the start, 13 years ago, he told me he could not bear being called a war criminal, Pinter said. He couldnt live with the stigma. But she added: He never gave a hint that he was planning to end his life. Praljak had been a theatre and film director and a writer. He joined the Croatian army and was named a general when it was formed after the country broke away from Yugoslavia in 1991. Named commander of the Croatian forces fighting in Bosnia, he was a key figure during the conflict, including the long siege and shelling of the ethnically mixed city of Mostar. At the time, he was the main liaison between political and military leaders in Croatia and the Croatian force fighting in Bosnia. He surrendered to the tribunal in 2004 and was convicted of war crimes and crimes against humanity in 2013. He was sentenced to 20 years in prison, but appealed. (He would have been due for release in 2019, after serving two-thirds of his sentence, including time served.) The tribunal had just affirmed his verdict and sentence Wednesday when Praljak kept standing. He reached forward to pick up the vial. Slobodan Praljak is not a war criminal, he declared portentously, in Croatian. I reject your judgment with contempt. He then opened his fist, took out the vial, tilted back his head and drank. I have taken poison, Praljak said. One of his lawyers, Natacha Fauveau Ivanovic, called out to ensure that the presiding judge, Carmel Agius, understood: Mr. President, our client says he took poison. The judges were stunned, but appeared not to have fully grasped what had happened. Agius directed the next defendant to rise and began reading. People did not realize exactly what was going on, said Michael Karnavas, a veteran defence lawyer representing Jadranko Prlic, one of Praljaks co-defendants. This man was always full of bravado. Prajlak sat down and almost immediately he was gasping for air, struggling to breathe. It was loud. He made sounds like he was choking. I saw him slumped in his chair. Someone shouted for help. The guards came over and got him onto the floor. Karnavas added: After a few minutes two medics arrived from the medical office in the tribunal. One of the medics calls out: The heart has stopped. They start doing CPR, they are pumping his chest to get his heart going, taking turns with some of the security guards. After 20 minutes, an emergency team arrived from a local hospital and took over. They kept him in the building for about an hour because they wanted to stabilize him. It was not clear what made the medical team finally decide to take him to the hospital. Croatias justice minister has called into question the speed of the responses by security and medical staff. The tribunal said on Friday that its inquiry would be led by Hassan B. Jallow, the chief justice of Gambia and a former prosecutor at the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda. A report on the findings is expected by Dec. 31. It was unclear to what extent those findings would be open to scrutiny. The outcome of the review will be made public, subject to due process and confidentiality considerations, the tribunal said. To smuggle the vial into the courtroom, Praljak had to circumvent what were supposed to be tight security arrangements. The defendants are escorted by guards and enter the building through an underground parking lot. They are strip-searched when they leave the detention unit and then again at the court. They are unable to have contact with members of the public. Visitors also face tough security checks, said Fauveau Ivanovic, the defence lawyer, first to enter the high-security Dutch prison, and then again at the U.N. detention unit set within the compound. Everything our shoes, our clothes, our bags everything goes through the X-ray machine, she said. We walk through a scanner, like at an airport. We cant bring in liquids. Karnavas recalled the last time he saw Praljak. I last saw him outside the courtroom that morning as he was coming out of the toilet, he said. I thought nothing of it at the time. But Im thinking about that now. SHARE: DHAKA, BANGLADESHPope 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 countrys Catholic leadership on Saturday 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 Dhakas 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 dont know if it will be better or worse, but I promise it will be less boring, he quipped. Read more: Pope Francis says Rohingya in emotional meeting with Muslim refugees in Bangladesh Pope demands decisive measures from world governments to resolve Rohingya crisis Pope Francis preaches forgiveness in Burma, references suffering of religious and ethnic groups 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. Historys 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. Its 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 Alzheimers 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 Burma, 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 Coxs Bazar, the district bordering Burma where refugee camps are overflowing with more than 620,000 Rohingya who have fled what the U.N. says is a campaign of ethnic cleansing by Burmas military. Francis final event of the day was a youth rally where he urged young people to respect their elders and keep listening to them. Dont spend the whole day playing with your phone and ignoring the world around you! he said. Afterward, Francis headed to the airport for the flight back to Rome and his traditional airborne news conference. SHARE: JERUSALEMThere were warnings of a new Palestinian uprising and calls for protests at U.S. embassies, dire predictions that hopes for peace would be dashed irretrievably and expressions of relief from Israelis who have waited half a century for the world to remove the asterisk next to this citys name. Yet on the whole, the responses in the region to reports that U.S. President Donald Trump will declare Jerusalem the capital of Israel something no president has done in the nearly 70 years since Israels founding remained hedged, if not entirely restrained, on Saturday. Arabs and Israelis alike were impatient to see whether Trump would really do it, precisely how he would define Jerusalem, and what else he might say or do to qualify the change. Trumps announcement, expected in a speech Wednesday, would amount to the not-quite-fulfillment of a campaign promise to move the U.S. Embassy to Jerusalem from Tel Aviv, a step for which many of Trumps Jewish and evangelical supporters, and their allies in the Israeli right wing, have been clamouring. For Israelis, it would acknowledge the obvious: that their government sits in Jerusalem, mainly on its western side though the United States, along with the rest of the world, has not recognized the Holy City as Israeli territory, particularly since the Arab-Israeli War of 1967, when Israel conquered East Jerusalem, which the Palestinians claim as their future capital. That Trump will declare it? Im glad, in case anyone was in any doubt, said Betty Mizrahi, 40, a government worker living in Har Homa, a neighbourhood built on captured territory. Jerusalem was always the capital. That people deny it is another matter. Yet of all the issues that have defied resolution despite decades of talks between Palestinians and Israelis, the final status of Jerusalem with its sites holy to Jews, Christians and Muslims, and warring claims dating back to the Crusades and the Romans has been uniquely nettlesome. The United States has taken pains to refrain from recognizing the Holy City as Israels capital precisely to avoid being seen as prejudging the outcome of peace talks, in which Palestinians seek to make East Jerusalem the seat of their eventual government. The Palestinians, meanwhile, are warning the United States against recognizing Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas adviser Mahmoud Habash says Saturday if Trump were to do so it would amount to a complete destruction of the peace process. Speaking in Abbas presence, Habash said the world will pay the price for any change in Jerusalems status. Hanan Ashrawi, a member of the Palestine Liberation Organizations executive committee, said dispensing with that long-standing reticence would reveal the United States as so incredibly one-sided and biased that it would be the total annihilation of any chances of peace, or any American role in peacemaking. Theyre sending a clear message to the world: Were done, she said. While physically moving the embassy would require little more than putting a new sign on existing U.S. consular offices in Jerusalem, Trumps declaring Jerusalem the capital would carry great symbolic power, Palestinian officials said. If anything, it is worse, actually, said Nasser al-Kidwa, a member of the central committee of Fatah, the dominant PLO faction, and a nephew of its Yasser Arafat, its one-time leader. Recognition matters, he said, not the stones of an embassy building. Ahmed Yousef, an adviser to Ismail Haniya, leader of the Palestinian militant group Hamas, was similarly critical of Trumps expected declaration. I dont understand why he wants to antagonize over a billion Muslims around the world, he said. The specific way in which Trump makes his declaration, however, could mean a dramatically different response on both sides of the conflict. If he just refers to Jerusalem as Israels capital, or refers to the citys present municipal borders, Trump would be likely to set off a strong backlash in much of the Arab world, analysts said. For Palestinians, this will be perceived as dividing the cake while negotiating over it, said Ofer Zalzberg, a Jerusalem-based analyst at International Crisis Group. Ashrawi warned it could lead to repercussions that would not be easily contained, including violence: To people who are looking for an excuse, this would be a ready-made excuse. If Trump were to limit his statement to West Jerusalem, however, it likely would antagonize supporters in the pro-Israel camp, by undercutting their claim to a united capital throughout the city and acknowledging Palestinian designs on East Jerusalem. Any attempt at deliberate ambiguity is unlikely to fly, because the United States will be forced to specify the territorial definition of Jerusalem that the president was relying upon, said Daniel Shapiro, who was President Barack Obamas ambassador to Israel. It accomplishes so little that I wonder if its worth that headache, he said. The timing of Trumps declaration was baffling both to those who warned against it and some who welcomed it. Both sides of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict are awaiting a proposal by Trumps administration to restart the peace process. And recent meetings in Riyadh between Saudi Arabias crown prince Mohammed bin Salman and, in turn, Trumps son-in-law Jared Kushner and Abbas, have fuelled speculation that Trump and Salman are trying to push through a plan. Given the princes eagerness to combat Iran, Palestinians are concerned he could embrace a proposal unfavourable to them, for an alliance with Israel against Iran. But Arab governments, even Saudi Arabias, could be compelled to rebuke a declaration of Jerusalem as Israels capital, experts said. Pushing this issue now, in advance of a peace process at a time when the administration has zero credibility on this issue, at a time when it wants to engage the Saudis, makes absolutely no sense, said Aaron David Miller, a former Mideast peace negotiator under past Republican and Democratic administrations. Its a self-inflicted wound. Perhaps no Arab leader has more at risk in a cementing of Israels hold on Jerusalem as its capital than King Abdullah II of Jordan, whose dynasty has defined itself as the custodian of Al-Aqsa, Islams third-holiest site. While the king can fire subordinates who fail him, Zalzberg said, he is viewed as personally responsible for Al-Aqsa and Trumps declaration could contribute dramatically to the erosion of the kings popularity and legitimacy. Abdullah has been in Washington for more than a week, pressing the administration not to take this step, according to Arab news media. Petra, the Jordanian news agency, said the king had warned that changing the United States posture on Jerusalem would threaten a two-state solution and could be potentially exploited by terrorists to stoke anger, frustration and desperation in order to spread their ideologies. Palestinian officials across the political spectrum made similar warnings. In Gaza, Hamas issued a statement calling on Palestinians to incite an uprising in Jerusalem so that this conspiracy does not pass. Yousef, the adviser to the Hamas leader, said Trumps move would drive up anti-American sentiment and decimate whatever good will they have here. And a Hamas representative based in Lebanon, Ali Barakeh, said the group probably would respond to Trump by calling for a new intifada, or uprising, and for Abbas to quit negotiations, since the Americans wont achieve anything for them. But Ayman Rigib, a Fatah leader in Cairo, worried aloud that Abbas would not push back firmly enough. This is a new low for us as Palestinians, he said. We are not only weak, we also have a leader who might actually accept this deal. Along the 1967 line in a Jerusalem quieted by the Jewish Sabbath, Hani Juwaihan, 28, one of the relatively few East Jerusalem Palestinians with Israeli citizenship, said he wished Trump would leave well enough alone. Its not his right to decide, said Juwaihan, who lives in the Al Thuri neighbourhood of East Jerusalem but works as a cook at La-La Land, a restaurant near the beach in Tel Aviv. If theres peace, all well and good, well live together without any problem, he said. But in the absence of peace, its not for Trump to decide. Jerusalem is a holy place. Nobody can decide. With files from The Associated Press Read more about: SHARE: WASHINGTONU.S. President Donald Trump was trying to defend himself. He made things worse. Perhaps significantly worse. The day after his former national security adviser, Michael Flynn, pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI about his communications with Russia, Trump decided, against the advice of his aides, to discuss the subject on Twitter. The tweet was not a good idea. Experts at Harvard University, Stanford University, Yale University, Duke University and the University of Texas told the Star that Trumps words would help special counsel Robert Mueller establish a case that Trump committed obstruction of justice. Trump wrote: 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 contained what appeared to be a major admission. For the first time, Trump said he was aware that Flynn had committed a crime, lying to the FBI, when he fired him in February, rather than merely knowing Flynn had lied to Vice-President Mike Pence. That is important because, the day after Flynns departure, Trump urged FBI director James Comey to drop the investigation into Flynn. A central component of the crime of obstruction of justice is that the attempt to interfere with a proceeding is done corruptly. Before Trumps tweet, it would have been easier for his lawyers to argue that he had asked Comey to desist simply because he did not think Flynn had done anything wrong, or because Flynn was a buddy. Read the latest news about U.S. President Donald Trump The tweet, all five experts said, helps to establish his corrupt purpose an attempt to protect an ally he knew had done something illegal. Alex Whiting, a Harvard law professor, said on Twitter that the situation feels a lot like obstruction. The question of whether Trump committed obstruction of justice when he asked Comey to drop the investigation on Valentines Day will largely turn on Trumps intent: was he just trying to put in a good word for Flynn, or was he in fact trying to end a criminal investigation? Whiting said in an email. If he genuinely believed that Flynn did nothing wrong, that tends to support the former interpretation. But if, as he now admits, he knew that Flynn had lied to the FBI, a federal crime, then he knew that by asking Comey to drop the investigation, he was seeking to end a meritorious criminal investigation. Read more: Analysis: With Michael Flynns guilty plea, Trump-Russia probe uncovers more lies and a key witness A nightmare for Donald Trump: Flynns guilty plea puts spotlight on Kushner, the president himself Analysis: The timeline of what Michael Flynn just admitted to and what he didnt He is requesting something of the director of the FBI knowing that he is, in doing so, interfering with the investigation of a federal crime, said Lisa Kern Griffin, a Duke law professor. I dont think the tweet, profoundly misguided though it may have been, is itself proof of obstruction of justice, said Texas law professor Stephen Vladeck. But, it may very well establish the timeline of what Trump knew when, which would be a necessary part of any obstruction charge. So its not quite a smoking gun, but it certainly doesnt do the president any favours. Trumps tweets are frequently inaccurate. Asha Rangappa, a former FBI agent and former associate dean at Yale Law School, said the tweet helps the obstruction case, but she added that Mueller will have to find further evidence showing that Trump knew what he claimed in the tweet to have known. Flynn, who has agreed to co-operate with Mueller, could fill in the gaps, Rangappa said. Muellers not going to march into court with that tweet as his proof. The question is: does that tweet actually reflect what may have in fact been true at the time? said Rangappa, now a senior lecturer at Yales Jackson Institute for Global Affairs. And if it was true that Trump had knowledge of any illegal activities of Flynn, whether its lying to the FBI or anything else, and subsequently attempted to have the investigation dropped, then thats a problem for him. David Sklansky, a law professor at Stanford, said there was plenty of evidence for corrupt intent even before the tweet, which he said strengthens the argument. Trump, Sklansky noted, made sure to usher everyone else out of the Oval Office before raising the subject with Comey, according to Comeys testimony. At minimum, the tweet suggests that Trump deceived voters. At a February news conference, the president made no mention of Flynn lying to the FBI, saying: I fired him because of what he said to Mike Pence. Very simple. Other administration officials made similar declarations. This is further evidence that there was ongoing deception and orchestrated deception of the American public from the middle of January into the middle of February, Sklansky said. A finding from Mueller that Trump has committed obstruction would not necessarily lead to the presidents impeachment by the House or ultimate removal by the Senate. Constitutional scholars largely believe a sitting president cannot face criminal prosecution. So it is only Congress, currently controlled by Republicans, that would serve as Trumps judge and jury. Impeachment cases can be brought for treason, bribery and other high crimes and misdemeanours. There is no consensus on what high crimes and misdemeanours are, and some Republicans have argued that obstruction is insufficient. Some conservative legal scholars have also argued that a president is constitutionally entitled to tell the FBI director whatever he wants, even about a criminal investigation affecting himself. Read more about: SHARE: U.S. Ambassador Nikki Haleys remarks this week at the United Nations after North Koreas latest missile test sounded like what a superpower should say: If war comes, the North Korean regime will be utterly destroyed. If China doesnt cut off oil to the Hermit Kingdom, we can take the oil situation into our own hands. It would have been a great speech in 1997. That was when signatories to the nuclear non-proliferation treaty were loath to violate it. It was before North Korea had tested its first nuclear device. It was before the U.S. cut a deal with Iran to overlook its past nuclear transgressions in exchange for a temporary freeze on its nuclear program and a free pass to test missiles. In 2017, though, Haleys warnings and the cruder ones from her boss, President Donald Trump, are disconnected from reality. And here its important to remember why the president and his envoys are making threats in the first place. All of this is in the service of a discredited policy to not allow North Korea to obtain a nuclear weapon. The idea has been to threaten, coddle and tempt Kim Jong Un to start negotiations that would lead to him abandoning them. Well, this is never going to happen. America and its allies have been trying this for about a quarter century, and the North Koreans burn us every time. Now North Korea needs only to perfect a nuclear warhead that can survive re-entry into the atmosphere to have a credible nuclear threat against the U.S. As Michael Auslin, a fellow in contemporary Asia at the Hoover Institution, told me this week: Thats only a matter of time. Its a technical issue at this point. They are going to get it. So its time for a new approach: Give up. America should never accept North Korea as a nuclear weapon state. But it can end the pointless cycles of pressure and negotiation. The North Koreans have used all that posturing to buy time to perfect their nukes and the Chinese have artfully used that dance to distract us from countering Chinas own predations. And yes, I know give up sounds dangerously un-American. Lets put it another way: Focus on a battle we have not yet lost. Instead of wasting the resources of an already depleted State Department on preparing for more talks with representatives of an Asian prison state, Americas diplomats and strategic planners can focus on improving its deterrence against North Korea. American diplomacy and military bandwidth can be devoted to countering Chinas militarization of the South China Sea and its broader economic and political strategy to turn our Pacific and East Asian allies into vassals of Beijing. In the future, Trump and his diplomats wont have to spend their meetings with Chinese counterparts pleading with them to get their client state to behave. Thats Chinas problem now. America is developing even better technology to shoot North Korean missiles out of the sky before they land. Then theres credibility. Its true that America would have taken a hit with a give up strategy a few years ago. But today North Korea is almost there. Despite Trumps occasional tweeted threats, its hard to believe he will order a pre-emptive strike. Even if he did, it would probably not be all that effective. The fact that North Korea tested its missile this week on a mobile launcher makes it that much more difficult to take out these sites. This says nothing of the risk that the North would retaliate with conventional artillery shells by destroying the capital of South Korea, Seoul. Read more: North Korea just showed us its new missile. Its bigger, more advanced and scarier than we thought North Korea missile launch 'brings us closer to war' the U.S. doesn't seek, ambassador says Trump declares North Korea a state sponsor of terrorism Besides, nuclear weapons are expensive. Countries already integrated into the global system face penalties and pressure that outlaws like North Korea really dont. By acknowledging the reality of North Korea as a nuclear power, it doesnt automatically mean Zimbabwe wants a nuclear weapon, Auslin told me. Those who want nuclear weapons are already trying get them. To give up on prevention is to focus on treatment. We need more creative options to deal with the North Korean menace. No longer will American diplomats have to worry about how Pyongyangs tyrant will react to senior officials speaking the truth about his debased regime. Kim Jong Un wants nukes so his regime can survive. Nuclear negotiations meant assuring him that America has no interest in seeing his people live in dignity and freedom. America will not have this problem anymore. Think of the opportunities. The president could elevate and call attention to brave North Korean dissidents. He could encourage them to begin planning for a transition to Korean democracy. Imagine a White House conference: Planning for a Korea Without the Kim Regime. Who knows? With a little luck maybe a constellation of dissidents could form a government in exile. Giving up on stopping a North Korean nuke means getting America on the right side of Korean history. Finally, there is the benefit of stability. Kim will no longer have the ability to throw the region and the world into crisis every time he tests a nuclear device or a missile. America should still try to sabotage his program through cyber viruses and more conventional means. But in the short term, Kim will lose his ability to get the world to focus on his threats whenever he wishes. Its something the Trump administration should think about. And maybe the next time Kim decides to provoke, the U.S. response can be measured and boring. The Pentagon should trot out some deputy assistant under secretary to say the U.S. frowns upon the latest move, but that North Korea knows full well what will happen if it ever attacks America or her allies. Meanwhile, Trump could tweet something about his upcoming White House conference: Imagining a World Without North Korea. It sure beats empty threats in the service of dead-end talks. Read more about: SHARE: Source: Xinhua| 2017-12-02 13:42:33|Editor: pengying Video Player Close NEW DELHI, Dec. 2 (Xinhua) -- India is all set to criminalize triple talaq, a practice of instant divorce common among the country's minority Muslims, with a three-year jail term. Officials said the Indian government is likely to bring in a legislation in the winter session of Parliament, which will not only make triple talaq illegal and void, but also entail a jail term of three years for the Muslim husband. "Under the draft law, triple talaq in any form -- spoken, written or by electronic means like email or SMSes will be illegal. Besides, giving instant talaq will be a non-bailable and cognizable offense," a senior official said Saturday. "The idea is to empower Muslim women and save them and their children. The law, if passed by the Parliament, will be a deterrent for Muslim men to divorce their wives simply," he added. The draft law has been prepared by an inter-ministerial group, headed by Home Minister Rajnath Singh. The other group members included Indian External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley and Law amd Justice Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad. Though Talaq-e-biddat (instant divorce) has no mention in Sharia Islamic law or the Koran, the practice has existed for decades that allows a man to divorce his wife just by uttering the word "talaq" thrice. Most Islamic countries, including Pakistan and Bangladesh, have banned triple talaq, but the custom has continued in India, which actually does not have a uniform set of laws on marriage and divorce that apply to every citizen. Though India's Supreme Court struck down the practice as "illegal" in a landmark judgment on Aug. 22 this year, the practice is still prevalent in India. Campaigners have hailed the government's latest proposed move. "Over the years thousands of women, especially those from poor families, have been discarded by their husbands in this manner. Many women have been rendered destitute or forced to return to their parental homes," said Heena Khan, a Muslim activist. "First the Supreme Court order came as a victory for Muslim women. And now if the government frames a law, it will be the ultimate step to prevent men from abandoning their wives and ruining their lives," she added. Hindu couples in India go through a separation period to explore chances of reconciliation before being granted divorce by a family court. WASHINGTONMichael Flynn, U.S. President Donald Trumps former national security adviser, was charged and pleaded guilty Friday to making false statements. Flynn said he had agreed to co-operate with Robert Mueller, the special counsel, in his broader investigation into Russias interference in the 2016 election. Here are excerpts from the court documents and what they mean: A pile of legal woes yields a single charge The Special Counsel informs the Court: COUNT ONE (False Statements) On or about January 24, 2017, defendant MICHAEL T. FLYNN did willfully and knowingly make materially false, fictitious, and fraudulent statements and representations in a matter within the jurisdiction of the executive branch of the Government of the United States, to wit, the defendant falsely stated and represented to agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, in Washington, D.C., ... Analysis: Mueller is charging Flynn with a single count of lying to the FBI during a Jan. 24 interview, under a plea agreement in which he could serve up to six months in prison and pay a fine of $500 to $9,500. What is most notable here is all the other offences from which Flynn escaped charges. Those other potential charges were the leverage that Mueller successfully used to pressure Flynn to flip and co-operate in exchange for leniency. It had been clear for months that Flynn faced serious legal jeopardy on a range of issues, including work his lobbying firm performed for Turkey without registering as agents of a foreign power. Earlier this year, Flynn belatedly filed a Foreign Agents Registration Act disclosure with the Justice Department. But even though Mueller has obtained an indictment against Paul Manafort Jr., Trumps former campaign chairman, in part for violating that same law, he did not charge Flynn under it. Moreover, a court filing mentions that Flynn made several false statements in his belated foreign-agent registration, such as omitting that officials from the Republic of Turkey provided supervision and direction over the Turkey project. But Flynn faced no separate charges based on those lies. Nor did he face separate false-statement charges for failing to disclose various contacts with Russian officials on official forms associated with his application for a security clearance, and in response to questions by officials processing that application. Each potential false statement charge could have carried up to five years in prison. Talking sanctions with the Russian ambassador False Statements Regarding FLYNNs Request to the Russian Ambassador that Russia Refrain from Escalating the Situation in Response to U.S. Sanctions against Russia 3. On or about January 24, 2017, FLYNN agreed to be interviewed by agents from the FBI (January 24 voluntary interview). During the interview, FLYNN falsely stated that he did not ask Russias Ambassador to the United States (Russian Ambassador) to refrain from escalating the situation in response to sanctions that the United States had imposed against Russia. FLYNN also falsely stated that he did not remember a follow-up conversation in which the Russian Ambassador stated that Russia had chosen to moderate its response to those sanctions as a result of FLYNNs request. Analysis: Flynn has now admitted that he lied when he told the FBI that he had not discussed sanctions with Sergey I. Kislyak, then the Russian ambassador to the United States, during the transition period. In fact, as Flynn has now acknowledged, after outgoing President Barack Obama signed an executive order on Dec. 28 imposing the sanctions on Russia in retaliation for its election interference, Flynn at the request of an unnamed transition official asked Kislyak for Russia to consider reacting with restraint. Their conversations about sanctions have been well documented, and helped catalyze the chain of events that led to Muellers appointment. On Dec. 30, for example, after President Vladimir Putin of Russia announced that his country would not retaliate at that time for the sanctions, Trump wrote on Twitter: Great move on delay (by V. Putin) I always knew he was very smart! On Jan. 15, Vice President-elect Mike Pence publicly denied that Flynn had discussed sanctions with Kislyak. The guilty plea by Michael Flynn, U.S. President Donald Trumps former national security adviser, brings the investigation of Russian interference in the 2016 election into Trumps inner circle. (The New York Times) But soon after the FBI interview in which Flynn falsely said the same thing, Sally Yates, an Obama-era holdover serving as acting attorney general, warned the Trump White House that Russia could blackmail Flynn over having lied. Trump soon fired Yates over an unrelated matter, but did not act against Flynn until The Washington Post reported nearly two weeks later that intelligence officials knew that Flynn and the Russian ambassador had talked about sanctions, leaving Kislyak with the impression that the Trump administration would revisit the issue after taking office. Trump then fired Flynn, ostensibly for having misled Pence. Trump later pressured James B. Comey, then the FBI director, to go easy on Flynn, according to Comey, before eventually firing him over his handling of the Russia investigation a step that led to the appointment of Mueller as special counsel. Asking Russia to thwart U.S. policy at the U.N. During the January 24 voluntary interview, FLYNN made additional false statements about calls he made to Russia and several other countries regarding a resolution submitted by Egypt to the United Nations Security Council on December 21, 2016. Specifically FLYNN falsely stated that he only asked the countries positions on the vote, and that he did not request that any of the countries take any particular action on the resolution. FLYNN also falsely stated that the Russian Ambassador never described to him Russias response to FLYNNs request regarding the resolution. Analysis: Flynn has also admitted lying to the FBI about asking Russia and several other countries for help in thwarting an Obama administration foreign policy decision to permit the UN Security Council to pass a resolution condemning Israel for building settlements in Palestinian territory. Russia nevertheless declined to delay or veto the measure, which the Security Council passed despite lobbying by Israel and the objections from the Trump transition team. Some commentators have raised the question of whether such efforts by Flynn and the Trump transition team to lobby foreign governments in ways that conflicted with the official policy of the United States under the Obama administration before they took power were a violation of the Logan Act. That is a 1799 law that bars private citizens from interfering with diplomatic relations between the United States and foreign governments. But this statute has raised constitutional concerns and is generally considered a dead letter, meaning it remains on the books but is defunct. Where will Mueller go next? 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. On or about December 29, 2016, FLYNN called a senior official of the Presidential Transition Team (PTT official), who was with other senior members of the Presidential Transition Team at the Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach, Florida, to discuss what, if anything, to communicate to the Russian Ambassador about the U.S. Sanctions. Analysis: In trying to figure out what happened with Russia and the Trump campaign, Mueller appears to be following a strategy of starting at the fringes and moving inward, pressuring people to co-operate. Flynn may, of course, have already given information to Muellers team that is not mentioned in these court filings. But one question raised by the documents is who the unnamed people are with whom he spoke about these matters and what those people told federal investigators. For example, Jared Kushner, the presidents son-in-law and close adviser, reportedly took the lead for the transition team on the UN Security Council resolution about Israel. In November, Muellers investigators interviewed Kushner about Flynns interactions with the Russian ambassador. Read the full court documents Read more about: SHARE: WASHINGTONMore smoke but no smoking gun. Michael Flynns guilty plea Friday revealed a new layer of lies unearthed by the far-reaching investigation into ties between U.S. 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 Trumps campaign collude with Russia to win the election? Read the latest news on U.S. President Donald Trump Trump himself was eager to settle that question as he offered his first public response to Flynns plea, saying Saturday: What has been shown is no collusion, no collusion. Theres 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 theyre looking to gather more facts from Flynn, a new key co-operator. By forcing Flynns 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 Flynns deputy national security adviser, was a senior transition official involved in discussions with Flynn about what to relay to Sergey Kislyak, then Russias ambassador to the U.S., about the response to U.S. sanctions levied by the Obama administration. Read more: A nightmare for Donald Trump: Flynns guilty plea puts spotlight on Kushner, the president himself Whos been charged in the Trump-Russia probe and why What Michael Flynn was charged with, and what his guilty plea means Kushner and McFarland werent named in court papers. But McFarlands involvement was confirmed by two former transition officials who spoke on condition of anonymity because they werent authorized to publicly discuss the matter. One of the officials confirmed Kushners involvement. Flynn became the fourth person known to have been charged in Muellers 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, Flynns 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 Muellers 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. That revelation moved the Russia investigation, which has overshadowed Trumps agenda throughout the year, deeper into the White House and raised questions about the accuracy of administration assertions that Flynn had misled Vice-President Mike Pence and other officials about his calls with Kislyak. Though prosecutors also had investigated Flynn lobbying work on behalf of the Turkish government, the fact he pleaded guilty to just one count, and faces a guideline range of zero to six months in prison, suggest prosecutors see him as a valuable tool and are granting a degree of leniency in exchange for his sharing what he knows. Flynn, a 58-year-old retired U.S. army lieutenant-general, accepted responsibility for his actions in a written statement: My guilty plea and agreement to co-operate with the Special Counsels Office reflect a decision I made in the best interests of my family and of our country. Immediately after Flynns plea, White House lawyer Ty Cobb sought to put distance between Trump and the ex-aide, saying, Nothing about the guilty plea or the charge implicates anyone other than Mr. Flynn. For his part, the president ignored reporters shouted questions as he welcomed the Libyan prime minister to the White House on Friday, and aides cancelled 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 seasons greetings and departed without addressing the Mueller investigation. Trump grew close to Flynn during the campaign. The general was a vocal and reliable Trump surrogate, known for leading crowds in Lock her up chants regarding Democrat Hillary Clintons use of a private email server. After his election victory, Trump elevated Flynn as his top national security adviser. But Flynns White House tenure was short-lived. He was forced to resign in February following news reports revealing that the Obama administration officials had informed the Trump White House that Flynn had discussed sanctions with Kislyak, a fact at odds with the public assertions of Pence. The officials warned that the discrepancy made the administration potentially vulnerable to Russian blackmail. After Flynns departure from the White House, Trump retained a special interest in his former adviser. 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. That FBI investigation was the basis of the court case against Flynn, centring on 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 the senior transition team official, later identified as McFarland, about what, if anything, to tell the Russians about sanctions that had been imposed one day earlier by the Obama administration in retaliation for election interference. At the time, McFarland was with Trump and other senior advisers at Mar-a-Lago in Florida. After the discussion with McFarland, Flynn called the Russian ambassador and requested that Russia not escalate the situation and respond in a reciprocal manner, a conversation prosecutors say he then reported back to transition team members. Just days later, Vladimir Putin opted not to retaliate. Another conversation with Kislyak occurred one week earlier after a very senior member of the presidential transition team, later revealed to be Kushner, directed Flynn to contact foreign government officials, including from Russia, about a U.N. Security Council resolution regarding Israeli settlements. 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 have said Kushner led the transition 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. Read more about: SHARE: It is unimaginable to me that the world will escape a Trump presidency without stumbling into at least one catastrophic war, possibly two. Of course, the nuclear impasse over North Korea has its horrific dangers, but there is another crucial target Iran that is increasingly in the crosshairs of Americas wild-eyed leadership. We should keep our eye on it. Another war in the Middle East particularly against Iran is not only unwinnable, whatever winning in this type of a war actually means, but in ways the Trump crowd could never understand, it would have an explosive, domino effect on the Middle East and beyond. In spite of this, it is happening again. In the same fabricated way that led to the disastrous 2003 American invasion of Iraq, fuelled by lies and ideology, the table is quietly being cleared by the Trump administration to mount an eventual military strike against Iran. The U.S. government, prodded by Saudi Arabia and Israel, is beginning to build its case against Iran. It claims, falsely, that Irans support of the Al Qaeda terrorist group is a threat to U.S. national security. But Irans ties to Al Qaeda are actually limited at best. In contrast, Saudi Arabian interests have been far more intertwined with Al Qaeda over the years. After all, lets remember that 15 of the 19 9/11 attackers in 2001 were Saudi citizens. Irans regime is certainly aggressive in defending its survival in the region but in no way is this a direct threat to American interests. Surrounding Iran are thousands of U.S. troops and several military bases at the ready. Iran is a nuisance to the U.S. but little more. However, in the same way the Republican administration of President George W. Bush became fixated on Iraq in the aftermath of 9/11, so is the Trump team obsessed with Iran. The fabled four-star generals who surround Donald Trump in his cabinet and the White House all honed their battlefield skills in military operations against Iran-backed groups. They share a loathing of Iran. Defense Secretary James Mattis, once asked about the three most serious threats to U.S. security, replied: Iran, Iran, Iran. History is truly repeating itself. But there is one important difference that makes this time around more unpredictable and dangerous. His name is Donald Trump. In a presidency that keeps rewriting the rule book, this past week will deserve a chapter of its own. Trump veered from one controversy to another, barely catching his breath. Trump was reported to have told friends that the infamous Access Hollywood video, in which he boasts about sexually assaulting women, may not have been authentic even though he has already admitted it was. He also has told friends he still believes that former president Barack Obama was not born in the United States. On Wednesday, he used his Twitter feed to pass on to his 43 million followers three unverified anti-Muslim videos from a British neo-Nazi hate group. Two days earlier, he used a derogatory nickname, Pocahontas, during a ceremony honouring Navajo war heroes. These events prompted both The New York Times and The Washington Post to publish competing accounts about whether the U.S. president is suffering from some sort of break with reality. Even though the Russian investigation still hangs over him, a growing fear is that, for whatever reason, Trump is feeling emboldened. The proposed Republican tax plan, which overwhelmingly favours the rich, is expected to pass. And in Alabama, Roy Moore, the accused pedophile who is running for the U.S. Senate as a Republican, is now ahead in the polls. There are also several signs that he will soon replace his embattled secretary of state, Rex Tillerson, with CIA chief Mike Pompeo. Tillerson, for all of his flaws, has acted as a restraint to Trump in several key issues, including Iran. Pompeo, in contrast, is a hawk on Iran arguing that it is an evil force in the world. Secretary of State Pompeo, when it happens, would certainly join Trumps generals in wanting to take on Iran. But as in 2002-03, the first step is to get your propaganda in line. The Bush crowd tried that with Iraq, and pulled it off. The American media at the time largely fell for it. In this replay of history, the demonization of Iran has only begun. Tony Burman is former head of Al Jazeera English and CBC News. Reach him @TonyBurman or at tony.burman@gmail.com. Read more about: SHARE: TDSB let pressure trump research, Cohn, Nov. 30 Its too bad that Martin Regg Cohn didnt mention the Falconer Report that came out at the end of 2007. It contained 1,000 pages of research into the horrible death of Jordan Manners, which Cohn says was missing in the recent Toronto District School Board decision to end the School Resource Officer program. Early on, the report says: marginalized youth cannot be punished/suspended into becoming engaged. Resort to mass suspensions and other forms of conventional discipline for youth whose hope has faltered does not work. The shooting made it clear that schools in Toronto, and many of the neighbourhoods that surrounded them, were in serious trouble. The report made it clear that something other than police and metal detectors in schools would make them safer. Among its 126 recommendations, the report called for hiring more social workers, attendance counsellors and hall monitors, creating programs for students at risk of getting into trouble, and turning schools into community hubs full of programs and services to reach out to local residents rather than keeping them away. It did not mention putting police in schools. The TDSB went ahead and did it anyway because something dramatic needed to be seen to be done. Now, 10 years later, it has decided to end the program, undoubtedly because of pressure, but perhaps also because of a simple question: If you need to have police in schools to make them safe, what have they become? We have shortages in school programs, affordable housing, jobs, social resources and incomes. Thats what the Falconer Report said in 2007 and its still true. Cohn has missed the point of all this pressure. Police in schools cant restore whats missing but they can widen the division that makes it worse. Dudley Paul, retired principal, TDSB From the opening paragraph, where Martin Regg Cohn describes police as exasperating but essential, this article is tone deaf and less than accurate. His dismissive and disrespectful attitude toward all student opinions (given the chance, they might also demand more days off and less homework) discredits the major stakeholders in school cultures: the students who, from my experience, think seriously about serious issues. The fact that the minority of students, mostly from minority groups feel intimidated, watched or targeted is sufficient reason in itself to remove police from schools. Carding data supports these feelings. All students deserve to feel safe in school. Minority discomfort will not be resolved by habituating minority students to a daily police presence. Most people live their entire lives having minimal interaction with police and dont have tense interactions with hardened cops, so schools dont really need to prepare students for this unlikely scenario. It is inaccurate to say that teacher unions have transferred responsibility for student welfare to the police. Safe schools and supervisory duties are the responsibility of administrative and school staff. TDSB trustees have given this issue a great deal more thought than Mr. Cohn, who appears comfortable with a rate of 10 per cent of students feeling less safe with a police presence in schools. I am delighted all voices have been heard on this issue and commend the trustees on their decision Joan McGoey, Toronto Apart from bending to a vocal minority on the issue of School Resource Officers, another troubling thing stands out. One of the very important reasons for the program, in addition to safety, is making kids comfortable with the police. Interaction on a casual basis goes a long way to remove the issues some students have about police interactions. This is far more important than catering to political groups with the intent of promoting divisiveness. Lars Nordgren, Scarborough I would like to extend a hearty congratulations to Martin Regg Cohn for his insightful, non-partisan critique of the TDSBs wrong-headed decision to end the police in the schools program. His article is most timely, following on the heels of a highly biased column by the TDSB chair attempting to defend the indefensible. The decision to terminate the police presence in schools provides an excellent example of why giving powerful authority to a group of minimally elected individuals continues to be a huge mistake. While deciding to eliminate the word chief from all TDSB jobs titles smacked of gross ignorance and absurdity, cancelling the police program seriously raises questions about courage and moral integrity. The fact this group of trustees chose to cave to the squeaky wheel, rather than giving priority to student safety, is most disturbing. At some point, hopefully, the provincial government will get rid of trustees and boards of education. Their dysfunction and questionable decision-making will not be missed. William Nicholson, Toronto Ending police in schools was the right thing to do, Opinion, Nov. 29 The police debate is not limited to schools. The LGBTQ community also acceded to not having police in its parade, and the media generally is anti-police. I am an 82-year-old man of colour. In all these years, I have never faced a discourteous police officer. Many years back, when I was a graduate student at U of T and had a car and long hair, I got traffic tickets several times, but never faced any disrespect. TDSB chairperson Robin Pilkey states that although a majority of students were happy with police in schools, the board followed the will of the minority. If that is the case, then why have a poll? We also have to understand that police are there to protect us, not to coerce or intimidate us. There are bad people on the police force, just as there are in every aspect and institution of society. There are bad teachers, bad lawyers, bad doctors and bad legislators. But this does not make these institutions or professions bad. Even if some students do not like police, they should be trained to get used to them, not avoid them. Clarence McMullen, Richmond Hill Thank you for publishing TDSB chairperson Robin Pilkeys sensitive and well-reasoned defence of the boards decision to end the School Resource Officer program. She makes it clear that if the program was necessary for safety in schools, each and every one of our (583) schools would have had an SRO. The 45 schools chosen to have a cop on the beat were thereby marked as problematic or even bad schools. Their students, even the most innocent and law-abiding, suffer from unfair assumptions about their behaviour. The board does well to direct its efforts to helping problematic individuals instead of seeking a mass solution for troubled youth. Isobel Raven, Toronto Getting rid of police officers in schools profoundly unfair, DiManno, Nov. 25 I definitely have to agree with Rosie DiManno on this one. I am also deeply displeased at this foolish knee-jerk reaction of the board. When 71 per cent of respondents said they had not had any interactions with an SRO and only 10 per cent disagreed with the officers being there, but the board still makes a decision to cease the program, one must wonder what is going on. Rosie says its the tail wagging the dog. I think its much worse. When the wishes of 71 per cent of students are just cast aside, there is a big problem. This decision will have great repercussions and will, unfortunately, likely endanger the lives of some of the 90 per cent who felt safer with the SROs or had no opinion. This loud minority, as well as the organizations that lauded this decision, can only be called self-serving. The parents of the 10 per cent would do well, as DiManno suggests, to ask themselves why their children dont want police in the schools. It is my fervent hope that the parents and organizations that support this decision dont come to regret their actions because a child is hurt at school. 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In addition, the company engages in the insurance agency and reinsurance businesses; administration and servicing of retirement plans; various treasury-related functions with an investment portfolio consisting of mortgage-backed securities, obligations of U.S. government sponsored agencies, and U.S. Treasury securities and money market instruments; and management and participation in public offerings and private placements of debt and equity securities. Further, it offers money management and investment banking services; and engages in the asset/liability management activities, such as purchases and sales of investment securities, interest rate risk management, derivatives, and borrowings. The company operates through a network of 50 branches in Puerto Rico and 2 branches in USVI. OFG Bancorp was founded in 1964 and is headquartered in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Weatherford International plc, an oilfield service company, provides equipment and services for the drilling, evaluation, completion, production, and intervention of oil and natural gas wells worldwide. The company operates in two segments, Western Hemisphere and Eastern Hemisphere. It offers artificial lift systems, including reciprocating rod, progressing cavity pumping, gas, hydraulic, plunger, and hybrid lift systems, as well as related automation and control systems; pressure pumping and reservoir stimulation services, such as acidizing, fracturing and fluid systems, cementing, and coiled-tubing intervention; and drill stem test tools, and surface well testing and multiphase flow measurement services. The company also provides safety, downhole reservoir monitoring, flow control, and multistage fracturing systems, as well as sand-control technologies, and production and isolation packers; liner hangers to suspend a casing string in high-temperature and high-pressure wells; cementing products, including plugs, float and stage equipment, and torque-and-drag reduction technology for zonal isolation; and pre-job planning and installation services. In addition, it offers directional drilling services, and logging and measurement services while drilling; services related to rotary-steerable systems, high-temperature and high-pressure sensors, drilling reamers, and circulation subs; managed pressure drilling, conventional mud-logging, drilling instrumentation, gas analysis, wellsite consultancy, and open hole and cased-hole logging services; reservoir solutions and software products; and intervention and remediation services. Further, the company provides equipment and drilling tools; tubular handling, management, and connection services; equipment rental services; and onshore contract drilling and related services through a fleet of land drilling and workover rigs. Weatherford International plc was incorporated in 1972 and is headquartered in Baar, Switzerland. Source: Xinhua| 2017-12-02 13:47:35|Editor: Mengjie Video Player Close 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. (Xinhua/Wang Ye) SOCHI, Russia, Dec. 2 (Xinhua) -- Chinese Premier Li Keqiang said here Friday that China is ready to work with fellow members of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) to build a community of shared future in the region. Li expressed the will when addressing the 16th meeting of the Council of the SCO Heads of Government (Prime Ministers), which was held in Sochi from Thursday to Friday. TO SYNERGIZE DEVELOPMENT STRATEGIES All SCO members are major countries in China's neighborhood and along the Belt and Road routes. China will continue to build friendship and partnership with its neighbors, and work with fellow SCO members to build a community of shared future in the region, said Li. 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. "By synergizing our development strategies, we will be able to better leverage our comparative advantages in resources, technology, talents and capital to generate a multiplying effect on development," said Li, noting that SCO members are all at a crucial stage of national development, and have each formulated development strategies suited to their respective national conditions. 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. China's efforts to synergize the Belt and Road Initiative with programs of the Eurasian Economic Union (EEU) have produced early harvests. Negotiations for an economic and trade cooperation agreement have been principally concluded between China and the EEU, he said. "China will, under the principle of shared benefits through consultation and collaboration, work with fellow SCO members to facilitate the implementation of the outcomes of the Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation to make our region and our peoples early beneficiaries of the Belt and Road cooperation," he said. The SCO has China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, India and Pakistan as its full members. It has four observer states, namely Iran, Afghanistan, Belarus and Mongolia, and six dialogue partners, namely Armenia, Azerbaijan, Cambodia, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Turkey. The SCO meeting is the first of its kind after the organization enlargement in June to include India and Pakistan. TO PROMOTE REGIONAL CONNECTIVITY Moreover, Li advocated to develop a well-connected infrastructure network, noting that the trial operation of the China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan international road transportation arrangement has been successfully conducted recently, marking a major breakthrough in regional connectivity. "China is ready to work with all sides to promote better alignment of transport plans and systems of technology and standard and closer coordination in international customs clearance, reloading and multi-modal transport to improve the efficiency of regional logistics and transport," said Li while addressing the meeting. Connectivity in infrastructure cannot be achieved without financial connectivity. China supports the provision of greater financing to connectivity projects by financial institutions such as the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, the Silk Road Fund, SCO Interbank Consortium and China-Eurasian Economic Cooperation Fund. "We welcome the issuing of Panda bonds in China and RMB financing by companies and financial institutions of SCO states. China suggests continued efforts be made to work out a viable plan for setting up an SCO development bank with a view to opening new funding channels," he said. The Chinese premier also urged relevant parties to enhance trade liberalization and facilitation, saying people should "cut down on tariff and non-tariff trade barriers, and jointly build an integrated regional market to unleash the trade potential in our region." Bilateral trade relations have grown closer between China and other SCO member countries. China has become the largest trading partner of Russia and Kyrgyzstan. Mutual investment has been growing steadily, with China's non-financial direct investment in other SCO member countries, as of April 2017, amounting to 74.2 billion U.S. dollars and investment in the reverse direction totaling 1.09 billion U.S. dollars. TO ALLOW SCO TO PLAY GREATER ROLE "The SCO needs to enhance its communication, dialogue, mutual support and coordination with the UN and other international and regional organizations to raise its profile and influence," said Li. Since its inception 16 years ago, the SCO has grown into the largest comprehensive regional organization in the world. [ With India and Pakistan joining in, the eight SCO member states now account for over three fifths of the Eurasian landmass, nearly half of the world's population and over 20 percent of global GDP, holding significantly expanded market potential. Li said that as the rotating chair, China will work closely with fellow SCO members and strive for fruitful outcomes of cooperation in political, security, economic and cultural areas and in SCO's external relations and institutional building to ensure the success of the SCO summit in 2018 and build a stronger SCO from a new starting point. Li arrived in Russia on Wednesday after wrapping up a visit to Hungary, where he also attended the Sixth Summit of China and Central and Eastern European Countries. During his stay in Russia, he attended the SCO meeting and met with several leaders from SCO member and observer states. Li has returned to Beijing on Saturday morning. Source: Xinhua| 2017-12-02 15:12:51|Editor: Yang Yi Video Player Close Wang Huning, a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and member of the CPC Central Committee Secretariat, meets with the delegates to the 15th National Congress of China Zhi Gong Party and extended congratulations on behalf of the CPC Central Committee in Beijing, capital of China, Dec. 2, 2017. The China Zhi Gong Party, one of China's eight non-Communist political parties, will elect a new leadership during its 15th National Congress, which opened here Saturday. (Xinhua/Rao Aimin) BEIJING, Dec. 2 (Xinhua) -- The China Zhi Gong Party, one of China's eight non-Communist political parties, will elect a new leadership during its 15th National Congress, which opened in Beijing Saturday. Wang Huning, a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and member of the CPC Central Committee Secretariat, met with the delegates to the congress and extended congratulations on behalf of the CPC Central Committee. While affirming contributions made by China Zhi Gong Party members in fields including sci-tech innovation, poverty relief, attracting overseas talent and protecting the interests of overseas Chinese, Wang said the CPC will uphold and improve the system of the CPC-led multiparty cooperation and political consultation in accordance with the spirit of the 19th CPC National Congress. In handling its relationships with other political parties, "the CPC will adhere to the principle of long-term coexistence, mutual oversight, treating each other with sincerity, and sharing both good and bad times," according to Wang. He called on members of the China Zhi Gong Party to study, spread and carry out the spirit of the 19th CPC National Congress and contribute to the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation and national reunification. Wan Gang, chairman of the congress's presidium, called on party members to study and implement the spirit of the 19th CPC National Congress and unswervingly adhere to the path of socialism with Chinese characteristics, while delivering a work report at the opening ceremony on behalf of the 14th Central Committee of the China Zhi Gong Party. The China Zhi Gong Party should better perform its duties and concentrate efforts in improving the overall capabilities of serving the public so as to contribute to securing a decisive victory in building a moderately prosperous society in all respects and striving for the great success of socialism with Chinese characteristics for a new era, said Wan. During the national congress of the China Zhi Gong Party, delegates will hear and deliberate the report of the party's 14th Central Committee, review and approve an amendment to the China Zhi Gong Party Constitution, and elect the new leadership. Founded in 1925, the China Zhi Gong Party is mainly comprised of overseas Chinese who have returned to the mainland, relatives of nationals living abroad as well as those with close connections with overseas Chinese. The CPC is the ruling Party in China. The eight non-Communist parties are political organizations having connections with people of particular social circles. The eight non-Communist parties take part in the running of state affairs, which cover the formulation of major state policies, the election of government leaders, the enactment of laws and regulations, and law enforcement, among others. Target Corporation has a long history dating back to 1902. The company began as Goodfellows Dry Goods, operated by George Dalton, and later changed its name via a progression of mergers and acquisitions. The first Target store was opened in Roseville, Minnesota in 1962 as the discount division of the parent company. The idea was discount or low-priced items could still be fashionable and desirable. After meeting great success in the home territory, the concept went public in the late 1960s was later expanded on a national level during the 1980s. Target Corporation is now the 7th largest retailer in the US and is projected to bring in more than $113 billion in revenue for fiscal 2023. The department stores were shed in 2004 so today Target operates as a general merchandise retailer that serves on-trend items at discounted prices. It is known as a big box retailer and is a member of the S&P 500. The company listed about 2,000 stores in mid-2022 and had plans for growth. The company offers an assortment of everyday, household, and food goods in a bright and cheery atmosphere. It has set itself apart from other low-priced retailers as the chic choice for savvy shoppers. The companys stated purpose is to help families discover the joy of everyday life and it does so by offering quality products that families can afford. The company sells its products through a chain of stores as well as eCommerce. eCommerce is about 20% of Targets total revenue and was boosted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Services like delivery, same-day pickup, and access to thousands of necessary and discretionary items are also driving adoption. Target also offers amenities like cafes and opticians, and it hosts Starbucks inside the stores. Target Corporation has paid and increased its dividend for more than 5 decades. The company issued its 53rd consecutive distribution increase in calendar 2022 bringing the total annual payout to $4.32. In late October 2022, the payout was worth 2.7% in yield and came with a 40% payout ratio and a 9% distribution compound annual growth rate. Target is a leader in ESG and giving back to the community. Among its many endeavors is to return 5% of its profits to community charities as well as to inspire its employees to volunteer. Volunteers donate more than 1 million man-hours per year. Source: Xinhua| 2017-12-02 15:53:01|Editor: Yurou Video Player Close YANGON, Dec. 2 (Xinhua) -- Myanmar business circle has proposed the government to open rubber sale centers in Mon state, a major rubber producer of the country, official Global New Light of Myanmar reported Saturday. In accordance with the proposal by the Union of Myanmar Federation of Chambers of Commerce and Industry, the rubber sale centers are outlined to be opened in Mawlamyine, Mudon, Thabyuzayat, Ye, Kyaikto, Thaton, Chaungzon, Paung and Bilin towns. The organization also proposed the government to get tax exemption for the imported formic acid which is expensive and plays vital role for high-quality rubber production. The authorities are drawing up a Rubber Law for the planned rubber central markets across the country in 2018, according to Myanmar Rubber Planters and Producers' Association. The country's rubber is mainly produced in Mon state, Kayin state, Tanintharyi, Yangon and Bago regions. There are about 648,000 hectares of rubber plantations and more than 283,500 hectares produce rubber latex in the country. About 70 percent of the country's rubber go to neighbouring China and the rest 30 percent go to Singapore, Indonesia and Malaysia. Helping the hungry: Food boxes distributed at Bedford church The fourth Tuesday of each month, food boxes are given away at the Bedford Sherwood Oaks Christian Church. Source: Xinhua| 2017-12-02 15:58:02|Editor: Lu Hui Video Player Close 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. (Xinhua/Ting Shen) WASHINGTON, Dec. 1 (Xinhua) -- Former U.S. National Security Adviser Michael Flynn Friday pleaded guilty to lying to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) regarding improper contacts with Russian officials, becoming the first member of the President Donald Trump-led administration to be found guilty in the ongoing probe into alleged collusion between Trump's campaign team and Russia. "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. "It has been extraordinarily painful to endure these many months of false accusations of 'treason' and other outrageous acts," Flynn, who was fired from his job in February, said in a statement. "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," he said. Special Counsel Robert Mueller's office issued a statement earlier in the day, specifying Flynn's charges and noting he lied to the FBI about his two contacts with Russian officials prior to assuming office. Flynn had falsely stated that on or about Dec. 29, 2016, he did not ask then Russian ambassador to the United States Sergey Kislyak to "refrain from escalating the situation in response to sanctions" by the United States. He also said he did not remember receiving a call from Kislyak notifying him that Russia has decided to moderate Moscow's response at his request, the statement concluded. The special counsel's office found that Flynn also falsely stated that on Dec. 22, 2016 he did not ask the Russian ambassador 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 of Flynn's lies, but downplayed 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. In October, Mueller's office charged Trump's former campaign manager Paul Manafort, Manafort's deputy Rick Gates, and campaign adviser George Papadopoulos with lying to the FBI. While Manafort and Gates pleaded innocent, Papadopoulos admitted the charges. Mueller, a former FBI director, was appointed special counsel to probe the alleged collusion between the Trump administration and the Russian government on May 17, 2017 by Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein. The special counsel's office was set up after former FBI Director James Comey was fired by Trump on May 9. Comey alleged that in conversations prior to the firing, Trump had asked him to drop investigations into Flynn and demanded loyalty. Flynn, a former U.S. general, was one of the first top brass to support Trump during his campaign. He was picked as the national security adviser after Trump won the election, but was fired on Feb. 13 after allegations of improper contacts with Russia surfaced. While renewables are generally regarded as the solution, the definition of what does and what does not qualify as renewable energy tends to focus on wind and solar sources while downplaying the role of nuclear power, say experts. In the wake of the most recent United Nations Climate Change conference (COP 23), the general excitement over the Paris Climate Change Agreement of 2015 is giving way to the practical considerations of how individual countries and the world as a whole are going to tackle the transitioning to a low-carbon economy while meeting their growing energy demands. The obvious fact is that drastic adjustments are required to the energy mix that will form the basis of the future economy that does not depend on hydrocarbons for normal operation. The key question that is just what that energy mix is going to be that could sustainable provide for humanitys energy needs while also preserving the environment. While renewables are generally regarded as the solution, the definition of what does and what does not qualify as renewable energy, tends to focus on sources such as wind, solar, biomass hydro power sources while neglecting or downplaying the role of nuclear power. Many experts believe this line of thinking is both unfair and detrimental to the effort of transitioning to a low-carbon economy and combating climate change, in which nuclear power and other renewables should be teaming up rather than competing. Professor Yasin Ibrahim, former chairman of Nuclear Power Plants Authority, said that Egyptians have many questions and rumours and sometimes misconceptions, whether intentionally or unintentionally about the harmful and enormous danger of using nuclear energy. They also know that Egypt enjoys enormous solar energy resources and has huge capabilities for wind energy. But those who promote these concepts have neglected the rest of the truth related to the characteristics of electricity consumption and the need for sustainable electricity, he added. The capacity of electricity source should be more than 50 per cent of the maximum loads which isnt supported by renewable energy. On the other hand, the continuity of the wind throughout the day and even throughout the year or tens of years is inconsistent, and there are periods of stillness. What is the alternative of these sources? There is no conflict between different energy sources but there must be integration. We can achieve maximum benefits from energy mix at appropriate cost. There is an urgent need to clarify these facts with complete transparency and without conflict and the need for a clear and wise media discourse. And actual data speaks quite clearly for nuclear power being an essential part of the global energy mix that can sustain and support humanitys growing electricity demands without reliance on hydrocarbons. In a scientific paper Burden of Proof, a group of Australian researchers led by Ben Heard, Executive Director of climate change think tank Bright New World, examine 28 different global energy consumption scenarios and how renewables such as wind and solar perform in terms of supplying power under these scenarios. Notably, of the 28 scenarios analysed in the report, only two simulated power supply to periods of under 1 hour that is, the baseload power supply that is critical to the functioning of any economy and even those did not take into account the exponentially growing demand for electricity worldwide. The conclusion of the report was unequivocal renewables, at least for the observable future, are even theoretically unable to form the basis of any countrys energy mix. This leaves nuclear power, which is uniquely capable of producing clean energy in a stable and reliable manner regardless of the weather and other external conditions, as the only viable alternative to hydrocarbons in supplying baseload power for humankinds needs. This conclusion is borne out by the realities that the worlds countries are increasingly coming to face, In the UK, the countrys electricity network operator, National Grid, has estimated that, in to meet the 2C target set by the Paris Climate Change Agreement, the UK needs to build 14.5 GWe of new nuclear capacity by 2035, this being the only scenario where the carbon reduction goals are met. Then there is the case of Germany, whose rejection of nuclear power as part of the Energiewende policy has already cost the German economy and taxpayers more than $200 billion in subsidies for renewables, doubling the electricity tariffs, while failing to reduce the countrys emissions. Dr Mohamed Mounir Megahed, independent technical consultant, Nuclear Energy Applications, said: Renewable energy resources can play an important role in the energy mix of any country and can reduce the adverse environmental impacts of fossil fuels (oil, natural gas, coal), but they are not a reliable alternatives for these sources of energy or even for nuclear energy that provides electricity 24/7. In addition, there are several problems related to the use of renewable sources of energy, including problems related to the nature of the source itself, and technological problems related to the development of various technological options, and economic problems related to the cost of different renewable energy systems. As a result, the alternative to nuclear energy is not renewable energy but fossil fuels (coal) and this is what happened in Germany, instead of reducing carbon emissions after these policies, they are steadily increasing. Not only that, but wind and solar have proved to be prone to catastrophic failures at times when the demand for electricity is highest. This January, for instance, heavy clouds and fog meant that Germanys wind and solar power generation ground to a complete halt. Again, the deficit had to be made up through increased use of coal and gas and nuclear, as the remaining operational NPPs were generating power at full capacity to keep the countrys economy running. In a reasonable approach to a sustainable energy economy, however, such tradeoffs would be both self-defeating and unnecessary. Rather than pitting nuclear power against renewables, the worlds countries will benefit greatly by accepting nuclear as an integral part to form the basis of a low-carbon economy of the future, and learning to use it in combination with other renewables to create a truly sustainable energy mix. Dr Mohamed El Sobki, professor at the Engineering Faculty, Cairo University, said: The importance of creating the ideal energy mix from different resources, if only sustainability and availability are valid. The objective is not diversification itself, but the sustainability of the resource is what matters most.- TradeArabia News Service Source: Xinhua| 2017-12-02 16:38:08|Editor: Lu Hui Video Player Close Xi Jinping, general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, and foreign guests pose for a group photo before the opening ceremony of CPC in Dialogue with World Political Parties High-Level Meeting in Beijing, capital of China, Dec. 1, 2017. (Xinhua/Ding Lin) 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. Hi Mar: Keep watching West Jet. They have flown direct from YYZ and PVR (return) on Saturdays in low-season for at least 3 years. This is by far the best alternative (Air Transat and Air Canada don't fly direct in the summer). That is what we fly, Your friend does not want to connect in the US if he looks Mexican. Or even if he does not. It is just too potentially chaotic these days. We have all sorts of AA points and I love American Airlines and we have other points, but it is not fun to connect through these airports right now. Even for guys like my husband wholook like Mr.Rich White Guy Edited: 4 years ago Hi, Why would you drive to Brisbane to Sydney only to drive back to Brisbane ? With only three weeks it's a very poor use of time to backtrack so extensively IMHO. Why a camper van ? Is this something you do at home or do you have a Cliff Richard Summer Holiday fantasy ? Yes there are caravan parks such as Lane Cove right in Sydney. http://www.nationalparks.nsw.gov.au/camping-and-accommodation/campgrounds/lane-cove-river-tourist-park-caravan-park The good news is there are hundreds of Caravan Parks between Sydney and Brisbane. The bad news is the Hwy (which is as boring as bat guano) bypasses nearly all and to visit the coast requires a minimum of an hours deviation off the Hwy. Which means a coastal trip between Sydney and Brisbane needs at least a week to make it worthwhile. Cheers, Never hear of them no good no badnothing at allanother thing as costumer service that have no idea how to give the bestcharging $ 20.00 to take to the location where the car will bethat is weirddeposit in CASH no way Jose.credit card with a surcharge in a few words everything that you wrote is showing a company with on way.there way. check servicecarrental. great company roadadvisor Edited: 4 years ago Hello all! My best friend & I will be spending 1 night in Puerto Viejo in early January. Where should we stay, and what should we do! Hoping to have a good day around the beaches, and just kinda hang "in town" around people. We will be coming from 2 days in Panama City, 3 nights in Bocas del Toro (2 nights in Isla Bastimentos, 1 night in Isla Solarte) Because we chose more remote/isolated style lodging in Panama- we're looking to stay in a safe, yet lively, part of the town with nightlife before we move onto La Fortuna & Monteverde. TLDR: 2 late 20's females, safe/lively place to stay & things to do in Puerto Viejo. Thank you! Edited: 4 years ago >>Using two might create difficulties if the immigration official decides to see if you have an exit stamp from wherever you are flying in from<< This may not be an issue as many countries (including UK) don't stamp passports at departure. >>Because you used your US passport to book the flight, they will probably demand to see documentation for VN, and without it will deny you boarding!<< If checking counter staff ask about your visa (or right to entry to Vietnam) just tell them that you are using UK passport to enter Vietnam and show UK passport. Hi all Me and my wife (30yrs) will be travelling to Japan for the first time next February. We only have 15 nights. So after deciding on spending first 4 nights and last night in Tokyo and another 6 nights in Kyoto, we have 4 more nights. Option 1: rent a car in Odawara, spend a night in Hakone and then 3 nights in Kawaguchiko, return the car at Odawara and take the train to Kyoto. Option 2: tokyo to takayama by train, spend 4 nights exploring the area, including shirakawago, and then train to Kyoto. What do you recommend? From what i've read they're both amazing options and it's hard to choose one and miss the other. For ms it's a very challenging option to divide the time between the 2 regions because we'll be spending way too much time on travelling and not really quite exploring each place. Thanks for your help Source: Xinhua| 2017-12-02 16:38:09|Editor: Yurou Video Player Close by Peerzada Arshad Hamid NEW DELHI, Dec. 2 (Xinhua) -- Dozens of parents staged protest and clashed with police outside a prominent school in India's eastern state of West Bengal to protest sexual abuse of a four-year-old girl student, police said Saturday. The agitated parents demonstrated at G D Birla Education Centre in Kolkata city, the capital of West Bengal, demanding arrest of school principal and strong punishment to the accused. Police have already arrested two physical training teachers on Friday evening in the case. The teachers reportedly lured the girl child into the school toilet by offering her chocolates and then sexually assaulted her. "Yesterday the parents protested outside the school demanding arrest of principal," a police official said, adding that "the parents continued to protest despite the police trying to negotiate with them. After the principal and the teachers were taken out of the premises at around 1:00 a.m. (local time) today, there was a scuffle between a few police personnel and the parents." The protesters assembled again Saturday morning. "At around 6:00 this morning, a group of parents, including the father of the four-year-old victim, returned to stage fresh protests at the school gate," residents said. Local media reports said several people including college teachers showed up in solidarity, demanding strict action be against the school. On Thursday when mother of the girl went to collect her from school at around 4:00 p.m. (local time), she noticed blood stains on her clothes. The girl was crying and complained of pain, following which her parents took her to doctor, who declared she had been sexually assaulted. The parents subsequently rushed with the child to a police station and registered a complaint. Parents alleged that there were no working security cameras installed despite the fact that three years ago, a six-year-old girl in the same school was sexually assaulted allegedly by a school bus driver. 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," Chatterjee said. Meanwhile, West Bengal Commission for the Protection of Child Rights chairperson Ananya Chakraborty has demanded an inquiry into the shameful incident. "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," Chakraborty said. "We want full investigation into the incident." Sexual attacks on women and girls in India puts a question mark on their safety. In December 2002, a fatal gang-rape of a medical student in New Delhi brought spotlight on crimes against women in India. The incident saw huge protests and resulted in new anti-rape laws in the country. However, brutal sexual attacks against women and girls continue to be reported across India. Reading many posts has helped us develop a first-time-to-Japan itinerary that will be doable (I hope!) The (tentative) plans for our mid May trip: 1- arrive Narita in evening, skyliner to Ueno 2 - Tokyo (Ueno?) 3 - Tokyo (Ueno?) 4 - Tokyo (Ueno?) 5 - Matsumoto 6 - alpine route to Kanazawa ( we want to see the snow wall and alpine region) 7 - Kanazawa 8 - Kanazawa 9- Kyoto 10 - Kyoto 11 - Kyoto 12 - Kyoto (Nara) 13 - Kyoto (maybe Osaka day trip on one of the Kyoto days) 14 - Tokyo (Shinjuku) 15 - Tokyo (Shinjuku) 16 - fly home We thought it would be good to stay in the 2 different areas in Tokyo (Ueno and Shinjuku) to experience both, but we don't mind in which order we do so. We have booked all accommodation through Booking.com, so we are able to cancel or alter bookings easily. I am now exploring the best transport options. Given that we are heading to Matsumoto, is it better to start our Tokyo trip in Ueno or Shinjuku to make traveling to Matsumoto a little easier? Or does it make no difference? Many thanks for all the posters and replies that assist newbies in planning a trip into the unknown. Well, it' very hard to move from Tokyo to Kyoto by Shinkansen on Dec. 29, since the New Year Holidays start from this day and ends on Jan. 3. Many people living in Tokyo go back to their home town in the West by the Shinkansen to celebrate the New Year with their parents, relatives, or old friends. Many of them book the seats of the Shinkansen exactly on 10am Japan Time one month before and all seats are fully booked in 15 min. The problem for foreign visitors was that they could only book the seats of trains operated by the JR East and NOT the seats of the trains run by other 5 JR companies including JR Tokai (JR Central in English) which run the Tokaido Shinkansen between Tokyo and Shin-Osaka/Kyoto. Every year on Dec.29, national TVs show us the pictures of the non-reserved cars in the Shinkansen from Tokyo to the West which are PACKED with people like sardines: NOT ONLY THEY HAVE TO STAND BUT ALSO THEY CANNOT EVEN GO TO THE TOILETS IN THE TRAIN FOR HOURS!! JR Tokai and JR West announced recently on Oct. 30 that they released a new free smartphone App, Tokaido Sanyo Shinkansen Reservation App., which allows you to purchase the tickets for the Tokaido Sanyo Shinkansen online in advance. Using this App., you can book your seats from exactly 10am Japan Time one month before. https://japantoday.com/category/features/travel/jr-central-jr-west-announce-tokaido-sanyo-shinkansen-reservation-app https://smart-ex.jp/en/lp/app/ Thus, you should try to book your seats using this App. ASAP now!! I'm not sure if any reserve seats are remaining on Dec. 29. Note that you cannot combine the JR Pass with this App. Thursday When I planned this trip, I didnt really think past the concert. I had already made the decision to stay until Saturday, but I didnt actually decide on what Id be doing with my time. I thought about sleeping the whole day because one hardly ever gets to do such things, but when you are accustomed to a 4AM alarm, its really hard to just lay in bed. I realised Id be in town for the Macys Thanksgiving Day Parade. I have already mentioned lemon-flavoured things are my third favourite things in the whole wide world. What do you think my first favourite thing is? . . . Actually, its fireworks. Fireworks are my first favourite thing. But parades are my second favourite thing. Military parades, to be specific, but Macys parade is probably the most famous-est of all parades. How could I turn down this opportunity? Since there are not too many other trip reports detailing what its like to attend this parade, Ill throw my experience into the bunch. Research suggests arriving to your desired location by 6AM. The parade starts at 9AM, so you'd be in for a bit of a wait. I got up at 5AM (so I did actually sleep in a lil bit) and put on all my clothes. Since I dont have a coat, I figured layers. I put on what we in the Army call the silk ninja suit. Its like pyjamas made of synthetic silk you wear under your clothes, designed to keep you warm (its black, thats why we call it a ninja suit, cuz you look like a ninja). Then I put on a cotton thermal thing. Then I put on a t-shirt, a hoodie, two pairs of leggings and this wool skirt I got in Paris. Its all I had. Dont laugh. For my head, I had my Darth Vader tuque. I did have the foresight to bring pocket warmer things. I also brought a mini folding camp chair. I use this at conventions when the queues are long. The research I did suggested I should go to the beginning of the parade route. The advantage is that the parade ends before it can even begin for those at the end of the route. Your total parade time is less. The disadvantage is that you dont get to see the acts. Honestly, I had no idea who most of the celebrities were. There was only one recognisable name and I thought the marching bands were terrible. At any rate, I walked from the hotel to Central Park. Its less than two miles. I figured Id be sitting for a ridiculous amount of time anyway; might as well get the blood going to stay warm. It only took about 25 minutes. The city is so beautiful at this hour of nightmorning. Theres hardly anybody about. There were a handful of people on their way to work, the hot dog guys getting set up for the crush later, NYPD blocking off streets. I was able to stop and look at store displays. Saks has a fantastic display of Snow White. I gawked at the jewellery in the Tiffanys window. Ferragamo has a simple, classic display. There was a Star Wars display with a Christmas looking R2D2 Id like to have, but I cant remember which storefront. I found it amusing they wont even let you look at Harry Winston. Its not boarded up like abandoned building boarded, but its basically boarded up, fancy as it is. The left side of 5th Avenue as you head towards Central Park is barricaded against vehicle traffick, and they have those metal things set up for pedestrian traffick. As you approach Central Park it is even more restricted. I cut through Grand Army Plaza, walked in front of the fancy buildings on 59th. Doormen are posted up next to discreet signs which read, No public restroom. Many people stated using the restroom was a bit of a problem. If at all possible, drain your bladder and limit your fluid intake (dont dehydrate yourself, of course) so you wont have to deal with it. Of course, that means cutting out the gallon of coffee I typically drink the minute I wake up. I was able to post up right on the corner of 59th and 6th. By lucky happenstance, I discovered this block was reserved for military and disabled persons. I just so happened to hear a police officer tell a woman she couldnt stand there because it was for military and disabled people. I do not know if they do this every year. In this case, if youre looking at Central Park, the right side of 6th Ave is for disabled and military. Anyone is free to stand on the left side of the street. You should note there is a difficulty in crossing the street because they have barricades set up to prevent people from just dashing into the street all willy-nilly. Another thing to note about this military/disabled thing is that it might be you have to sign up and/or reserve somewhere. I did not do this (because I didnt know about it) but the police officer said it was something the Mayors Office does and that there was a list. I was certainly not on any list, but someone did come by and check our military IDs. There were some unhappy civilians who were asked to leave. I was really quite lucky to have overheard this because my location was absolutely perfect. I set up my little camp chair directly in front of the rail. Im short (only 51) and seated so I wasnt blocking anyones view. Now let me tell you it is a cold, long wait. Be prepared to entertain yourself and whoever youve dragged out there with you. Im a Xennial (some made up thing where you cross a Millennial with a Gen Xer), so I could just scroll through Facebook for hours on end without a care in the world. I also had headphones, so I was listening to some jams, playing Two Dots, updating my Instagram every four minutes (because everyone needs to know my status) and was perfectly happy with this. If this is not your thing, bring a book, some knitting needles, a Sudoku (do they even still do that?), or whatever it is youre into to while away the hours. Small children may become bored as evidenced by the tantrums I witnessed. I was next to a family with three children. The two younger children (maybe 5-7) seemed to be enjoying themselves. Their older brother (maybe 9-10?) was bored stiff. He complained the whole time and it was really quite aggravating. I cannot stress enough the need for warm things when the temperature is low. There was just enough breeze to be infuriating. My failure was that I was not warm enough. I got there at 6AM. At 7AM, I was frozen solid. At 8AM, I had to beg the mercy of my fellow parade watchers. I asked the mother next to me to watch my camp chair because I needed a coffee. My feet were frozen solid. My hands were stiff. My knees oy. I had those hand warmer things, but I really needed like three more pairs: one pair to stick in my boots, one pair to put on my kneecaps, and another pair to put in my core. I saw other people with full out blankets and proper jackets. Thankfully, this lady was kind enough to watch my spot. I let her kids sit in my chair. They didnt bring any because they heard you werent allowed to. I went to get a coffee at the deli. If youre just getting coffee the lines arent horrible, but if youre in there trying to buy a whole pancake breakfast, the wait is horrific. And if you need to go to the bathroom, well, may the odds be ever in your favour. The coffee got me through to the start of the parade, but I will tell you, by the time that first float came around I was like, this is where I die. The good thing is, for me, the parade was rather enjoyable so by the time the second float came, I was in better spirits and happy, hardly paying attention to how cold I was. I have only ever watched snippets of the parade on TV a handful of times. This was not a tradition in my household as a child. As an adult, I can think of better things to do, plus, I am past the old method of watching TV with commercials and set start times. Seeing the parade in its entirety (minus the performances) was a real treat. I really enjoyed it, and I think I might do this again (but with warmer attire). I do think the band performances were kind of lame, but Im from the south where marching bands, along with the church, are the very cornerstones of society. Also, Id like to see a Captain America float, or something Star Wars related, but Hello Kitty, Pikachu and the Red Power Ranger will have to suffice. I dont know a lot of people out here rooting for the dinosaur from some oil company, whichthats kind of weird, if you think about it. I almost admit to being foolishly excited to see Santa. I dont know if its because he heralds the end of the parade, or because of that childhood joy you feel. Perhaps a bit of both, but when the elf clowns came around like, Santa is coming, I just got so excited. === Dear Santa, I sholl would appreciate help with a down payment on a house. I promise Ive been a real good girl. XXXOOO, Me === I decided to walk back to the hotel because I didnt even want to bother with the train, plus, when I did a GPS of it, the train had me getting off around Herald Square. Terrible idea. I walked back down 5th Avenue and stopped at the Lindt store because they were giving out samples. I ended up buying $20 worth of those lil chocolate balls. They have so many varieties you dont get everywhere else. I took the worlds longest, hottest shower when I got back, then curled up in bed and slept till about 5PM. There was a thread on TA about where to dine for Thanksgiving dinner. Most of the suggestions were traditional or uber fancy, upscale stuff that sounded boring. A few years ago, I realised I dont even like traditional Thanksgiving food. I dont eat pork. I dont like turkey, stuffing, casseroles, potatoes, or can-shaped cranberry whatever. My favourite thing about holiday food is the desserts. The USO partnered with Soldier Sailor Club to offer a free Thanksgiving dinner but it was traditional so I skipped it and decided on Korean. I went to Five Senses on 32nd Street. If youre ever concerned about dining alone, especially on a major holiday, just dont worry about. I was not the only solo diner. In fact, dining solo was beneficial. I got to skip to the front of the lengthy queue because there was a teeny, tiny, little table in the corner just for me. My favourite Korean spot is Miss Korea but their prices are a little high, and I decided to expand my horizons. NYC is a city with probably tens of thousands of restaurants. I have a terrible habit of sticking with what I know. Every time I visit, I go to the same street meat guy, the same Thai spot, the same liquor store. I tell myself to try something new but I never do. Since it is the holiday season, its time for another holiday miracle: doing something different. Five Senses is absolutely great. So, now I can go back and forth between Miss Korea *and* Five Senses! I ordered seafood pancake, tiger prawns and dol sot bi bim bap with beef. They give you the usual appetisers as well. It was a lot of food and the server remarked it. Wow! Thats a lot of food. So youre saying Im a fatty. Well, isnt Thanksgiving about gorging yourself beyond comfort? Arent you supposed to have Thanksgiving leftovers? I accomplished these traditions at least. It was too much food, to be honest. I had been paying more and more attention to calorie count in the past few months. After precisely one little nibble of the seafood pancake, exactly one prawn and maybe three or four bites of the bi bim bap I was stuffed. The server wrapped everything up rather nicely for me, though. Those leftovers ended up being breakfast and lunch the next day. I have dined alone before, but never for the holidays. I thought Id look like a weirdo but I wasnt the only solo diner and no one even paid the slightest bit of attention to me. I ate my food, did a little bit of pre-Black Friday shopping on my phone, and some people watching. Its not that serious. So, if youre worried about it, just stop. Go live your life. After my Thanksgiving dinner, I decided to walk up to the Lowes Theatre on 14th. Justice League has been out awhile. Im Team Marvel, of course, but the Age of the Nerd is now. I will watch every single comic book film available while theyre still popular. Justice League wasnt specifically horrible, but it wasnt worth the jacked-up NYC IMAX prices. Well, we all do foolish things. I walked back to the hotel, had a glass of Prosecco and went to bed. . . . Preview: Black Friday shopping and Shame of Thrones How do I get from the airport (JFK, LGA, or EWR) to Manhattan? What To Do During Layovers? Vacation Apartment Rentals Violate NYC Laws Hotels: Kitchenettes and kitchens in 100+ Manhattan Hotels Hotels: Two queen beds plus a kitchen/kitchenette Hotels: Guests under 21 years old (but at least 18) Hotels: Which ones charge an additional Resort or Facilities Fee Hotels: When is the best time to go for cheaper rates? What are the Must-See's and Must-Do's? How Do I Ride the Subway (UPDATED)? Tips, Hint and Suggestions for First Timers SCAMS to avoid in NYC What Will the Weather Be Like During My Trip? Any Good Websites for Researching My Trip? How Safe is New York? Where to Eat in NYC Where to eat in NYC - Part 2 Celiac in the City? (gluten free) Which Area Should I Stay In? Is There Cheaper Lodging Outside Manhattan? How Much Do I Tip People? Are the New York Pass, Explorer Pass or CityPass worth it? How Do I Hail a Taxi? Public restrooms/toilets. Where do you go when you GOTTA GO? Where are the best areas for shopping? How do I find Discount Tickets for Broadway Shows? What are the NYC Halloween events for 2021? Thanksgiving 2021 in NYC: What to Do & Where to Eat Christmastime in NYC 2021: Dates for the Trees-Windows-Markets-Ice Skating+MORE! Christmas Day 2021 in NYC: What to Do & Where to Eat What Should I Do on New Year's Eve? How Will I Survive the Cold Weather? Where are the Farmers Markets and Street Fairs? What is there to see and do near WTC/SOL/Brooklyn Bridge/SI ferry? What should I know about visiting the 9/11 Memorial and Museum? What Is There to See and Do in Brooklyn? How Do I Get to the Brooklyn Bridge? What Is There to See and Do in Queens? Exploring neighborhoods - where should I go and what should I see? Which is the best? ESB or TOTR or OWO? Which are the significant churches in Manhattan? Hidden Gems in the city - not so touristy How do I get from NYC to the Meadowlands and back? I'm Getting Married in NYC...what do I need to do? Should I Buy Knock-Off Purses? What to Do with Kids and How to Do It? What should we do at night -- especially with kids or under 21's? Places to eat (and drink) with a view Where is the Old FAQ? Trip Reports: Families with Young Kids - Add yours! Trip Reports: Groups of Friends - Add yours! Trip Reports: Couples - Add yours! Trip Reports: Families with Teenagers - Add yours! Trip Reports: Solo Travelers - Add yours! Trip Reports: Families of Adults - Add yours! My guess is that Dockless systems wont come to NYC anytime soon, mainly because of Citibike. Dockless or not, you still need to park it somewhere. The only way to make it work in a city like NY where space is at a premium is to have an organized system. Otherwise you are risking this https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2017/nov/25/chinas-bike-share-graveyard-a-monument-to-industrys-arrogance Citibike not only works, but almost works too well for any of these to compete with. Unless Citibike is losing money As a user I dont mind docking at all, as long as there docking stations everywhere pretty much which is the case today. You really cant make it more convenient than this, and I dont think it would have worked as well if they would have gone the dockless route. The only reason for me to switch is price with the same level of service, and I just dont see it a possibility anytime soon Is your company in need of the most reliable and efficient best Best Jasmine Tea s in the market? Your good luck led you to the ideal situation, so congratulations! You are in the best possible place. By eliminating the need to read through dozens of Best Jasmine Tea reviews, we are saving you time and stress. Many customers find it difficult to decide which Best Jasmine Tea product to buy. The dilemma is brought about by the many types of Best Jasmine Tea in the market. This comprehensive guide will provide you with a clear understanding of how you may choose the most suitable Best Jasmine Tea available in the market. Source: Xinhua| 2017-12-02 16:38:10|Editor: Yurou Video Player Close DAMASCUS, Dec. 2 (Xinhua) -- Syria's state TV has confirmed earlier report about an Israeli missile attack on a military post near the capital Damascus early Saturday. The air defenses responded to the Israeli attack, destroying two rockets while the rest hit the base in the southwestern countryside of Damascus, leaving damages only, said the TV. Earlier in the day, pro-government media outlets said the air defenses were triggered by a missile attack and people in the capital heard explosions in different areas. Reports said the Israeli warplanes fired the rockets from inside the Lebanese airspace. Syrian pro-government activists said the Israeli attack targeted military positions in the Kisweh area in the southwestern countryside of Damascus, causing several explosions that shook the area and reverberated across the capital. Meanwhile, the online media "Damascus-now" posted a video on its Facebook page, showing "the moment when the air defenses destroyed an "enemy target" in western Ghouta in rural Damascus. Witnesses told Xinhua that cautious calm prevailed in western Ghouta following the attack, which came hours after rebels downed a Syrian military helicopter there. Syria's rebels fired a missile at the helicopter near the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights and the Lebanese border, said the London-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. Israeli officials have said several times that they would not accept any Iranian influence near their borders. The Syrian government has repeatedly accused Israel of aiding the rebels near the Golan Heights. Both the Syrian government and opposition are participating in United Nations (UN)-mediated Syria peace talks in Geneva. UN Special Envoy for Syria Staffan de Mistura said Friday he has distributed a 12-point post-war vision document for the Syrian invitees to discuss when they resume their ongoing talks someday next week. Source: Xinhua| 2017-12-02 16:53:17|Editor: Yang Yi Video Player Close LHASA, Dec. 2 (Xinhua) -- The number of vehicles in southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region has rocketed up 73.1 percent over the past five years to 457,000, regional traffic authorities said. Since late 2012, the number of drivers has also increased by 85.5 percent to nearly 420,000, according to figures released Friday by the region's transport bureau. "We used to consider the number of cattle and sheep as a parameter for a family's economic condition. Now the brand of family car has become a new criteria," said Cering Puncog, a herder in Nagqu County, who has just bought a sport utility vehicle, his third in the past seven years. More roads have been built in recent years in the region, which has partly contributed to the rising numbers of cars and drivers. The region now has 613 kilometers of highways and expressways, including the newly built road connecting Lhasa, the regional capital, and Nyingchi. -The opposition coalition has sent out invites to Raila's swearing-in which will see guest gracing the ceremony vetted beforehand - NASA intends to swear in Raila Odinga as president of Kenya two weeks after the Judiciary swore in President Uhuru for a second term - The Chief Registrar of the Judiciary is yet to receive official communication from the opposition regarding their controversial inauguration National Super Alliance (NASA) leader Raila Odinga on Friday, November 1 sent out invitations to his swearing in scheduled to take place on Jamuhuri day. The venue of the inauguration was however not disclosed, but confirmed that the guests gracing the controversial ceremony will be vetted before hand Send 'NEWS' to 40227 to receive all the important breaking news as it happens READ ALSO: Rais Uhuru ashambuliwa na Wakenya baada ya kuhudhuria harusi Kileleshwa Attendees to be vetted for Raila Odingas swearing-in. Photo: TUKO. READ ALSO: 12 powerful politicians who have worked with Raila before and are now Uhuru die hards The invitation seen by TUKO.co.ke, states the swearing in will take place on Tuesday, December 12. However, the opposition is yet to notify relevant authorities ahead of the ceremony that is set to attract thousands of NASA supporters to Nairobi county. READ ALSO: I will challenge Ruto in 2022 if Uhuru does not give me a ministry - Peter Munya Attendees to be vetted for Raila Odingas swearing-in. Photo: TUKO In prior reports by TUKO.co.ke, the Judiciary had stated that it had not yet received any formal communication from NASA about the inauguration. "The Judiciary has not been notified on the inauguration ceremony planned by the Opposition party," said Chief Registrar of the Judiciary Anne Amadi. READ ALSO: From peace to pieces. Ballot to bullet, we shall pay the price - David Ndii Raila's anticipated inauguration comes on the backdrop of the opposition pushing for counties to adopt the People's Assembly motion that does not recognise Uhuru's legitimacy as president. Previously, NASA had vowed to swear in Raila with the August 8 General Election results if President Uhuru was sworn in with the results from the disputed October 26 repeat presidential election. ALSO WATCH: NASA coalition breaths new life into the people's Assembly forums Source: TUKO.co.ke Russian-backed militants launched 26 attacks on positions of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in ATO area in Donbas in last day. This is reported by the ATO Headquarters press center. The enemy violated ceasefire in ATO area 26 times over the past day, particularly using the weapons which are banned under the Minsk agreements. Ukrainian troops returned fire in over half of the cases. As a result of the enemy shelling, one Ukrainian soldier was wounded, the statement reads. The tensest situation was observed in Luhansk direction, where illegal armed formations used infantry weapons, weapons on infantry combat vehicles and mortars to launch attacks on Ukrainian strongholds near Luhanske (59km north-east of Donetsk). ATO troops outside Troitske (69km west of Luhansk) and Novotoshkivske (53km north-west of Luhansk) came under 120mm and 82mm mortar fire. Militants also opened fire from grenade launchers and small arms on defenders of Zaitseve (67km north-north-east of Donetsk) and Krymske (42.5km north-west of Luhansk). In Donetsk direction, Russian-backed militants shelled Ukrainian positions in the outskirts of Marinka (35 km south-west of Donetsk), using mortars, grenade launchers, weapons on infantry combat vehicles and small arms. ATO troops near Avdiivka (18km north of Donetsk), Kamyanka (62km south of Donetsk), Berezove (35km south-west of Donetsk), Vodiane (16km north-west of Donetsk) and Nevelske (18km north-west of Donetsk) came under grenade launcher and small arms fire. ol Regular polls by the European Business Association and the American Chamber of Commerce demonstrate that changes in Ukraine are becoming tangible for the business environment. About 65% of international companies operating in Ukraine expect growth next year. President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko said this during a meeting with representatives of business circles, the press service of the Head of State said. The President noted that according to the survey, 65% of international companies operating in Ukraine expect growth next year, 40% of which expect a double-digit growth, the statement reads. Poroshenko reminded of the report of the European External Action Service regarding the progress of reforms, released on November 15. "Ukraine, according to this survey, is becoming an interesting place for investment in production for the purpose of further export to Europe, in particular Eastern and Southern, as well as to Turkey. Among the 23 markets in the region, Ukraine has risen from the 22nd place in 2015 to the 5th in 2017, according to the dynamics of sales," the Head of State said. The President also thanked all international companies that changed their governance structure in the region. "More than 60% of companies present in Ukraine, who previously were focused on their offices in Moscow, are now subject to European headquarters," the Head of State underscored. Petro Poroshenko drew attention to the fact that in the latest study of Doing Business Ukraine, the most significant progress was shown in the direction of "obtaining construction permits" - from 140th to 35th place; in the direction of "taxation" - from 84th to 43rd position. ol More than 50 people have become victims of floods and landslides caused by powerful cyclones with heavy rains in the Indonesian island of Java and in Sri Lanka. A Ukrainian citizen is reported to be killed in floods in Sri Lanka. "Cempaka cyclone caused significant destructions in the southern coast of the island of Java, where strong wind and floods damaged more than 1,700 houses. More than 2,000 local residents were evacuated from the region. Adverse weather conditions also caused considerable damage to the region's agriculture," DW reports. A Ukrainian citizen is reported to be washed away in floods near the popular tourist town of Galle. Photo credit: @XHNews ol Source: Xinhua| 2017-12-02 17:43:33|Editor: Jiaxin Video Player Close SANAA, Dec. 2 (Xinhua) -- Clashes intensified between rebel Houthi fighters and their rival forces loyal to former President Ali Abdullah Saleh in the Yemeni capital on Saturday, residents said. The armed violence is continuing for the fourth consecutive day after the rebel rivals failed to reach a peaceful political conciliation over the past days. The dispute began Wednesday after Saleh's supporters refused to allow Houthis to get in the Saleh mosque in Sabeen square south of Sanaa to secure a religious ceremony to commemorate birthday of Prophet Muhammad. The infighting expanded Saturday and paralyzed all major streets in Sanaa and surrounding outskirts, which have been jointly controlled by Houthis and Saleh's loyal forces since 2014. Residents and eyewitnesses confirmed that all commercial movement and traffic have stopped since Friday night. Sources in both rival forces said 40 to 60 people were killed in the fighting in several major streets, mostly near the residents of Saleh and his nephew, Brigadier Tarek Mohammed Saleh in Hadda quarter southwest of Sanaa. A statement from Saleh's General People's Congress party (GPC) called for its loyal armed tribes and supporters to join the ranks and fight against Houthis. In the meantime, officials loyal to Saleh began to report that their GPC loyal supporters and fighters seized control of the state television stations, airport, camps in the capital. In response, Houthi chief Abdul-Malek al-Houthi made a surprise speech this morning, calling on former President Saleh and tribal leaders to intervene to stop the internal bloodshed and reunite the internal ranks to face the "aggression," in reference to the Saudi-led military coalition. The Houthi chief also accused the GPC of secret collaboration with the leaders of the coalition. The coalition has been fighting both Houthis and Saleh's party since March 2015 and imposed the most tight blockade on all air, sea and land ports, but allow access to southern ports, which are under control of Saudi-backed government of exiled President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi. The nearly three years of wide war has killed over 10,000 Yemeni people and pushed the country into the brink of mass famine. President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko awaits a communique from the European Union on a new macro-financial assistance program for Ukraine for 2018-2019. The President stated this during the Business Associations Forum in Kyiv, an Ukrinform correspondent reports. "I want to emphasize that I had a meeting with European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker during my visit to the Eastern Partnership summit in Brussels last week. We agreed on new macro-financial assistance for Ukraine for the next two years. Today, I am awaiting an appropriate communique from the EU," Poroshenko said. According to the Ukraines President, the assistance is expected in the amount of approximately EUR 1.8 billion. "Despite the difficulties in the EU, this should be a symbol of support for reforms, a symbol of support for Ukraine, which is extremely important to us," the President said. ol Andriy Lysenko, spokesman for the Ukrainian Defense Ministry on anti-terrorist operation (ATO) issues, leaves his post and begins to work as spokesman for the Prosecutor General's Office of Ukraine. Lysenko wrote this on his Facebook page. "Ukrainian Prosecutor General Yuriy Lutsenko has recently suggested that I move on to the second, internal and equally important front - to uphold the law and justice in the fight against crime, corruption and other manifestations of lawlessness as spokesperson for the Prosecutor General's Office. I agreed, and therefore announce the completion of a multi-year journey in the status of spokesman on ATO issues," he said. Lysenko noted that as ATO spokesman, "he did everything possible for the formation and development of a system for informing about Russia's aggression and military actions in the east of Ukraine": "I am convinced that the multi-budget false invader over these years failed to draw the situation in the information field in its favor. With the efforts of our small team, military, civilian colleagues-journalists, experts and active citizens, we gained uneasy victories with daily briefings, live broadcasts and professional explanations." op The Embassy of Ukraine in France is making every effort to release Ukrinform correspondent Roman Sushchenko, who was illegally arrested in Russia. Ambassador of Ukraine to France Oleh Shamshur said this in an interview with Ukrinform. "I made the acquaintance of Roman Sushchenko when he worked in Paris. He actively covered the events that took place in the Embassy or in the cultural and information center with our participation. We know Roman as a very professional, honest person and a patriot. Of course, we were shocked at his arrest," the diplomat said. He stressed that important and effective steps to free Sushchenko had already been taken, and all the needed efforts would be further made. "For our part, we are ready to continue to do everything possible to speed up his release. Much work in this direction has already been done with concerted efforts. It is important that the fate of Roman Sushchenko was discussed at the highest level, during the visit of President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko to France," Shamshur said. As reported, November 27, the Moscow City Court extended the arrest of Ukrinform Paris-based correspondent Roman Sushchenko for another two months, until January 30, 2018. Roman Sushchenko was arrested on September 30, 2016 in Moscow where he arrived on a private visit. He was accused of espionage, allegedly being a member of the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ukrainian Defense Ministry. The Ukrainian Main Intelligence Directorate denied allegations of the Russian Federal Security Service. Roman Sushchenko works with the Ukrainian National News Agency Ukrinform since 2002 and is agency's own correspondent in France since 2010. ol Washington, DC (UroToday.com) Dr. Reichard discussed the need/utility of CT imaging for staging high risk prostate cancer patients already staged with technetium-99m bone scan and pelvic MRI. Indeed, the use of pelvic MRI for staging and/or surgical planning is increasing, especially in NCCN high risk and very high-risk prostate cancer patients. However, most of these patients also undergo CT and bone scan imaging for metastatic staging work up, often prior to tertiary center referral. The authors hypothesized that the omission of a CT scan in the metastatic work up of high-risk prostate cancer patients undergoing pelvic MRI and bone scan would not cause information loss regarding metastatic status and would reduce the burden of unwanted incidental findings. As such, the objective of this study was to analyze the incidence of pelvic and distant metastases identified on CT scan compared with that of pelvic MRI and bone scan.The authors identified 271 high-risk prostate cancer patients at MD Anderson Cancer Center between 2006 and 2016. Among these patients, 160 had a CT scan, pelvic MRI and bone scan available for review. Both pelvic MRI and CT scan images were re-reviewed by a single radiologist. ANOVA was used to test means among groups and chi-square analysis was used for categorical variables. The clinical characteristics of patients with bone scan only, CT only, or no imaging did not differ from those with all three imaging modalities (all p>0.05). The overall incidence of lymphadenopathy on imaging was generally low (3.1% for CT scan and 5% for pelvic MRI). Only one patient had distant lymphadenopathy on CT which was biopsy negative. No patients with pelvic lymphadenopathy on pelvic MRI had distant lymphadenopathy on CT imaging. Moreover, 50% of the patients with pelvic lymphadenopathy on CT imaging had negative biopsies. Pelvic MRI specific findings included 18% of patients with seminal vesicle involvement, 26% with neurovascular bundle involvement, and 36% with extraprostatic extension. Importantly, 11.9% of CT scans had incidental findings, of which 84% were of minimal clinical significance.In conclusion, Dr. Reichard highlighted that in this cohort of high and very high-risk prostate cancer patients, the rate of incidental findings on CT imaging is consistent with reported literature, with the majority being of no clinical significance. Additionally, for most patients with pelvic MRI and bone scan, CT imaging did not add any additional informative data regarding extra-pelvic disease status. These findings are important and should be used as a guide for additional cost-effectiveness analyses.Presented by: Chad Reichard, MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TXCo-authors: Tharakeswara Bathala, MD, MBBS, Justin Gregg, Janet Kukreja, MD, Mary Achim, John Davis, MD, Brian Chapin, MDWritten by: Zachary Klaassen, MD, Society of Urologic Oncology Fellow, University of Toronto, Princess Margaret Cancer Centre @zklaassen_md at the 18th Annual Meeting of the Society of Urologic Oncology, November 20-December 1, 2017 Washington, DC Old age at prostate cancer diagnosis has been associated with poor prognosis in several studies. We aimed to investigate the association between age at diagnosis and prognosis, and if it is independent of tumor characteristics, primary treatment, year of diagnosis, mode of detection and comorbidity. We conducted a nation-wide cohort study including 121,392 Swedish men aged 55-95 years in Prostate Cancer data Base Sweden (PCBaSe) 3.0 diagnosed with prostate cancer in 1998-2012 and followed for prostate cancer death through 2014. Data were available on age, stage, grade, PSA-level, mode of detection, comorbidity, educational level and primary treatment. We used Cox regression to calculate hazard ratios (HR) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs). With increasing age at diagnosis, men had more comorbidity, fewer PSA detected cancers, more advanced cancers and were less often treated with curative intent. Among men with high-risk or regionally metastatic disease, the proportion of men with unknown M stage was higher among old men versus young men. During a follow-up of 751,000 person-years, 23,649 men died of prostate cancer. In multivariable Cox-regression analyses stratified by treatment, old age at diagnosis was associated with poorer prognosis among men treated with deferred treatment (HRage 85+ vs. 60-64: 7.19; 95% CI: 5.61-9.20), androgen deprivation therapy (HRage 85+ vs. 60-64: 1.72; 95% CI: 1.61-1.84) or radical prostatectomy (HRage 75+ vs. 60-64: 2.20; 95% CI: 1.01-4.77), but not radiotherapy (HRage 75+ vs. 60-64: 1.08; 95% CI: 0.76-1.53). Our findings argue against a strong inherent effect of age on risk of prostate cancer death, but indicate that in current clinical practice, old men with prostate cancer receive insufficient diagnostic work-up and subsequent curative treatment. Annals of oncology : official journal of the European Society for Medical Oncology. 2017 Nov 17 [Epub ahead of print] A Pettersson, D Robinson, H Garmo, L Holmberg, P Stattin Department of Medicine Solna, Clinical Epidemiology Unit, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden., Department of Urology, Ryhov Hospital, Jonkoping, Sweden., Regional Cancer Centre Uppsala Orebro, Uppsala University Hospital, Uppsala, Sweden., King's College London, Faculty of Life Sciences and Medicine, Division of Cancer Studies, London, United Kingdom., Department of Surgical Sciences, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden. PubMed http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29161337 Yemeni people gather to celebrate the birthday of Islam's Prophet Muhammad near Saleh Mosque in Sanaa, Yemen, on Nov. 30, 2017. (Xinhua Photo) SANAA, Dec. 2 (Xinhua) -- Clashes intensified between rebel Houthi fighters and their rival forces loyal to former President Ali Abdullah Saleh in the Yemeni capital on Saturday, residents said. The armed violence is continuing for the fourth consecutive day after the rebel rivals failed to reach a peaceful political conciliation over the past days. The dispute began Wednesday after Saleh's supporters refused to allow Houthis to get in the Saleh mosque in Sabeen square south of Sanaa to secure a religious ceremony to commemorate birthday of Prophet Muhammad. The infighting expanded Saturday and paralyzed all major streets in Sanaa and surrounding outskirts, which have been jointly controlled by Houthis and Saleh's loyal forces since 2014. Residents and eyewitnesses confirmed that all commercial movement and traffic have stopped since Friday night. Sources in both rival forces said 40 to 60 people were killed in the fighting in several major streets, mostly near the residents of Saleh and his nephew, Brigadier Tarek Mohammed Saleh in Hadda quarter southwest of Sanaa. A statement from Saleh's General People's Congress party (GPC) called for its loyal armed tribes and supporters to join the ranks and fight against Houthis. In the meantime, officials loyal to Saleh began to report that their GPC loyal supporters and fighters seized control of the state television stations, airport, camps in the capital. In response, Houthi chief Abdul-Malek al-Houthi made a surprise speech this morning, calling on former President Saleh and tribal leaders to intervene to stop the internal bloodshed and reunite the internal ranks to face the "aggression," in reference to the Saudi-led military coalition. The Houthi chief also accused the GPC of secret collaboration with the leaders of the coalition. The coalition has been fighting both Houthis and Saleh's party since March 2015 and imposed the most tight blockade on all air, sea and land ports, but allow access to southern ports, which are under control of Saudi-backed government of exiled President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi. Speculation mounts over how much longer Rex Tillerson will keep his job as head of the Department of State and North Korea launches its 18th ballistic missile test since President Trump has been in office. Join Linda Feldman of the Christian Science Monitor, Tom DeFrank of the National Journal and VOA Senior National Correspondent Jim Malone as they discuss the week's top stories on Issues in the News. Listen Saturday and Sunday on the Voice of America. On this encore edition of Press Conference USA, Sheryll Cashin, author and Georgetown University Law Professor discusses with host Carol Castiel and VOAs Morgan Mendenhall, her newest book entitled: Loving: Interracial Intimacy in America and the Threat to White Supremacy. It was published on the 50th anniversary of the landmark 1967 US Supreme Court decision Loving versus the State of Virginia, which struck down state laws that banned interracial marriage. The al-Qaida terror organization has released a new audio message from its elusive leader in which he slams the Syrian Jihadi group Liberation of the Levant Organization, or more commonly known as Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), for going after senior jihadists loyal to al-Qaida in Syria. In the 35-minute undated audio video So Let Us Fight Them With Solid Foundations, Ayman al-Zawahiri denounced HTSs decision to break off formal ties with al-Qaida last year and betray its oath of allegiance as the offshoot of the terror organization in Syria. VOA could not independently verify the videos authenticity. Why did this love disappear among us and was replaced by roughness, conflict, cruelty of the heart, conspiracy to evade the oaths of allegiance, and the insubordination of the brothers and working to drive them out, curb them, and put them under captivity? al-Zawahiri said, addressing HTS leaders in the message, which was published by al-Qaidas media propaganda al-Sahab Foundation on Tuesday. HTS, originally called al-Nusra Front, rebranded itself last year and later merged with several smaller rebel factions into a new alliance. A report by the Institute for the Study of War last week claimed that the group has exploited the international communitys focus on annihilating the Islamic State to significantly increase its influence in southern Syria, consolidating control over most of the northwestern province of Idlib. Al-Zawahiri said he did not approve the HTS departure from al-Qaida. He described as a fatal mistake offers by the HTS leaders to keep their loyalty to him secret in order to avoid a U.S.-led military campaign. In August, Michael Ratney, the top U.S. State Department official in charge of Syria policy, said Nusra and its leaders would be targets for Washington even if they rebranded and adopted new names in an effort to escape U.S. and other countries military campaign against terrorism in the region. Global jihad vs. nationalism Al-Zawahiri suggested the HTS leaders were attempting to abandon global jihad and turn to a nationalist agenda. He denounced them for starting a campaign of rounding up senior al-Qaida leaders, particularly foreign fighters and their families, to appease the U.S. O brothers, we havent forced you, pressured you, threatened you with a sharp knife or a shattering bullet, al-Zawahiri said while describing the desperate state of al-Qaida loyalists under the HTS. If this is our situation, filled with fear and disturbance, during this critical phase, then what will we do to each other when we prevail? On Monday, Syrian local media reported that HTS started a large-scale arrest campaign against people with alleged ties to al-Qaida. A day later, HTS released a statement confirming the detention of several senior jihadists, including Sami al-Oraydi and Abu Juleibib al-Urduni, both of whom have been vocal in criticizing HTS for severing ties with al-Qaida. HTS officials said detained jihadists were leaders of dissension who were spreading specious arguments, adding that they would be put before a Sharia court. Increasing tensions In a response statement, which surfaced Thursday on Telegram, a top HTS leader, Abdul Rahim Atun, defended the arrests as being focused only on those who meant harm for the Syrian Islamist group. We have not treated those who follow al-Qaida but with good, Atun said, addressing al-Zawahiri. But there must be a distinction between those who work for jihad, regardless of what group they are affiliated with, and those who seek to destroy the [HTS] in the name of loyalty to al-Qaida to vent their psychological crises. Atun said the HTS rebranding and break off from al-Qaida was not done to appeal to the West but was an attempt to reunite with local rebel groups and achieve efficiency in decision-making. Experts charge the arrest campaign of the al-Qaida loyalists by HTS leadership and their public shaming by al-Zawahiri signals that the relationship between them has reached a point of no return. (Al-)Zawahiri said that he has been trying for more than a year to resolve the issue with HTS internally and privately, but this did not work out; so he had to call them out in public, Hassan Hassan, a Middle East expert at Tahrir Institute in Washington, told VOA. Hassan said the tensions show that al-Zawahiri is disappointed with the HTS and is pleading for his followers to possibly reorganize into a new group. Hassan added the disengagement with al-Qaida has helped HTS gain more effectiveness in the Syrian war scene. Ayman al-Zawahiri is now hiding somewhere between Afghanistan and Pakistan, and he expects people to wait for his letters that usually take months to reach them. And then a response from them to reach al-Zawahiri will take other months. This will not work. These groups need to make day-to-day decisions, Hassan added. But their parting of ways will ultimately not spare HTS from being targeted by the U.S., Hassan emphasized. HTS will not be attacked now, although it will be dealt with eventually as a jihadist organization. The U.S. will not remove its designation as a terrorist group, Hassan said. Airlines canceled more flights leaving the Indonesian island of Bali on Saturday, citing forecasts of deteriorating flying conditions because of a risk of volcanic ash from the erupting Mount Agung volcano. A Bali airport spokesman said the airport was operating normally, but airlines such as Jetstar and Virgin Australia had opted to cancel some flights. Bali flying conditions expected to be clear throughout the day, but forecast for tonight has deteriorated so several flights have been canceled, Australian budget airline Jetstar said on its Twitter account Saturday. Thousands stranded The erupting volcano had closed the airport for much of this week, stranding thousands of visitors from Australia, China and other countries, before the winds changed and flights resumed. Twenty flights were canceled Friday evening because of concerns over ash. Some airlines, including Malaysias AirAsia, have said they would only operate out of Bali during the day, because the ash could impair visibility at night and wind conditions in the area were unpredictable. Airlines avoid flying through volcanic ash because it can damage aircraft engines, clogging fuel and cooling systems, hampering pilot visibility and even causing engine failure. There are also concerns over changing weather conditions with a tropical cyclone south of Java island affecting weather and wind in the area, including for Bali, the Indonesian Meteorological, Climatological and Geophysics agency said. Consulates offer aid Several foreign consulates have set up booths in the international departures area to assist stranded passengers. Subrata Sarkar, Indias vice consul in Bali, told Reuters at the airports international departure area that they had helped around 500 passengers so far this week. We have advised citizens the volcano may erupt. We never say please dont come. But we have issued travel advisories. If its urgent business, then OK, but if its only tourism, then plans should be reconsidered, Sarkar said. Voters on the French Mediterranean island of Corsica head to the polls Sunday for the first round of territorial elections, with a nationalist ticket projected to score big. The campaign might not have attracted much attention but for the Spanish region of Catalonia, where independence aspirations have grabbed world headlines and turned attention to other autonomy-minded regions. Candidates from seven political lists will be on Sunday's ballot. But the main nationalist ticket, Pe a Corsica (For Corsica), is surging. The elections aim to fuse Corsica's two administrative territories into one, but they're about much more than bureaucracy. They're expected to solidify the power of Corsica executive council head Gilles Simeoni and other nationalists, who won elections in 2015 for the first time, refueling centuries-old independence dreams at least for some Corsicans. Catalonia's example has given them another reason to hope. The big question, said University of Bordeaux Corsica expert Thierry Dominici, is not whether the nationalists will win, but by how much. Dominici said Pe a Corsica supporters hope to win the majority of votes during Sunday's first round, making a second-round runoff unnecessary. They could then compare themselves to Catalonia and demand more autonomy from France, or even at some point a referendum on full independence. Dominici and many other experts think such dreams are unrealistic. Besides sharing strong cultural identities, including languages, rich and teeming Catalonia and relatively poor and sparsely populated Corsica have little in common. French subsidies "Corsica receives a lot of subsidies from the French government, and Corsica is a special situation concerning taxes," said political analyst Philippe Moreau Defarges. "And many Corsicans don't want to lose that." He also noted that Corsica's main economic lifeline, tourism, is highly dependent on mainland France. Sunday's elections do underscore a major shift in Corsican politics. A decades-long armed independence struggle formally ended in 2014, although it lost credibility much earlier. A year later, a mix of pro-independence politicians opposed to armed violence and more moderate autonomists won regional elections, toppling the island's traditional clannish power structure. So far, Dominici said, the nationalists have gotten good reviews. He described council head Simeoni, a moderate nationalist, as a local variation of French President Emmanuel Macron, who exploded traditional French party politics with his own election this year. Macron and his government have been strikingly silent about the Corsica vote and nationalist demands for more autonomy over such matters as taxes and education. Moreau Defarges said Paris wants to lie low for now. France wants "to preserve French unity, the territorial integrity of France," he said. But if Pe a Corsica scores a major victory in the polls, the Macron government will be pressured to respond. 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 U.S. 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 GarcAa 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, GarcAa 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. 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. The cyanide caused heart failure, which investigators "pointed out" as Praljak's "suspected cause of death," according to the prosecutor's statement. On Wednesday, Praljak, 72, 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. 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 Dutch prosecutors' investigation of Praljak's death. 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 smuggled it into the courtroom. The tribunal's review will begin next week and will be led by Hassan Jallow, a former prosecutor with the U.N.'s Rwanda war crimes tribunal. It aims to file a report by December 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 was not the first time such a probe had 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. 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 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 attorney, Nika Pinter, told Croatia's Nova TV she did not know how Praljak got 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." The U.S. Justice Department has filed an amended arrest warrant for Jose Ines Garcia Zarate, the undocumented Mexican immigrant found not guilty Thursday of murdering a San Francisco woman, in a case highlighted by President Donald Trump in his crackdown on illegal immigrants. U.S. prosecutors on Friday announced Garcia Zarates conviction on a lesser charge, felon in possession of a firearm, meaning he had violated the terms of his supervised release from prison after nearly four years in custody. Garcia Zarates arrest warrant says he violated his release agreement by possessing the gun that killed Kate Steinle on a San Francisco pier two years ago. A San Francisco Superior Court jury on Thursday acquitted Garcia Zarate of first-degree murder and manslaughter charges, but convicted him of weapons possession. Garcia Zarate had been deported five times and was set to be sent back to Mexico a sixth time when the shooting took place. He had also been in federal prison for illegally entering the U.S. With both the arrest warrant from federal prosecutors and a pending sentencing from San Francisco Superior Court, it is not clear which jurisdiction will take precedence. Garcia Zarate shot and killed Steinle as she was walking across a pier with her father and Garcia Zatare was sitting on a nearby bench. Prosecutors argued he was playing with a gun, twirling it around his finger, and deliberately fired it intending to hurt anyone passing by. The defense said the shooting was accidental. It said Garcia Zarate found the weapon wrapped in a cloth under the bench and that it went off when he picked it up. The lawyers cited testimony from a ballistics expert who said the bullet ricocheted off the ground and hit Steinle in the back. The gun had been stolen out of the car of a federal Bureau of Land Management ranger. Prosecutors have not challenged the notion that Garcia Zarate had nothing to do with the theft. As a presidential candidate and after he was elected, Trump repeatedly pointed to Steinles killing by an illegal immigrant. He used the crime as an argument for building a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border and also for signing an executive order denying federal funds to sanctuary cities. Authorities in sanctuary cities refuse to enforce federal immigration laws that could result in deportation. San Francisco is one such city. A federal judge recently ruled in favor of San Francisco County in its suit against Trumps executive order. The administration has appealed. President Donald Trump's former national security advisor, retired General Michael Flynn, pleaded guilty Friday to charges of lying to the FBI in connection with the ongoing probe into Russian meddling in the 2016 U.S. presidential election. Flynn has become the first former Trump White House official to face charges and admit guilt in connection with the investigation led by special counsel Robert Mueller. VOA National correspondent Jim Malone has details from Washington. A former National Security Agency employee who worked in its elite hacking unit pleaded guilty on Friday to illegally taking classified information outside the spy agency, the U.S. Justice Department said. Nghia Hoang Pho, 67, retained U.S. government documents containing top-secret national defense information between 2010 and March 2015, according to a plea agreement. Pho faces up to 10 years in prison. He is not being held by authorities as he awaits his sentencing, which is scheduled for April 6, 2018, in U.S. District Court in Baltimore. Pho is at least the third NSA employee or contractor to be charged within the past two years on counts of improperly taking classified information from the agency, breaches that have prompted criticism of the secretive NSA. Contractor hoarded information A federal grand jury indicted former NSA contractor Harold Martin in February on charges alleging he spent up to 20 years stealing up to 50 terabytes of highly sensitive government material from the U.S. intelligence community, which were hoarded at his home. In June another NSA contractor, Reality Winner, 25, was charged with leaking classified material about Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. presidential election to a news outlet. She pleaded not guilty. And in 2013, former contractor Edward Snowden pilfered secrets about NSA's surveillance programs and shared them with journalists. He now lives in Moscow. Pho took both physical and digital documents that contained "highly classified information of the United States," including information labeled as "top secret," according to court records unsealed Friday. Pho was aware the documents contained sensitive information and kept them at his residence in Maryland, the records said. No comment from US agencies Asked for comment, Pho's attorney, Robert Bonsib, said, "Any conversations regarding this case will be made in the courtroom during the sentencing." He declined to comment further. Officials at the NSA and other U.S. intelligence agencies did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The NSA, whose main mission is gathering and analyzing foreign communications for potential security threats, is based at Fort Meade, Maryland. Source: Xinhua| 2017-12-02 18:23:39|Editor: Yang Yi Video Player Close BEIJING, Dec. 2 (Xinhua) -- China's Ministry of Commerce (MOC) Saturday expressed strong dissatisfaction with the U.S. opposition to granting it market economy status in the World Trade Organization (WTO). "China is strongly dissatisfied and resolutely opposes U.S. rejection to giving China market economy status in the WTO," the MOC said in a statement. The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative told Xinhua Friday that the United States had submitted the statement of opposition to the WTO as a third-party brief in support of the European Union (EU). The U.S. submission came against the backdrop of the expiry in December 2016 of the Article 15 of the Protocol on China's accession to the WTO, which allowed the EU to regard China as a Non-Market Economy and use a "surrogate country approach" in its anti-dumping investigations against China. Former Yemeni president Ali Abdullah Saleh officially broke with his Houthi militia allies, calling on his supporters to rise up against them across the country. Arab media is reporting that the former president's supporters have gained control of key government installations in the capital, including the defense ministry, the interior ministry and Sana'a Airport. In a televised interview, Salah also called for resuming relations with Saudi Arabia, if the Saudi-led coalition lifts its blockade of Yemeni ports and air facilities. The former Yemeni president's break with the Houthis came after five days of bitter clashes around the capital, Sana'a, between his supporters and those of the Iranian-backed Houthi militia. In a televised address, Saleh called for new relations with the Saudi-led coalition, which he and the Houthis have been battling for almost three years (since March 2015). He says a new page must be opened in relations (with Saudi Arabia) and neighborly ties restored, putting an end to all (the animosity) that has taken place and that amicable relations can resume once there is a cease-fire (with the Saudi-led coalition) and their blockade of Yemeni ports and airports is lifted. Saleh went on to denounce the Houthi militia, which he accuses of being responsible for the humanitarian disaster inside the country, and he insisted that the Yemeni people are standing up for themselves to get rid of them. He says that the Yemeni people in Sana'a and in all the provinces have carried out an uprising against the aggression (of the Houthis) toward the nation in the three years after (President Abdrabbu Mansour Hadi) Hadi fled the country, during which time salaries have not been paid, food, water and medicine have become scarce, insecurity has reigned, and children have been drafted to fight. He told Yemenis all across the country that if they support him, "to defend the nation, the republic and the revolution." For his part, Houthi leader Abdel Malek al-Houthi called on Saleh to end what he called "the sectarian strife" that he has instigated, and threatened to take action against his supporters militarily if he does not. He says it is in the interest of the nation to put an end to the strife, and he is urging Saleh to be wise and to cooperate with all efforts to end the strife. Otherwise, he says that the government must impose security in tandem with the people, if the militias (supporting Saleh) don't put down their arms. Rajah Badie, spokesman for the internationally recognized Yemeni government in exile in Riyadh, told Saudi-owned al-Arabiya TV that his forces "call on all Yemenis to support the uprising (being led by Saleh)," and that the uprising "spells the end of Iranian meddling in the country." Khattar Abou Diab, who teaches political science at the University of Paris, tells VOA that former president Saleh has a "strong political instinct" and that he made his move against the Houthis at a time when the situation on the ground is favorable. Diab says the Saudi-coalition forces are not too far from the capital, and the Houthis have become widely despised due to shortages of food, water, medicine and money. He also points up that Saleh's move represents a turning point in the situation inside the country, in which the tables have been turned against the Houthis, and the situation has returned to the status-quo prior to Sept. 2014, when the Houthis seized chunks of the capital from former president Hadi. Former president Saleh and the Yemeni military fought the Houthi rebels five times from 2005 to 2014, before becoming allies after the Saudi-led coalition took military action in March 2015 to restore President Hadi to power, who had been ousted and imprisoned by the Houthis. Republicans pushed a nearly $1.5 trillion tax bill through the Senate early Saturday after 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 bills 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. Senate approval came on a 51-49 roll call with Sen. Bob Corker, R-Tenn., the only lawmaker to cross party lines. 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. Corker balks at debt increase 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 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 deride gift to wealthy Democrats derided the bill as a GOP gift to its wealthy and business backers at the expense of lower-earning people. 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. Congress nonpartisan Joint Committee on Taxation has said the bills 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 dont read this kind of legislation, Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., told home-state reporters, asked why the Senate was approving a bill some senators hadnt 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. Tax panel: $1 trillion added to debt 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 Wisconsins 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 chambers 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 bills 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. Deal on DACA? Sen. Jeff Flake, R-Ariz., who like Corker had been a holdout and has sharply attacked Trumps capabilities as president, voted for the bill. He said hed 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 nations 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. Greece's finance minister said Saturday that an agreement had been reached between the heavily indebted country and its creditors on its progress in implementing reforms. The agreement on the so-called Third Assessment of Greece's latest bailout program will allow Greece to receive fresh funds next year, after implementing workplace reforms, speeding up the settlement of bad loans, tightening up rules for family subsidies and selling off state-owned power plants. European monetary affairs commissioner Pierre Moscovici also announced that a "staff-level agreement'' had been reached, meaning that although creditor representatives were involved, the European Union's finance ministers must approve the agreement, which they are expected to do Monday. Finance minister Euclid Tsakalotos said Greece would have to vote on at least two major bills by January 22 to implement the agreement. Honduras has suspended some constitutional rights and imposed a 10-day curfew, from 6 p.m. to 6 a.m., in an effort to give security forces whatever powers they may need to control protests that have sprung up after last Sundays disputed presidential election. The suspension of constitutional guarantees was approved so that the armed forces and the national police can contain this wave of violence that has engulfed the country, said Ebal Diaz, an official with the council of ministers. Incumbent President Juan Orlando Hernandez said, The curfew is to safeguard the security of the country. Hernandez is the first Honduran president to run for a second term, following the Supreme Courts decision to lift the ban on re-election. A second day of protests roiled Honduras Friday as the countrys electoral court began hand-counting votes showing inconsistencies from Sundays presidential election. Supporters of Salvador Nasralla, center-left candidate for the Opposition Alliance Against the Dictatorship, on Friday trucked in tires and rocks to block streets in the capital city of Tegucigalpa, Reuters news agency reported. Security forces stood guard around the presidential palace, home to Juan Orlando Hernandez, the U.S.-backed incumbent who heads the conservative National Party. Authorities reported at least one protester died in unrest triggered by the unfinished count, now in its fifth day. Citing police sources, Reuters reported Friday that a man had been shot dead at a protest in the Caribbean port city of La Ceiba. Roughly a dozen members of the military and police were injured in demonstrations in Tegucigalpa, where the Hospital Escuela reported treating 10 injured protesters, Reuters added. In the northwest city of San Pedro Sula, protesters looted several businesses and set a bank on fire, the Associated Press reported, citing local press. Vote recount Hernandez led rival Nasralla by more than 46,000 votes as of late Thursday. Early polling had predicted Hernandez would win handily, but with half the votes counted, Nasralla surprisingly had pulled ahead with a five-point lead before an interruption in the count Monday. When Hernandez pulled head, Nasrallas backers claimed fraud in the vote count. The electoral courts leader, David Matamoros, blamed the delayed results on computer failure. Late Thursday, he said nearly 95 percent of the votes had been counted. He also said that the hand count would be done under the scrutiny of both political parties representatives. The Organization of American States, appealing for calm, has urged Honduras electoral commission to process all ballots. Some observers fear Honduras could experience the kind of turmoil that followed the 2009 coup of President Manuel Zelaya. It looks like the stage is set for Juan Orlando [Hernandez] to be declared the winner, and the opposition is not going to take it, Juan Carlos Hidalgo, a Latin America policy analyst for the Washington-based think tank Cato Institute, told VOA on Friday. He and Mark L. Schneider, a senior adviser with the Center for Strategic & International Studies Americas program, were at VOAs Washington headquarters Friday as panelists for the Spanish Services weekly public affairs program, Foro Interamericano. Theres a fertile ground for the rejection of the existing government of Juan Orlando and a belief from the beginning that thered be fraud in the election, Schneider observed. Schneider noted frustrating conditions -- poverty, inequality and corruption -- for most of the countrys 9 million residents. More than two-thirds live in poverty, according to the World Bank. Access to services, access to education, decent housing, decent health care [dont] exist for the vast majority of Hondurans, Schneider said. There is a major concern, too, about increasing authoritarianism and concentration of power in the hands of Juan Orlando, Hidalgo said. Presidential terms Hernandez, elected in late 2014 to a four-year term, had contested Honduras constitutional ban on presidents seeking a second term, Hidalgo pointed out. He also noted that Hernandez had been speaker of the National Assembly when it ousted four Constitutional Court justices in late 2012 for voting down several government plans; with the judges replacements, the court in 2015 approved a presidents right to seek re-election. The Constitutional Court previously had ruled that Zelaya had taken treasonous action by seeking a referendum on whether to revise the constitution, Schneider noted. Now, Zelaya is the political strategist for the Opposition Alliance supporting Nasralla. The U.S. government, in a State Department tweet earlier this week, said it looks forward to working with the democratically elected leaders of Honduras. Analysts Schneider and Hidalgo point out the United States has a big stake in Honduras stability. The U.S. has spent millions, through initiatives such as the Millennium Challenge Corp. on aid and to promote government transparency and accountability there. The Central American countrys poverty and violence has fueled migration to the United States, some of it illegal. Separately, U.S. Homeland Security is weighing whether to extend a humanitarian program, Temporary Protected Status, for roughly 57,000 displaced Honduran immigrants. Given the elections uncertainty, Schneider said, Honduras is a real question. Kosovo's Prime Minister Ramush Haradinaj was removed from an international arrest warrant issued by Serbia, lifting an obstacle to him traveling outside the country, the justice minister said on Friday. Early this year Ramush Haradinaj, a former Kosovar guerilla leader who in September took over as prime minister, was arrested in France on an arrest warrant issued by Serbia. He was released after a French court rejected Belgrade's extradition request. Despite many attempts by Pristina, Belgrade refused to remove his name from the Interpol red notice. "Today I was informed that Interpol has removed 18 people from Kosovo that are wanted by Serbia and this list includes also the prime minister," Abelard Tahiri, Kosovo's Justice Minister told Reuters. "After today's decision all these individuals are free to travel outside the country without any problem." Haradinaj and others are wanted by Serbia for allegedly committing war crimes. Serbia has charged Haradinaj with murdering Serbs in the late 1990s war. The 1998-99 conflict ended after NATO bombed the now-defunct Yugoslavia, then comprising Serbia and Montenegro, for 78 days to force a withdrawal of its troops from Kosovo and end a counter-insurgency campaign against ethnic Albanians. Haradinaj, who has twice been tried and acquitted by the United Nations war crimes tribunal in the Hague, denies any wrongdoing. Kosovo declared independence in 2008 but Serbia refused to recognize its former breakaway province. Residents of Kurdish areas in northern Syria have voted in local elections, selecting representatives they hope will help boost their political power in a quest for regional autonomy. About 5,700 candidates vied for seats in municipal councils, in the second of a three-stage plan to establish a Kurdish federal system of government in northern Syria. The first election, held in September, selected members of community-level governing bodies. The third, set for January, will be for representatives to an assembly that will act as a parliament for a federal system of government in northern Syria. No voter turnout numbers have been released, so at present it is unclear how many potential voters may have stayed home. It is also unclear whether the vote has been successful in its stated bid to include the Arab minority in the region. U.S. and Russian observers monitored the vote, in an effort to ensure the proceedings were free, fair and transparent. Syrian Kurdish groups insist they want autonomy as part of a decentralized Syria, and not the independent status sought by their Kurdish peers in northern Iraq in a September referendum. But the vote is seen as a threat by the Syrian government and by Turkey, which argues that the Syrian Kurds are closely linked to the Kurdish PKK group in Turkey, which Ankara has deemed illegal. VOA's Zana Omer contributed to this report. U.S. defense chief Jim Mattis met with Egypt's President Abdul Fattah el-Sissi in Cairo, ahead of a counter-extremism conference focused on West Africa on Sunday. During the meeting, Secretary Mattis offered condolences for the recent terrorist attack on a mosque in Bir al-Abed, Egypt, and recognized Egypt as a strategic defense partner with the United States. Mattis noted Egypt's importance to the stability of the Middle East as well as Egypt's ongoing fight against terrorism and efforts to protect Egypt's borders. A report on the meeting said the two leaders discussed a range of Middle East security issues and talked about a mutual desire to cooperate on terrorism and regional challenges. Earlier, on the flight to Cairo, Mattis told reporters that counterterrorism cooperation with Egypt is growing. He said the U.S. remains committed to strong ties with Cairo, despite freezing some military aid to Egypt over rights concerns earlier this year. Cairo was the first stop on a four-nation tour that also includes Jordan, Kuwait, and Pakistan. The trip comes as the U.S. military shifts its focus in the Middle East, after having driven out the Islamic State militant group from its self-declared caliphate in Iraq and Syria. A major focus of the trip will be pressuring Pakistan to end its alleged ties to militant groups that have attacked U.S. and coalition forces 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. In October, Mattis said the United States would try one more time to work with Islamabad before taking whatever steps are necessary to address its alleged support for the militants. Egypt and terrorism Egypt last week suffered what officials called the deadliest terror attack in the country's modern history, when 25-30 militants carrying Islamic State flags killed over 300 worshippers at a mosque frequented by Sufi Muslim worshippers. Mattis said he will deliver his condolences for the attack, which occurred in the restive Sinai Peninsula. We are working closely with Egypt on how they can best defeat this common threat, Mattis said, adding that U.S.-Egypt counterterror cooperation has grown during his time as defense chief. Egypt aid cuts But earlier this year, the Trump administration denied Egypt $96 million in aid and delayed a further $195 million over human rights concerns. Egyptian officials called the move a misjudgment. The United States gives Egypt approximately $1.3 billion in military aid every year. Trump has since said he would consider reinstating the full aid. Mattis did not say whether he would discuss reinstating the assistance during his visit to Cairo. The Sinai attack could help justify that decision, said Timothy Kaldas, who specializes in U.S.-Egypt relations at the Tahrir Institute for Middle East Policy. But, he warned, Egypt's rights record has not progressed since the aid suspension was announced. "Moreover, there are no indications from the government, nor legislation under consideration that suggests the rights situation will improve in the near future," he added. President Sissi has vowed to use "all brute force" necessary to respond to the Sinai attackers, and to secure the restive Sinai within the next three months. Since 2011 the militant group Sinai Province has been active in North Sinai, a remote desert region that borders the Gaza Strip. It has carried out several deadly attacks against police, soldiers, and Coptic Christians. Securing the area has proven problematic for Sissi. Egypt's military launched a large-scale military campaign against militants in September 2015. But, as evidenced by last week's attack, its effectiveness has been questionable. Rights groups have also accused Egypts military of carrying out extrajudicial killings and torture. Pakistan Perhaps the highest-profile portion of the trip will occur in Pakistan, where Mattis is expected to try to persuade Islamabad to destroy what the U.S. calls terrorist safe havens. The U.S. has for a decade accused Pakistan of sheltering terrorists, including the Afghan Taliban. Pakistan denies sheltering the militants, and the issue has served as a major irritant to bilateral ties. The dispute has a direct impact on Afghanistan, where U.S. generals acknowledge the NATO coalition remains in a stalemate with Taliban insurgents after 16 years of war. Thousands more U.S. troops are headed to Afghanistan, along with an increase in U.S. airpower, as part of a new White House strategy announced in August. U.S. officials have said Pakistan has not changed its behavior since President Donald Trumps speech, in which he called out Pakistan for continuing to "harbor criminals and terrorists." They have had many of their innocent people killed, they've had many of their soldiers killed and wounded, Mattis says. The bottom line is Pakistan has to act in its own best interest. They know this. In response, the Trump administration is considering measures that include expanding U.S. drone strikes in Pakistan or downgrading the country's status as a major non-NATO ally, according to media reports. Other more severe options include declaring Pakistan a state sponsor of terrorism or sanctioning individual Pakistani leaders suspected of having ties with the Taliban. But the Trump administration is not likely to take any kind of punitive action for at least a few weeks, said Michael Kugelman, a South Asia analyst with the Woodrow Wilson Center. "I think it (the administration) wants to give the Pakistanis a bit more time to see if they're responding to the various demands that the United States made of them when it comes to cracking down on terrorists," said Kugelman. One of the likelier U.S. responses, according to Kugelman, is expanding not only the geographic scope of the drone war, but also widening the type of targets the United States goes after. "I think we could start seeing the U.S. trying to target more Haqqani Network and Afghan Taliban targets," especially in the sparsely populated Baluchistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa provinces, he said. The United States has much to lose if ties were to deteriorate. Pakistan controls U.S. military supply routes to landlocked Afghanistan, and could close them down, as they did in 2011. The U.S. would also like Pakistan to scale back its nuclear modernization, improve ties with India, and stay engaged in the broader fight against Islamic militants. But despite the risks, Michael O'Hanlon, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, warns that Washington appears to be running out of patience. "For many years we were trying to hold out hope that the Pakistanis would change their mind about Afghanistan and our role there," he said. "But those kinds of hopes aren't as prevalent anymore. And on balance, therefore, I think we are closer to using some of those tougher methods." The U.S. military is shifting its stance in Syria, Defense Secretary Jim Mattis said Friday, as the program to arm the Kurdish opposition comes to a close and is replaced by increased support to local police and security forces. Mattis said the Pentagon is changing the composition of our forces in Syria to reflect the collapse of the Islamic State group there and a renewed emphasis on finding a diplomatic path to peace. Speaking to reporters on his plane at the start of a five-day trip to the Middle East, Mattis said the shift in American forces will support the diplomatic process. His comments came on the heels of the announcement last week that the U.S. would stop actively providing arms to Syrian Kurds, known as the YPG. Officials have acknowledged that the U.S. will likely begin taking back large military vehicles and heavy weapons from the Kurds, now that major combat operations to retake Raqqa from the Islamic State group are over. Its not clear, however, whether the move to provide arms has completely stopped already, or is in the process of ending. As part of the changing U.S. military role, an artillery unit of about 400 Marines is leaving Syria this week, taking their howitzers with them. Their exodus still leaves well more than 1,000 U.S. troops in the country. Although the Pentagon will only publicly acknowledge about 500 U.S. forces in Syria, there were at least 1,700 there throughout much of the year as the battle for Raqqa raged on. The YPG is armed and as the coalition stops operations, then obviously you dont need that, you need security forces, you need police forces, said Mattis. That's local forces, thats people who make certain that ISIS doesnt come back. The U.S. program to arm the Kurds has been a sharply divisive issue with Turkey, which views them as terrorists because of their affiliation to outlawed Kurdish rebels who have waged a three decade-long insurgency in Turkey. U.S. commanders have consistently argued that the battle-hardened Kurds were the most effective fighting force available. In a phone call last week with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, President Donald Trump said hed given clear instructions that the Kurds will receive no more weapons, according to Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu. The White House confirmed the move in a cryptic statement about the phone call that said Trump had informed the Turk of pending adjustments to the military support provided to our partners on the ground in Syria. U.S. officials have been careful in their description of what exactly is happening, leaving open the possibility that some weapons, such as smaller arms, will remain with the Kurdish fighters in case IS tries to make a comeback. Japan's foreign minister is to preside over a meeting of the U.N. Security Council on December 15, to discuss North Korea's nuclear program, his nation's U.N. ambassador said Friday. "This is definitely a very, very strong threat to the security and safety of Japan," Ambassador Koro Bessho told a news conference marking the beginning of Japan's month-long presidency of the Security Council. "I think the awareness of the international community concerning this question has been heightened very much, and we are, as a council, working toward the peaceful way of putting pressure on North Korea so that they would change their policy," he told reporters. He said foreign minister Taro Kono would preside over the meeting, and several other ministers have indicated that they would attend. It was not clear if U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson would be among them. This week, media speculation resurfaced that he may soon be forced from his job, although President Donald Trump dismissed it on Twitter as "fake news." U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley is a member of Trump's Cabinet, putting her position at minister level. Rising threat At an emergency meeting of the council Wednesday following Pyongyang's launch of an intercontinental ballistic missile, Haley warned that should war break out, "the North Korean regime will be utterly destroyed." Haley also called on U.N. member states to cut ties with Pyongyang and urged a full oil embargo to cut off one of the country's most important and final lifelines. "I am grateful for what the Security Council has been doing in the last year and a half, but we certainly need to do more," Bessho said Friday. He said the last resolution, adopted in late September, is "very robust" and he hopes all member states will "faithfully implement" it. That resolution imposed tough economic sanctions aimed at cutting off financial and fuel lifelines to North Korea's nuclear and ballistic missile programs. Among the measures was a one-third cut of Pyongyang's oil imports, as well as drastic reductions to the amount of gas, diesel and heavy fuel oil it could import. Bessho said Japan is talking with its friends and partners about the best strategy to get North Korea to change its nuclear policy. "The Security Council is just one arena that may be useful," Bessho said. "But it is a whole strategy we need to talk about." North Korea has ramped up its nuclear and ballistic missile tests this year. A Peruvian prosecutor asked a judge to jail executives of three local construction companies that had previously partnered with Brazilian builder Odebrecht, which has admitted to paying bribes in the country, chief prosecutor Pablo Sanchez said on Friday. Prosecutors started investigating the five executives of Grana y Montero, JJC Contratistas Generales and Ingenieros Civiles y Contratistas Generales (ICCGSA) earlier this week. The five are accused of paying bribes to win a highway construction contract in southern Peru along with Odebrecht. Peru has aggressively investigated bribery allegations linked to scandal-plagued Odebrecht and former President Ollanta Humala was jailed earlier this year following accusations he took illegal campaign donations from the firm. Prosecutor Hamilton Castro made the jail request this morning, Sanchez told reporters at a business conference in Paracas, south of Lima. ICCGSA said in a statement none of its shareholders or employees had knowledge of the alleged acts of corruption and said it was willing to collaborate with investigators. Grana y Montero and JJC Contratistas Generales did not immediately respond to request for comment. Last month, prosecutors said they were investigating Grana for alleged involvement in bribes that Odebrecht has admitted paying to local officials in exchange for lucrative contracts. Grana's shares in Lima have fallen more than 60 percent this year on concerns over the probe. Shares were down 5.6 percent at 1.84 soles ($0.5690) per share on Friday afternoon. The company has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing and said an internal probe turned up no evidence that its employees knew about or took part in the bribes. It has said it is willing to cooperate with the investigation. ($1 = 3.2337 soles) Source: Xinhua| 2017-12-02 18:57:06|Editor: Yang Yi Video Player Close An artist makes Tangka painting in a Tangka shop near Porgor Street of Lhasa, capital of southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region, Nov. 29, 2017. Tangka, a style of Tibetan art that involves painting on embroidery, has been liked by tourists thanks to a thriving development of tourism in Tibet region, where over 2,000 Tangka artists can create about 1,000 pieces of Tangka paintings every year. (Xinhua/Jigme Dorje) Pope Francis talked to a group of Bangladeshi priests and nuns about the "terrorism of gossip" and how it can destroy religious communities on Saturday, before returning to the Vatican. The leader of the world's Roman Catholics spoke from his heart to the crowd at Dhaka's Holy Rosary Church. He abandoned the speech he had prepared and instead gave a spontaneous 15-minute address about the highs and lows of living in a religious community. In the laughter-filled monologue, he urged his audience to tend to their religious vocations "with tenderness" and warned them about the havoc gossip "bombs" can wreak when detonated in a closed religious life. Francis said he was speaking from personal experience and urged the nuns and priests to "Please, bite your tongue" which means to consider your words carefully before speaking. Pope Francis asked for forgiveness from Rohingya Muslim refugees for all of their suffering Friday, using the politically sensitive term "Rohingya" to describe the persecuted - a term he had not uttered during his trip that began in Myanmar. "The presence of God today is also called Rohingya," he said after meeting refugees brought to the Bangladeshi capital of Dhaka from Cox's Bazaar, where hundreds of thousands of Rohingya refugees have settled after fleeing violence in Myanmar's Rakhine state. The pontiff blessed the Rohingya refugees during an emotional meeting in which he held their hands and listened to their stories. Earlier Friday, Pope Francis ordained 16 priests at a huge outdoor Mass in the Bangladeshi capital. An estimated 100,000 people attended the Mass in Dhaka's Suhrawardy Udyan Park. Before visiting Bangladesh, the pontiff spent four days in neighboring Myanmar, where he had been criticized by human rights activists for not specifically mentioning the Rohingya. The Rohingya are a minority ethnic group that has been denied basic rights for decades in the majority Buddhist-majority Myanmar, which views them as immigrants from Bangladesh, despite the fact that many families have lived in Myanmar for generations. Their situation has worsened since August, when the military launched a scorched earth campaign against Rohingya villages in northern Rakhine state in response to attacks on Myanmar police outposts on Rohingya militants. The campaign, including reports of mass rapes and indiscriminate killings, triggered a mass exodus of more than 620,000 Rohingya into Bangladesh, which the United Nations has described as "a textbook example of ethnic cleansing." The pope has denounced the treatment of the Rohingya in previous public remarks, but his advisers counseled him not to speak about the issue while in Myanmar, for fear of a backlash against the 650,000 Catholics in the country. Myanmar Bishop John Hsane Hgyi went even further Wednesday, casting doubt about the reported atrocities against the Rohingya, and urging critics of the Myanmar government to go to the scene "to study the reality and history" of the issue and learn the truth. Vatican spokesman Greg Burke said Wednesday that Pope Francis has not lost his "moral authority" on the issue, and suggested he may have been far more direct during his private talks with de facto leader Aung San Suu Kyi and powerful military chief Min Aung Hlaing. A second day of protests roiled Honduras Friday as the countrys electoral court began hand-counting votes showing inconsistencies from Sundays presidential election. Supporters of Salvador Nasralla, center-left candidate for the Opposition Alliance Against the Dictatorship, on Friday trucked in tires and rocks to block streets in the capital city of Tegucigalpa, Reuters news agency reported. Security forces stood guard around the presidential palace, home to Juan Orlando Hernandez, the U.S.-backed incumbent who heads the conservative National Party. Authorities reported at least one protester died in unrest triggered by the unfinished count, now in its fifth day. Citing police sources, Reuters reported Friday that a man had been shot dead at a protest in the Caribbean port city of La Ceiba. Roughly a dozen members of the military and police were injured in demonstrations in Tegucigalpa, where the Hospital Escuela reported treating 10 injured protesters, Reuters added. In the northwest city of San Pedro Sula, protesters looted several businesses and set a bank on fire, the Associated Press reported, citing local press. Vote recount Hernandez led rival Nasralla by more than 46,000 votes as of late Thursday. Early polling had predicted Hernandez would win handily, but with half the votes counted, Nasralla surprisingly had pulled ahead with a five-point lead before an interruption in the count Monday. When Hernandez pulled head, Nasrallas backers claimed fraud in the vote count. The electoral courts leader, David Matamoros, blamed the delayed results on computer failure. Late Thursday, he said nearly 95 percent of the votes had been counted. He also said that the hand count would be done under the scrutiny of both political parties representatives. The Organization of American States, appealing for calm, has urged Honduras electoral commission to process all ballots. Some observers fear Honduras could experience the kind of turmoil that followed the 2009 coup of President Manuel Zelaya. It looks like the stage is set for Juan Orlando [Hernandez] to be declared the winner, and the opposition is not going to take it, Juan Carlos Hidalgo, a Latin America policy analyst for the Washington-based think tank Cato Institute, told VOA on Friday. He and Mark L. Schneider, a senior adviser with the Center for Strategic & International Studies Americas program, were at VOAs Washington headquarters Friday as panelists for the Spanish Services weekly public affairs program, Foro Interamericano. Theres a fertile ground for the rejection of the existing government of Juan Orlando and a belief from the beginning that thered be fraud in the election, Schneider observed. Schneider noted frustrating conditions poverty, inequality and corruption for most of the countrys 9 million residents. More than two-thirds live in poverty, according to the World Bank. Access to services, access to education, decent housing, decent health care [dont] exist for the vast majority of Hondurans, Schneider said. There is a major concern, too, about increasing authoritarianism and concentration of power in the hands of Juan Orlando, Hidalgo said. Presidential terms Hernandez, elected in late 2014 to a four-year term, had contested Honduras constitutional ban on presidents seeking a second term, Hidalgo pointed out. He also noted that Hernandez had been speaker of the National Assembly when it ousted four Constitutional Court justices in late 2012 for voting down several government plans; with the judges replacements, the court in 2015 approved a presidents right to seek re-election. The Constitutional Court previously had ruled that Zelaya had taken treasonous action by seeking a referendum on whether to revise the constitution, Schneider noted. Now, Zelaya is the political strategist for the Opposition Alliance supporting Nasralla. The U.S. government, in a State Department tweet earlier this week, said it looks forward to working with the democratically elected leaders of Honduras. Analysts Schneider and Hidalgo point out the United States has a big stake in Honduras stability. The U.S. has spent millions, through initiatives such as the Millennium Challenge Corp. on aid and to promote government transparency and accountability there. The Central American countrys poverty and violence has fueled migration to the United States, some of it illegal. Separately, U.S. Homeland Security is weighing whether to extend a humanitarian program Temporary Protected Status, for roughly 57,000 displaced Honduran immigrants. Given the elections uncertainty, Schneider said, Honduras is a real question. An independent review of a white nationalist rally that turned deadly in Charlottesville, Virginia, in August found that local authorities failed to protect public safety. The three-month review by former U.S. Attorney Tim Heaphy found that local law enforcement failed the public in multiple ways, including a lack of preparation, poor coordination with state police, and a passive response to the chaos that unfolded at the rally. The white nationalist rally was a protest against the city's plan to remove a statue of Confederate General Robert E. Lee, who led the South's army in the U.S. Civil War. The rally turned violent almost immediately, with fighting in the streets between protesters and counterdemonstrators before the event even officially began. Heather Heyer, 32, was killed when a car drove into a crowd of counterdemonstrators. "The city was unable to protect the right of free expression and facilitate the permit holder's offensive speech," Heaphy's report said. The report said officers took too timid of an approach when clashes broke out. "Despite clear evidence of violence, police consistently failed to intervene, de-escalate, or otherwise respond. ... These shortcomings contributed to a chaotic series of events that led to violence and death," the report said. Heaphy's report, which was commissioned by Charlottesville officials to address criticism of the response to the violence, said the city wrongly believed it could not ban protesters from carrying clubs and shields. The report also criticized the poor communication of police, saying that local and state police were on different radio channels the day of the rally and were unable to easily talk to each other. Heaphy's team interviewed 150 people and looked over thousands of documents for the report. The report recommended police take different actions in any future protests, including keeping conflicting groups away from each other and responding immediately to any violence. A Charlottesville spokeswoman said the city did not have an immediate response. Local and state police said they are reviewing the report. The U.S. city of San Diego has opened the first of three large tents that together will house 700 homeless people in an effort to contain an outbreak of hepatitis A that is being spread among the homeless population. About 20 people made the tent their temporary home Friday. The first tent erected will house 350 single men and women. The other two tents, which will open later this month, will be for families and veterans. Bob McElroy of the Alpha Project, the nonprofit group that is operating the tent that opened Friday, said he expects the tent to be filled to capacity by the middle of next week. City officials are using the tents as a way to get people off the streets where they have been living in such poor conditions that it has led to one of the worst outbreaks of hepatitis A in years. The disease, which is spread through feces, has left 20 people dead and sent hundreds to the hospital. The new tents will provide a range of services to the homeless, including help with mental health issues, addiction and employment. The tent grounds also include portable showers and toilets. The tents are not the first of their kind in the city. Officials had previously erected two large tents as winter shelters but took them down two years ago and moved the residents to a local shelter. Syrian state television said Syria intercepted at least two Israeli missiles early Saturday that targeted a military position. Israel launched several surface-to-surface missiles, state television said, adding that there were material losses at the site. The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the missiles were probably Israeli and the attack caused loud explosions. Observatory chief Rami Abdel Rahman said it was not immediately clear whether the depot was operated by Syria or by allies Iran or Hezbollah, the Lebanese militant group. Israel has declined to comment. Israel and Syria are still technically at war after Israel seized around 1,200 kilometers of land in the Golan Heights from Syria during the Six Day War of 1967. As U.S. lawmakers grapple with allegations of sexual harassment in their ranks, some senior American diplomats are speaking out about their struggles over the years. Gina Abercrombie-Winstanley, who was U.S. ambassador to Malta from 2012-2016, told her story about serving at the State Department and the White House. "There was one occasion in the department when a boss touched me and I told him if he did it again, I'd knock the s out of him. He did not repeat it, but he did try to get me to curtail from the position," Abercrombie-Winstanley told the Foreign Service Journal, a publication by the American Foreign Service Association. The former U.S. envoy recalled another incident in which she said she was harassed by a senior lawmaker while serving on the White House National Security Council. "Initially, I parried the advance from a senior member of Congress, but when he continued to call me, I reported to the NSC's executive secretary that it was happening, and told him that if I had to do violence to repel it, I would," Abercombie-Winstanley said. "I was letting him know beforehand, I said, because I did not expect to lose my job as a result," she added. "After a moment of shocked silence, he said 'Thanks for letting me know.' And the member stopped calling me." She later told VOA these occasions are an "extremely small part of my professional journey" and declined to either comment further on details or identify the congressman. 'Zero-tolerance' policy In a letter electronically distributed to all American diplomats around the world earlier this year, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said the department upholds a "zero-tolerance" policy regarding discriminatory and sexual harassment. "Effective harassment prevention efforts must start with and involve the highest level possible," Tillerson said in his policy statement. For years, secretaries of state release their statements on diversity and harassment in the workplace at the beginning of their tenure and review annually thereafter. They usually highlight two anti-harassment policies: one prohibiting sexual harassment, the other banning discrimination. Male-dominated circles Still, female ambassadors said they must learn to adjust and handle the challenges involved in working in mainly male-dominated diplomatic circles. "I am frequently the only woman in meetings outside the office with the host country, and when I have control over the guest list, I insist that we include at least 30 percent women, if not more," U.S. Ambassador to Nicaragua Laura Dogu said in the Foreign Service Journal article. Like Ambassador Dogu, former Ambassador to Mongolia Jennifer Zimdahl Galt said she has been the only woman or one of the only women in the room at virtually every meeting throughout her career. The key to working in such an environment, she said, is to be well-prepared and a good listener. "So you can speak authoritatively and there is no question that you are on top of your brief. It's also important to dress professionally, which in my book means wearing a suit at all times," said Galt, who was appointed as principle deputy assistant secretary for educational and cultural affairs earlier this month. She also said, "Being sure to listen carefully to what others have to say so that you're not repeating, but rather amplifying and adding value with your remarks." Building minority leadership In a speech to student programs and fellowship participants in August, Tillerson said he had directed relevant committees to develop "minority leadership" at the State Department. "Every time we have an opening for an ambassador position, at least one of the candidates must be a minority candidate. Now they may not be ready, but we will know where the talent pool is," Tillerson said. Seen as part of these efforts, Irwin Steven Goldstein will begin his new position next week (December 4) as the first openly gay undersecretary of state for public diplomacy and public affairs. In Senate testimony, Goldstein thanked his spouse for supporting his career of developing and executing communications strategies that connect diverse audiences. U.S. President Donald Trump praised the Senate's early Saturday morning passage of an immense Republican tax overhaul bill, telling reporters outside the White House the measure calls for "the biggest tax cuts in the history of our country." Later Saturday at a Republican fundraiser in New York, Trump attributed passage of the bill to semantics. "For years I said I wonder why they (lawmakers) use the word reform. 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." Earlier Saturday, Trump praised two top Senate Republicans, Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and Senate Finance Committee Chairman Orrin Hatch, for securing enough votes for passage. "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!," Trump said on Twitter. The Senate passed the legislation by a 51 to 49 margin without a single Democratic vote, a development Trump said was a political mistake that will haunt Democrats in the 2018 midterm election. "We got no Democratic help and I think thats going to cost them very big in the election because basically they voted against tax cuts. And I dont think politically its good to vote against tax cuts. The Senate passed the legislation without Democratic support and congressional reaction was also divided along party lines. House Speaker Paul Ryan commended the Senate and urged congress to act quickly to get a final bill signed into law. "I look forward to a conference committee so we can get a final bill to the presidents desk," the Republican lawmaker tweeted. House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi tweeted that the bill is a "scam" and would result in "Tens of millions of middle class families" being "slapped with a tax hike." "In passing the #GOPTaxScam, @SenateGOP has sealed its betrayal of the American middle class. https://goo.gl/fBvQrH." Many Democrats, including Senator John Tester, were angry over the way Republicans approved the hastily-written bill in the wee hours of the morning without any public debate. "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," Tester wrote on Twitter. A few more hurdles must be overcome before a final tax package can become law. The Senate bill and a version passed earlier by the House of Representatives must now be reconciled. The reconciled measure must then be approved by both chambers of Congress before it is submitted to the president for him to sign into law. Negotiations over the tax measures will take place as Congress simultaneously tries to meet a December 8 deadline for government funding to expire, putting additional pressure on Republicans to get a new tax law on the books before Christmas as requested by Trump. President Donald Trump is calling reports that he is trying to force Rex Tillerson out as secretary of state "fake news." Trump tweeted Friday: On Thursday, news outlets quoted senior administration officials as saying the president could name Central Intelligence Agency Director Mike Pompeo to replace Tillerson within the next several weeks. Both the White House and the State Department denied the reports. 'Laughable' Earlier Friday, as Tillerson stood before reporters alongside Libyan Prime Minister Fayez al-Sarraj, he was asked about reports that the White House wanted him to resign. Tillerson responded curtly, saying, "It's laughable. It's laughable." Questions about the possible Cabinet shake-up dominated Thursday's State Department briefing, with spokeswoman Heather Nauert saying Tillerson was "unflappable" and going about his business, which includes a planned trip to Europe next week to meet with NATO leaders. But she did repeat several times that the "secretary serves at the pleasure of the president." On Friday, Tillerson met with Libya's al-Sarraj at the State Department before having lunch with Trump and Defense Secretary Jim Mattis at the White House later in the day. Despite Trump's denial on Friday that he wanted to fire Tillerson, the Wilson Center's Aaron David Miller said reports of a replacement pick might be a not-so-subtle attempt to send the secretary of state a message that his services are no longer needed, since the president has demonstrated his dislike of firing people. "So it is possible that he [Trump] is laying the groundwork for what they would like to achieve, which is a kind of 'immaculate resignation,' " said Miller, a senior adviser to several Republican and Democratic secretaries of state. Diplomatic impact? Miller said foreign leaders are likely more concerned about Tillerson's perceived "fraught" relationship with Trump than reports that his days as chief U.S. diplomat are numbered. "I think our allies and adversaries understand that Tillerson does not necessarily speak for the president," Miller told VOA. "And that is the worst possible position for a secretary of state to be in, because it takes our allies and adversaries five seconds to figure that out. And if that is in fact the case, then the credibility, the relevance, the resonance of the secretary of state is profoundly undermined." Ronald Neumann, a former U.S. ambassador to Afghanistan, Bahrain and Algeria, said rumors that Tillerson's job was not secure would affect the secretary slightly as he carried out his diplomatic duty, but he noted Trump had already left some foreign officials with questions about U.S. foreign policy. "The greatest effect on his ability to do his job is whether people are confident that he speaks for the president, and it is the president who makes that uncertain from time to time with tweets and position changes," Neumann said. The former ambassador said Tillerson had not had an easy tenure. "Secretary Tillerson has been under more public attack in the American press than I have ever seen a secretary under for such a long period. And that is bound to be known by his NATO colleagues," said Neumann, president of the American Academy of Diplomacy in Washington. He also noted that Tillerson's management of the State Department had triggered more criticism than his policy positions. "It is important to note that most of the attack has been about his internal management of the department, not about the foreign policy positions he has been taking, where there is a back and forth with the White House," Neumann said. "But I think, by and large, NATO members are reasonably comfortable with what he has been doing with diplomacy." Tillerson will travel to Belgium, Austria and France December 4-8 and attend a NATO foreign ministers meeting. The State Department said his last stop would be in Paris, where he will meet with senior French leaders to discuss cooperation on Syria, Iran, Lebanon, Libya, North Korea and the Sahel. U.S. President Donald Trump said Saturday the actions of former national security adviser Michael Flynn during Trump's transition to the White House "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!" Trump tweeted between Republican fundraising events in New York. Flynn pleaded guilty Friday to lying to federal agents, and he has agreed to cooperate with investigators examining allegations of Russian meddling in the 2016 U.S. presidential election and collusion between Moscow and the Trump campaign. Earlier Saturday, in his first remarks since Flynn entered the guilty plea, Trump said there was "absolutely no collusion" between his presidential campaign and Russia. "What has been shown is no collusion, no collusion," Trump told reporters as he left the White House for New York. Appearing before a federal judge in a packed courtroom in Washington, Flynn, a 59-year-old retired army general, pleaded guilty to one count of making false statements to the Federal Bureau of Investigation about a series of private conversations he had in December 2016 with Russias then-ambassador to Washington, Sergey Kislyak. The charge carries a sentence of up to five years in prison, but under U.S. sentencing guidelines the average sentence for the offense ranges from zero to six months. The guidelines are advisory, but prosecutors agreed to seek a reduced sentence if Flynn provides substantial assistance with the investigation being led by special counsel Robert Mueller. No sentencing date was announced. Guilty plea As part of his guilty plea, Flynn agreed to cooperate fully with Muellers team of investigators, answering questions, providing written statements, taking polygraph exams, and participating in covert law enforcement activities. In return, Muellers office agreed that Flynn will not be further prosecuted criminally. Flynn is the fourth member of Trumps 2016 presidential campaign to be charged by Muellers team and the first former White House to plead guilty in connection with the Russia investigation. On Oct. 30, Paul Manafort, a former Trump campaign chairman, and Rick Gates, another senior campaign official, were charged in a 12-count indictment unrelated to the Russia investigation. Another Trump campaign surrogate, George Papadopoulos, secretly pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI about his contacts with the Russian government and is cooperating with the special counsel as well. Flynn's decision to cooperate with a probe that could implicate others close to Trump marks a dramatic turnaround for a man who staunchly campaigned for the real estate mogul and promised a hard edge in U.S. foreign policy before being fired for lying about his Kislyak interactions to Vice President Mike Pence. Flynn didnt know at the time but his phone conversations with Kislyak were all recorded by the FBI as part of its probe into Russian interference. White House reaction The White House sought to play down the significance of Flynns guilty plea. White House lawyer Ty Cobb said Flynns plea does not implicate anyone other than Mr. Flynn and added Flynn was a former Obama administration official who served in the Trump White House for only 25 days. But the plea agreement provided an indication that Mueller sees Flynns cooperation as critical to his investigation. The trick is we wont know perhaps for some time how significant it is, said Steve Vladeck, a professor of law at the University of Texas who closely follows the Russia investigation. But its a strong sign that more is coming. And whats coming down the pipe probably involves more senior officials and individuals closer to President Trump himself. In a statement released after his court appearance Friday, Flynn said, The actions I acknowledged in court today were wrong, and, through my faith in God, I am working to set things right. Flynn was swept up in the Russia probe as the FBI began examining contacts between Russia and Trump campaign officials. Flynn admitted to lying to the FBI about the conversations he had with the Russian ambassador at the behest of senior Trump transition officials shortly after the election. The conversations focused on two foreign policy issues the Trump transition team sought to influence before coming into office: a pending U.N. Security Council resolution condemning Israel for its settlement activities in Palestinian territories and a possible Russian retaliation to sanctions imposed by then-President Barack Obama. In two separate conversations -- Dec. 22 and Dec. 23, 2016 -- Flynn, directed by a very senior member of the Trump transition team, called Kislyak to urge him that Russia vote against or delay the Security Council resolution. Kisliyak later called back to say Russia would not vote against the resolution. 'Very senior' member of transition team Several U.S. news outlets have identified as the "very senior" member of the transition team as Jared Kushner, Trumps son-in-law and senior adviser who is leading the White House's Israeli-Palestinian peace efforts. Five days later, on Dec. 28, after Obama announced punitive sanctions against Russia over its interference in the election, Kislyak called Flynn, according to prosecutors. The next day, Dec. 29, Flynn contacted an unnamed senior transition official who was at Trumps Mar-a-Lago resort to discuss what to tell Kislyak about the sanctions. The two discussed the impact of sanctions on Trumps foreign policy. Immediately after the conversation, Flynn called Kislyak and urged him to "refrain from escalating the situation." On Dec. 31, the day after Putin announced that Russia would not retaliate to the U.S. sanctions, Kislyak called Flynn to say that "Russia had chosen not to retaliate" in response to Flynn's request. When confronted by the FBI four days after Trump's inauguration, Flynn, then the president's national security adviser, denied everything, according to court documents filed on Friday. The filing also says Flynn falsely stated he did not remember Kislyak informing him the Kremlin had decided to moderate its response to those sanctions in response to Flynn's request. The court document says Flynn also falsely claimed the Russian ambassador never described Moscow's response to that request. Kusher is scheduled to make public comments about the administration's Middle East strategy on Monday in Washington, his first expected public remarks since Flynn pleaded guilty, according to VOA's Nike Ching. "Jared Kushner will speak publicly for the first time about the #Trump administration's approach to the #MiddleEast on Sunday at the Saban Forum in Washington, an annual conference organized by the Center for Middle East Policy at @BrookingsInst focused on U.S.- #Israel relations." 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 U.K.'s national interest in cyberspace." In a letter dated Friday to civil service chiefs, he said Russia seeks "to target U.K. central government and the U.K.'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 says British authorities are holding talks with Kaspersky about developing checks to prevent the "transfer of U.K. data to the Russian state." Kaspersky has denied wrongdoing and says it doesn't assist Russian cyberespionage efforts. In September, the U.S. government barred federal agencies from using Kaspersky products because of concerns about the company's ties to the Kremlin and Russian spy operations. News reports have since linked Kaspersky software to an alleged theft of cybersecurity information from the U.S. National Security Agency. Britain has issued increasingly strong warnings about Russia's online activity. Martin said last month that Russian hackers had targeted the U.K.'s media, telecommunications and energy sectors in the past year. U.S. authorities are investigating alleged Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential election, and some British lawmakers have called for a similar probe into the U.K.'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. Source: Xinhua| 2017-12-02 18:58:44|Editor: Yurou Video Player Close NEW DELHI, Dec. 2 (Xinhua) -- The death toll in India's southern states of Tamil Nadu and Kerala has risen to 16 due to cyclone Ockhi, state-run broadcaster All India Radio (AIR) said Saturday. The cyclonic storm has ravaged the coastal districts of the twin states and Lakshadweep. "The death toll in rain related incidents in Kerala is reported to be seven," AIR said. "The death toll in Kanyakumari district has risen to 10." Authorities have pressed in two units of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and seven units of the State Force to carry out rescue work. Indian Navy, Air Force and Coast Guard are also carrying out search operations to rescue fishermen. Officials said search missions were being carried out by the Indian Coast Guard to look for the missing fishermen, who ventured out into the sea from different fishing harbors. Reports said in Kerala, 155 fishermen have been rescued so far and 150 others managed to return on their own, while as in Tamil Nadu, 14 fishermen were still missing and the Navy was called in for their rescue. Meanwhile, authorities said hectic efforts were going on for replacing about 4,000 damaged electric poles to restore power supply in the affected areas. Indian meteorological department officials said in a statement Saturday that the system will further intensify during the next 24 hours. "In this period, it is very likely to continue to move west-northwestwards across Lakshadweep Islands," meteorological department officials said. "Sea condition would be phenomenal over and around Lakshadweep and would be very high along and off Kerala coast." Officials said the sea level has risen considerably causing sea erosion in many areas of Kerala and Lakshadweep. 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. The first time Huynh Thi Chut set foot in the United States, she came to see Gary Wittig, the man she'd had a love affair with in Danang at the height of the Vietnam War. The Vietnamese woman had a daughter with the American seaman. That daughter, Nguyen Thi Kim Nga, flew from her Nebraska home to meet her fathers family in a suburb of Atlanta, in the southeastern U.S. state of Georgia. Nga, who has lived in the U.S. for 17 years, then went to Atlantas Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport to pick up her mother. After a drive to the suburbs, Chut reunited with Wittig, now frail and on oxygen, 48 years after they parted. The reunion was completely amazing, said Christine Kimmey, Wittigs niece, who had gone to the airport with Nga, her newfound cousin, to pick up Nga's mother. She (Chut) placed her hands on him and started massaging his lung, massaging his arms. They just sat there and smiled, said Kimmey, adding that she couldnt describe the excitement and joy of the Oct. 3 event. Its the best thing that could ever happen to my uncle, she said. Wittig and Chut still could not speak each others languages. The other unchanged element of their relationship, Wittig thought, was Chuts smile, which remained the same. A love affair Wittig was 23 and on his second tour in Vietnam in 1968 when he met Chut, then 19, at Camp Tien Sha, part of Danang Air Base. Wittig, a seaman aboard the USS Pocono LCC 16 who began his U.S. Navy service in 1962, drove supply runs between the camp and the base where Chut and several young Vietnamese women worked as cleaners. Many American soldiers brought their trucks there to get them washed, Chut, now 69, recalled. They often left their trucks for us to wash and came back after the washing was done. But Gary stayed. Although Wittig didnt speak Vietnamese and Chut could say only a few English words, they felt an attraction when they washed his truck together. But Chut was married with a son and a husband, a paratrooper in the U.S.-allied Army of the Republic of Vietnam. At the time, Chut said, she thought their affair was just fun until she discovered she was pregnant and told Wittig, who was scheduled to leave Vietnam. I knew she was pregnant with my child and I knew it was a girl, Wittig, 72, said while lying in his bed in a small house in Riverdale, an Atlanta suburb. A heavy smoker, Wittig had had chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) since his return from Vietnam and had been on oxygen support for three years. He'd been bedridden since September, when a fall triggered a heart attack. No one knows how many Amerasian children were born and ultimately left behind in Vietnam during the decade-long war that ended in 1975. Wittig said even if his daughter had been born before he left Vietnam, it would have been too complicated to get paperwork done for [Chut and Nga] to come to the U.S. as refugees. Chuts late husband knew about the affair but accepted the baby fathered by an American. He took her as his own child, said Chut, who burned all the pictures and anything related to Wittig when the American troops withdrew from Vietnam because she feared getting in trouble under the communist regime. An American dream Nga grew up with three half brothers in Me Pu, a rural village in the central province of Binh Thuan. I felt lucky, Nga said. Her stepfather treated her fairly, she said, unlike many children fathered by American soldiers. After her stepfather died of cancer, Ngas family struggled and she dropped out of school to work. But she continued to nurture a dream of finding her American father. I kept asking myself why I didnt have a dad, Nga said. Attempts to emigrate Nga attempted to migrate to the U.S. on three separate occasions. She tried being adopted by a Vietnamese family that was willing to pay her in order to use her biracial status to obtain a special visa issued under the American Homecoming Act or Amerasian Homecoming Act, which took effect in 1989. The measure gave preferential immigration status to children in Vietnam born of U.S. fathers. She failed to obtain one of the special visas on her own. She tried to engage in a fake marriage with a Vietnamese man willing to pay all the costs of paperwork needed to get a visa. I wanted to commit suicide, Nga said. Then, in 1994, she married Nguyen Que, a Me Pu man, who did everything to find a way and spent all the money we earned to travel to Ho Chi Minh City to look for information on how to get a visa to the U.S. Finally, an anthropologist at the U.S. consulate in Ho Chi Minh City identified Nga as Amerasian. In 2000, Nga, Que and their then-5-year-old son left Vietnam for Omaha, Nebraska. Nga is one of more than 23,000 Amerasians who have entered the U.S. under the act. We came to the U.S. with just a suitcase full of clothes. That was all we had, said Nga, who decided that she could not spend the time or money to find her father. A dream revived Nga and Que worked in a Mexican food service company, Casa De Oro Foods LLC. My husband had to work two jobs at the same time to raise our family, Nga said. Her family grew in 2002 with the birth of a daughter and again in 2005 with the addition of another son. The couple lost their jobs after the Mexican food service company where they worked was bought by another company. Nga found new work as a manicurist, and Que became an Omaha Public Schools janitor. We now have a house, a car and we have become U.S. citizens. We were lucky to having met good friends who helped us in the early days, Nga said. Im illiterate, and Im from a poor Vietnamese village, so I would never, ever think I could have what I have today. Early this year, a friend Nga had made in Omaha found her American father through DNA testing. The discovery set Nga on a quest to find her own father. It seemed like a long shot since only about 3 percent of the Ameriasians in the U.S. have found their fathers. Nga knew only that her fathers name was Gary and that she had been born shortly after he left Vietnam. Earlier this year, in January, she sent a saliva sample to a genetic testing service. Three months later, Cheryl Hester, the DNA detective who had helped Nga's friend find her American dad, also found a match for Nga. (Nga) had a close match that was a first cousin on her fathers side and she had a second cousin on her fathers mothers side. So she had two matches that were coming in what we call triangulation, said Hester, who is also a Vietnam veterans daughter. Hester contacted Wittigs niece Kimmey on Facebook on March 31. I knew right away what it was about, Kimmey said. Wittigs late wife, Linda, for some reason let me and my sister know that Gary had a child in Vietnam, said Kimmey, even though nobody else in the family discussed the child. Answered prayer In 1974, five years after coming home from Vietnam, Wittig had married his wife after meeting her at a photo lab in Largo, Florida. Linda died of breast cancer in 2006. I wish I could take those 30 years back, but I cant, said Wittig, smiling at the memory of his late wife. The two didnt have children. What was special about this case was the father didnt have any children and of course the wife has already passed, said Hester, who says she's worked on at least a hundred cases" from the Vietnam War era. Its unusual to find a father that didnt have any children, she said. That was what was really, really special about (Ngas) case. That stood out. The DNA detective said she didnt know if that would have affect Wittigs response to finding his long-lost daughter. She's had many cases in which American fathers didnt accept their Amerasian children. The No. 1 reason why they dont bother is because theres a wife living. Was the wife around, then thats usually a really bad sign, Hester said. The biggest obstacle that Ive seen is the wife. Nga was nervous before her first meeting with Wittig on April 14. Would he accept her? Would his family? Wittig, however, said he is a religious person and had been praying to God to send him an angel. God heard my prayer, said Wittig, who calls Nga Angel. I had a wife. I dont have any children. Not because of her. Not because of me. She couldnt have children, he said. When Angel came along, I was delighted. I was in seventh heaven. Not everyone in my family has met Angel, but they know about the impact she has on Uncle Gary, Kimmey said. Whatever he calls me, Im happy, said Nga, who wishes she had found her father sooner so she could take care of him. Im happy to be called Angel. God guided me to find my father. Father and daughter did not have long together. Wittig died Nov. 24, hours after his extended, blended family gathered for Thanksgiving. Every day before his death, Nga called Wittig to check on him. Since that first encounter, shed visited him on Fathers Day, in October for the reunion of her mother with Wittig, and then for Thanksgiving. Im sad for him, Chut said. But I am happy for my daughter to finally find her father. Her dream has come true. EDITOR'S NOTE: An earlier version of this story erroneously stated that the Wittigs were married in 1969. The wife of Princeton student Xiyue Wang, imprisoned in Tehran on spying charges while conducting dissertation research in Iran, is imploring U.S. President Donald Trump to intervene in her husbands case, saying the White House is the focus of all my hope. In an interview from Beijing with VOAs Mandarin Service, Wangs wife, Hua Qu, said, I have tried all kinds of avenues in the past but at the end of the day, the White House must step [in] to push Iran to release him. Really, all my hope is in the White House, in the Trump administration, Qu said. Detained in 2016 Wang, who was born in China, is a U.S. citizen enrolled in a doctoral program at Princeton University. A website associated with Irans judiciary said that Wang collected a lot of classified information during the course of his academic work in Iran. He was detained in August 2016 and was subsequently convicted of collaborating with foreign governments and sent to prison. Tehrans prosecutor confirmed in September that his appeal was rejected. Princeton, Qu and U.S. authorities have denied he was involved in any improper activities, and U.S. State Department spokesperson Heather Nauert said the State Department has repeatedly called for his release, including again this week. We continue to call for Mr. Wang and all unjustly detained prisoners to be released immediately, Nauert said Wednesday. We strongly condemn Irans subjecting Mr. Wang and other prisoners to these forced video appearances. We call on Iran to immediately release him. Princeton University has confirmed to us that Mr. Wang is a graduate student who was conducting legitimate research in Iran, Nauert said. He has no association with the U.S. government and has never passed any information to the U.S. government about Iran. Studying Qajar dynasty Wang was studying Farsi and conducting innocuous research on late 19th- and early 20th-century Iran, Nauert said. The rich history of Persian civilization is one that should be celebrated and studied, she said. The notion that research on the Qajar dynasty poses a threat to anyone is absurd. Daniel Day, Princetons assistant vice president of communications, said in a statement that Mr. Wang was in Iran solely for the purpose of studying Farsi and doing scholarly research in connection with his Ph.D. dissertation. Irans accusations When Iran media issued a government-approved report of Wangs August 2016 arrest, it said he was accused of passing confidential information about Iran to the U.S. State Department, to Princetons Sharmin and Bijan Mossavar-Rahmani Center for Iran and Persian Gulf Studies, to the Harvard Kennedy School and to the British Institute of Persian Studies. Wang digitally archived 4,500 pages of Iranian documents for foreign research institutions, according to Mizan Online. Sentenced to 10 years in July, his appeal was denied in August. Day said Wang was studying historical records that pertained to the administrative and cultural history of the Qajar dynasty, which ruled from 1785 to 1925. His dissertation topic was not suggested to him by Princeton, the U.S. government, or anyone else, Day said. He selected his own topic and areas of research. He has no connection to any government or intelligence agencies, and the charge that he was engaged in espionage is completely false. He studied the archival materials solely for his own research, and to our knowledge did not share them with anyone at Princeton or elsewhere. Health suffering Qu told VOA that her husband has suffered from serious health problems since his detention. He cries. He cries a lot, Qu said. I have never seen him cry before. To me, this seems like a symptom of depression. Wang has also had suicidal thoughts, a conclusion she reached after he told her of wanting to smash a glass to cut himself. Mentally, he knows its not right and he hasnt done anything but he has that urge, she said. After all, Qu said, Wang is a victim of U.S.-Iran political relations. What is happening has nothing to do with him as an individual, Qu said. Hes simply an innocent student. He has no value to Iran. Hes just a student. In July, President Trump warned Iran to release American citizens detained in the Islamic Republic. President Trump has spoken for him, too, Qu said. He said the U.S. government will protect Wang Xiyues interest, will rescue him. Now I hope he can really keep his promise and bring Wang Xiyue home. Beibei Su contributed to this report, which originated on VOA Mandarin. The world's largest lithium ion battery has begun providing electricity into the power grid in South Australia. The project is a collaboration between the state government, American firm Tesla, and Neoen, a French energy company. Tesla boss Elon Musk, who was not in attendance at the switch-on, had boldly promised to build the battery in South Australia within 100 days - a pledge that has been fulfilled. The 100-megawatt battery was officially activated Friday. Musk has said it was three times more powerful than the world's next biggest battery, and promised to deliver it for free had it not been built on schedule. The South Australian state government hopes the project can prevent power outages because it can rapidly deploy electricity when it is most needed and reduce prices. Last September, South Australia suffered a state-wide power outage when storms damaged the electricity network. State premier Jay Weatherill believes the new battery will guarantee energy supplies. People were making fun of South Australia for its leadership in renewable energy and blaming it for the black-out," said Weatherill. "That, of course, has now been debunked as a myth. We now know that our leadership in renewable energy is not only leading the nation but leading the world, and we are more than happy to supply our beautiful renewable energy stored in a battery to help out the national electricity market. Located near Jamestown, about 200 kilometers north of Adelaide, the Tesla-built 100 megawatt lithium ion battery is connected to a wind farm run by French energy company Neoen. The farm has 99 wind turbines and generates electricity that can be stored in the battery to serve 30,000 people for about an hour. In a statement, the California-based firm said the project in South Australia showed that a sustainable, effective energy solution is possible. Critics of the battery have said the technologys potential has been exaggerated. The bulk of Australias electricity is still generated by coal, and the nation is one of the worlds worst per capita emitters of greenhouses gases. 2 Dec-29 April. Rome's MAXXI Museo nazionale delle arti del XXI secolo honours the scientific legacy of Albert Einstein with an exhibition exploring the "interconnected key concepts of space-time, crises, confines." Tomas Saraceno. Aerocene 10.4 & 15.3. The show coincides with the centenary of Einstein's publication of a ground-breaking article which challenged existing models of the cosmos and the universe, ultimately revolutionising modern-day concepts of time and space. Curvare lo Spazio. Installazione, INFN. The exhibition examines the deep connections between art and science, paying tribute to Einstein through immersive artistic and scientific installations by international artists. 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. An aide for Sen. Ron Wyden D-Ore.) carries a poster he used on the Senate floor to criticize the Republican tax bill Friday on Capitol Hill. (J. Scott Applewhite/AP) 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 legislations impact on the deficit to make it comply with Senate rules, they made the bills 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 Acts 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. [Winners and losers in the Senate GOP tax bill: A running list] 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, weve 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 its a great disappointment, said Alan Auerbach, a tax expert at the University of California at Berkeley who has co-authored research with the head of President Trumps 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 doesnt matter what the rich receive as long as ordinary Americans are getting help. Im not worried about the rich in this country. The rich generally take care of themselves. Out of a country of 300 million people, there arent that many really rich, rich people, Sen. Richard C. 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 its fair for the wealthy to get the biggest tax cut because they pay the most in taxes. Its obvious that people who make money are going to pay more in taxes than people who dont, 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-Tex.). 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 Congresss 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. [What is in the Senates massive tax bill] 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. Jeff Stein and Andrew Van Dam contributed to this report. CURRENCY Regulator allows bitcoin futures trading A federal regulator gave the go-ahead on Friday to the CME Group to start trading bitcoin futures later this month, the first time the digital currency will be traded on a Wall Street exchange and subject to federal oversight. CME, which owns the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, will start trading bitcoin futures Dec. 18, the company said. The Commodities Futures Trading Commission, the primary regulator for exchanges like the CME, gave approval for the exchange to create bitcoin futures after six weeks of talks. CME is using a process known as self-certification, which is when an exchange pledges that the new instruments will not break any federal securities laws. The price of bitcoin futures will be based on the price the digital currency is going for on its major exchanges Bitstamp, GDAX, itBit and Kraken. Due to volatility, the futures will have higher margin levels and intraday price limits, CME said. Associated Press AUTO INDUSTRY Black Friday boosted sales in November Black Friday deals and strong consumer confidence pushed auto sales higher in November, according to data released Friday. Market analysis firm Autodata reported U.S. sales of new cars and trucks rose 1 percent to nearly 1.4 million last month. Some analysts had said November sales would drop as post-hurricane sales slowed in Texas and Florida. But Black Friday deals helped lure buyers. Automakers were offering an average of $3,700 to $3,800 in incentives per vehicle last month. As prices creep up, deals creep up also, analysts say. The trend will probably continue in 2018, when U.S. sales are expected to drop and automakers will be keen to hold on to their market share. Sales were buoyed by strong U.S. consumer confidence, which was at its highest level since November 2000, according to the Conference Board, an industry-backed research group. Subaru sales rose 1 percent, and Honda saw an 8 percent jump. Ford sales rose 7 percent on demand for trucks and SUVs. Hyundai sales fell 9 percent, with Toyota and GM seeing a 3-percent drop. Fiat Chrysler sales fell 4 percent, and Volkswagen sales were down 1.6 percent. Associated Press ECONOMY In Nov., manufacturing fell, construction rose A measure of U.S. factory activity fell in November as a gauge of employment cooled, but the index continued to point to strengthening manufacturing conditions. The Institute for Supply Management said Friday its index of national factory activity slipped to a reading of 58.2 last month from 58.7 in October. The index was only marginally below a September reading that was the highest since May 2004. But the ISMs employment index slipped to 59.7 from 59.8, which could point to less strength in manufacturing hiring this month. Other data on Friday showed a jump in U.S. construction spending in October as public construction outlays surged and investment in private projects increased for the first time in four months. The Commerce Department said construction spending increased 1.4 percent to a record high of $1.24 trillion. Reuters Also in Business Prosecutors are seeking a seven-year prison sentence for a Volkswagen senior manager who pleaded guilty in the automaker's U.S. diesel emissions scandal. Oliver Schmidt, 48, will be sentenced Wednesday in Detroit federal court. In a court filing this week, federal prosecutors said Schmidt followed a "script of deception" while VW used software to cheat emissions rules when he led VW's engineering and environmental office in Michigan from 2012 to 2015. Macy's said Friday that it had a strong start to the holiday shopping season and would hire an additional 7,000 temporary workers in anticipation of the demand continuing through Christmas. The department store chain had said in September it would hire 80,000 temporary workers for the holidays, compared with last year's 83,000. Ford is recalling more than 202,000 pickup trucks and SUVs in North America because front-seat cushions can come loose and fail to properly hold people in a crash. The recall covers certain 2016 F-150 and Explorer vehicles equipped with front power seats. The automaker said a bolt in the power-seat adjuster can come loose or fall out. If that happens, the seat cushion can move too far. Ford said it's not aware of any crashes or injuries from the problem. From news reports (All times Eastern.) Four Christmases and a Wedding (Lifetime at 8) Chloe (Arielle Kebbel) and Evan (Corey Sevier) cross paths at an annual Christmas festival each year, but something or someone always stands in the way of their love. Saturday Night Live (NBC at 11:30) Saoirse Ronan hosts. U2 is the musical guest. finale Versailles (Ovation at 10) The French drama, set during Louis XIV's reign, ends its second season. Returning Your Worst Nightmare (Investigation Discovery at 10) Season 4. Specials Michelle Wolf: Nice Lady (HBO at 9) The comedian and "Daily Show" correspondent performs stand-up in her first HBO special. Sunday Fox News Sunday (Fox at 9 a.m.) National security adviser H.R. McMaster and Sen. John Barrasso (R-Wyo.). This is American & the World (WETA at 10 and WHUT at 7:30 p.m.) Exploring Panama's indigenous communities. Newsmakers (C-SPAN at 10) Rep. Adam Smith (D-Wash.). Sunday Morning Futures (Fox News at 10) Rep. Mike McCaul (R-Tex.). Meet the Press (NBC at 10:30) Former Trump campaign manager Corey Lewandowski and former deputy campaign manager David Bossie. Prime Time Shameless (Showtime at 9) Ian and Trevor raise funds for a youth shelter, and Carl loses his scholarship. Shark Tank (ABC at 9) A pair of entrepreneurs pitch something to keep you warm during the winter months. Special The Carol Burnett 50th Anniversary Special (CBS at 8) This two-hour special celebrates the 50th anniversary of the comedian's eponymous variety series. Expect appearances by collaborators and friends including Vicki Lawrence, Lyle Waggoner, Jim Carrey, Kristin Chenoweth, Stephen Colbert, Harry Connick Jr., Bill Hader, Bernadette Peters and Martin Short. Documentary Charles Manson: The Final Words (Reelz at 9) This documentary, narrated by musician Rob Zombie, features interviews with the cult leader, who died last month. Source: Xinhua| 2017-12-02 18:58:45|Editor: Yang Yi Video Player Close KIEV, Dec. 2 (Xinhua) -- Ukraine wants to join efforts with China to translate their cooperation potential into practical results, a senior Ukrainian official told Xinhua in a recent exclusive interview. "Our task is to turn the opportunities and the potential, which are being widely discussed now, into concrete practical projects," said Natalia Mykolska, deputy minister of economic development and trade of Ukraine. Ukraine attaches a great importance to its long-term economic cooperation with China, Mykolska said, adding that the two countries have all opportunities for pushing the partnership forward given the complementary advantages of each others' economies. "For us, China is a strategic partner in the economic sphere and trade. Ukraine and China can effectively work together on foreign markets. Ukraine can become China's gateway to the European Union (EU), and China for us -- a strategically very important market and a source of investment," Mykolska emphasized. Mykolska, who headed a Ukrainian delegation to the meeting of the Chinese-Ukrainian Subcommittee on Trade and Economic Cooperation in Beijing last month, highlighted that the two countries have developed a roadmap to carry forward the economic partnership. "We have defined a string of very important areas on which Ukraine and China will focus next year. The agriculture sphere, including food and drinks, is among these priority areas." Mykolska said, noting that Ukraine is interested to produce power engineering equipment and electrical appliances jointly with China. Another important sector Mykolska cares within the partnership is machine-building. "We could produce machine-building products in Ukraine, using the know-how of both -- China and Ukraine," she explained. Among other areas for joint cooperation, Mykolska named renewable energy and high-tech industry, pointing that the two countries may establish good tandems on the global digital market with the combined advantages of China's powerful hardware facilities and Ukraine's software developments. While speaking on the business-to-business (B2B) collaboration, Mykolska said more and more Ukrainian companies are preparing to do business with China. Mykolska said China is defined as a "market in focus" under the "Export Strategy of Ukraine". "We are at the stage when this interest should begin to turn into major projects," she said. In a move to deepen the B2B cooperation, on Nov. 14-16, Mykolska led a business delegation to China's Global Food and Hospitality Expo in Shanghai. The trade representative of Ukraine stressed that the Chinese market is very attractive to Ukrainian food producers due to its size. "Currently, it is important for us to increase the supplies of ready-to-eat products to the Chinese market. Among them, we can name dairy products, which are gaining popularity in China, and healthy food products -- fresh and frozen fruit and vegetables," Mykolska said. Besides, Ukrainian berries, meat products, juice, beer and wine, confectionery, baby food and organic goods can find specific market niches in China, she added. According to the official, to gain its foothold on the Chinese market, Ukrainian agri-producers stand ready to manufacture "personalized" products specifically for Chinese consumers and produce goods under the trademarks of Chinese companies. "We can offer high-quality products at a competitive price. And what is extremely important for the Chinese consumers -- an individual approach," Mykolska said. Ukraine, which is rich in natural resources and has the Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Area with the EU and some Western countries, is also interested in attracting Chinese investment to jointly produce various goods for foreign markets, Mykolska said. She pointed that the bilateral and multilateral cooperation could be carried out under the China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative. "This Initiative is very important for us. Ukraine has trade and economic relations with all participants of this initiative. This makes us a natural partner not only for each of these countries but also a natural partner for the entire Initiative," Mykolska emphasized. Next week, a Chinese delegation headed by Chinese Vice Premier Ma Kai is set to visit Kiev to participate in the meeting of the Chinese-Ukrainian intergovernmental commission. Todays Lake Artemesia near the University of Maryland College Park was a byproduct of Metro construction. An earlier Lake Artemesia was the centerpiece of a community called Lakeland. Goldfish were once bred nearby. (Matt McClain) Columnist Thanks for your interesting article on the fish ponds on the Mall. Do you think you can follow up with some information on the fish ponds in College Park, Md., where Lake Artemesia now sits? Bob Beaumier, Adelphi, Md. When a man named Henry Bishop died in Baltimore in November 1907, the New York Times headlined his obituary thusly: "Gold Fish King Is Dead." We should all aspire to such fame. Long live the Gold Fish King. Bishop was a German immigrant and former hotel clerk who in 1874 opened a pet store in Baltimore. He possessed but little cash, as he later wrote, but was an enthusiastic private bird fancier and aquarium-keeper. Birds and fish, he said, brightened up any household: Nothing adds so much to making a house cheerful and the inmates happy especially ladies and children. [The world according to carp: Answer Man visits the fish ponds on the Mall] Bishop revolutionized the U.S. aquarium industry, introducing a wide range of products, from simple one-gallon globes to fancy 10-gallon tanks. He courted the wholesale market, advertising to dry goods stores and pharmacies. His mail-order business could provide everything: aquarium, ornament, plants, food and, of course, fish. The fish were shipped in their own little tin cans. And where did the goldfish come from? From a place called Lakeland. Lakeland was a subdivision carved out of land on either side of the B&O Railroad tracks just northeast of what is today the main entrance to the University of Maryland. Real estate developer Edwin Newman began promoting Lakeland in the 1890s. Read one ad: "For from $1,400 to $3,800 you can buy a house and lot at Lakeland on easy monthly payments. Lake Artemesia is the center of this lovely suburb of thirty houses and is stocked with fine fish, well supplied with pleasure boats and is located in a large public park." The triangular lake was named after Newmans wife. [Tanks for the memories: Answer Man checks out the original National Aquarium] The community was between Paint Branch and Indian Creek. Low-lying and prone to flooding, it already had something that fish need: water. At some point, Bishops Baltimore Gold Fish Co. began using the area to breed fish for its pet business. The proximity of the rail line made it easy to ship fish across the country. (The company also had a fish farm at Shipley Mill in Cockeysville, Md.) There were something like 25 acres of ponds in an area south of the original Lake Artemesia. Answer Man isnt sure how long they were strictly for breeding pet fish. By 1914, the federal government was leasing the ponds to raise bass and other freshwater sport fish for release into Maryland and Virginia streams and rivers. A government report from 1915 noted that 3,000 2 1 /2-inch bass had been placed in one of the ponds the previous July. About 1,800 were taken out in September, their length ranging from 4 to 10 inches. Six of the larger fish weighed 3 pounds. This remarkable rate of growth was probably due to the . . . fact that the bass preyed upon young goldfish, read the report. It appears to be good practice to introduce limited numbers of adult goldfish in ponds with brood bass. The goldfish furnish food for the bass, which therefore do not prey on their own kind. Henry Bishop must have been spinning in his grave: The creatures he envisioned cheering up children were being used as fish food. While the fish were mixing it up in the ponds, humans were having their own battles on land. Lakeland began as a divided community, quite literally: Whites lived to the west of the railroad tracks, African Americans east of the tracks. Over time, black families moved across the tracks, integrating the neighborhood but facing discrimination. Answer Man isnt sure when the fish ponds were shut down and filled in the legend Aquarium Fisheries Inc. appears on a 1940 map of the area but in the 1960s and 1970s, many of Lakelands original homes were demolished. When Metro's Green Line was being constructed, engineers realized they would need tons of sand and gravel to raise the track bed between College Park and Greenbelt. A Metro engineer named Johann Sikkar realized it would be cheaper to dig the fill from an undeveloped portion of Lakeland than to truck it in. The resulting holes were filled with water and the entire area turned into a 38-acre park. Some wanted to call the U-shaped body of water "Lake Metro," but instead it was named Lake Artemesia, after Edwin Newman's daughter, who donated some of the land. Todays Lake Artemesia is east of where the original one was. If Answer Man is reading old maps correctly, the lower half of todays lake is where the Gold Fish Kings tiny subjects once frolicked. Helping Hand We're three weeks into this year's Helping Hand fundraising campaign for Bright Beginnings, a preschool that helps homeless kids and their parents; N Street Village, a shelter and support network for women experiencing homelessness; and So Others Might Eat, which offers meals and more to poverty-stricken Washingtonians. Our goal is to raise $200,000. So far, Post readers have donated $39,613. We have five more weeks to go. To learn more and make a donation, visit posthelpinghand.com. Twitter: @johnkelly For previous columns, visit washingtonpost.com/people/john-kelly. Across the country, thousands of children attend private schools through publicly funded voucher programs and education savings accounts, with states giving money directly to parents to spend at a school of their choice. But parents sacrifice legal safeguards if their child with a disability attends a private school through these programs, according to a report released Thursday by the Government Accountability Office. Protections that require public schools to provide speech therapy, tutoring and specialized education plans do not apply to private schools. The GAO report found that many states with voucher programs and education savings accounts do not inform parents of students with disabilities how their rights change when a child transfers to private school through a choice program. About half the private schools the GAO surveyed offered little or no information about their special-education services on their websites. The report examined 27 private school choice programs in 15 states, including several that serve children with disabilities exclusively. The study authors also interviewed 17 families with a child with a disability who participated in a private school choice program. There was far less oversight in these private schools: Only nine of the 27 school choice programs required schools to test their students and report the results. Ten of the programs did not require participating private schools to conduct background checks of school employees. Only eight had to comply with financial audits. In a response to the GAO study, the Education Department said the report unfairly assumes that parents who transfer a child with disabilities to a private school are unaware of how their rights will change. It defended private school choice programs. Parents may believe that educational benefits or services provided by private schools to their children with disabilities outweigh any rights conferred by [the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act] or services provided by public schools, wrote Kimberly M. Richey, the acting assistant secretary for special education and rehabilitative services. Education Secretary Betsy DeVos has backed measures that give parents more options regarding where they send their children to school, including state programs that direct public dollars into private and parochial schools. These programs have raised concerns among civil rights advocates, who point out that private schools are not bound by the same civil rights laws including the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act as public schools. The new report from GAO shows the outrageously low standards to which many school voucher programs are held, said Rep. Mark Pocan, a Democrat from Wisconsin, where about 34,000 children attend private schools with help from the state. Pocan was one of three members of Congress who asked the GAO to look into private school choice. [DeVos says she will protect students with disabilities, but advocates arent convinced] The GAO recommended that the Education Department require states to notify parents of children with disabilities that their rights will change if they send a child to private school. But the Education Department wrote in its response that it did not have the authority to require states to notify parents their rights will change if they send a child with disabilities to a private school. Richey pointed out, too, that a number of families interviewed for the report were satisfied with their childs public school. The reports conclusions imply the lack of information affects the choices made by parents, but the data in the report that a number of families expressed satisfaction with the private schools their child attends belies that conclusion, Richey wrote. Parents will seek information consistent with the individual needs of their children. Frederick Douglasss first home in the nations capital is on the market, and its future owners will have the opportunity to transform a large, historic slab of property on Capitol Hill into residences or a museum. The location, owned by the National Association for Home Care & Hospice, includes a little-visited museum honoring the famed abolitionist, as well as the Caring Institute, the charity arm of the medical association. It is not affiliated with the federally owned Frederick Douglass National Historic Site in Anacostia, where Douglass lived later in his life. The Capitol Hill museum consists of four connected rowhouses in the 300 block of A Street NE, east of the Supreme Court building, with an interior courtyard and surface parking. Two other properties, an enclosed parking structure and a carriage house with parking behind the museum, will be sold separately. The home health care association purchased the buildings in the 1980s from the Smithsonian Institution, which used the property to house the original National Museum of African Art before it moved to the Mall. We wanted to save the property from being turned into condos, said David Brennan, vice president of the National Association for Home Care & Hospice. We would love to continue holding on to this property. We feel that its been a blessing to hold on to something that belonged to Frederick Douglass. This undated photo shows abolitionist Frederick Douglass. (ASSOCIATED PRESS) [Quarter issued honoring Frederick Douglass site] Brennan said his industry has suffered financially, and the association can no longer afford more than $80,000 in property taxes each year. The museum isnt registered as a nonprofit, Brennan said. He said the association prefers the buildings house a museum, but noted a developer could purchase them. The properties are located in a historical district, so the owner could only demolish or significantly modify them with city approval. Its our fiduciary duty to sell it for the most amount of money, Brennan said. Its our hope that the people want to turn it into a museum or something like that. Roy Hill, a partner at the Genau Group Realty Advisors and the listing agent, said the properties will be sold through a bidding process. He said he already has received offers, but didnt disclose a final deadline. According to records at the D.C. Office of Tax and Revenue, the rowhouses have a combined taxable assessment of more than $4 million. Its a stones throw from the Supreme Court and Congress in arguably the most desirable part of Capitol Hill, Hill said. Douglass lived in one of the rowhouses, at 316 A Street NE, for seven years when he moved to the District in the mid-1870s, according to the website for the Frederick Douglass Museum & Caring Hall of Fame. He was born enslaved in Maryland in 1818 and became one of the most iconic activists and writers of his time. [Frederick Douglasss amazing job started with his first book] The Capitol Hill museum has photos of Douglass in front of the home and a desk he used thats on loan to the museum. The museum can only be visited by appointment, which Brennan said is infrequent. It also serves as a hall of fame for the Caring Institute's annual award to people "making a difference" in their communities, according to the organization's website. Brennan said the space can be rented out on a "very limited basis." The sale of the property could receive pushback among neighbors on Capitol Hill. A 1989 Washington Post story described a long-ranging controversy when the Smithsonian sold the building to the health care association. Residents protested when the association tried to use some of the buildings as office space. The association eventually abandoned those plans and its purchasing contract required it to allot a small portion of the Douglass house as a public exhibit. Christine Healey, the Advisory Neighborhood Commission official who represents the block where the museum is located, said she expects backlash if new owners decide to change the usage of the properties. This is an historic property in the middle of a residential neighborhood, she said. Its sale in [the eighties] was controversial, and Im sure any proposal to change its use going forward is going to get a lot of scrutiny from the community. Les Whitten was a top legman to investigative reporter Jack Anderson. He was once tailed by the CIA and jailed by the FBI. (Family photo) Les Whitten, an investigative reporter whose skill at cultivating government sources and securing secret documents sometimes through threats or the use of a paid private investigator made him a top legman of muckraker Jack Anderson and an enemy of President Richard M. Nixon, died Dec. 2 at an assisted-living community in Adelphi, Md. He was 89. He had recently been hospitalized for sepsis, said a son, Les Whitten III. A self-described swashbuckler, Mr. Whitten was an aspiring novelist who covered wars in the Dominican Republic and Vietnam before joining the staff of the countrys most popular daily news column, the Washington Merry-Go-Round, in 1969. Helmed by Anderson, a reporter whose investigative prowess was matched by a reputation as an unrepentant, self-aggrandizing showman, the syndicated column reached tens of millions of readers. It broke news on topics as diverse as a CIA plot to assassinate Cuban revolutionary Fidel Castro and the Nixon administration's secret foreign policy shift toward Pakistan and away from India, which earned Anderson a Pulitzer Prize for national reporting in 1972. Mr. Whitten was the best reporter in the country, Anderson told The Washington Post in 1978, and he had a hand in nearly all the columns stories for a decade until he left to write thrillers and focus on his translations of the French poet Charles Baudelaire. Still, Mr. Whitten and other reporters for Anderson including a young Brit Hume, who later became a Fox News anchorman, and Jon Lee Anderson, now a staff writer for the New Yorker were only occasionally credited with a byline. Working largely behind the scenes, they practiced an aggressive, occasionally unscrupulous brand of reporting that included the use of bribes and blackmail, according to Mark Feldstein, author of "Poisoning the Press: Richard Nixon, Jack Anderson and the Rise of Washington's Scandal Culture." During the Watergate investigations, Mr. Whitten was trying to get some leaks and couldnt get it, Feldstein said in a phone interview. He threatened his source by saying, If you dont give this to me Ill say it came from you, but if you give it to me, well have lunch and Ill say it came from a source near the White House. You can decry it from the standpoint of traditional journalistic ethics, but on the other hand, it allowed him to pry out information the public otherwise wouldnt learn about. As Andersons chief deputy or senior ferret, as New York Times journalist Tom Buckley once dubbed him Mr. Whitten was handed assignments that included spying on the private lives of FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover and his top aide, Clyde Tolson. Another reporter was assigned to dig through Hoovers trash. Just as often, however, Mr. Whitten and Anderson were on the receiving end of spying efforts, targeted by the Nixon administration for their critical coverage of the White House and leaks of government documents. The duo were trailed by the CIA, and at one point, Nixon associates G. Gordon Liddy and E. Howard Hunt plotted to assassinate Anderson using LSD or what Liddy later described as "Aspirin Roulette." The idea of placing poisoned aspirin in the Anderson family's medicine cabinet was rejected, Liddy wrote in a memoir, because "it would gratuitously endanger innocent members of his family and might take months before it worked." He and Hunt were soon assigned to bug the Democratic National Committee headquarters in the Watergate hotel and office complex. Mr. Whitten was nearly the subject of a major First Amendment case in 1973, when he was arrested by a squad of FBI agents in downtown Washington as he helped a source load boxes of stolen government documents into his car. He said he had been trying to help the source return the documents, which had been taken from the Bureau of Indian Affairs by Native American activists the previous year and had provided grist for columns about government mistreatment of Indian tribes. Tagged with the precedent-breaking charge of possessing the stolen documents previously, journalists had been considered immune from legal action if they simply received, unsolicited, a cache of secret files Mr. Whitten faced a possible 10 years in prison and soon became a cause celebre in Washington, where reporters donned "Free Les Whitten" buttons and The Post's Herblock drew him into a political cartoon. A grand jury dropped the charges, finding them without merit. By then, however, Anderson had already prepared an unusual defense strategy for his colleague. In an attempt to undercut the government and show that prosecuting Mr. Whitten for receiving secret documents was "selective and arbitrary," as Feldstein later put it, he arranged a meeting with Interior Secretary Rogers Morton. Youve done more for the Indians than any Interior secretary in history, Anderson said, according to Poisoning the Press. If you could slip me some confidential memos on what youve done, I could write a credible story. The sweet talk worked, and Anderson soon had a batch of secret files as classified as the ones handled by Mr. Whitten. "If this ever comes to trial," Mr. Whitten recalled Anderson saying, "we're going to have a heck of a witness for your defense." Leslie Hunter Whitten Jr. was born in Jacksonville, Fla., on Feb. 21, 1928, and grew up in Washington, graduating from Woodrow Wilson High School in the District. At the urging of his father, an electrical engineer and executive with the manufacturer Graybar, Mr. Whitten studied civil engineering at Lehigh University in Bethlehem, Pa. But the field proved a poor fit from the time I was 18, I wanted to be a poet, Mr. Whitten later said. Mr. Whitten seemed a changed man upon his return from Army service, his son Les Whitten III said, switching his majors to English and journalism and becoming editor of the school newspaper. He graduated in 1950 and, after attempts to become a novelist and poet (he moved to Paris and befriended a toga-wearing Raymond Duncan), he joined the Munich office of Radio Free Europe in 1952. After stints with The Post and Hearst newspapers, he joined the Washington Merry-Go-Round following the death of Andersons business partner and the columns founder, Drew Pearson. The former Phyllis Webber, his wife of 65 years, died in January. Survivors include a daughter from a relationship, Deborah Engle of Laguna Beach, Calif.; three sons from his marriage, Les Whitten III of Catonsville, Md., Dan Whitten of Bethesda, Md., and Andrew Whitten of Scottsdale, Ariz.; and six grandchildren. Mr. Whitten wrote nearly a dozen novels in all, including his 1965 debut Progeny of the Adder, about a vampire who dumps his victims in the Potomac River, and his 1967 follow-up Moon of the Wolf, about a werewolf in small-town Mississippi. The book was adapted into a 1972 ABC Movie of the Week starring David Janssen. The success of a 1976 political novel, Conflict of Interest, which featured an alcoholic speaker of the House and a few salacious bedroom scenes, led him to step away from his job at the Merry-Go-Round. He continued to contribute to the column part-time for several years. Before, I was strung like a harp every day, he told The Post in 1978, soon after entering semiretirement. Id have four or five stories going; I didnt know if some FBI guy or grand jury was going to call, or if some mob guy would do a breath job on the phone. If we were working on a mob story, Id start my car by reaching my arm in, so Id only miss an arm if it blew up. It wasnt what youd call your little old backyard swing by the Swanee River. Correction: An earlier version of this obituary incorrectly described the site of the 1972 break-in at Democratic National Committee headquarters. The DNC offices were at the Watergate hotel and office complex, but they were not located inside the hotel itself. The story has been updated. Baltimores 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 Suiters 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 Suiters shooting. Davis said it wasnt until six days after Suiters death that he learned the detective had been set to testify, although federal prosecutors said he had been informed soon after the death. Davis also said he also didnt know about a new indictment that broadened the corruption case until it was made public on Thursday. Detective Sean Suiter. Suiter was shot in the head with his own gun Nov. 15. (AP) 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 A. Wray. [Baltimore police detective fatally shot in head with own gun, died clutching radio] Davis's 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 Suiters death and the corruption case have now become intertwined, and Davis wants to ensure the credibility of the investigation. Davis said he understands the anxiety that something just does not jibe here, with details that dont appear to add up. He 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 Baltimores Harlem Park neighborhood. Police have said he confronted a man he saw acting suspiciously. Police recovered three shell casings, all fired from Suiters weapon, which was found on or next to his body. Davis has said that Suiters 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 shooter 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 papers 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. Jenkinss attorney, Steven Levin, declined to comment on Friday. Each parent, one by one, their eyes swollen and red from tears, stood before the D.C. judge and spoke about how their children had been sexually assaulted by an elementary school teacher they all trusted. One woman said the teacher, Manuel Garcia Fernandez, who taught at the Latin American Montessori Bilingual (LAMB) Public Charter School, gave her son piano lessons in the basement of his home when the boy was in the fourth and fifth grade. Her son, now 9 years old, later told her that Fernandez molested him and made him watch pornographic movies. The mother of another victim said her son climbed on his therapists desk earlier this year and tried to open the window to jump out of it, his second attempt at suicide this year. And another woman, a 27-year D.C. police officer, said she feels guilty that she spent so much time protecting citizens of the District but was unable to protect her 9-year-old son from being molested by his teacher. Fernandez, 36, sat next to his attorney as each of the parents spoke in D.C. Superior Court on Friday. He often shook his right foot and, at times, shook his head. In June, Fernandez pleaded guilty to sexually assaulting six of his students, and as part of that plea deal prosecutors said they would not ask for more than eight years in prison. Judge Judith Bartnoff sentenced Fernandez to the full eight-year sentence. In court Friday, prosecutors announced that during their investigation they learned that Fernandez might have assaulted 13 more children during the same time period, from 2015 to 2017, with many of the assaults occurring at the Northwest Washington school where he taught. His attorney, Bernie Grimm, disputed many of those claims. He changed what was supposed to be a safe place for children into his den of sexual pleasure, Assistant U.S. Attorney Jessica Brooks told the judge. During the highly emotional sentencing, family members of the children and school staff members, many wearing light-blue ribbons to support abused children, gathered in the courtroom. Fernandezs wife, parents and in-laws, along with a half-dozen friends and supporters, also attended. [Former charter school teacher pleads guilty to child sexual assault] When Fernandez was arrested in February, prosecutors said he preyed on his students as they played games such as hide-and-seek. Fernandez, a father of three young boys who also performed as a musician under the name Teddy Dos Dedos Garcia, apologized to the children and their parents. It was a mistake. I committed a terrible mistake, and I am very ashamed and I am very sorry, Fernandez said. I am sorry I failed you. Bartnoff also ordered Fernandez to be on supervised supervision for 25 years after his release from prison, to register as a child sex offender for life and to not have any unsupervised visits with children, including his own. Fernandez is expected to be deported to his native country of Spain after his release from prison in about seven years. The judge gave him credit for time served in D.C. jail since his arrest. He has been held there on 24-hour isolation to protect him from other inmates. This week, officials at Fernandezs former school announced that three of the schools top leaders, including the principal and school psychologist, will leave their posts by Dec. 15. The executive director will leave at the end of the school year. [Leaders at D.C. public charter school out of jobs following teacher-sex abuse case] The schools board said the three officials failed to ensure the safety of students after educators raised concerns about Fernandezs behavior. Prosecutors said Fernandez was disciplined by the school in 2015 for similar behavior but was rehired. One father who spoke at the sentencing said that his son was molested a lot of times by Fernandez, and that he could not shake the irony that he and his wife had been concerned about finally allowing their 8-year-old son to walk six blocks to and from school by himself. The irony was that it wasnt what could happen in the city that we had to worry about. It was what happened at the school. And that irony will haunt me for the rest of my life, he said. The MS-13 gang members who lured a man to his death in Wheaton Regional Park earlier this year arrived at the scene with knives, at least one shovel and a machete that they used to hack off the victims body parts, according to new records and a hearing held Friday in Montgomery County District Court. This crime is abhorrent, Assistant States Attorney Ashley Inderfurth told a judge, arguing that one of the new defendants in the case, Albaro Armando Rosa-Moreno, 22, should be held in jail on no-bond status. It goes without saying that this person presents a significant danger to our community, she added. Judge Holly D. Reed III ordered Rosa-Moreno held without bond. The victim, who has not been identified, was found in September, buried in a secluded area of Wheaton Regional Park, a 536-acre expanse of woods, trails, ballfields, playgrounds and a carousel. The man had been decapitated and stabbed more than 100 times, and his heart had been ripped out, according to court records. Detectives suspect that as many as 10 MS-13 members were involved in planning the crime, digging the grave, luring the victim to the park, communicating over walkie-talkies as he arrived and then attacking him. On Nov. 11, they made their first arrest in the case. This week, they charged two more suspects with first-degree murder: Rosa-Moreno as well as Doris Esmeralda Giron-Jimenez, 24. She is due in court Monday. The case so far against the three defendants, according to the early court filings, appears to be largely built on the account of a confidential informant, who is listed as INF in arrest warrants. The filings describe the informant as credible someone who was able to show them exactly where the remains were. Earlier: Police describe gruesome murder scene after making first arrest in case In detectives arrest warrant for Giron-Jimenez, they described her role as a driver. She took three MS-13 members to the park taking two trips to do so, first arriving with two people and then going back for a third, according to the court records. It is worth noting that, according to INF, these three participants brought knives and a shovel, detectives wrote in charging documents. After the killing, detectives allege, the three people who had been driven to the park by Giron-Jimenez contacted her to get them. She picked up the three, who had in their possession a bag containing the shovel and the murder weapons, detectives asserted. The three were driven to a hotel in the Takoma Park area, where they met up with others who took part in the killing, according to police. Court records do not say whether Giron-Jimenez has retained an attorney. In court Friday for the hearing for Rosa-Moreno Assistant Public Defender John Lavigne asked the judge to set a jail bond for his client. Granted that the things that the states attorney told you are quite bad, Lavigne said, but the reason, at this point, that they know about these things is because some unidentified person named INF told them he was involved. Lavigne described the investigation as "a work in process" and noted that his client lives with his mother and two younger brothers and has a job. "He was arrested on his way to work," Lavigne said. Inderfurth, the prosecutor, countered that Rosa-Moreno had participated in digging the grave ahead of time and stabbing the victim. She also noted the brutality inflicted on the victim. "His heart was ripped out of his chest and thrown into the grave," she said. Police say the victim may have been from the Annapolis area. They described him as Hispanic, about 5-foot-2 and weighing 126 pounds. At the time of the killing, the victim wore a gray sweatshirt with "First United Methodist Church Laurel" on the upper left side. A rosary or necklace was also found with his body, said police, who had previously distributed photos of the victim's sweatshirt and muddied blue shorts in an effort to identify his remains. The first suspect who was arrested, Miguel Lopez-Abrego, a citizen of El Salvador, is in the United States illegally and is in immigration proceedings, according to officials from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. The immigration status of the two new suspects was unclear Friday. Source: Xinhua| 2017-12-02 18:58:46|Editor: Yurou Video Player Close PHNOM PENH, Dec. 2 (Xinhua) -- Cambodia on Saturday welcomed home a set of 10 Angkorian-era gold jewelry pieces, which was stolen from the country decades ago, according to a statement from the Ministry of Culture and Fine Arts. The ancient artifacts, 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 artifacts, 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. The London-based gallery Jonathan Tucker Antonia Tozer Asian Art voluntarily returned the jewelry items after Cambodia had concrete evidence to prove that they were stolen from the country, the statement said, adding that Cambodia identified the artifacts 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 jewelry items were put on displays 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 United States. Just after turning 21 last year, Edna Conteh bought eight firearms at two gun stores in Northern Virginia. Within months, two of the weapons would be used in a shootout in Alexandria that left her friend Saquan Hall dead. Conteh, who pleaded guilty in federal court Friday to giving false statements, told special agents last year she was a gun enthusiast who went to shooting ranges with friends. She claimed she bought several guns in May and June of 2016 because an ex-boyfriend had threatened her on Twitter. She said she had been feeling suicidal and had planned to throw the firearms in the river. Instead, she said, they were stolen when her car broke down and was towed to a gas station. In fact, according to court documents, Conteh was buying the guns for her boyfriend and helping sell them. The boyfriends identity was not revealed. Police found one of the guns after a report of shots fired in the District. Two more weapons were recovered after Hall died in a July 2, 2016, firefight in Alexandria. One of the weapons police recovered last July was a gun that Hall was attempting to pull out when he was killed; the other was carried by a friend, according to court papers. The friend told law enforcement that one of the guns was his and that he threw it in an alley near Halls body that night. He told authorities that he went back to look for the gun later that night; Conteh was upset that he had thrown it away because she had hoped to resell it. Police had already found the weapon. In July, Dijuan Clark admitted in court to killing Hall, who police suspect killed Clarks brother Pierre. The gun used to kill Pierre Clark was never recovered. The eight guns, all pistols or revolvers, came from Sharpshooters Small Arms Range in Lorton and The Gun Dude in Falls Church, according to court papers. All the weapons were purchased with cash. Conteh faces a maximum of five years in prison when she is sentenced in March. An earlier version of this article incorrectly identified a cooperating witness in the case. THE DISTRICT Second arrest made in teenagers slaying A Maryland teenager, sought as a suspect in the Nov. 7 fatal shooting of a 16-year-old in an alley in Northwest, was arrested Thursday, according to D.C. police. They said Victor Hernandez, 17, of Hyattsville, was charged as an adult with first-degree murder while armed in the death of Yoselis Regino Barrios, in the 1300 block of Rittenhouse Street NW. He is the second suspect implicated in the shooting. Peter Hermann Police seek toddler who vanished in 1983 The stranger seemed so nice and friendly, and she and the woman had talked for more than two hours as they awaited an intercity bus. So the woman was not initially alarmed when the stranger stepped away to get a soda while holding the child. But D.C. police said the child, April Williams, who was 3 months old when she was taken Dec. 2, 1983, in the old Trailways station on New York Avenue NW, has never been found. On Friday, almost exactly 34 years later, they again appealed to those with information to call them at 202-727-9099. Martin Weil MARYLAND Remains are identied as those of missing man Remains found last month in a wooded area in Brookeville, Md., have been identified as those of a missing Silver Spring man. Montgomery County police said they are those of Harry Ryan Detwiler, 19. Dana Hedgpeth Labor leaders endorse Edwards in exec race Four local unions representing thousands of Prince Georges County hotel, food, retail and public-sector workers have endorsed former congresswoman Donna F. Edwardss campaign for county executive. Edwards (D), who represented parts of Prince George's in the U.S. House for two terms before a failed bid for the U.S. Senate last year, was initially reluctant to jump into the race to succeed Rushern L. Baker III (D) as the county government chief. But union leaders, including the ones endorsing her candidacy, helped persuade her to run. In June's Democratic primary, Edwards will face state Sen. C. Anthony Muse and Prince George's State's Attorney Angela Alsobrooks. Leaders of two United Food and Commercial Workers chapters, the Laborers' International Union of North America (LIUNA) and Unite Here Local 25 say Edwards will advocate for issues important to working families and labor. Arelis R. Hernandez Fourth arrest in June killing of two teenagers A fourth man was arrested Friday in the June killing of two teenagers in Gaithersburg, Montgomery County Police said. They said Rony Alexander Galicia, 25, of the 19500 block of Frederick Road in Germantown was charged in the deaths of Shadi Adi Najjar, 17, and Artem S. Ziberov, 18. Martin Weil These cats, crammed in a cage, are among the hundreds of animals rescued from squalor on a farm in Louisa, Va. (Louisa County Sheriff's Office) The Louisa County Fairgrounds were transformed into a sprawling animal recovery center this week after a report of wandering goats led to the discovery of hundreds of animals in filthy cages with no food or drinkable water. Among the 561 creatures being cared for Saturday at the fairgrounds just north of Richmond were guinea pigs, ducks, goats, cats, emus and a peacock. No charges have been filed against the farms 77-year-old owner, Clara Collier, who officials said owns the property in central Louisa, since the discovery of the animals Wednesday. Why she did it and how she got the animals, we dont know, said Donnie Embrey, team leader of the countys Animal Response Team, who called it a hoarder situation. Collier owned the animals and the farm but did not live there, officials said. She stayed nearby with relatives. Two of her children told local news outlets that Collier is far from cruel. "She does everything that she can for these animals," Amanda Collier told WVIR-Charlottesville. "This is what she lives for. She's 77 years old, and she works two jobs to take care of the animals; I mean, this is her life," Cecil Colna, who was identified as Collier's son, told WTVR-Richmond. "I'm afraid she might not make it after this." Maj. Donald A. Lowe, the Louisa County Sheriffs Offices chief deputy, said that there is an investigation underway. Collier apparently loves animals but the situation got out of control, he said. Officers and vets responding to the scene needed to wear respirators to go into some of the areas where animals were kept, he said. Some chickens were in cages so full of waste that the bird had only six inches of space in which to move, he said, and the water looked like mud. The sheriff's office's Facebook page said two dozen volunteers had responded to the crisis and that the animals now have "feed, water, cages, hay, wood chips, feeders and many other resources." Embrey said so many people had offered to volunteer this week and to adopt the animals that the team had to post an announcement saying that needs were met through Sunday. The situation came to light when a resident called the county about goats in the road something not uncommon in a rural county with 35,000 residents. When an animal-control officer caught the goats and returned them to the nearby pen, "they could see other goats in distress inside the pen," Embrey said. The sheriff's office's Facebook page said that the officer also observed at least one dead animal. The officers got search warrants, and the animals were later removed from the property. Five goats were euthanized by officials earlier this week, Embrey said. The hundreds of animals still alive are coming around, theyre getting better, he said. There has been a lot of public interest in the animals, he said, however none can be given for fostering or adoption until the case goes through the courts. The Animal Response Team has been posting updates several times a day to keep up with the interest. At the countys holiday parade Saturday, he said, people were just stopping us saying: What can we do? What do you need? The support from the community has been overwhelming. Lowe said that the county is taking donations to pay for the round-the-clock care of the animals and volunteers. Those interested can call the Louisa County Sheriffs Office at 540-967-1234 or send donations to Louisa CART, 522 Industrial Dr., Suite E, Louisa, Va., 23093. A second-grade teacher in Loudoun County was charged with public intoxication after school personnel told police she was drunk at Sterling Elementary. A news release by the Loudoun County Sheriff's Office said the office received a call about Claire Bucher, 25, of Potomac Falls, about 2 p.m. Friday. Bucher was also charged with possessing or drinking an alcoholic beverage in a public school or on public school grounds during school hours, the release said. Bucher is listed on the school website as being with the second-grade teaching team. She responded Saturday to a request for a statement as follows: I am absolutely devastated and humiliated for my actions. Teaching is the most important thing in my life. At this time I extend my most sincere apologies to my family for what I have put them through, to my colleagues for the uneasiness and concern I have instilled, and above all to my wonderful students and their families. The conversations they will need to have are unjust and the inconsistency I am leaving them with is inexcusable. I am grateful for the opportunity I have during this time to receive professional help and move forward. My students welfare remains the most important thing to me. A request to the sheriffs office for more information Saturday was not immediately answered. LOUISIANA Ex-congressman is released from prison Former congressman William J. Jefferson (D-La.) is a free man despite having served less than half of a 13-year prison sentence on corruption charges. U.S. District Judge T.S. Ellis III in Alexandria, Va., on Friday resentenced Jefferson, 70, to time served. The same judge oversaw an eight-week trial in 2009 that led to the former U.S. lawmakers conviction on 16 charges related to business dealings in Africa. Among other unsavory dealings, the then-lawmaker at one point stashed $90,000 in cash for the vice president of Nigeria in his freezer. But in light of the Supreme Courts redefinition of public corruption in a case involving former Virginia governor Robert F. McDonnell (R), Ellis in October vacated all but three convictions against Jefferson. On Friday, the judge vacated another count of racketeering that could have exposed Jefferson to more prison time. The two remaining charges on which Jefferson was convicted, involving bribery of foreign officials, had statutory maximum sentences of five years. The government will keep $189,000 that Jefferson forfeited as a fine. Jefferson was released from prison in October after Elliss initial ruling, but it was not until Friday that he was taken off court monitoring and officially freed. Rachel Weiner McDonald's manager to get reward for tip-off in Florida killings: A McDonald's manager will get a $110,000 reward for tipping off police about a man accused of killing four people and terrorizing a Florida neighborhood for 51 days. Tampa police chief Brian Dugan said at a news conference Friday that Delonda Walker will receive "every penny" of the reward money. Her tip to police on Tuesday led to the arrest of Howell Emanuel Donaldson III, 24, who is charged with four counts of first-degree murder. The people were apparently randomly shot during October and November. Donaldson worked at the McDonald's. He left his loaded gun in the restaurant. Associated Press A Hawaii Civil Defense Warning Device, which sounds an alert siren during natural disasters, is shown in Honolulu on Wednesday. (Caleb Jones/AP) Minutes before a cacophony of Cold War-era sirens blared across Hawaii on Friday, the staff of a Kauai Island adventure tour operator paused to gather at an outdoor parking area. Huddled in the partial shade of palm trees, five colleagues embraced an expectant moment of quiet. The silence was cut at 11:45 a.m., as the sirens wailed for the first time in a generation. As nuclear tensions between North Korea and the United States foment, Hawaii has reinstated a test of a statewide nuclear attack warning system not utilized since the 1980s. The drill will be repeated on the first business day of the month for the foreseeable future. It was as anticlimactic as I expected, but I wanted to come outside and really hear it, said Peggy Sowl, sales manager at Kauai Outfitters. Maybe they should be playing Broadway tunes if its the last sound were going to hear in the last 15 minutes of our lives. For Sowl, making light of the situation is more than just a coping mechanism, its a strategy for staying sane as talk of a potential nuclear attack increases. I cant live every day worrying about it, she said. Go to the beach, go for a swim, hug a friend. Were living in a weird time, but life has to go on or the bad guys already won. [Hawaii brings back Cold War-era nuclear warning sirens amid fears of North Korea strike] Siren drills for hurricanes, tsunamis and other natural disasters are routine events on the islands, but the renewed need for a nuclear drill had some residents here on edge. Erin Keller, a 33-year-old restaurant owner, said the siren drill was all her cooks could talk about Friday morning. Its making everyone nervous, Keller said. Generally I feel like living in Hawaii makes it so that youre kind of removed from that sense of drama and danger. But the proximity of Hawaii to North Korea changes everything. Are we sticking out like a sore thumb? In the event of a nuclear attack, the sirens islanders heard Friday will serve as a 15-minute warning to gather with loved ones and take cover. Thats how long experts say it would take a nuclear missile launched from North Korea to reach Hawaii and potentially destroy it. Hawaii Emergency Management Agency officials have said the probability of a nuclear missile attack on Hawaii is extremely low, and the agency projects that 90 percent of the states 1.4 million residents would survive. John Teschner, a 37-year-old grant writer, said he thinks the threat of nuclear attack from North Korea could be an imminent reality. Recent news of yet another test launch made it difficult for him to concentrate on work. We are in an era when its not unlikely that a nuclear war could break out, and this whole time it has felt like Hawaii has a target on its back, Teschner said. I have often thought that its impossible for people in my generation to imagine feeling vulnerable to the real threat of a nuclear war, like what my parents generation must have felt during the nuclear standoff with the Cuban missile crisis. And then today I realized, Oh, this is how they felt. [Native Hawaiians again seek political sovereignty] Teschner expressed concern over the fine line the state government is walking as it attempts to craft a nuclear preparedness campaign without scaring off any of the 8.9 million tourists that drive Hawaiis economy. Obviously theres this tension between the tourism industry and nuclear safety, and theres this idea that we dont want to mar Hawaiis image as a paradise, Teschner said. Kurt Leong, a Kauai fire captain, said there hasnt been enough public education about how islanders can attempt to protect themselves from radioactivity. One positive ripple effect of Fridays drill, Leong said, is that it is prompting people to prepare and strategize. We were talking about it this morning at the firehouse, and we dont know exactly what the proper protocol is, Leong said. I do think the federal government and the state and the counties have a long way to go in terms of getting that information out there to the public. Its not like its pasted everywhere about what to do. At Kaelepulu Elementary School on Hawaiis most populous island of Oahu, Principal Jamie Dela Cruz said students have been busy working with their families to assemble courage kits small packages of family photos and comfort foods to help keep students calm in the event of a nuclear attack during classroom hours. These are uncertain times and we want to be prepared, Dela Cruz said. We want to be prepared by having a stock of water, and we want to be prepared for what it could stir up emotionally. But some public educators havent broached the subject. Laura Chang, a 67-year-old custodian, said she is dismayed that her grandchildren havent received instruction at school about how to respond to a nuclear attack. I told my 13-year-old granddaughter, If you hear the siren you take out your phone, you call your mother and you talk to her for 15 minutes, she said. Go underneath the desk, call your mother, and know that I love you. Many residents of the famously laid-back island chain met the piercing sound of sirens Friday with a healthy dose of ease and detachment, describing it as little more than background noise. If there were a nuclear bomb here, I would probably just try to be calm and enjoy the meltdown, said Tom Lieber, a 68-year-old abstract painter. My thought is, Have a good time, this could be it. Source: Xinhua| 2017-12-02 19:23:51|Editor: Jiaxin Video Player Close SANYA, China, Dec. 2 (Xinhua) -- FINA President Julio Maglione said that China has been FINA's important partner at the welcome dinner for the FINA World Aquatics Gala. Maglione told Xinhua on Friday that he was quite grateful to the Chinese authorities for giving lots of support to major FINA events. The FINA World Aquatics Gala, regarded as the most authoritative award ceremony of the swimming world, will be held here on Saturday evening. "The gala will bring a very unforgettable and joyous moment to everyone," said Maglione. The gala, the first of its kind in China, features 14 awards to celebrate the best athletes in swimming, diving, synchronized swimming, water polo, and other aquatic sports. In his Nov. 11 Free for All letter, "Putting a foot down on 'podium,' " George Chartier wrote a valiant plea for journalists to use correct English, citing the improper use of "podium" instead of "lectern" in a front-page article. His strong argument was convincing. Words can vanish from a language for many reasons, but precision in language is essential for . . . correct communication, [and people] who are learning to read take language lessons from newspapers. Written by a logophile for true logophiles. However, words do change meaning and gain acceptance through usage over time. The Merriam-Webster dictionary's online editors posted an article titled "A Podium is the Same Thing as a Lectern," noting this usage in "published, edited prose by skilled writers." The editors cheerfully denied any responsibility in creating this usage change. They are only mandated "to report those meanings if and when they become established." Logophiles have no such mandate, but resistance is futile (say Star Treks Borg). Eileen Doll, Gwynn Oak George Chartier insisted that "it is vital for journalists to provide teachable moments with every word they choose." The same holds true for copy editors, especially in the current news cycle of actor Kevin Spacey, Alabama U.S. Senate candidate Roy Moore and comedian Louis C.K. For example, R. Grant Tate, in his Nov. 11 Free for All letter, "America is in a fix. How do we fix it?," took issue with "the Hastert rule . . . [which] limits votes in the House to those that are supported by a majority of the majority party," counseling, "Let's list all similar rules and expose them to the public." Expose? Former House speaker J. Dennis Hastert (R-Ill.) was a serial child molester. Exposing himself presumably was what he did to his victims. Either way, if slave ownership prompts consideration of the removal of the statues of George Washington and Thomas Jefferson, then all the more so does the GOP need to repeal and replace the nomenclature of its procedural rule. Stanleigh Cohen, Baltimore WHEN AN accident caused a reactor core meltdown at the Three Mile Island plant in Pennsylvania in the early-morning hours of March 28, 1979, the information reaching the public was fragmentary and contradictory. Even the leaders of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission were confused, and its chairman said two days later that he and the governor of Pennsylvania were "like a couple of blind men staggering around making decisions." When the Chernobyl nuclear power plant in the Soviet Union exploded in 1986, the grim early details were covered up even as radioactive clouds drifted from Ukraine to Sweden. With this history, a healthy skepticism is in order when it comes to nuclear accidents anywhere. Recently, a radioactive spike was detected in the atmosphere over parts of Europe. No one has revealed what caused it, and it does not appear to be dangerous to human health. But already Russia has gone from denial to admitting the existence of high radioactive readings near a major plant for reprocessing spent nuclear fuel, raising concerns that something is amiss. In late September and early October, French authorities monitoring the atmosphere discovered the presence of trace amounts of a radioisotope, ruthenium-106, a byproduct of nuclear reprocessing that is not normally present in the air. Germany found the same, as did at least a dozen other European countries; Romania found the highest levels. After consulting with technical organizations in Europe and running simulations and models, the French said the "simulations show that the most probable origin of this release is the southern Urals" of Russia, "without it being possible to be any more precise." The French added that the release probably happened in late September and that the amounts suggest "this release could be the result of an accident" of some kind, although not a nuclear reactor accident, which would have released many other isotopes as well. This pointed to a reprocessing accident and release. Reprocessing nuclear fuel involves breaking it down into individual isotopes. But Russia denied being the source on Oct. 11, saying in a statement reported by its Sputnik news service that the radiation level around its facilities "is within normal levels." As it turned out, this was not true. Russia acknowledged Nov. 21 that it had detected a significant radiation spike at two weather stations where the ruthenium-106 levels were 986 and 440 times higher than a month earlier. The stations are within a 62-mile radius of a Soviet-era nuclear reprocessing and isotope production facility at Mayak, in the Chelyabinsk region, on the eastern side of the southern Ural Mountains. Russia said there has been no accident at Mayak. In the Chernobyl disaster, the dangers of official secrecy and lies were exposed to the Soviet people and to the world. Has anything changed? Chernobyl propelled Mikhail Gorbachev to launch his reforms of glasnost, or openness. That was three decades ago. Today, President Vladimir Putin's model of authoritarianism thrives on deception and coverup. If there was a nuclear reprocessing accident in September, let's hear the truth, and soon. President Trump in the Oval Office of the White House on Thursday. (Nicholas Kamm/AFP via Getty Images) When Republicans in the Senate follow in spirit if not exact word their colleagues in the House, we will have, after some interhouse haggling, what Catherine Rampell labeled, with great restraint, a "plutocratic, sloppy tax overhaul" ["Why the GOP is rushing tax reform," op-ed, Nov. 28]. If the new tax law goes into effect with its, for most of us, torturous slow drip of deduction and benefit removals while corporations grow richer but fail to invest or hire, Republicans will have one great achievement. Republicans will own this law. They will be unable to blame its predictably ugly outcomes on Barack Obama. Ann McCormick Scott, Gaithersburg The tax bills are obviously complicated and opaque. One nugget in the Senate bill would allow repatriation of the pre-1987 earnings of U.S.-owned foreign corporations to the United States with no U.S. tax. What conceivable rationale would justify that? H. David Rosenbloom, Washington Regarding the Nov. 29 news article "Trump trade policy may imperil U.S. digital clout": No amount of tax cutting or fiddling with education policy can replace investments in basic infrastructure, research and development, and a trade policy that encourages technology firms to create the high-skilled jobs of tomorrow. President Trump continues to coddle populist special interests, promising the coal lobby and blue-collar workers that he will revive struggling industries in a global market that has less and less demand for their products. While offering obvious political points, doing so at the expense of technology companies is deeply cynical and harmful to the future of the very families hes claiming to help. We can and should offer all American families a better chance at high-quality, good-paying work. That chance rests with supporting the technology companies that are already making America great. Robert M. Holland, Washington Here's to Tom Toles for defending my middle-class cohort from tax predation [editorial cartoons, Nov. 20, 21, 23, 27 and 28]. Nearly 80 and diagnosed with lethal cancer, I would suffer a 35 percent tax increase through loss of the personal exemption, medical deduction and state and local tax deduction. The Republicans want to pick our pockets to fatten their billionaire donors Robin Hood perverted. Mr. Toless coal train to Santa was right: President Trumps only industry revival plan is to send the elderly ill a nasty lump of bituminous for Christmas. We get no warmth from such gifts, save perhaps from anger. J. Marvin Watts, Bluemont Columnist Is Vincent Gray going to run for D.C. mayor? Should he run? If he does, can he win? As to the first question, only Gray knows. Early signs suggest he would like to make a bid for the job he lost April 1, 2014, when now-Mayor Muriel E. Bowser defeated him in the Democratic primary. This much is known: Gray has been taking soundings around town, testing the mood of the city, gauging voter interest. Gray, who represents Ward 7 on the D.C. Council, reportedly has already assembled a skeletal crew that is poised to blossom into full election- campaign mode if he gives a green light. It's a tossup at this point. Look for a decision at the beginning of the year, six months before the June 19 primary election. Should he run? calls for an entirely different assessment. Gray, 75, is still smarting from the voters' rejection of his reelection bid. He lays his loss at the feet of Bowser and then-U.S. Attorney Ronald C. Machen Jr., who, with much fanfare, launched a corruption probe into Gray's 2010 mayoral election campaign. Two years before the April 2014 election, then-Ward 4 council member Bowser was one of three lawmakers to call for Gray to resign because of Machen's probe. The investigation dragged on for three years. The political roof fell in on Gray when D.C. businessman Jeffrey E. Thompson entered federal court on March 10, 2014, and pleaded guilty to illegally giving more than $2 million to Gray's 2010 campaign. Thompson said Gray knew about that "shadow campaign." The media took it from there. A March 10 Post headline screamed: "Gray knew of 'shadow campaign,' Thompson prosecutors say; mayor says it's all a lie." Other news organizations followed suit with headlines and extended coverage of their own. That same month, Bowser said at a debate, "I found out that [Gray] didn't actually win the Democratic primary [in 2010 against Mayor Adrian M. Fenty] fair and square, so . . . I could not support somebody who would be almost indicted." There stood Gray, three weeks before the April 1 primary: uncharged, but publicly accused of involvement in unlawful behavior, with no opportunity to confront his accusers or review the evidence against him in a court of law. Instead, he found himself in the court of public opinion. It was no contest on primary Election Day 2014. A year later, another decision was reached: The U.S. Attorneys Office, under the new management of Channing D. Phillips, concluded its investigation into the 2010 campaign with no charges filed against Gray, citing likely insufficient evidence. "Justice delayed is justice denied," Gray said following Phillips's announcement. But it was Machen, not Bowser, who torpedoed Gray. Besides, revenge is a poor reason to seek office. So should he run? Having a passion to get the old job back is not enough. Gray would have to make the case that Bowser needs to be replaced and that he's the one to do it. That's a tall order, according to a Post poll in June, which showed that 67 percent of D.C. residents approve of the mayor's job performance, although there's some softness in that number. Only 20 percent strongly approved of the job she was doing while 48 percent gave her negative marks on curbing the influence of big-money donors in the John A. Wilson Building. And, happiness isnt spread across the city. Management of the city's only public hospital, United Medical Center, is disgraceful. Allegations of high school students barely able to read and write being allowed to graduate are, if true, alarming. City-provided paths from dependency to self-sufficiency, under Bowser's Health and Human Services Department, are as steep and clumsy as ever. And her three-year-old administration has hardly been scandal-free: high-ranking Bowser officials getting preferential treatment in the school lottery; a cabinet member misusing staff for personal business; lingering pay-for-play suspicions. None of that translates into support for Gray, who, despite his denials, must still dispel lingering suspicions about his role in the illegal 2010 shadow campaign. The burden is on Gray not only to make the case for denying Bowser another term in office; he also needs to convince voters that he alone can make the city a better place for all residents. So, can Gray win if he jumps into the race? Dislodging an incumbent is an uphill battle, especially against such a well-financed, politically astute leader as Bowser. The task is even more formidable when voters overall seem generally satisfied with the citys direction. A seasoned strategist, who requested anonymity unless and until Gray declares, sees it this way: In an off-year election, about 100,000 ballots will get cast. Gray wins handily in Wards 7 and 8 and carries Ward 5. He gets votes in Wards 1, 2, 3 and 6 but not enough to win. He and Bowser fight to the finish in battleground Ward 4, where she resides. If, with a volunteer, grass-roots campaign, Gray scores more than 50,000 votes, he squeaks out a win. A tall order, indeed. Read more from Colbert King's archive. THE FIRST gun-related legislation since 58 people were killed on the Las Vegas Strip in the worst mass shooting in modern U.S. history won approval last week from a key House committee and appears headed for a quick floor vote. No, it's not a much-discussed proposal to ban the notorious bump stocks used to deadly effect by the Las Vegas gunman. Nor is it much-needed restrictions on assault-style weapons that have become the gun of choice of mass shooters. Incredibly, what the Republican-led House appears ready to do is make it easier for people including those with dangerous histories to carry hidden, loaded guns across the country. Voting along party lines, the House Judiciary Committee on Wednesday gave approval to a bill that would allow concealed-carry permit holders from one state to legally carry their guns to any other state. The Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act of 2017 was the National Rifle Association's "highest legislative priority," so Republicans fell in line, brushing aside the reasonable objections of law enforcement officials about the dangerous consequences to public safety. States that have put in place common-sense requirements for concealed-weapon permits for their residents such as safety training or no convictions for violent crimes would have to recognize the standards of other states, even if they are weaker or, as is the case with states that don't require permits, nonexistent. Imposing the gun laws of Western or Southern states on densely populated urban areas is misguided. It's also hypocritical of Republicans who rail against the overreach of the federal government to undermine the rights of states to set their own rule in this critical area. Arguments about protecting the Second Amendment are a canard; the Supreme Court has said states can regulate guns for lawful users. The bill has more than 200 co-sponsors, so passage in the House, predicted to come as early as this week, is sad to say likely. The outcome in the Senate is uncertain, which is probably why there are plans by the House to combine concealed-carry reciprocity with a bipartisan proposal to make modest but needed improvements in the national system of criminal background checks managed by the FBI. Sen. John Cornyn (R-Tex.), who is leading the effort to strengthen the National Instant Criminal Background Check System after the Sutherland Springs, Tex., shooting of churchgoers revealed deficiencies, warned against the maneuver. Combining the two measures, he said, "is to risk nothing happening." But then, when it comes to gun control, doing nothing is what Congress is good at. ON FRIDAY, special counsel Robert S. Mueller III brought criminal charges against a fourth defendant in the investigation into Russian election interference: President Trump's former national security adviser, Michael Flynn. With Mr. Flynn's guilty plea, Mr. Mueller's probe into possible collusion between the Trump campaign and the Russian government continues to draw closer to the White House. The plea reveals that senior transition officials were guiding Mr. Flynn as he sought help from the Russian ambassador in undermining the Obama administration's policies. Mr. Flynn served as national security adviser for 24 days before he resigned over reports that he had misled administration officials over the nature of his contacts with Sergey Kislyak. According to the special counsel, Mr. Flynn misled FBI investigators, as well the criminal offense to which he pleaded guilty. Mr. Flynn requested that Mr. Kislyak keep Russia from retaliating harshly against new sanctions imposed during the final weeks of the Obama administration. Also during the presidential transition, he asked Mr. Kislyak to withhold Russian support for a U.N. Security Council resolution condemning Israeli settlements. Mr. Flynn denied all this to the FBI. Mr. Flynn's guilty plea includes an admission that he coordinated these conversations with Mr. Kislyak with officials on the presidential transition team among them, The Post reports, Mr. Trump's son-in-law, Jared Kushner. In December 2016, Mr. Kushner pushed Mr. Flynn to seek the help of Mr. Kislyak and other diplomats in quashing the U.N. Security Council resolution, which the Obama administration had decided not to oppose. Mr. Flynn also conferred with a "senior official" before acquiring Mr. Kislyak's promise that Russia would not retaliate against the United States on the matter of sanctions. In negotiating with the Kremlin before Mr. Trump's inauguration, the Trump transition team undermined the foreign policy of the sitting president. What's more, the Obama administration designed its sanctions against Russia as retaliation for election interference. Mr. Flynn apparently promised that the next administration would review those sanctions meaning Mr. Trump's advisers sought to weaken the U.S. attempt to hold Russia accountable for its meddling. Investigators must now determine, if they have not already, who else was involved in this plot and how much the president-elect himself knew. Any direct involvement by Mr. Trump would cast in an even more concerning light the presidents pressuring of then-FBI Director James B. Comey to drop the investigation into Mr. Flynn, along with his subsequent firing of Mr. Comey. Mr. Muellers decision to file charges only over Mr. Flynns lies to federal investigators, along with the defendants guilty plea, probably indicates that Mr. Flynn has chosen to cooperate with the special counsel. As the investigation develops, it is of the utmost importance that Mr. Mueller be able to continue unimpeded in his work. Mr. Trump must understand that further efforts to interfere in the investigation would be politically ruinous. And members of Congress on both sides of the aisle must stand ready to make clear to the president that any pardon of Mr. Flynn or any other defendant, or the termination of Mr. Muellers appointment, would be cause for congressional action. IN JUNE, 164 students graduated from Ballou High School. Just two months earlier, the assessment of officials at the Southeast Washington school was that only 57 students were on track to graduate; dozens of others were missing graduation or community service requirements or failing classes. How were these students able to graduate? Did they legitimately complete the required work? Or were they passed through and given diplomas they didnt deserve? Those are the questions that must be addressed in the wake of a disturbing report that students who were ill-prepared or chronically absent were allowed to graduate after teachers felt pressure to pass them. According to an investigation by WAMU and NPR, a majority of Ballou's 2017 graduating class missed more than six weeks of school; one-fifth of the graduates missed over half the school year. D.C. school policy, put in place two years ago, dictates that a student fail a class after 30 absences. There are, however, provisions for students to get credit by showing proficiency in a subject or through credit recovery courses. Mayor Muriel E. Bowser (D) and D.C. Public Schools Chancellor Antwan Wilson immediately announced there would be an investigation into Ballou and a separate inquiry into whether issues related to graduation and grading need to be addressed citywide. The D.C. Council will also hold an oversight hearing on the matter. These are welcome moves; it is important to know exactly what happened at Ballou. It's also important to allow the investigations to run their course before drawing broad-based conclusions. Complicated issues are at play. For example, we were struck by the fact that among those interviewed were three former students of Ballou who are now in college, including one who was absent about half the school year. "If some of those kids end up finishing college who wouldn't have if they were not passed isn't that the goal?" one reader tweeted. Ballou is a historically troubled school serving some of the city's most disadvantaged students in one of the city's poorest neighborhoods. It has twice been reconstituted, and teacher turnover is a major issue. There have, though, been some signs of improvement, including a steady rise in test scores. The school received widespread praise, including from this page, after all of this year's graduating seniors applied and were accepted into college. Was that a sham? Mr. Wilson has said he believes the improvement to be genuine. In a Thursday appearance on "The Kojo Nnamdi Show," he said some Ballou teachers told him that the school's hard-charging principal is the target of a vendetta by disgruntled employees. To be honest with you, Mr. Wilson said, I dont know what mistakes were made at Ballou. Its time to find out and, if there was wrongdoing, make those responsible accountable. Columnist I bumped into Bret Baier, the Fox News host, at a Washington cocktail party Wednesday night where it seemed everybody was chatting about the latest White House insanity: President Trump's joking about "Pocahontas" to Native Americans, reviving the Obama "birther" allegation, suggesting the "Access Hollywood" video was fake, retweeting anti-Muslim videos made by British white supremacists. Most assumed Trump was just being crazy, but Baier had a theory: Whenever Trump escalates such antics, he is agitated about news that is about to break. Maybe, Baier speculated, Trump knew something about the Russia probe we didnt yet know. Now we do. On Friday morning came former national security adviser Michael Flynn's guilty plea, the most ominous development for Trump yet in the Russia investigation. Court documents show that Flynn is cooperating with special counsel Robert S. Mueller III and that Flynn's Russian contacts were done under direction from higher-ups and there weren't too many higher than Flynn on the campaign other than Trump himself. The notion that Flynn has the goods on Trump would explain why Trump was reluctant to fire him, tried to get the FBI to stop probing Flynn and seemed unglued this week as news of Flynn's cooperation was about to become public. Though predictions are perilous in the age of Trump, this really could be the beginning of the end of the national horror his tenure has been. If Baier is correct as I believe he is that Trump gets more outrageous when he feels cornered, then this means the nation is entering a perilous period. We can expect Trump to grow more dangerous and desperate in his distractions as he hears Muellers footsteps. Although Trumps erratic behavior is damaging in its own right to alliances and civility, the greatest danger is that while we chase Trumps distractions, we lose sight of real calamity. This week was a good example. Trump raised the level of crazy. We in the media took the bait. And you, dear reader, encouraged us. I asked my digital colleagues for the top 25 pieces that appeared on The Post's website this week before the Flynn news broke. Along with news stories about current intrigue the Matt Lauer firing, James O'Keefe's failed sting operation against The Post, Prince Harry's engagement the items were dominated by Trump insanity: his Muslim-video retweets, his insult of the British prime minister, his attacks on CNN, his war on the "war on Christmas," the insults he traded with Democrats, his "unhinged" behavior and his veering past "guardrails" of what's acceptable. But in the top 25 were only two about the monstrous tax bill as it made its way through the Senate this week. There were only two about North Korea testing a missile that could strike anywhere in the United States. There was only one about Trump's takeover of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. And there wasn't a single article about the sprawling Russia scandal. In other words: We are all being played for suckers as we get exercised over Trumps diversions. It's possible Trump does crazy things simply because he's crazy. But the outbursts serve a real purpose. They provide cover. While the nation gapes at Trump implying Joe Scarborough's involvement in the death of a congressional aide, the administration and allies achieve all kinds of abominations. If this tax bill were to see more sunlight, it would never become law. It adds $1 trillion in debt, ultimately increases taxes on those making less than $75,000 a year, gives most of the breaks to the wealthiest 1 percent, is forecast to add negligible economic growth and would force massive cuts to Medicare and Obamacare. But while Trump distracted the nation, GOP leaders strong-armed holdouts all week. Likewise, The Post published several largely unnoticed pieces this week about the failure to renew the Children's Health Insurance Program, which expired Sept. 30. States have begun to notify beneficiaries (9 million children) that they may be cut off. The House would renew the program by taking funds away from immunizations, lead poisoning prevention, youth suicide prevention and the like. I tried to ignore the Trump shenanigans this week, instead writing about the drug industry executive Trump tapped to oversee drug pricing and about the administration lawyer who orchestrated Trump's takeover of the CFPB after serving as lawyer for a payday lender cited by the CFPB for abuses. But such pieces generate only a fraction of the clicks of pieces I and others write about Trump's pyrotechnics. Those pyrotechnics are going to increase now that Mueller has turned Flynn. Trumps distractions will be impossible to ignore. But we lawmakers, the media and the public need to keep our focus on the real damage Trump is doing. Twitter: @Milbank Read more from Dana Milbank's archive, follow him on Twitter or subscribe to his updates on Facebook. Alabamas 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 among likely voters stands at 50 percent vs. Moores 47 percent a margin of a scant three percentage points that sets up a nail-biter for the Dec. 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 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 how they vote, Jones leads, 67 percent to 30 percent. And Jones, whose strategy relies in part on peeling away Republican support from Moore, has the backing of 1 in 6 GOP-leaning likely voters. About 1 in 14 Democratic-leaning voters back 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 will control the chamber by 51 seats to 49. Moore led Jones in most public polls before allegations became widely known 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 739 likely voters and carries a 4.5-point margin of sampling error. To avoid influencing the answers of respondents who have opinions about The Posts coverage of allegations against Moore, interviewers disclosed The Posts 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 think Moore did make unwanted advances toward teenage girls, 37 percent say they are unsure or have no opinion. The smallest group 28 percent of likely voters says Moore did not make the advances that were alleged. Women are 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 leads by 15 points among men likely to vote, while Jones leads 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 say they believe that Moore made unwanted advances toward female teenagers. That view is held among similarly small shares of white evangelical Protestants and those who say 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 support Moore over Jones. At the same time, Jones is running well ahead of his own partys 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 has the backing of 33 percent of white voters in the state. Barack Obama won 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 Alabamas 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 Senate. Less than half, 44 percent, of likely voters say they would prefer to see a Democrat representing Alabama in the Senate, while 50 percent of likely voters say they favor electing a Republican. Others say that they are unlikely to vote because they dislike both candidates. Im 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 Ill just let it all fall out on its own. Republican-leaning likely voters are particularly unhappy with the role that national Republican leaders calling for Moore to drop out have played in the race. Nearly 3 in 4 say that outsiders should stay out of Alabama politics, while one-fourth say the national Republican leaders are justified in voicing their opinions. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (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-Tex.) 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, Alabamas senior senator, is the only statewide elected official to announce that he did not vote for Moore but opted to write in a different persons 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 say they are more enthusiastic about turning out for the special election. By 47 percent to 38 percent, more Democratic-leaning voters than Republican-leaning voters say it is extremely important to vote in the election. 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. Joness campaign is banking on strong support and turnout among African American voters, who make up one-quarter of likely voters in the Post-Schar School poll. African American likely voters support the Democrat 93 percent to 6 percent. Countering Democrats enthusiasm, Moores 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, Im not going to dispute these things, but I dont remember anything like that, Moore said on Sean Hannitys radio show 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 and he was in his early 30s. The Post has spoken to a dozen people who worked at the Gadsden Mall in Gadsden, Ala., 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 is nearly unanimous in its view that men in their 30s should not date 16-year-old girls. Among likely voters, 91 percent say such relationships are never appropriate. Fifty-six percent say older men dating teenagers was not more acceptable in the 1970s, although 32 percent think it had been more acceptable, including 41 percent of Moores 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 say they trust Jones more to handle rights for gay and transgender people, while 51 percent say they have greater trust in Moore. By contrast, 80 percent of the same group expresses greater trust for Moore on abortion, and 78 percent trusts 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. 1 of 76 Full Screen Autoplay Close Skip Ad Doug Jones defeats Roy Moore for the U.S. Senate seat from Alabama View Photos Republican Roy Moore, who has been accused of sexual misconduct, faced off against Democrat Doug Jones in a special election. Caption Republican Roy Moore, who has been accused of sexual misconduct, faced off against Democrat Doug Jones in a special election. Jabin Botsford Buy Photo Wait 1 second to continue. Emily Guskin contributed to this report. Hundreds of students in the D.C. and Maryland area led a school walkout, protest and rallies in Washington on Nov. 9, to demand Congress pass a clean Dream Act. (Astrid Riecken/For The Washington Post) The Trump administration asked the Supreme Court Friday to overrule a lower courts decision that officials turn over internal documents that led to the decision to rescind the program protecting undocumented immigrants brought to the country 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 that protects dreamers. But Solicitor General Noel J. Francisco said in a filing to the Supreme Court that was unjustified. The district courts sweeping expansion of the administrative record in the face of the acting secretarys contemporaneous and reasonable explanation for her decision directly contradicts this courts precedents, he wrote. The district courts error in ordering discovery and vastly expanding the administrative record is particularly manifest in light of the nature of the agencys 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 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 F. 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 J. Watford dissented from the panels decision, saying documents of internal decision-making are not customarily part of the administrative record demanded by courts. "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." Source: Xinhua| 2017-12-02 19:28:53|Editor: Yurou Video Player Close GHAZNI, Afghanistan, Dec. 2 (Xinhua) -- Afghan security forces counter-offensive left at least 18 militants and two policemen dead in the country's eastern province of Ghazni, a local official said Saturday. The incident occurred late on Friday, when Taliban militants launched a wide offensive on the security checkpoints in Giro district of the province. The government security forces launched a counter attack, leaving 18 militants dead and 27 others wounded, Aref Noori, provincial government spokesman, told Xinhua. Among those militants killed in the fighting were two local leaders named Jawhari and Zaker, the spokesman added. Two policemen were also killed and 11 police personnel were injured in the skirmish. Taliban militants, who are fighting government forces in many parts of the province, have not commented on the report. Violence has been on the rise as Afghan security forces struggle against a surge in attacks by anti-government fighters. Special counsel Robert S. Mueller III has already interviewed two dozen current and former Trump aides, according to people familiar with the investigation. (Andrew Harnik/AP) A white sedan whisked a man into the loading dock of a glass and concrete building in a drab office district in Southwest Washington. Security guards quickly waved the vehicle inside, then pushed a button that closed the garage door and shielded the guests arrival from public view. With his stealth morning arrival Thursday, White House Counsel Donald F. McGahn II became the latest in a string of high-level witnesses to enter the secretive nerve center of special counsel Robert S. Mueller IIIs investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election. Twenty hours later, Mueller and his team emerged into public view to rattle Washington with the dramatic announcement that former national security adviser Michael Flynn would plead guilty to lying to the FBI. The ensnaring of Flynn, the second former aide to President Trump to cooperate with the inquiry, serves as the latest indication that Muellers operation is rapidly pursuing an expansive mission, drilling deeper into Trumps inner circle. In the past two months, Mueller and his deputies have received private debriefs from two dozen current and former Trump advisers, each of whom has made the trek to the special counsels secure office suite. Once inside, most witnesses are seated in a windowless conference room where two- and three-person teams of FBI agents and prosecutors rotate in and out, pressing them for answers. Among the topics that have been of keen interest to investigators: how foreign government officials and their emissaries contacted Trump officials, as well as the actions and interplay of Flynn and Jared Kushner, the presidents son-in-law. Muellers group has also inquired whether Flynn recommended specific foreign meetings to senior aides, including Kushner. Investigators were particularly interested in how certain foreign officials got on Kushners calendar and the discussions that Flynn and Kushner had about those encounters, according to people familiar with the questions. Often listening in is the special counsel himself, a sphinx-like presence who sits quietly along the wall for portions of key interviews. This picture of Muellers operation drawn from descriptions of witnesses, lawyers and others briefed on the interviews provides a rare look inside the high-stakes investigation that could implicate Trumps circle and determine the future of his presidency. The locked-down nature of the probe has left both the witnesses and the public scrutinizing every move of the special counsel for meaning, without any certainty about the full scope of his investigation. Trump and his lawyers have expressed confidence that Mueller will swiftly conclude his examination of the White House, perhaps even by the years end. Trumps Democratic opponents hope the investigation will uncover more crimes and ultimately force the presidents removal from office. Meanwhile, some witnesses who have been interviewed came away with the impression that the probe is unfolding and far from over. When they were questioning me, it seemed like they were still trying to get a feel of the basic landscape of the place, said one witness who was questioned in late October for several hours and, like others, requested anonymity to describe the confidential sessions. I didnt get the sense they had anything incriminating on the president. Nor were they anywhere close to done. A spokesman for Mueller declined to comment, citing the sensitivity of the ongoing investigation. White House lawyer Ty Cobb said he believes the probes focus on Trumps White House is wrapping up, noting that all White House staffer interviews will be completed by the end of next week. At the end of the interviews, it would be reasonable to expect that it would not take long to bring this to conclusion, Cobb said. I commend the Office of Special Counsel for their acknowledged hard work on behalf of the country, to undertake this serious responsibility, and to perform it in an expedited but deliberate, thorough way. [Top FBI official assigned to Muellers Russia probe said to have been removed after sending anti-Trump texts] At least two dozen people who traveled in Trumps orbit in 2016 and 2017 on the campaign trail, in his transition operation and then in the White House have been questioned in the past 10 weeks, according to people familiar with the interviews. The most high profile is Kushner, who met with Muellers team in November, as well as former chief of staff Reince Priebus and former press secretary Sean Spicer. Former foreign policy adviser J.D. Gordon has also been interviewed. White House communications director Hope Hicks was scheduled to sit down with Muellers team a few days before Thanksgiving. Muellers team has also indicated plans to interview senior associate White House counsel James Burnham and policy adviser Stephen Miller. McGahn, who was interviewed by Muellers prosecutors for a full day Thursday, was scheduled to return Friday to complete his interview. However, the special counsel postponed the session as a courtesy to allow McGahn to help the White House manage the response to Flynns plea, a person familiar with the interview said. Cobb declined to say which White House aides remain to be interviewed. Several people who worked shoulder to shoulder with Flynn have also been interviewed by Muellers operation. That includes retired Gen. Keith Kellogg, the chief of staff to the National Security Council, as well as several people who worked with Flynn Intel Group, a now-shuttered private consulting firm. During the transition, Kushner and Flynn met with the Russian ambassador to the United States, Sergey Kislyak. At the early December meeting, Kushner suggested establishing a secure communications line between Trump officials and the Kremlin at a Russian diplomatic facility, according to U.S. officials who reviewed intelligence reports describing Kislyaks account. Kushner has said that Kislyak sought the secure line as a way for Russian generals to communicate to the incoming administration about U.S. policy on Syria. Trumps son-in-law has also been identified by people familiar with his role as the very senior member of the transition team who directed Flynn in December to reach out to Kislyak and lobby him about a U.N. resolution on Israeli settlements, according to new court filings. The volume of questions about Kushner in their interviews surprised some witnesses. I remember specifically being asked about Jared a number of times, said one witness. Another witness said agents and prosecutors repeatedly asked him about Trumps decision-making during the May weekend he decided to fire FBI Director James B. Comey. Prosecutors inquired whether Kushner had pushed the president to jettison Comey, according to two people familiar with the interview. Kushner attorney Abbe Lowell declined to comment on what the presidents son-in-law discussed at his November session with Mueller. Mr. Kushner has voluntarily cooperated with all relevant inquiries and will continue to do so, he said. Two administration officials said that it would be natural for investigators to ask a lot of questions about Kushner, whom Trump put in charge of communicating with foreign officials, adding that such inquiries do not indicate he is a target. The special counsel has continued to make ongoing requests for records from associates of the Trump campaign, according to two people familiar with the requests. The campaign associates arent expected to finish producing these documents by the end of the year. Muellers team is also newly scrutinizing an Alexandria-based office and advisers who worked there on foreign policy for the campaign. In the past several weeks, Muellers operation has reached out to new witnesses in Trumps circle, telling them they may be asked to come in for an interview. One person who was recently contacted said it is hard to find a lawyer available for advice on how to interact with the special counsel because so many Trump aides have already hired attorneys. It was kind of a pain, the person said. Its hard to find a lawyer who wasnt already conflicted out. People who have gone before Muellers team describe polite but detailed and intense grillings that at times have lasted all day and involved more than a dozen investigators. Spicer, for example, was in the office from about 10 a.m. until 6 p.m. for his fall session. Muellers team has recommended nearby lunch spots, but many witnesses have food brought in for fear of being spotted if they go outside. Mueller has attended some interviews, introducing himself to witnesses when he enters and then sitting along the wall. Sometimes he is joined by his deputy, longtime friend and law partner James Quarles, a former Watergate prosecutor who is the main point of contact for the White House. Investigators bring large binders filled with emails and documents into the interview room. One witness described the barrage of questions that followed each time an agent passed them a copy of an email they had been copied on: Do you remember this email? How does the White House work? How does the transition work? Who was taking the lead on foreign contacts? How did that work? Who was involved in this decision? Who was there that weekend? [Here are the people investigating Russian meddling in the 2016 election] Some witnesses were introduced to so many federal agents and lawyers that they later lamented that they had largely forgotten many of their names by the time one team left the room and a new team entered. They say, Hey, were not trying to be rude, but people are going to come in and out a lot, one witness explained about the teams. They kind of cycle in and out of the room. One contingent of investigators is focused on whether Trump tried to obstruct justice and head off the investigation into Russian meddling by firing Comey in May. Prosecutors Brandon Van Grack and Jeannie Rhee have been involved in matters related to Flynn. Yet another team is led by the former head of the Justice Departments fraud prosecutions, Andrew Weissman, and foreign bribery expert Greg Andres. Those investigators queried lobbyists from some of the most powerful lobby shops in town about their interactions with former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort and campaign adviser Rick Gates. Muellers team charged Manafort and Gates last month with engaging in a conspiracy to hide millions of dollars in foreign accounts and secretly creating an elaborate cover story to conceal their lobbying work for a former Ukrainian president and his pro-Russian political party. Both have pleaded not guilty. Lawyers familiar with prosecutors questions about Manafort said they expect several more charges to come from this portion of the case. People familiar with the Mueller team said they convey a sense of calm that is unsettling. These guys are confident, impressive, pretty friendly joking a little, even, one lawyer said. When prosecutors strike that kind of tone, he said, defense lawyers tend to think: Uh oh, my guy is in a heap of trouble. Rosalind S. Helderman contributed to this report. Some of President Trumps senior national security aides convened at the White House on Monday for what was expected to be an uncomfortable but straightforward discussion. On the table was how the administration would handle an upcoming deadline to say whether it would again defer its promise to move the U.S. Embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. The expectation of many participants going into the session, according to officials and others familiar with the discussion, was that the White House would once again put off the move but issue a statement that Trump is keeping his campaign promise because the embassy move was a question of when, not if a familiar talking point from the administration. Then Trump showed up. Over a discussion that lasted nearly an hour, Trump, who stayed longer than expected, became agitated and exasperated at what he saw as overly cautious bureaucratic hand-wringing, two people familiar with the discussion said. Focused on his campaign promise to make the move, Trump seemed frustrated with pushback about the potential backlash among Palestinians and their supporters, the people said. All spoke on the condition of anonymity because the White House has not yet said what it will do about the waiver. The result of the meeting was a proposal, still under discussion, to issue a waiver but make a formal declaration that the United States considers Jerusalem to be Israel's capital, officials said. That would have little immediate practical effect but would shift the decades-old U.S. position that Jerusalem is disputed ground and its status should be resolved through negotiations. While this policy change would not meet Trumps campaign promise, it gets him closer and allows him to show his supporters that he is breaking with how past administrations have handled this aspect of tensions in the Middle East. Trump is expected to outline his view on the embassy issue and the peace effort in a speech next week, one adviser said. A White House official would not discuss details of the discussion ahead of an announcement. The president has always said it is a matter of when, not if, a White House spokesman said. The president is still considering options and we have nothing to announce. [As the U.S. mulls recognizing Jerusalem as Israels capital, heres what some Palestinians and Israelis think] Any announcement about the embassy's future will come amid the political fallout from the administration's earlier efforts to aid Israel now becoming ensnared in the investigation being led by special counsel Robert S. Mueller III into Russia's role in the 2016 election. On Friday, former national security adviser Michael Flynn pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI about his contacts with Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak, some of which concerned the Trump transition team's effort to defeat or delay a U.N. resolution on Israel in December 2012. In June, the White House issued a waiver to meet a semiannual deadline to either comply with a 1995 law mandating the move of the U.S. Embassy to Jerusalem from Tel Aviv or explain why doing so is not in U.S. national security interests. Such presidential waivers, which have become pro forma, argue that moving the embassy to Jerusalem raises security risks and could prejudice an eventual peace settlement between Israel and the Palestinians. Israel calls Jerusalem its capital and its government operates from there. Palestinians claim East Jerusalem, which Israel annexed after the 1967 war, as the rightful capital of a future state. The United States and many other nations keep their embassies in Tel Aviv, a commercial hub about an hours drive away, so as not to appear to prejudge the dispute. The United States already treats Jerusalem as the headquarters of the Israeli government, holding meetings there, and has a large consulate in Jerusalem that is the headquarters for U.S. diplomatic outreach to Palestinians in the occupied territories. Trumps son-in-law and adviser Jared Kushner was placed in charge of seeking a Mideast peace accord. It was not clear whether he attended the meeting Monday. He is scheduled to address the annual Brookings Institution Saban Forum on U.S.-Israel relations on Sunday. Vice President Pence, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, Defense Secretary Jim Mattis and U.S. ambassador to Israel, David Friedman, were among the participants at Mondays meeting. In a classified memo sent to embassies in the Mideast shortly after the meeting, the State Department warned of potential unrest and anti-American protests next week related to an announcement concerning the embassy, two officials said. The State Department and the Pentagon have raised cautions this week about the potential security risks associated with any change in the embassy status, as well as diplomatic and legal issues. An explicit endorsement of Jerusalem as Israels capital could also run afoul of U.N. Security Council resolutions, State Department officials have cautioned. Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas on Friday warned of the potential fallout from a move that would deny the Palestinians claim to East Jerusalem. East Jerusalem, with its holy sites, is the beginning and the end for any upcoming deal that will save the region from destruction, said a statement from his office. East Jerusalem is the key to war and peace and any solution must guarantee East Jerusalem as the capital of the Palestinian state. In signing the waiver in June, Trump acted, reluctantly, on advice from Cabinet heads, Jordanian King Abdullah II and others who argued that such a move could ignite violence. Palestinians claim part of Jerusalem as a future capital. At the time, the White House said moving the embassy could jeopardize nascent administration efforts to restart Mideast peace talks. Pence this past week built anticipation for the administration's decision. Trump is "actively considering" how to follow through on his pledge to move the U.S. Embassy in Israel to Jerusalem, Pence said Tuesday, reopening a divisive question that put Trump at odds with military and diplomatic advisers and close allies. Pence drew whoops and applause at an event marking 70 years since the U.N. vote that led to the creation of the state of Israel when he contrasted the Trump administration's stance on the embassy issue to that of past administrations. "While for the past 20 years, Congress and successive administrations have expressed a willingness to move our embassy, as we speak, President Donald Trump is actively considering when and how to move the American Embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem," Pence said. Loveday Morris contributed to this report. Special counsel Robert S. Mueller III has swept up four former Trump aides in his investigation. Two pleaded guilty and are said to be cooperating with his probe. (J. Scott Applewhite/AP) After six months of work, special counsel Robert S. Mueller III has indicted two advisers to President 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 once 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 Russias interference in the campaign to encompass a range of activities, including aides contacts with Russian officials during the transition and alleged money laundering that took place long before Trump ran for office. And Flynns 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 Trumps 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 Flynns deal broke after the regular senior staff meeting at the White House, startling top officials and leaving many feeling helpless. We dont know really what is going on, said one adviser who speaks to Trump often and requested anonymity to describe private conversations. Whos it going to implicate? What are they going to say? Flynns cooperation poses particular risks for the White House. [Timeline: What Flynn copped to and what he didnt] Unlike Papadopoulos, who had minimal contact with top aides and met Trump just once, Flynn was a key member of Trumps 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 B. 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 Trumps 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 Trumps private Mar-a-Lago club, according to the documents. The senior official was Flynns 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 Flynns interactions with the Russians and whether any other Trump aides lied about that knowledge. Legal experts said Mueller could be looking at whether Trumps 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 allege that Flynn was actively working to undercut Obamas 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, Flynns account could ratchet up the political pressure on the White House, which will now face more questions about why incoming Vice President 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 hacking and propaganda operations to help Trump win the White House. In those same weeks, Obamas 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 Flynns 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 Flynns 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. Egypts 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. Trumps position was the same as Israels: 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, Trumps 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." Alice Crites, Josh Dawsey and Jenna Johnson contributed to this report. Donald Trumps young presidency entered a new, surreal dimension 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 Trumps 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 S. Mueller III probably 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 Flynns 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 presidents son-in-law and close adviser. [Michael Flynn pleads guilty to lying to FBI on contacts with Russian ambassador] Like a Greek chorus appearing from the wings came a tweet by James B. Comey, the FBI director fired in May after Trump allegedly asked Comey to let his former national security adviser off the hook. But let 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 Trumps orbit, there was concern Friday about how the president would react to Flynns 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 years 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 laws requirement that individuals buy health insurance. The mandates removal would leave an estimated 13 million more people uninsured. President Trump walks to Marine One as he heads to Missouri to push the Republican tax plan Wednesday. (Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post) 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. Trumps uncharacteristically perfunctory remarks were declared off the record. [A long winter: White House aides divided over scope, risks of Russia probe] Flynns 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 wasnt worried about it, said one person who heard from Trump during a Thanksgiving weekend spent at his beloved Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida. This person spoke on the condition of anonymity to disclose a private conversation. Another associate, however, discerned that anxiety was still tickling somewhere in the back of Trumps 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. Youre 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 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. [From Access Hollywood to Russia, Trump seeks to paint the rosiest picture] However, Flynn had been a fixture on Trumps 2016 campaign from its earliest days and was given a prominent speaking role at the Republican convention in Cleveland, where he led the crowd in chants of Lock her up against Trumps 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, President Barack 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 Flynn, saying at a news conference the day after his departure: General Flynn is a wonderful man. I think hes been treated very, very unfairly by the media as I call it, the fake media, in many cases. And I think its 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, said presidential historian Douglas Brinkley. 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 simply would 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 Flynns plea on the very day that the tax bill appeared set to move 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. [Trump veers past the guardrails, impervious to the uproar he causes] 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: Dont 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 Warrens 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! 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! Brinkley said of Trump: He has no Zen mode. Hes simply a person marching on roads of bones in warrior mode. Josh Dawsey and Philip Rucker contributed to this report. Hillary Clinton appeared with Ruben Kihuen, then a candidate for Congress, after a presidential candidates debate in Las Vegas in October 2016. (Melina Mara/The Washington Post) 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 womans 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 partys 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 Kihuens, 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 M. 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 womens equality, and I will continue to do so. Read more at PowerPost At nearly 500 pages, the emerging Senate tax bill provides breaks for industries small and large, but one particular provision sparked a heated exchange Friday night, something Democrats called it the Hillsdale carveout. Thats for Hillsdale College, the small school in Michigan that has a large endowment funded by the family of Education Secretary Betsy DeVos and other wealthy conservatives. Early Saturday, before Republicans passed the overall tax bill, Democrats won a symbolic victory on an amendment to strip part of a provision benefiting the influential conservative outpost. Written by Sen. Patrick J. Toomey (R-Pa.), any college that does not accept federal funding would have been exempted from a 1.4 percent tax on investment income from university endowments. There are a dozen or so colleges that do not accept federal funding, but Democrats hammered home that in the proposals original wording, Hillsdale would be the only one that actually qualifies for this new tax benefit under the language proposed. Would the senator answer a question about the provision? Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.) asked Toomey during debate on the legislation, highlighting the colleges connection to DeVos. Do you know who the biggest donor was to the Hillsdale College endowment? Would that be the DeVos family? Sen. Pat Toomey, R-Pa., a member of the tax-writing Senate Finance Committee, and other Republican senators gather to meet with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., on the GOP effort to overhaul the tax code, on Capitol Hill in Washington, Friday, Dec. 1, 2017. AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite) It would be available to any college that made that choice, Toomey responded, defending Hillsdale for saving taxpayers many millions altogether for choosing not to accept federal funds. He said such colleges should not pay higher federal taxes on capital gains from their endowments, putting that onus on massive private university endowments such as Harvard and Yale. In a roll call after 1 a.m. Saturday, four Republicans joined all 48 members of the Democratic caucus to strike the provision protecting Hillsdale and other small colleges based on their refusal to accept federal funds. It was a lonely victory for Democrats on a night they lost every other amendment they offered, a sign that even some Republicans agreed with Democrats that this provision was a special favor to an alumni network that includes prominent Republicans. The GOP tax reform bill helps Betsy DeVoss school choice agenda, but worries public education advocates Our understanding is this is written for one to qualify, Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) said. Thats why it shouldnt be done at the last minute. Erik Prince, DeVos brother and founder of the private security company previously known as Blackwater USA, sits on its board, as do former congressman Chris Chocola (R-Ind.), Wheel of Fortune host Pat Sajak and Jeffrey H. Coors, a descendant of that familys beer-brewing dynasty. Chocola took over the Club for Growth, the conservative advocacy group, after Toomey left the organization to prepare for his 2010 run for Senate. Despite losing that vote Saturday, Hillsdale will not have to pay the new tax on college endowments. Once Republicans realized they were heading into a political storm over the Hillsdale language, they added new wording to help that college and others avoid paying the new tax. The new endowment tax, first approved in the House, initially hit private colleges whose endowments are worth more than $250,000 per full-time student, according to a Bloomberg analysis. Hillsdales 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, meaning it would face the tax without some relief from friendly lawmakers. When Republicans unveiled a final version of the Senate bill, aides raised the size of endowments that would be hit by the new tax. It now requires a student-to-endowment ratio of $500,000. That would exempt Hillsdale from paying the new tax until its endowment grows so large it crosses the higher threshold. Read more at PowerPost Source: Xinhua| 2017-12-02 20:09:02|Editor: Yurou Video Player Close NAIROBI, Dec. 2 (Xinhua) -- The United Nations on Saturday pledged to help African countries embrace green industrialization pathways. Fatima Denton, Director of Special Initiatives Division at the UN Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA), told a science forum in Nairobi that many African countries are looking towards structural transformation through industrialization. "We are therefore working with a number of African countries to support them to identify how to tap the huge opportunities of green industrialization," Dento said during the UN Global Science Policy Forum on the environment. The ultimate objective of green industrialization is to create non-fossil based economies. The UN body will provide technical support and advisory capacity services to enable African states to move towards a low carbon development pathway. "We will help them in developing polices and activities that they can implement on the ground in terms of green industrialization," said Denton. She also emphasized the need for the continent to move towards green industrialization because the region is experiencing mega trends such as rising middle class and urbanization rates which are associated with growing levels of pollution. The UNECA official noted that Africa is very much dependent on natural resources which are currently extracted and exported in raw form. "Part of the green industrialization initiative will be to push for industries to conduct value addition locally in manner that is friendly to the environment," she added. The director urged Africa to think of how to achieve development differently given that the continent is hardest hit by climate change. The sectors that are likely to benefit from green industrialization include the energy, manufacturing and waste industries. Denton noted that Africa needs to decouple economic growth from fossil fuel use in order to reduce the amount of wastage of resources. She said that an advantage of green industrialization is that Africa can leverage on nascent industries to create jobs and generate a cleaner and safer future. From Left: Chief Warrant Officer 2 Nathan Gumm; Chief Warrant Officer 2 Eric Tirro; Spc. Carroll Moore; Sgt. 1st Class Gopal Singh; and Pfc. Karina Lopez, all of the Eighth Army's 2nd Combat Aviation Brigade, pose for a photo with a Black Hawk at Camp Humphreys, South Korea. The team was responsible for the medical evacuation, stabilization and treatment of the North Korean soldier, Oh Chong Song, who defected Nov. 13. (Staff Sgt. Joel Salgado/Eighth Army Public Affairs/U.S. Army) When the injured soldier was loaded into the Black Hawk helicopter, Sgt. 1st Class Gopal Singh, on his last mission as a flight medic, said a prayer. He did not think the man, who had been shot five times, was going to survive. "I could tell immediately that this guy was probably going to die in the next 15 minutes if we didn't start working on him and get the aircraft off the ground," said Singh, a medic in the Eighth Army's 2nd Combat Aviation Brigade, stationed at Camp Humphreys in South Korea. The evacuation crew did not know it then, but their patient was a North Korean soldier who had just made a daring dash for freedom across the Joint Security Area, the neutral section in the demilitarized zone where enemy troops stand face-to-face. The soldier, a 24-year-old named Oh Chong Song, was shot five times by North Korean border guards Nov. 13 as he ran across the line, but he managed to get himself to shelter against a building on the southern side. He lay there, in a pile of leaves, for as long as 30 minutes until South Korean soldiers were able to crawl to him and drag him to safety. While they were doing that, Pfc. Karina Lopez, the radio operator in a UH-60 medical evacuation Black Hawk crew that was on duty at Camp Casey, a U.S. base on the southern side of the DMZ, received a call saying they might be needed for a medical evacuation. For more than six decades, U.S. and South Korean troops have been coordinating in a faceoff with the communist North; the DMZ is their front line. Military chiefs say events such as this underscore the importance of the alliance. [ Dramatic video shows North Korean soldier making a run for freedom ] The crew was four days into a seven-day shift, on call around the clock similar to those of firefighters or ambulance teams for medical emergencies. The crews assigned to Camp Casey get about three medevac calls a month, usually to transfer a patient from a clinic near the border to a hospital. One of their recent missions was to collect a South Korean farmer who had been injured and take him to a hospital. This time was different. The next call that Lopez received summoned the crew to the Joint Security Area; she was told that a soldier had been shot. They arrived seven or eight minutes later, finding the medical personnel on duty in the JSA waiting with the patient ready to be helicoptered out. It was when the soldier was loaded into the Black Hawk that Singh, who was starting his final month in South Korea and the Army, realized how serious his patients injuries were. I actually said a prayer because I saw the condition he was in, said Singh, who is 39 and from San Antonio. The pilots could probably tell by my voice that he was in real danger of dying. The personnel at the JSA had stopped a lot of the bleeding from the gunshot wounds to the shoulder, chest and abdomen, but Oh was having difficulty breathing. He was trying to sit up on one side a sign that he might be taking air inside his chest from a wound. [ Escaped North Korean soldier fights for life after being shot crossing DMZ ] Singh performed a needle chest decompression, puncturing the soldiers chest cavity to allow the air building up inside to escape. I knew if I didnt do that he would probably die because once his chest cavity filled up with air, it would push his heart and lung and everything over, and he wouldnt make it, he said. As the chopper lifted up and away, the soldier was still struggling with breathing and was going into shock. His hands and feet were going blue, and his pulse was weak. In the front, pilots Nathan Gumm and Eric Tirro pushed the throttle to full. Its difficult because we can hear the level of concern in the medics voice, Gumm said. Spc. Carroll Moore, the crew chief, added, It was very intense, because he was working nonstop for 20-plus minutes trying to make sure this guy survives. The helicopter crew was focused on getting to Ajou University Hospital south of Seoul. There, trauma surgeon Lee Cook-Jong was waiting for them. If it werent for their emergency measures, he would have died before arriving at the hospital, Lee said later of the American crews actions. The North Korean soldier is still in the hospital but after several surgeries is making a steady recovery. He has told the doctor that he wants to study law. [ For North Korean soldiers recovery, South Koreans are pinning their hopes on this doctor ] South Korea has been using its propaganda speakers lined up along the DMZ to broadcast messages northward about Oh's medical condition he was suffering from pneumonia, hepatitis B and a severe infection of parasitic worms when he arrived in the south. North Korea has not yet responded to his defection, but its border guards have been seen digging and placing boulders along the area where Oh crossed, apparently to stop future defection attempts. It wasnt until after they had landed at Ajou hospital that the crew found out their patient was North Korean. Singh said he had suspected it because the man appeared malnourished, but Oh had nothing on him that identified him as North Korean. We got texts from friends after we landed, said Gumm. We really had no idea, like, how big it was. It was already on the news by the time we landed. Then it began to sink in what this man had risked and endured to escape. He got shot five times to be free, for the chance of a new life and a chance to live in South Korea, Singh said. The crew hasnt been back to see Oh since dropping him off that day. The medic, who finishes his service in two weeks time, has thought about going to congratulate the soldier. Its truly a miracle. From the time that I saw him on the aircraft, I thought he was going to die, Singh said. So to be able to see him make it, its been a good feeling for all of us as a crew. Read more: North Korea has shown us its new missile, and its scarier than we thought Could North Koreas missile test lead to talks? Some see a slight opening. Trump pledges new wave of major sanctions on North Korea after call with Chinas Xi Todays coverage from Post correspondents around the world Like Washington Post World on Facebook and stay updated on foreign news Brides-to-be and their grooms competed in a race in Bangkok to win more than two million baht (61,000 U.S. dollars or 51,000 euro) of wedding package prizes, including a pair of white gold diamond rings and a honeymoon trip to the Maldives. Dec. 2, 2017 Brides-to-be compete in the Running of the Brides race event in Bangkok to win more than two million baht (61,000 U.S. dollars or 51,000 euro) of wedding package prizes, including a pair of white gold diamond rings and a honeymoon trip to the Maldives. Rungroj Yongrit/EPA/EFE It was an agonizing calculation. To get his wife and three daughters to safety, Abed Fhili, 44, left them behind in a Syria suffocating from war. His thinking went: The route through Syria, Turkey and the Balkans is too dangerous. Better to go with just his son, reach a safe country and file for family reunification so the others could follow by plane. But three years later and living in a small town in eastern Germany, the closest he has come to seeing his wife and daughters is through video chats on his phone. Cases such as Fhilis are at the center of a dispute that helped torpedo German talks to form a governing coalition last month, and they are a critical fault line in the negotiations to come. On one side: conservatives who say that Germany cannot afford to take in any more of such migrants. On the other: progressives who argue that asylum seekers will adjust much better if they are not separated from their loved ones. In a country where policies have traditionally been forged through consensus, there is little agreement on what to do with families such as Fhilis. The dispute has become fraught with emotion and symbolism, reflecting an even deeper ideological division over how welcoming Germany should be to outsiders. [The refugee crisis once threatened to sink Angela Merkels career. How did the German chancellor weather the storm?] Fhili is one of about 113,000 asylum seekers who have been granted what is called subsidiary protection a legal permit to stay in Germany for typically one year, after which conditions in their home countries are reassessed. Subsidiary protection is different from full-fledged refugee status, which grants family reunification rights for spouses, children and parents of minors. In 2016, Chancellor Angela Merkels coalition government passed a law to ban people with subsidiary protection from rights to family reunification until March 2018. About the same time, the German government started giving subsidiary protection, not the refugee status, to an increasing number of asylum seekers from war-torn countries such as Syria. Stephan Harbarth, vice parliamentary chairman of Merkels party and its Bavarian counterpart, says that granting family reunification rights to all asylum seekers would overburden cities and frustrate integration efforts. Especially if Germany has a more liberal family reunification policy than other countries like Sweden, Austria, the Netherlands and Balkan countries, well create incentives thatll encourage more and more people to come here, he said. [Calls to quicken deportation follow a stabbing in Germany. But there are roadblocks.] After Merkel admitted more than 1 million asylum seekers in 2015 and 2016, her Christian Democratic Union vowed to take a tougher line on refugee policy. To limit the number of future arrivals, Harbarth and the party want to extend the ban on family reunification for asylum seekers such as Fhili. In coalition talks that followed an inconclusive September election, the CDU was joined in its hard-line stance by the pro-business Free Democratic Party. But the third member of the would-be government, the Green Party, advocated an earlier phaseout of the ban. Family reunification is one of the most important and best ways of allowing for legal migration, said Luise Amtsberg, a Green Party member of Parliament. We always complain that people are coming illegally over the Mediterranean, but in the case of family reunification, we can determine who comes and from where. With the parties at odds on family reunification and other issues, the coalition talks broke down as the Free Democrats walked out triggering one of the worst crises of Merkels 12 years as chancellor. Since then, Merkel has received a potential lifeline, with the center-left Social Democrats agreeing to talk with her Christian Democrats about a potential grand coalition to govern the country. But for the Social Democrats, as for the Greens, family reunification is a sticking point. Experience shows that when someone lives in Germany for long periods of time, their chances of integration are much better when their families are here, said Aydan Ozoguz, who is a deputy chair of the Social Democrats and Germanys federal commissioner for migration, refugees and integration. Ozoguz, whose party agreed to the temporary ban as part of the last government, said the Social Democrats acquiesced to the prohibition on family reunifications in 2016 only because German courts were overwhelmed with the cases of asylum seekers and the subsidiary status applied to only a tiny fraction of them. But the situation is completely different now, she said. I cant imagine that the Social Democrats would vote to extend the ban. [In Germany, Merkel welcomed hundreds of thousands of refugees. Now many are suing her government.] One reason that there is so little consensus among Germanys parties is their divergence on a fundamental issue migrant numbers. Harbarth and the Christian Democrats cite an estimate that 300,000 asylum seekers will come to Germany if the reunification ban is phased out. But the Social Democrats and Greens say the real number is far smaller much closer to 100,000. Herbert Brucker, the economist who calculated an estimate on behalf of the Federal Employment Agency, concluded that only between 50,000 and 60,000 additional migrants would come to Germany if the government permitted family reunification for those with subsidiary protection. Given that lower figure, Brucker said, the issue may be more a perceived problem than a real one with peoples thinking tainted by the memory of the sudden crisis in 2015 and a fear that Germany will be caught off guard again. There are fundamentally different perspectives, said Andrea Rommele, a professor of political science at the Hertie School of Governance in Berlin. Whereas the center-right parties want a clear upper limit on refugees, the center-left parties argue that the government cannot put a limit on people coming to Germany for humanitarian reasons. There isnt even agreement on which countries are safe for asylum seekers to return to and which are not, Rommele said. Some human rights groups are taking cases such as Fhilis to court, arguing that families and childrens rights are protected under the German constitution, and by the human rights conventions of the United Nations and the European Union. Childrens best interests have to be respected, said Sigrun Krause, a lawyer with the advocacy group Jumen. With the current ban, children will be separated from their parents for three years, in practice. Especially if they come from a war-torn country, theres no other option. For Fhili, the daily worries about his wife and daughters make it difficult to concentrate on anything else. They want us to integrate into German society, but how can we integrate when our family isnt here and all of our thoughts and all of our heart is in Syria? he said. Germany probably wont have a new government before the new year, when politicians have to decide on the fate of tens of thousands of families like Fhilis. Fhili and his 6-year-old son are studying German, and they speak daily with their family in Syria over WhatsApp. You know, here in Germany, they always say, Wait, wait, he said. Ive waited for two years, and I dont know what to do. Im the father for my son, the mother, the sister, everything. No one, not a German or an Arabic person, can live that way. Read more: Europe is trying to cut the flow of migrants from Africa. It wont be easy. Can Africa thwart the next migration crisis? European leaders think so. How McKinsey quietly shaped Europes response to the refugee crisis Todays coverage from Post correspondents around the world Like Washington Post World on Facebook and stay updated on foreign news 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 officials shoulder. I cant wait to take over this place, he said. The former generals guilty plea to lying to the FBI on Friday punctuated a stunning fall for an ambitious, hard-charging general who was one of the nations premier counterterrorism officials. [Michael Flynn pleads guilty to lying to the FBI] 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 OHanlon, 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, OHanlon 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 A. 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 wasnt 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 generals 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. [Trump adviser Michael T. Flynn on his dinner with Putin and why Russia Today is just like CNN] 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, Flynns 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 Trumps 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. Hes 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: Dont ever meet with FBI agents without a lawyer present. Ledeen, who has since been interviewed by special counsel Robert S. Mueller IIIs team, thinks Flynn didnt 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. [National security adviser Flynn discussed sanctions with Russian ambassador, despite denials, officials say] 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 Flynns conversations, a White House spokesman 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 spokesmans comments raised concerns that others were lying publicly on Flynns 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 B. Comey. Mueller is probing the events leading up to that firing and the presidents 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. Greg Jaffe and Spencer S. Hsu contributed to this report. An aerial view of the National Security Agency on Dec. 1, 2016, in Fort Meade, Md. (Patrick Smith/Getty Images) A National Security Agency employee who worked at home without authorization on sensitive hacking tools pleaded guilty Friday to violating the Espionage Act a security breach that the agency was tipped off to by Israeli cyberspies. Federal prosecutors said they will seek an eight-year sentence for Nghia Hoang Pho, 67, of Ellicott City, Md., for willful detention of national defense information. Phos case is noteworthy not only because it is one of several significant breaches at the NSA but also because he was using anti-virus software from a Russian firm on his computer software the agency never deployed on its computers for fear it could enable Russian government spying. The U.S. government and Congress this year have moved to ban the use of Kaspersky Lab anti-virus products from federal government computers. Pho, a naturalized citizen, worked as a developer in Tailored Access Operations (TAO), the agencys elite hacking unit, which gathers intelligence by penetrating the computers of foreign governments and other targets overseas. The unit is now called Computer Network Operations. He held various clearances, and former officials said he had no malicious intent in working on the tools at home. But the breach violated protocols and conditions for holding a security clearance. According to a court document, from 2010 to March 2015, Pho removed classified material in hard copy and digital form. The facts supporting this criminal charge and guilty plea display a total disregard of the defendants oath and promise to protect our nations national security, said Stephen M. Schenning, acting U.S. attorney in Maryland. Such conduct cannot and will not be tolerated. Anti-virus software detects malicious code on a system by scanning its contents and can serve as a platform for digital espionage. U.S. officials have said that Kaspersky Lab, by virtue of being located in Moscow, is subject to Russian surveillance. In a remarkable spy-vs.-spy twist, Israeli government hackers who had compromised Kasperskys network detected hacking-tool signatures that they recognized as the NSAs. They alerted the agency, which began an investigation code-named Red Magic. The hunt quickly led to Pho, who was removed from his position in 2015. In a November report on the incident, Kaspersky Lab said its software had "inadvertently" retrieved the NSA tools because they were contained in a larger file that had NSA code in it that the firm classifies as malicious. We deleted those files, the report said, because they were not needed to improve customer security and because of concerns regarding the handling of potentially classified materials. Last fall, the Justice Department charged another TAO employee, a contractor named Harold T. Martin III, who had taken classified tools and other material home over several years. Martin was indicted in February on charges of violating the Espionage Act. He has pleaded not guilty. The breaches are compounded by the August 2016 release online of a cache of sensitive NSA hacking tools that are similar to those Martin took. The trove was published by a mysterious group calling itself the Shadow Brokers. Investigators suspect the Russian government is behind that release but have not obtained proof. The agencys loss of control over its sensitive hacking tools has caused great concern at its Fort Meade headquarters, at the Pentagon and in Congress. The scope of harm in Phos case is not theoretical, said Gordon B. Johnson, special agent in charge of the FBIs Baltimore field office. It denotes another attack on the bedrock secrecy and discipline required of those holding security clearances, he said. Pho is scheduled to be sentenced in April in U.S. district court in Baltimore. An image from AFP TV, taken on Saturday, shows Huthi rebel fighters riding on the back of a pickup truck and flying the groups flag in Yemens capital, Sanaa. (Stringer/ Agence France-Presse/Getty Images) Days of fierce clashes here in Yemen's capital have opened a violent new front in the country's multisided civil war, with an alliance of Yemeni forces battling a Saudi-led military coalition fracturing a potentially major shift in the conflict. The latest clashes have pitted a Yemeni rebel group known as the Houthis against forces loyal to Ali Abdullah Saleh, the former president of Yemen who was ousted five years ago but continues to wield outsized influence. Dozens of people have been killed in the fighting, which started Wednesday. The clashes started with a standoff at a mosque in Sanaa, according to officials in the capital. But like most episodes in the war, the exact cause remained murky, and there was immediate suspicion that Saudi Arabia and its allies, including the United Arab Emirates, had played a role in turning Saleh against the Houthis. In the days before the clashes, Saudi officials had referred obliquely to imminent developments in the war that would improve their fortunes. It was unclear, however, whether they were orchestrating the latest drama or reacting to rumors from the ground. Through the week, the fighting roared through southern neighborhoods of Sanaa as mediators tried in vain to defuse the crisis. By early Saturday morning, the battle had widened, and residents of the city were jolted awake by the sound of heavy artillery shelling. Yemens former president, Ali Abdullah Saleh, delivers a speech on Aug. 24. (Arhab/European Pressphoto Agency-Efe/Rex/Shutterstock) "Dozens killed in fierce fighting in Sanaa, #Yemen. Hundreds more injured," the local chapter of the International Committee for the Red Cross wrote on Twitter on Saturday. "Our call to all parties: Civilians are not part of the fight." It remained to be seen whether the latest violence would alter the trajectory of the conflict. The Houthis and Saleh are uneasy allies and have feuded in the past. But harsh accusations by leaders of the two camps on Saturday, and the intensifying skirmishes, signaled a possibly irreparable rift between the two sides. In a televised speech Saturday, Saleh blamed the Houthis for the violence and called on his forces to ignore orders from the Houthi leadership. Yemeni citizens have tried to tolerate the recklessness of the Houthi militias over the last two and half years but cannot anymore, he said. Saleh a wily dealmaker whose greatest achievement, arguably, has been ensuring his own political survival also addressed the Saudi-led coalition, calling on them to stop their aggression in Yemen and begin negotiations to start a new page. The Houthi rebel leader, Abdulmalik al-Houthi, also spoke on television Saturday, insisting that his forces had practiced restraint and been surprised by the attacks their erstwhile allies. The wise people of Yemen, he said, needed to investigate who is behind the strife. The Houthis and Saleh forces have long been allies in the civil war, which began in 2015 and has claimed the lives of more than 10,000 people. Together, they have clung to large swaths of territory in northern and central Yemen while fending off attacks by the military coalition led by Saudi Arabia and backed by the United States which controls Yemens skies, borders and seaports. The stalemated conflict, which has spawned a vast humanitarian crisis in the Arab worlds poorest country, has alarmed aid organizations and embarrassed Saudi Arabia, which has cast Yemen as a critical front in its conflict with its regional enemy, Iran. The Saudis have accused Iran of directly supporting the Houthis, including by providing weapons. The Houthis have denied accusations that they serve as an Iranian proxy force. In a statement, the Saudi coalition praised the uprising by members of Salehs political party against the evils of Iranian terrorist and sectarian militias. The shift in tone was evident on al-Arabiya, a Saudi-owned news channel, which played Salehs statement repeatedly and referred to him as the former president, rather than the ousted president, as had been the channels previous practice. Fahim reported from Riyadh, Saudi Arabia Read more: Saudis lifting of blockade isnt nearly enough to prevent a famine in Yemen Saudi arms deals are buying the Wests silence over Yemen, activists allege The U.N. just appealed for more humanitarian funds than ever before. Heres why. Todays coverage from Post correspondents around the world Like Washington Post World on Facebook and stay updated on foreign news Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 02/12/2017 (1811 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. In May 2016, just a couple of months after the opening of the major expansion to the RBC Convention Centre, the Liberal Party of Canada held its biennial convention there with about 2,600 delegates. At the same time that Justin Trudeau and his liberal-red colleagues were flooding into downtown Winnipeg, the international business conference Centrallia also was taking place in the convention centre, with about 700 delegates of its own. Prior to the $180-million expansion and its additional 112,000 square feet of leaseable space, the convention centre staff and colleagues at Tourism Winnipeg couldnt even pretend to bid on conventions with more than 800 delegates. RUTH BONNEVILLE / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS Klaus Lahr, President and CEO of the RBC Convention Centre, says that in the first nine months of the facilitys new addition, it reached a level of business activity that was not expected for six years. Before the expansion, the Home Expressions Show would take over the whole building, effectively putting it out of commission. After a year and a half of being able to claim bragging rights to having the fourth-largest convention centre in the country, it looks like the facility is doing what it is supposed to do bringing in more meeting and convention delegates and their fat expense accounts. Klaus Lahr, the longtime president and CEO of the RBC Convention Centre Winnipeg, is chuffed with the early success. Lahr said in 2016, including only nine months with the new addition, the new convention centre generated a level of business activity that was not expected to be reached for six years. In my opinion it is miraculous, he said. A whole world of opportunities has opened up. While some would like to see more national and international convention delegates flooding the downtown, solid early growth has been achieved. Lahrs data show that not only did convention centre activity cause more than a 50 per cent increase in hotel room nights from an annual average of about 90,000 before the expansion to 145,449 in 2016 but it also achieved the highest occupancy rate of the 17 convention centres in the country that year, as ranked by HLT Advisory. (The Free Press was not able to be confirm that number.) We are extremely pleased with that spin-off factor to the hotel community, he said. Lahr said the significant public investment from the three levels of government which did not come without a lot of hand-wringing and horse-trading had to be made and that if it wasnt, experts warned him, business could slip by as much as 25 per cent as other communities beefed up their competitive offerings. The timing of the development was calculated to leverage other recent public investments, such as the new Richardson International Airport terminal, the Canadian Museum of Human Rights and Investors Group Field, in order to give national and international meetings and convention planners a new reason to come to Winnipeg. The additional space includes a third-floor vista that features a view of the Golden Boy to the west and the Canadian Museum for Human Rights to the east. It has allowed the meeting and convention sales team to pitch to 400 additional national and international organizations that the smaller size of the former facility precluded the city from bidding on. We are in the conversation now, said Dayna Spiring, the CEO of Economic Development Winnipeg which operates Tourism Winnipeg. Just building the facility was not enough, she noted. We can have a beautiful convention centre but if people cant get their head around coming to Winnipeg the convention centre is relatively useless. The convention centre had a $62.65-million effect on the citys economy in 2016 that included payroll to close to 900 employees, fees to suppliers, taxes and delegate spending. But from Spirings point of view, that is just one piece in an integrated plan to get people thinking differently about Winnipeg. We cant be the city of potholes and mosquitoes, she said. We can have a beautiful convention centre but if people cant get their head around coming to Winnipeg the convention centre is relatively useless Dayna Spiring,CEO of Economic Development Winnipeg Lots of progress has been made over the past decade in that regard, but she said they can do better: from a tourism development point of view, the city needs to home in on what the focus should be. We dont have unlimited resources and we need to figure out where the biggest bang for our buck is and (the category of) meetings and conventions is where I will put my money every time, she said. Those delegates spend four times what average leisure travellers will spend. Thats one of the reasons why the hotel industry is so happy the city is proposing to allocate 25 per cent of the accommodation tax thats collected by Winnipeg hoteliers to support attracting special events to Winnipeg. Thats what was intended when it began in 2007, before budgetary imperatives forced the government of the day to redirect those funds. Attracting major events is critical to the success of the hotel industry and when our industry thrives, so do other parts of the local economy, said Scott Jocelyn, president and CEO of the Manitoba Hotel Association. Given that downtown hotels find themselves in competition with the convention centre when it comes to booking local and regional events, Jocelyn is not quite prepared to declare victory. He will not acknowledge his members are busier because of the convention centre addition. When there are national and international events at the convention centre, we get excited, he said. But if those events arent coming and the convention centre has to rely on more local business, that is not good for us. Its the nature of the beast that the hotel industry is less than impressed when the convention centre fills its rooms during the festive season with Christmas events booked by local companies and organizations because hotels also are competing for these bookings. Jocelyn also wondered if it might not have been a strategic mistake to have waited so long to build the Sutton Place Hotel adjacent to the north side of the hotel, a project that is not scheduled to be completed until 2021. I hope that hotel gets built so that we can remove any reason for people not to come to Winnipeg, Jocelyn said. We have a great convention centre now. Maybe it would have been better to get the hotel built first. That didnt happen. When there are national and international events (at the convention centre) we are busier. Lahr and Spiring are confident thats coming. Lahr said 2016 results did not just reflect a honeymoon. He said 2017 is tracking close to 10 per cent better than last year and Spiring is convinced that momentum is just building. When we go to national associations now they have heard of Winnipeg for the Heritage Classic, the Grey Cup, different things we have done and the different attractions that are here, she said. It will continue to grow. We made the investment and were not going to stop. martin.cash@freepress.mb.ca Source: Xinhua| 2017-12-02 20:19:04|Editor: Yurou Video Player Close RIYADH, Dec. 2 (Xinhua) -- Saudi-led coalition in Yemen announced on Saturday it observes the new developments in Yemen, citing confidence in the will of Yemenis, Sabq local news reported. The loyalists of Yemen's former President Ali Abdallah Saleh are clashing with the Iran-backed militia in the capital Sanaa. Saleh called in a live TV on Saturday for a joint cease-fire to be agreed on by his loyalists and the Houthi militia, after clashes entered their fourth day and have resulted in the deaths of at least 80 people. "The people have revolted against Houthi aggression," he said. Saleh urged an end to "militia rule on Yemeni land," adding that Houthis had continued their "provocative acts against Yemeni citizens." He also demanded that armed Yemeni forces refrain from taking any orders from the Houthi militia, and called for "opening a new page with neighboring countries." Earlier, Saleh's General People's Congress party accused the Houthis of failing to honor the truce and said in a statement on its website that the Houthis bear responsibility for dragging the country into a civil war. The coalition has been engaged in a war against Houthis in support of the elected Yemeni government since 2015. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 02/12/2017 (1811 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. Manitobas unemployment rate inched a little higher in November after the provincial economy shed a total of 2,500 jobs, Statistics Canada said Friday. In its monthly labour force survey report, the agency said at total of 2,500 jobs 2,100 full time and 400 part-time were lost in November. That bumped up the provincial jobless rate to 5.4 per cent from 5.2 per cent in October. That leaves Manitoba tied with Quebec for the second lowest unemployment rate in the country after British Columbias 4.8 per cent. The Statistics Canada numbers also show that while Manitoba lost 2,500 jobs last month, there were still 13,500 more people working in the province than in November 2016. And all of the net gain was in full-time positions. Nationally, a wave of job creation last month knocked the unemployment rate down to 5.9 per cent its lowest level in nearly a decade. The economy churned out another 79,500 net new jobs in November and drove the jobless rate down 0.4 percentage points from 6.3 per cent the month before, Statistics Canada said Friday in its latest labour force survey. The federal statistical agency also released fresh figures for growth they showed that the economy expanded at an annual pace of 1.7 per cent in the third quarter. But the strong November jobs numbers, marking Canadas 12th straight month of positive job creation, stood out. One expert described the labour market as pretty much unstoppable. Just on its face, its a very large number and following 11 months of gains its kind of running out of superlatives to describe it, TD senior economist James Marple said. Its hard to argue the Canadian economy is not operating at full employment. Analysts expect the labour markets surprising surge, which blew past economists expectations, to catch the Bank of Canadas attention ahead of next weeks scheduled interest-rate announcement. Many, however, still expect Gov. Stephen Poloz to hold off before introducing another hike, although they say its getting harder for him to do so. Part of the reason Poloz may have to act sooner is linked to another positive piece of economic data in Fridays report: rising wage growth. Compared with the year before, average hourly wages for permanent employees grew 2.7 per cent for the biggest increase since April 2016. If that trend holds up it will be hard for the Bank of Canada to remain on the sidelines much longer, RBC economist Josh Nye wrote in a research note to clients. Todays blockbuster employment report raises the risk of an earlier move. The November numbers show Canada gained 29,600 full-time jobs and 49,900 part-time positions in November. Looking at the bigger picture, employment rose 2.1 per cent across the country in the 12 months leading up to November as the economy added 390,000 net jobs. The gains were driven by full-time work, the report said. The labour market added 441,400 full-time positions year-over-year for an increase of three per cent and its strongest 12-month period of full-time job creation in 18 years. Statistics Canada also released its latest quarterly data Friday for economic growth, which came largely in-line with expectations. The economy expanded at an annualized rate of 1.7 per cent in the third quarter of 2017 as weaker exports applied downward pressure on growth. The increase in real gross domestic product was driven by a four per cent expansion, at an annual rate, in household spending. Exports, however, fell on a year-over-year basis of 10.2 per cent, which included a decline in goods exports that followed three quarters of growth. Investment in residential structures fell for a second-straight quarter the first time since early 2013 that the category saw a decrease in two straight quarters. The data found the compensation of employees increased 1.3 per cent in nominal terms for its strongest quarterly growth in three years. Statistics Canada also made a downward revision to Canadas real GDP number for the second quarter dropping it down to an annualized pace of 4.3 per cent compared with its initial reading of 4.5 per cent. The Canadian Press, with files by Murray McNeill Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 02/12/2017 (1811 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. Its probably not surprising Winnipegs chief elf is pleased the city has had a blanket of snow fall on it earlier than usual. After all, when youre Kai Madsen of the Christmas Cheer Board, snow isnt something that just covers lawns, streets and sidewalks it also begins sprinkling the Christmas spirit on Winnipeggers. As Madsen knows best, when Winnipeggers get the Christmas spirit, thats when they start in earnest sending donations of money, food and unwrapped new toys to the cheer board. Ive always had a really good feeling about Winnipeggers, he said this week. They never disappoint me. Thats great because Madsen with the help of Winnipeggers has pretty big shoes, uh, hampers to fill. Madsen said the cheer board filled 18,600 hampers with a turkey, fixings and a present last year. This year, they are expecting the need to be slightly higher. Were now at 10,000 applications, which is about 400 more than last year at this time, he said. Madsen said the coming days will be busy for the cheer board. They officially kick off their 2017 campaign Tuesday, the same day Free Press home-delivery customers will get a special paper bag stuffed in with their paper, which they can take to a local Sobeys, Safeway or IGA grocery store to fill with non-perishable food and drop it off in an in-store bin. Were hoping we can collect lots, he said. But we also need (money) donations. We buy more than half the stuff we provide. Thats where the Free Press Miracle on Mountain campaign comes in. You can send in a donation to the Free Press, with cheques payable to Miracle on Mountain or the cheer board. A classroom, school or individual can also bring a new, unwrapped toy to the Free Press offices at 1355 Mountain Ave., to put under the Christmas tree in our lobby. Both ways of donating will make sure the families and Winnipeggers who may face a bleak Christmas celebration this year receive a hamper. It might not be much to you, but to those who receive help, it may be the most generous gift theyll receive. And isnt that really what counts at this time of year? kevin.rollason@freepress.mb.ca Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 01/12/2017 (1812 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. City hall unveiled new rules for the taxi industry Friday that will allow ride hailing services like Uber and Lyft to operate beginning March 1 and loosen the rules on traditional taxi operators. While Mayor Brian Bowman and senior city staff applauded the move, the taxi industry criticized the changes that it said were rushed and done without proper consultation. This is for me, largely about providing consumers with more choice and better and safer service, both with the taxi industry as well as personal transportation providers, Bowman said, using the newly-coined phrase to describe ride hailing operators. Thats why Im very excited that weve got something now to debate, consider and move forward with. I think consumers will ultimately be the winners in having more choice. AP Photo Included among the provisions of the new regulations: The Winnipeg Parking Authority will regulate the industry on an interim basis. The city plans to issue 120 new taxi licences. There will be no restrictions on the number of vehicles in ride hailing, or personal transportation provider (PTP), services. Ride hailing services will pay an annual fee, ranging from $2,000 to $50,000, depending on the number of vehicles it operates. Traditional taxi firms will have to pay similar fees, also depending on the size of their fleet. City hall will increase fees for taxi drivers and owners. Provisions of the new bylaw will be reviewed in 24 months. City hall has set itself a tight schedule. The proposals will be considered by Bowmans executive policy committee at its Dec. 6 meeting and then go to a council vote a week later, Dec. 13. Councillors were briefed on the bylaw at a closed-door meeting Friday morning. The taxi industry only learned of the proposals as they were posted on the citys website early in the afternoon. Scott McFadyen, spokesman for the citys two largest taxi firms, Unicity and Duffys, described the proposed bylaw provisions as good, bad and the ugly. McFadyen said adding more taxis is a positive as it will alleviate supply pressures on the industry. He said he was disappointed that ride hailing drivers will not be required to provide the same security measures that will still apply to taxi vehicles. The ugly, he said, is how the bylaw was developed and is being rushed, adding city hall was aware of the March 1 deadline since the spring and it should have released the proposals sooner. McFadyen said city hall has given the industry only days to review the bylaw and two opportunities to propose formal amendments. This is something that has real, far-reaching implications and to do it within the space of a week, really, thats shocking, McFadyen said. To play this shell game with dates is an affront to accountability and transparency. Dave Wardrop, the citys chief transportation and utilities officer, said that while the public will be allowed to suggest improvements at both meetings, city hall had no alternative but to rush to get an infrastructure in place by the March 1 deadline imposed by the province. Wardrop said the intent of the new bylaw is to modernize and streamline the regulation of the industry and allow it to grow and respond to consumer need, based on four principles: passenger safety, driver safety, consumer protection, and accessibility for all citizens. Weve drafted what we feel is good, guiding policy and a comprehensive bylaw to deal with a new and evolving industry, Wardrop said. The introduction of ride hailing services and the overhaul of the taxi industry are the result of the Pallister governments decision in March to bring more competition to the industry by disbanding the Manitoba Taxicab Board and turning over regulation, at least within Winnipeg, to city hall. Other municipalities already regulate the taxi industry in their own communities. The legislature passed the enabling legislation Nov. 9 and set a deadline of March 1 for Winnipeg to take over regulation of the industry. Edmonton was the first city in Canada to authorize ride hailing in March 2016 and that has been followed by Calgary, Ottawa, Toronto, London, Hamilton, Waterloo and dozens of other communities. Bowman has publicly advocated for ride hailing services and said hes excited with the changes that are coming. With the passage of the provincial legislation to enable this change, we embark on one of the most significant reconfigurations of provincial-municipal service delivery in Winnipeg in decades, Bowman said. It represents the changes and improvements we can make when there is alignment and collaboration between governments. Wardrop said the new rules will eliminate many of the regulations that governed taxi operators, including rules on vehicle age, cleanliness and customer service but said that taxi drivers will still need to meet minimum English-language proficiency standards a rule that will not apply to ride hailing drivers. Wardrop said the goal is to replace regulation in those areas with market competition. The idea being to take a minimal approach to regulation to increase market competition and to have market competition take the place of regulation in that regard, Wardrop said. aldo.santin@freepress.mb.ca Proposed Vehicle for Hire Bylaw Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 02/12/2017 (1811 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. More than 2,500 inmates in Manitoba jails will have to get used to the taste of powdered milk in the new year. Late last month, the Pallister government issued a tender to supply nine provincially run correctional facilities with powdered milk in place of fresh milk. A provincial Justice Department spokeswoman said the government expects to save $371,000 annually from the switch. The Headingley Correctional Centre (Wayne Glowacki / Winnipeg Free Press files) The department considered several factors before issuing the tender, including the fact that powdered and rehydrated milk is currently being served in federal correctional centres as well as provincial facilities in Saskatchewan, Alberta and British Columbia, the spokeswoman said in an email. Sharon Perrault, manager of programs at the John Howard Society, questioned whether powdered milk will go over well with inmates. The majority of people dont drink powdered milk, she said. Nearly three years ago, the federal government started supplying penitentiaries with powdered milk at an estimated annual savings of $3.1 million. A Winnipeg company, Medallion Milk Co., won a contract in 2015 to supply the federal system. Officials at Medallion couldnt be reached for comment on Friday. However, the companys website touts its product as having the same proteins and vitamins as liquid milk. It also claims its product is virtually indistinguishable in taste from store-bought milk. Prospective companies have until Dec. 4 to submit their bids. Manitoba is looking for a one-year contract, with an option for a one-year extension by mutual agreement. The facilities affected are: Winnipeg Remand Centre, Headingley Correctional Centre, Manitoba Youth Centre, Milner Ridge Correctional Centre, Brandon Correctional Centre, Agassiz Youth Centre, Womens Correctional Centre, Dauphin Correctional Centre and The Pas Correctional Centre. Last year, there was an average of 2,455 inmates in adult jails in Manitoba along with 219 incarcerated youths. In a statement late Friday, Justice Minister Heather Stefanson said the move was an easy one for the government to make. As a government, we have had to make many tough decisions. Making the change to powdered milk in our facilities isnt one of those tough decisions, she said. The alternative of powdered milk provides equal nutritional value and will save Manitoba taxpayers. David Wiens, chairman of the Dairy Farmers of Manitoba, said local producers would see a loss of fluid milk sales as a result of the change. He said its also possible the government may source powdered milk from outside the province. larry.kusch@freepress.mb.ca Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 01/12/2017 (1812 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. OTTAWA The provincial government doesnt know how many Manitobans have AIDS, and did not issue a statement for World AIDS Day, prompting jeers from the Opposition and activists Friday. Add all of that up, and it sounds like a certain degree of indifference, frankly, to what is an ongoing public-health concern, Richard Elliott, head of the Canadian HIV/AIDS Legal Network, said. I would hope and think that they could do better. In recent years, Manitoba has published its data of the previous years HIV transmissions, on or before Dec. 1, according to the provincial NDP. But not this year. There have been delays in producing the 2016 statistical update on HIV/AIDS. We hope to have it posted early in 2018, reads the health department website. The spokeswoman for Manitoba Health Minister Kelvin Goertzen provided no explanation for the delay, while his department would only say there was a delay in the finalization of the report. NDP health critic Andrew Swan noted Manitoba has reported the second-highest per capita rate of HIV/AIDS, after Saskatchewan, for years and Indigenous people in both provinces are far over-represented. He said that provides plenty of reason to make a statement in the legislature, as the NDP had done before Friday (which was not a sitting day), and to make sure the data is available by then. Its so important to make sure those statistics are gathered and shared. Those stats help inform public priorities and treatment options, Swan said. I dont know if its staffing vacancies of the people who provide that, or if this government isnt just interested. Goertzens spokeswoman said ministers posted support on social media for World AIDS Day, and claimed, unlike the NDP, all government MLAs had worn red ribbons to commemorate AIDS awareness. By the NDPs own flawed logic this would mean that they are not fully supportive of World AIDS Day initiatives, she wrote. There are a variety of ways to show support for a cause. Our government prefers to focus on working together to bring awareness to important issues such as HIV/AIDS. In Ottawa, Goertzens federal counterpart wouldnt speak to Manitobas data collection, but said the feds keep an eye on each provinces trends. If we want to address the issue of HIV/AIDS, we certainly need to know what is going on, said federal Health Minister Ginette Petitpas Taylor. We need to have good surveillance mechanisms. She also said: World AIDS Day is a very important day for us to remember the lives that have been lost as well as amazing work by activists and families. On Friday, the federal Liberals published a report examining how Canada prosecutes AIDS transmission and exposure. The report slammed disproportionate and discriminatory persecution, and suggested provinces limit sentences for HIV-positive people who have a negligible risk of infecting their sex partner. Elliott said this could mean fewer convictions where people use condoms, or take anti-retroviral drugs that produce an almost-impossible risk of transmitting the disease, and for activities such as oral sex. Right now, those activities are giving people the same jail sentences faced by violent rapists, and advocates argue the stigma prevents people from getting tested for HIV. Its doing a lot of harm to people with HIV, and its undermining the integrity of the law of sexual assault, Elliott said. Intentionally infecting someone is a problem, and its defensible that the criminal-justice system treats it as such. But our current law has gone way far beyond that fairly limited and exceptional use of the criminal law, Elliott said, noting few of the 200 prosecutions involved intentional transmission. He said such changes are particularly needed in Manitoba. In 2012, Canada deported Winnipeg resident Clato Mabior to South Sudan, after he had sex with nine women without telling them he was HIV positive. He was convicted with aggravated sexual assault, though none of the women had acquired the virus, and Mabior has been a low viral risk since taking treatments. The Supreme Court clarified laws used to prosecute HIV exposure while hearing Mabiors appeal. More recently, the highest court in the land declined to hear another HIV-positive Manitobans case. In 2014, Marjorie Schenkels was found guilty of aggravated sexual assault by endangering life, after she had unprotected sex three times with a friend who didnt know she was HIV-positive. He tested positive for the virus shortly afterward. The Gimli woman argued there was no proof she transmitted HIV to the victim, and if she hadnt, she didnt endanger his life. She argued the jury should have been told the Crown had to prove beyond a reasonable doubt the victim didnt contract HIV from another source. The Supreme Court declined to hear her case last week, and did not explain why. Schenkels was the first woman in Manitoba to be convicted of sexual assault on the basis of failing to disclose her HIV status. As part of her conviction, she will be listed on the sex-offender registry for 10 years. Elliott said cases such as hers illustrate the need for Manitoba to take up the reforms Ottawa suggested Friday. Now we have someone, who herself is a victim of sexual violence, is a registered sexual offender, spending time in jail, he said. Im not sure thats really, at the end of the day, helping anyone. He noted Schenkels, who reportedly had with drug issues, and the man she slept with, were inebriated during the encounters. Marjories case really illustrates some of the messiness of our relationships as humans. dylan.robertson@freepress.mb.ca Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 01/12/2017 (1812 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. The Manitoba government is reversing course again on plans to release the KPMG report on health care sustainability. The Free Press has learned significant portions of the review will be made public early next week. Thats just two months after Finance Minister Cameron Friesen said the report would not be released before May 31. BORIS MINKEVICH / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS files Finance Minister Cameron Friesen. While there are many recommendations that either will not be implemented or on which decisions have not yet been made, there are some early initiatives such as the creation of Shared Health which are proceeding, Health Minister Kelvin Goertzens spokeswoman said in an emailed statement. We feel it is in line with our governments commitment to transparency to release the information on those initiatives that are already underway. Premier Brian Pallisters government initially promised to release the KPMG report typically referred to as a value-for-money audit with redactions made for privacy reasons. However, once it received the report, the government offered up a series of changing reasons for why it wasnt being released. In February, the rationale was it was being used to inform decisions related to Budget 2017. After the budget was delivered in April, the reasoning shifted to a claim the government didnt own the information it paid $750,000 for, and then an argument it constitutes advice to cabinet, which is exempt from freedom of information legislation. By October, Friesen told reporters the government felt to release the report would only add to public confusion. I think it would be unhelpful to dump that 500-page report on the table right now, he said. I think it would not bring about a sense of comfort. But releasing only part of the report is still an attempt at restricting access to information, said Paul Thomas, a professor emeritus in political studies at the University of Manitoba. Governments have two mechanisms that they use to try to restrict access, he said. One is to engage in the selective release and then spin that information in a way thats favourable to their image and reputation. In this case, Thomas said, restricted access has become a key tool in the provincial governments attempts to manage its agenda while avoiding criticism and backlash. On all issues related to the release of government information there is room for debate at least on whats the best timing for release of information, he said. But the shifting grounds on which Premier Pallister and his colleague the health minister have defended the non-release of this report just lack consistency and credibility. Attempts like Friesens to attribute the delay to the complexity of the issue also fall flat, Thomas said. Health care is grotesquely complicated. Its always confusing, he said, before mulling if the report actually outlines communication strategies for its rollout, as past KPMG reports have done. Did they recommend selective staged release as actions are taken after the fact? Thomas acknowledged there is some degree of retrospective accountability. Per the health ministers emailed statement, the report will address the recommendations that centre on the creation of Shared Health Services Manitoba. NDP health critic Andrew Swan was less generous in his assessment. For a government that talks about openness and transparency, this is the exact opposite, he said. We dont know what theyre refusing to do. We dont know what theyre choosing to do and havent completed. Theyre only letting Manitobans know a sliver of whats contained in that report that Manitobans have paid for. jane.gerster@freepress.mb.ca Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 01/12/2017 (1812 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. A near-invisible increase to the police operating budget much of which will be used to service debt connected to construction of the new downtown headquarters will threaten Winnipeggers safety next year, the union representing rank-and-file officers is warning. Winnipeg Police Association president Moe Sabourin sounded the alarm Friday after the Winnipeg Police Board agreed to recommend the WPS request for a 1.2 per cent increase, to $291 million. This budget is not adequate to provide the services which Winnipeggers expect; its very disappointing, he said, adding board members admitted the stand-pat financial plan will put residents at risk. MIKE DEAL / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS FILES Police want a 1.2 per cent budget increase this year to $291 million, in part to pay for debt charges related to the expense of transforming the onetime Canada Post warehouse into the new police headquarters. Calls for service are increasing. Violent crime is increasing. Fifteen positions have already been cut. Training has been reduced. And in this environment we are looking at a budget for 2018 that will leave our members even further behind as our proactive initiatives are cut away. Policing is a stressful job. This budget is placing even more stress on officers. Members of the police board noted that a big chunk of the operating budget is spent on debt charges related to the expense of transforming the onetime Canada Post warehouse and subsequent cost overruns. It is alarming to see the consequences of error of capital projects on the (operating) budget, board chairman David Asper said. The citizens cant afford to see it happen again. It is gobbling up non-capital resources. This cant happen again. Coun. Ross Eadie, who voted against the budget, said he cant support it because it wasnt driven by the needs of police and policing, but by a budget target imposed by Mayor Brian Bowman. Were driven into this situation, Eadie said. What it comes down to is the mayor expects a 1.2 per cent increase and thats what it is. The board was previously told police were looking at a 1.6 per cent increase, but Chief Danny Smyth said civic finance officials were able to reduce the amount by consolidating capital and operating costs for a proposed North End Police Station and a new evidence-storage facility. The budget now goes to the civic finance committee on its way to final approval by city council. kevin.rollason@freepress.mb.ca Opinion Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 02/12/2017 (1811 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. When you think of the ideal version of your nation, it likely reflects your own values. We vote in accordance with our values and live our own lives according to them as well. No wonder. Critical to the success of both people and their nations are the values they adopt. Personal values are central to where people end up in life. Values influence actions and these subsequent actions help determine lifes outcomes, both in terms of happiness and financial success. Adrian Wyld / The Canadian Press files Maintaining a democracy is difficult if the underlying values necessary to sustain it arent respected. Those who value friendship over work, for example, experience a different world than their more diligent counterparts. And as it is true for you, so is it true for your country. At the national level, cultural values influence what institutions are formed and how they perform. It is difficult to maintain a democracy if the underlying values necessary to sustain it arent respected in the first place. However, and heres the twist, the values that shape personal success arent always the same as those that govern national success. Sometimes called the social dilemma, what is best associated with success for ourselves can be disastrous for the nation. So what is the value recipe for success? We answered this question in our recent article The Happy Culture: A Theoretical, Meta-Analytic and Empirical Review of the Relationship Between Culture and Wealth and Subjective Well-Being. Among one of the largest studies ever conducted, spanning over 40 years of data for both individuals and countries, we establish what values predict both a good life and a thriving nation. The four core values The values we studied were based on the work of the social psychologist Geert Hofstede, who developed one of the oldest and most established cultural models. The terms used to describe these values were developed during the early 1970s and reflect the times: Masculinity vs Femininity: Masculine values reflect a desire for achievement, ability to plan for the future but also conspicuous consumption or materialism, whereas feminine values are more socially oriented and altruistic. Individualism vs Collectivism: Individualists essentially follow their own path, while collectivists let the needs or desires of the group determine their actions. Low vs. High Power Distance: Power distance indicates the degree to which one accepts inequality, hierarchy or authoritarianism. Low vs High Uncertainty Avoidance: High uncertainty avoidance reflects a desire for rules or consistency and a belief that the world is a dangerous place and what is new or unpredictable should be avoided. Values for a successful life So what values should you adopt? You probably want to know the ones that make you wealthy and happy. Focusing on wealth alone doesnt cut it. Values turn out to be more important for predicting happiness than salary, with one sensible exception: Pay satisfaction. For everything else, the values best associated with a happy and wealthy life were low individualism, low power distance in other words, a lack of authoritarianism in your life and low uncertainty avoidance. Masculinity had a mixed effect. While the ability to plan for the future can be universally recommended, that need for achievement component comes at quite a cost. Those who score higher on masculinity make more money but also tend to be unhappier, despite the higher pay. By the way, this isnt a new observation. Economist Adam Smith wrote about it more than 250 years ago. We also looked at an element related to masculinity called gender inegalitarianism, which is typically studied in terms of how it adversely affects women its similar to what were learning amid the ongoing Harvey Weinstein scandal. It is notable that chauvinism typically doesnt benefit chauvinists themselves. It is among the best indicators of an unhappy life. Everyone would be better off with less of it. Values for a successful nation Moving on, we repeated our research strategy with 48 countries or regions, from Australia to Vietnam. Drawing on four decades of cultural indices as well as national well-being, corruption and GDP-per-capita data, we replicated some of our previous individual level relationships, but found them to be significantly stronger at the national level. Repeatedly, values were key predictors of a successful nation but often in contradiction to popular or anecdotal advice. In stark contrast to the economic historian Niall Fergusons widely promoted killer cultural apps aimed at achieving prosperity, promoting the need for achievement as well as materialism, values associated with masculinity, is terrible for a nation, both in terms of happiness and wealth. Worse advice than Fergusons has rarely been given. Hoping for a strong man? Expect the worst A much better case can be made for promoting co-operation, trade and reciprocal altruism, all associated with more feminine cultures. High power distance and high uncertainty avoidance were excellent predictors of an incompetent or corrupt government that showed toxic trickle-down effects on the wealth and happiness of the population. This constellation of values often manifests when people look for an authority or strong man to solve national problems, fear the outsider (especially immigrants) and have an over-reliance on prison and punishment as well as a willingness to trade liberty for security. A nation or two that is turning in this direction might pop into your mind right now. If so, expect even worse to come. Individualism requires financial means For the most part, the set of values that prove detrimental to individual success are the same for the nation, with one exception. Individualism switches outcomes. While often negatively associated with a persons individual well-being, nations that promote individual liberty and the freedom to follow ones own path are indeed happiest, especially if these nations are wealthy. Apparently, if emphasizing personal fulfilment, it is best to have the financial means to fulfil. All of this can be considered a wake-up call. Values play key role Both economics and political science typically operate from the assumption that cultural values are irrelevant to the functioning of a nation. With the steady rise of illiberal and dysfunctional democracies, we are learning that values do play a role, a lesson that increases in costs the slower we are to absorb it. In order to perform, our nations institutions need people with supporting underlying values that are considered important to the population. Aside from regarding dangerously high levels of inequality as being desirable (high power distance, for example), fear is particularly poisonous to a nation (high uncertainty avoidance). Unfortunately, fear is also particularly effective at maintaining a viewing audience, spurring all forms of media to emphasize, distort or even manufacture stories of threat. Disentangling the promotion of cultural toxins from the more beneficial roles of the Fourth Estate appears to be the challenge of our time. Piers Steel is a professor of psychology and business at the University of Calgary. This article was first published at The Conversation Canada: theconversation.com/ca. Source: Xinhua| 2017-12-02 20:19:05|Editor: Yang Yi Video Player Close SHENZHEN, Dec. 2 (Xinhua) -- 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. The International Youth and Students for Social Equality (IYSSE) at the University of California, Berkeley is mounting a campaign against the universitys efforts to establish police censorship over student groups. UC Berkeleys new policy, known as the Major Events Policy, subjects all student group meetings on campus to an eight-week process of police review and requires that clubs pay for any police presence required by the administration. The new policy empowers the police to declare any student group meeting or protest not sponsored by a department to be a major event, making a police presence at the event mandatory, subjecting to search those who attend, and billing the student group holding the event for the police presence as well as for additional insurance charges. The process of police review is protracted, requiring a minimum of eight weeks prior notification. It is opaque, as the police can bill the student group for a number of unspecified security concerns. The decisions that the police reach are not subject to appeal. This policy has already been used against the IYSSE. The university denied, without explanation, the application by the Berkeley IYSSE for David North, the chairperson of the International Editorial Board of the WSWS and a leading expert on the Russian Revolution, to deliver a lecture in late October on the centenary of the Russian Revolution. On October 6, the IYSSE was informed that its request required processing by the University of California Police Department (UCPD) because David North was listed as the events speaker. The event, in other words, was being reviewed for its political content. The IYSSE immediately submitted a request for the event to the UCPD, along with a number of questions regarding the process, but the UCPD never responded. The IYSSE managed to hold a successful meeting on the centenary of the Russian Revolution by securing sponsorship from the History Department. The Major Events Policy is already in full effect on an interim basis and it will become permanent at the beginning of the Spring 2018 Semester. The university administration has implemented this secretly, without any public discussion. For several weeks, the IYSSE has tabled on Sproul Plaza, the political center of campus life, speaking with students about the policy of police censorship and circulating a petition against it. On Wednesday evening, Joseph Santolan, speaking on behalf of the Berkeley IYSSE, addressed the Associated Students of the University of California (ASUC) Senate General Assembly. Under the new policy, he told the Senate, free speech on this campus will be for those that the police deem safe or those wealthy enough to pay for it. The policy states that it will be enforced in a viewpoint-neutral fashion, but given the opaque character of the process of adjudication there is no way that we can be certain that this is the case. We are bound by this policy to rely on the good intentions of the police department. This is not why we have legal statutes. This is not why we have constitutional guarantees The fact that they dont have good intentions was revealed to a certain extent by the manner in which this policy has been brought aboutbehind the back of the student body. The next morning, Khira Griscavage, chief of staff to Chancellor Carol Christ, sent an email to the ASUC Senate in response to the speech. The university, she claimed, was modifying the policy to make it less onerous, reducing the mandatory prior notice from eight weeks to five and allowing demonstrations to be held on Sproul Plaza without going through the police review process. The fundamental thrust of the policy remains unchanged, however. Student groups whose speech the police, for unspecified reasons, deem to be dangerous to campus security will be required to pay the police if they wish to hold a meeting. The Berkeley IYSSE officially launched its campaign against police censorship with a meeting on Thursday November 30 attended by 25 people, including representatives of several student clubs. Joseph Santolan spoke for the IYSSE, detailing the anti-democratic impact of the new policy. He outlined the history of the Free Speech Movement at Berkeley in the 1960s and how students fought the university and police for the right to campaign on campus against the oppression of African Americans. Santolan explained how the current push to censorship is part of the international political and economic crisis. The most rudimentary norms of democracy require the conception of formal equality, but even this is being stripped away. Immense inequality, as in the US where three billionaires have more wealth than the bottom half of the population, is incompatible with democratic rights. Santolan pointed out that for undergraduates in attendance the US has been at war throughout your entire conscious lives. Unable to propose any progressive solution to the economic crisis of capitalism, governments and corporations across the world are turning to censorship to suppress political opposition. Santolan called on students who agreed with the IYSSEs political perspective to sign the petition, join the IYSSE take up the fight for socialism. Most of those in attendance signed the petition and several joined the IYSSE. After the event, attendees spoke with reporters from the WSWS about the policy and the broader political issues involved. Michael, a graduate student in political science at UC Berkeley, signed up to join the IYSSE after the meeting. Im utterly disgusted that the police presence on this campus is not only being promoted by the administration, but its becoming policy," he said, "and theyre making us pay for speaking our minds about what were thinking. He added, I fully support the IYSSE and its campaign to fight against this policy. Im going to tell everybody that I know about this, because one of the problems is that we dont know and people that dont know cant act. I thank this organization for informing me about this, and I will do my part to help this organization to spread the word and try to fight this repression. Kuhuk, a new IYSSE member who helped build for the event, said that the policy was troubling Im really worried about the attack on free speech, and I really want to mobilize other students to fight back. He added, As I speak to students and explain how our free speech is being attacked, especially my classmates and friends who already know me, they seem motivated to do something about it. Camron, a social welfare major, and Jazmyn, an art practice and African American studies double-major, both expressed hostility to the policy, as well as the broader crisis of capitalism. Jazmyn declared, I came to UC Berkeley because I wanted to learn about politics, but instead theyre trying to censor student groups and limit free speech. Camron commented, Im an out-of-state student, and the fact that my tuition money is going towards censorship is outrageous. The Canadian government has announced it will host a US-led international meeting on North Korea early next year. In what amounts to the convening of a war council, Justin Trudeaus Liberal government will invite all of the participants in the Korean War (1950-53) to Ottawa to discuss a diplomatic solution to the crisis. References to a negotiated settlement are for public consumption alone, with the Trudeau government well aware that a conflict on the Korean peninsula, which would likely be fought with nuclear weapons and cause the deaths of millions, is deeply unpopular. The true purpose of the gathering was let out of the bag by Liberal MP Andrew Leslie, a former army general who served in Afghanistan, who declared on Wednesday that the meeting would show a united front towards Pyongyang. Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland revealed that she has been in talks with US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson for months on arranging the meeting. She did so the same day as she condemned North Koreas latest missile test, describing the impoverished countrys rudimentary weapons program as a direct threat to the world, and adding, we cannot tolerate this threat. Freeland declaimed against the repeated North Korean provocations in remarks broadcast on CBC. This turns reality on its head. In truth, chief responsibility for the war danger on the Korean peninsula lies with US imperialism, which has been systematically goading North Korea into a response to its aggressive military build-up in south Korea and throughout the Asia-Pacific region. President Donald Trump has issued bullying and bloodcurdling threats against the regime of Kim Jong-un, including his infamous declaration at the UN that Washington would totally destroy the country of 25 million people if necessary. In what amounted to the latest indication that a US-led military operation is imminent, the New York Times reported a day after Freelands remarks that Trump plans to remove Tillerson, who has spoken of reaching a diplomatic settlement with Pyongyang. Washingtons main target in a conflict with North Korea would be China, which both the Obama and Trump administrations have sought to isolate and encircle by deploying increased levels of military resources to the Asia-Pacific and stepping up economic pressure. US ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley confirmed this Thursday, ominously warning Beijing that if it does not stop oil exports to North Korea, we can take the oil situation into our own hands. Freelands pledge to invite China to the proposed gathering cannot disguise the fact that Canadas ruling elite is fully on board with Washingtons anti-China strategy. As the Socialist Equality Party noted in its recent statement calling on Canadian workers to join the construction of an international anti-war movement, Both Washington and Ottawa view China as the real obstacle to continued US dominance over the worlds most rapidly growing economic region and the Trump-incited North Korean crisis as a means of placing pressure on China, long Pyongyangs principal ally. (See: Oppose Trudeau and Trump, the Canada-US alliance, and imperialist war! For a working class counter-offensive based on socialist-internationalism!) Canadian media outlets, led by the Globe and Mail, have been engaged in an incessant anti-China campaign ahead of Trudeaus departure to Beijing this weekend for talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping. The Globe, speaking on behalf of the Bay Street financial elite, urged the Liberal government not to proceed with free trade talks with Beijing. Instead, the Canadian bourgeoisie is pinning its hopes on establishing an even more overtly protectionist North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) with Trump so as to uphold the global interests of North Americas twin imperialist powers against their Chinese rival. Canada has played a warmongering role throughout the developing crisis on the Korean peninsula this year. Ottawa has maintained a studious silence on the aggressive moves by the United States, and Trumps incendiary comments, while denouncing every action by North Korea as a provocation. The Liberal government has backed up its words with deeds, deploying Canadian warships to the South and East China seas to participate in US-led exercises aimed at provoking China and testing cooperation with the South Korean navy. At the end of August, a small contingent of Canadian troops joined a US-South Korean military exercise, which prompted North Korea to fire a missile over Japan. The assembling of the Korean War coalition, notwithstanding the diplomatic language being used to choreograph the meeting, is itself a major provocation. The US-led onslaught begun in 1950 laid waste to most of North Korea, claimed the lives of over 3 million people, destroyed the vast majority of the Norths cities, and raised the prospect of an all-out war with China and the Soviet Union. Canada participated in the slaughter with the deployment of 25,000 troops, over 500 of whom lost their lives. Canadian air and naval support also participated in the conflict. Freelands leading role in organizing the North Korea summit is noteworthy. In her foreign policy address delivered to Canadas parliament in June to coincide with the release of the governments new defence policy, she proclaimed that hard power, i.e. war, has to be a key part of Canadian foreign policy. She praised the outsized role played by US imperialism over the past seven decades in stabilizing global capitalism, neglecting of course to refer to the millions who have perished or been maimed in Washingtons endless wars around the world. She also cited the economic rise of China as a threat to Canadian imperialist ambitions. One day after Freelands bellicose speech, Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan presented Canadas new defence budget plan, which will see military spending increase by a whopping 70 percent over the coming decade. The Canadian military will purchase an expanded fleet of fighter jets, warships and armed drones so it can wage war in conjunction with American imperialism around the globe, including in the Asia-Pacific. The fact that the Trudeau governments latest announcement is bound up with war preparations was underscored Thursday, when the CBC revealed that the Canadian and US militaries conducted joint drills last spring aimed at testing the response to a nuclear weapons attack. The Canadian government has also reportedly reviewed secret plans to move the government to a secure location outside of Ottawa in the event of a nuclear attack. The portrayal of these exercises as defensive measures should fool nobody. Discussions are ongoing within the Canadian ruling elite about joining the US ballistic missile defence system, an initiative aimed at allowing Washington to wage a winnable nuclear war. BMD plays a key role in the $1 trillion nuclear weapons modernization program unveiled by the Obama administration and continued and accelerated by Trump. Chief of the Defence Staff General Jonathan Vance, well aware of the widespread opposition to Canadas integration into BMD, affirmed Thursday that the Canadian military has not, thus far, held talks with the US about joining. But he effectively admitted that such talks would commence soon when he noted that in-depth discussions on modernizing NORAD (North American Aerospace Defence Command) are due to get under way. He stressed that one threat over the next 20-50 years that would have to be considered within NORAD, the joint Canada-US military-security partnership initiated during the Cold War, would be ballistic missiles. The Liberal government and top military brass are able to engage in this deeply unpopular war conspiracy behind the backs of the population because no opposition exists to it within the political establishment. Canadas ostensibly left New Democratic Party (NDP) has maintained radio silence on the North Korean situation, tacitly accepting the portrayal by the government and mainstream media of Pyongyang as the aggressor. In addition, the NDP seized on Trudeaus trip to Beijing to pour fuel on the fire of the anti-China campaign. In a statement drawing heavily on the right-wing rhetoric of the Trump administration and laced with Canadian nationalism, NDP critic for international trade Tracey Ramsey denounced China for steel dumping which put Canadian companies at a dangerous disadvantage. Ramsey also railed against Beijings questionable record on currency manipulation, unfair trade practices and the behaviour of state-owned enterprises in China, including through the takeover of Canadian companies that work on sensitive technologies. Pressure is building in Berlin to form a stable government as quickly as possible. German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier hosted a meeting on Thursday of the leaders of the Christian Democrats (CDU), Christian Social Union (CSU) and Social Democratic Party (SPD) to convince them to continue the grand coalition. German Chancellor Angela Merkel (CDU) is also advocating a new installment of the grand coalition. Several leading CDU/CSU politicians have put the SPD under pressure to initiate coalition talks as quickly as possible. The German Employers Conference, where leading figures from big business meet with top politicians, demanded on Wednesday that the parties come to a swift agreement: Whoever stands in elections must be prepared to assume responsibility for establishing government, said Employers Conference President Ingo Kramer. The trade unions are also promoting a grand coalition. The head of the German Trade Union Association, Reiner Hoffmann, called for a stable government. The crying need for modernisation in Germany and Europe is a major factor in favour of a grand coalition, he said. Verdi trade union leader Frank Bsirske said he expects the parties to finally seriously begin exploratory talks with the goal of forming a stable government. A new installment of the grand coalition would not merely be a continuation of the two previous coalitions which governed Germany from 2005 to 2009 and 2013 to 2017. It would pursue a much more aggressive right-wing agenda. The future governments policies will be determined by the global capitalist crisisthe instability of the financial markets, raging trade war, the crisis of the European Union, Germanys conflicts with the United States, Russia and China, and the growing war danger. The advocates of a grand coalition argue that Germany requires stability above all else. By this they mean a strong government capable of enforcing the ruling elites interests at home and abroad with a firm hand. As the weekly news magazine Die Zeit commented, In these turbulent times in which the United States under Donald Trump is acting like a bull in the china shop of world politics and one European country after another is falling under the influence of populists, Germany cannot afford to be absent as an anchor of stability. Stable relations are of the utmost importance, Die Zeit s article continued, whether the issue is the EUs future relationship with Britain or the further integration of the eurozone, the unification of European defence policy, the combatting of the causes of refugee flight or mediating the conflict between Russia and Ukraine or Saudi Arabia and Iran. International advocates of a strong EU are also calling for a grand coalition. French President Emmanuel Macron called Chancellor Merkel immediately after the collapse of coalition talks between the CDU/CSU, Free Democrats (FDP) and Greens and told her, We have to carry on. A crisis in Berlin is not in Frances interests, he said. Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras sent a text message to SPD leader Martin Schulz as he addressed the federal congress of the SPD youth movement, Jusos. He called upon Schulz to advocate for a grand coalition, which is opposed by Jusos. The Financial Times went so far as to describe Germany as the indispensable nation. The entire European project would be in trouble if Germany was not solid and predictable, wrote Gideon Rachman. Within the SPD, apart from Steinmeier, whose party membership has lapsed due to his public office, Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel and the right-wing mayor of Hamburg, Olaf Scholz, are the main advocates of a grand coalition. Steinmeier and Gabriel paved the way for the return of German militarism. In 2014, then-Foreign Minister Steinmeier declared the end of military restraint and played a major part in the coup in Ukraine, which brought an anti-Russian, oligarchic regime to power in Kiev. Gabriel has campaigned tirelessly for an independent European army and a foreign policy liberated from reliance on the United States. At a security conference held this week in Berlin, German army generals announced what they expect from a new installment of the grand coalition: a programme of rearmament that recalls the rearmament of the Wehrmacht in the 1930s. In domestic policy, the SPD has also led the way in suppressing social and political opposition. With the assistance of the trade unions, with which the party enjoys close ties, the SPD has smothered all opposition in the working class to layoffs and social spending cuts. Justice Minister Heiko Maas (SPD) was responsible, among other things, for the Network Enforcement Law, which imposes strict censorship on social media. He works closely with CDU Interior Minister Thomas de Maiziere, a hardliner on domestic policy. This is the reason why the Employers Conference is calling for a grand coalition. The major corporations are ready for a new offensive against the working class. Siemens, Thyssen Krupp and Air Berlin are currently throwing thousands of workers onto the streets, without the usual social safety net. However, the advocates of a grand coalition have a problem. Such a coalition is deeply unpopular. According to an INSA poll, only 22 percent of voters support one. In the recent the federal election, the CDU, CSU and SPD lost a combined 14 percentage points of the vote and received just 53 percent support. If non-voters are included, they obtained support from just 40 percent of the electorate. With 20.5 percent of the vote, the SPD secured only half the votes it got in 1998, when it returned to government after 16 years in opposition. As a result, there is a great deal of fear within the SPD that it will suffer the same fate as other social democratic parties and recede into insignificance if the SPD continues the grand coalition. The Social Democrats and other sections of the ruling class worry that left-wing and socialist ideas will gain influence if the SPDs decline persists. As a result, the SPD leadership is playing for time. The party executive will discuss further steps only on Monday. A federal SPD conference beginning Thursday will then decide whether the SPD should begin exploratory talks with the CDU/CSU. Only if these are successful would actual coalition talks take place. Finally, at least according to the SPDs current rules, the membership would have to vote on the result. It is now expected that the formation of a government could take until February or March of 2018. What all of the partiesincluding the Left Party, the Greens, the FDP and the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD)want to avoid at all costs are new elections. They do not want any discussion to take place in the population about the future governments programme, or allow critical voices to gain a hearing. Representatives of all parties are exploiting the ongoing crisis to draw closer to the AfD. In the CSU, party leader Horst Seehofer is being besieged by Bavarian Finance Minister Markus Soder and his supporters, who are aligned with the AfD on many issues. The CDU right wing is also stepping up pressure on Merkel. AfD parliamentary leader Alexander Gauland advised his party to adopt a wait and see approach. The day for assuming government responsibility will come, he said. But we can do that only if we are on a level playing field with the other parties, like our Austrian partners in the FPO [Freedom Party], he said. The Sozialistische Gleichheitspartei (SGP--Socialist Equality Party) is the only party in Germany opposing the right-wing conspiracy with a socialist programme. The SGP demands new elections in order to expose the bourgeois parties real aims and build a socialist alternative to capitalism, war and authoritarianism. People wait to receive free HIV tests during the World AIDS Day activities in Kigali, Rwanda, on Dec. 1, 2017. The Rwandan ministry of health on Friday held a ceremony to mark the World AIDS Day, expected to scale up voluntary testing as part of efforts to stem new infections. (Xinhua/Gabriel Dusabe) KIGALI, Dec. 2 (Xinhua) -- Rwanda has introduced oral HIV testing kit at a ceremony to mark the World AIDS Day, expected to scale up voluntary testing as part of efforts to stem new infections. The Rwandan ministry of health held the ceremony at Petit Stade Amahoro stadium in the capital city Kigali dubbed "Get tested for HIV. If positive, Start and Stay on life-saving treatment." The new oral HIV self-testing method was demonstrated by members of Rwanda Medical Students Association before the public. The oral HIV self-testing tool is an innovative approach that could scale up HIV testing services, particularly among the youth and other high risk populations such as commercial sex workers, Josue Ukuri, the head of the association, introduced the kit at the ceremony. With the kit, people can use oral fluid or blood-finger-pricks to test in a private and convenient setting. Results will be shown within 20 to 40 minutes. HIV positives already on antiretroviral drugs are not advised to use the oral test as they can be misled because the results turn out negative due to exposure to medication. A person receives a free HIV test during the World AIDS Day activities in Kigali, Rwanda, on Dec. 1, 2017. (Xinhua/Gabriel Dusabe) Speaking at the event, Rwandan Minister of Health Diane Gashumba said the new self-testing device will play a key role in ending the HIV epidemic in the country, she said. She encouraged Rwandans most especially the youth to go for HIV testing to know their status. As part of activities to mark the day, the ministry of health also launched three-month HIV awareness program and as well scaling up on condom kiosks across the country. At the ceremony, condoms and other HIV preventive materials were freely distributed to the participants and hundreds of people voluntarily participated in HIV testing. HIV prevalence rate in Rwanda is still at 3 percent since 2005 and this has been achieved because of the numerous strategies in place, according to Jeanine Condo, director general of Rwanda Biomedical Center (RBC). HIV preventive and treatment services have been scaled up to more than 90 percent of health facilities across the country, according to RBC. People demonstrate how to use oral HIV testing kit during the World AIDS Day activities in Kigali, Rwanda, on Dec. 1, 2017. (Xinhua/Gabriel Dusabe) HIV and AIDS from mother to child transmission has been reduced to less than 2 percent while provision of anti-retroviral treatments reaches to all HIV positive people in need and for free, according to the ministry of health. Source: Xinhua| 2017-12-02 20:44:11|Editor: Yurou Video Player Close RAMALLAH, Dec. 2 (Xinhua) -- Member of Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) Executive Committee Hanan Ashrawi warned Saturday against U.S. considering moving its embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. Also head of Information and Culture Department, Ashrawi said "such a step would destabilize the whole region, destroy the peace process, disqualify the U.S. 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," she said, warning that it is "very dangerous and would transform into a religious issue." On Friday, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas' spokesperson Nabil Abu Rudeinah said that the U.S. 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." Abu 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 that are prevalent in the region and the world." Media reports said that U.S. President Donald Trump is considering recognizing Jerusalem as a capital of Israel and may announce that next Wednesday. Trump issued an exceptional decision to keep the U.S. embassy in Tel Aviv last June, which is expected to expire this month, but it is not clear yet if Trump will renew his decision or not. The issue of moving the U.S. 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 U.S.-sponsored talks that lasted for nine months achieved no tangible results. December is right around the corner and with it comes holiday greetings, inexplicable fruitcake, and the inevitable visits from family members. So in order to help you get in the mood or to keep those holiday guests entertained, skip the annual TV holiday reruns because Netflix here to help whether youve been naughty or nice. Netflix is helping to kickstart the Christmas cheer with the Disneys Santa Clause films, You Cant Fight Christmas, and a holiday special from Trolls. Christmas not your thing? Theres still plenty of new non-holiday content to watch like Eminems 8 Mile, season 2 of The Crown, Planet Earth II albeit without Snoop Doggs narration, and the new fantasy cop movie Bright. Heres everything coming to Netflix in December: Dec. 1 8 Mile Ace Ventura: Pet Detective Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls All Hail King Julien: Season 5 A StoryBots Christmas August Rush Chef & My Fridge: 2017 Dark: Season 1 Diana: In Her Own Words Dreamcatcher DreamWorks Home: For the Holidays Easy: Season 2 Exporting Raymond Forbidden Games: The Justin Fashanu Story Full Metal Jacket Hitch My Happy Family Nacho Libre Sahara The Farthest Voyager in Space The Little Rascals The Wackness The Young Victoria Tyson V for Vendetta TURN: Washingtons Spies: Season 4 Voyeur While You Were Sleeping Dec. 4 When Calls the Heart: Season 4 Dec. 5 Craig Ferguson: Tickle Fight Marvels Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 Dec. 6 Trolls Holiday Special Dec. 8 El Camino Christmas The Crown: Season 2 Dec. 11 Catwoman The Magicians: Season 2 Dec. 12 Disneys The Santa Clause Disneys The Santa Clause 2 Disneys The Santa Clause 3: The Escape Clause Judd Apatow: The Return Dec. 14 41 Dogs in My Home A&E: When Patients Attack Ainsley Eats the Streets: Season 1 Halt and Catch Fire: Season 4 Story continues Dec. 15 A Five Star Life Christmas Inheritance Discovering Bigfoot El Senor de los Cielos: Season 5 Erased: Season 1 Freeway: Crack In The System Neverlake Pottersville Reggie Yates Outside Man: Volume 2 The Haunting of Helena The Mafia Kills Only in Summer The Ranch: Part 4 Trollhunters: Part 2 Ultimate Beastmaster Wormwood Dec. 18 Hello, My Twenties!: Season 2 Dec. 19 Miss Me This Christmas Russell Howard: Recalibrate The Indian Detective: Season 1 You Cant Fight Christmas Dec. 20 La Casa de Papel: Season 1 Dec. 21 Peaky Blinders: Season 4 Dec. 22 72 Dangerous Animals: Latin America: Season 1 Bright Dope: Season 1 Fuller House: Season 3, New Episodes Rosario Tijeras: Season 1 The Toys That Made Us: Season 1 Dec. 23 Creep 2 Myths & Monsters: Season 1 Dec. 25 Cable Girls: Season 2 Planet Earth II Dec. 26 Todd Barry: Spicy Honey Travelers: Season 2 All Hail King Julien: New Years Eve Countdown 2018 Beat Bugs: New Years Eve Countdown 2018 Larva: New Years Eve Countdown 2018 Pororo: New Years Eve Countdown 2018 Puffin Rock: New Years Eve Countdown 2018 Skylanders Academy: New Years Eve Countdown 2018 Trollhunters: New Years Eve Countdown 2018 True and The Rainbow Kingdom: New Years Eve Countdown 2018 Word Party: New Years Eve Countdown 2018 Dec. 27 Pusher Dec. 29 Bill Nye Saves the World: Season 2: Part 1 Killer Legends La Mante: Season 1 Shelter The Climb Dec. 31 Dave Chappelle: Equanimity Fun Mom Dinner Related stories Maria Bamford on Mocking Netflix in 'Lady Dynamite' Season 2 'Umbrella Academy' Netflix Series Rounds Out Cast With 'Game of Thrones' Alum, 'Hamilton' Star Elizabeth Marvel Talks About Her Pivotal Scene in 'The Meyerowitz Stories' Subscribe to Variety Newsletters and Email Alerts! Source: Xinhua| 2017-12-02 21:14:24|Editor: Yurou Video Player Close KAMPALA, Dec. 2 (Xinhua) -- At least 11 people were killed on spot and nine others seriously injured in a Friday night road accident in the central Ugandan district of Mpigi, a traffic police spokesperson said here on Saturday. Charles Ssebambulidde, the directorate of traffic and road safety spokesperson, told Xinhua by telephone that the accident occurred following a head-on collision between a passenger commuter taxi and a Toyota Ipsum at Bboza trading center along the Mpigi-Butambala road. The Ipsum was carrying occupants returning from a traditional introduction ceremony while the commuter taxi was taking people for the last funeral rites due on Saturday. "The driver of the commuter taxi lost control ramming onto an Ipsum from the opposite direction," said Ssebamulidde. "Six people aboard the Ipsum car died while five others in the commute taxi perished in the accident," he said. The injured were rushed to Mpigi Health Centre IV and Mulago National Referral Hospital in the capital, Kampala The police attributed the cause of the road accident to overspeeding, careless and reckless driving. Uganda registers at least 20,000 accidents with over 2,000 deaths each year, making it one of the countries with the highest road accident fatality rates in the world, according to police figures. A Missouri man has been charged with murder in his wifes death after their 7-year-old daughter told a school counselor she saw her mothers body in their homes basement, PEOPLE confirms. Benjamin Byers, 45, of Kansas City, has been accused of fatally stabbing his wife, Melissa Byers, 47, before wrapping her body in sheets and hiding it in the basement of their familys home, according to a probable cause statement obtained by PEOPLE. Police were notified of the alleged murder Wednesday, when Byers daughter told a school counselor she saw her mothers body downstairs the night before, the document states. Police forced their way into Byers home, where Byers met them in the living room. Upon questioning, Byers told authorities he didnt know where his wife was and that he hadnt seen her since Monday, when she went to work. Want to keep up with the latest crime coverage? Click here to get breaking crime news, ongoing trial coverage and details of intriguing unsolved cases in the True Crime Newsletter. Following a trail of blood drops throughout the house, police made their way to the basement, where they found a tarp with blood around it. Blood believed to be drag marks led investigators to a body wrapped in clothing, carpeting, plastic and sheets. A large portion of carpet from the homes dining room appeared to have been removed, the documents allege. Byers has been charged with second degree murder, armed criminal action, abandonment of a corpse and endangering the welfare of a child, a Kansas City police spokesperson tells PEOPLE. During their investigation, police noted the home appeared to have been recently cleaned, according to the documents. It is unclear whether Byers has an attorney who could comment on his behalf. For more compelling True Crime coverage, follow our Crime magazine on Flipboard. The girl told police she had not seen her mother since Monday and that her father was acting weird when he picked her up from school Tuesday. She said he also appeared to be drinking. Later that night, she said, Byers allegedly asked her to get him a beer before falling asleep. Story continues The child said she saw lots of blood in the home and followed it down to the basement, where she saw the body. It appeared to be stabbed in the back, the girl recalled. Police have not revealed a motive for the alleged murder. The girl said she didnt tell her father what she saw in the basement because she didnt want to be next. It is unclear when Byers is schedule to appear in court. Jackson County prosecutors have requested a $500,000 bond, a Jackson County Prosecuting Office spokesperson tells PEOPLE. Kate Middleton Goes Casual for Outing in London -- See the Cozy Look! The Duchess of Cambridge enjoyed a low-key outing on Friday. Kate Middleton goes casual. The 35-year-old Duchess of Cambridge was spotted looking cozy at King's Cross St. Pancras Station on Friday morning. Middleton, who is pregnant with her third child, kept warm in a $169 black-and-white plaid Zara coat, which she wore over a gray turtleneck sweater, black faded jeans and black ankle boots. She clutched a black leather Mulberry purse, her hair was held back in a low ponytail and she wore minimal makeup. Mega Agency Middleton had a busy week, gardening with local schoolchildren and visiting The Foundling Museum in London. Meanwhile, on Friday, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle attended their first official royal engagement as an engaged couple. The lovebirds stepped out to attend the Terrence Higgins Trust World AIDS Day charity fair. See their first official outing together in the video below. Related Gallery Kate Middleton talks Prince Harry Related Articles The secret button that Matt Lauer allegedly used to lock his door inside NBCs Rockefeller Center headquarters was not a unique security feature, a source at the show tells PEOPLE. On Wednesday, a former NBC employee who spoke to the The New York Times on condition of anonymity said that Lauer sexually assaulted her in 2001. According to the publication, Lauer had been making inappropriate comments to her after she started working at the media company in the late 1990s. The woman told the Times that Lauer asked her into his office in 2001, and that he locked the doors by pressing a button from his desk. This detail has become an object of fascination in the fallout from Lauers termination. Many exec offices in 30 Rock have the button, the source tells PEOPLE. Its an idiosyncratic thing. A former Today employee confirmed this. Many executives had the button in their office, not just Matt, she told PEOPLE. I had female bosses who had it. It was like a design thing. Like you know how offices now all have open concepts? Well, whenever those offices were remodeled, that button was installed because that was the new thing to have. Matt Lauer Whats one rumor about you thats not true? the interviewer asked. That Im hard to work with, he replied. NBC announced early Wednesday that Lauer had been fired after the network received a detailed complaint from a colleague about inappropriate sexual behavior on Monday, with reason to believe this may not have been an isolated incident. A source told PEOPLE that Lauer was let go due to alleged inappropriate sexual behavior throughout 2014, including at the Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia. In a report published Wednesday afternoon by Variety, three anonymous women accused the former newsman of sexual harassment, claiming Lauer had once brought a female employee into this office and then dropped his pants, showing her his penis. Lauer then allegedly reprimanded her for not engaging in a sexual act. Although a source told PEOPLE that Matt Lauer believed that his affair with a Today show colleague was consensual, he should absolutely have refrained from engaging in an intimate relationship with a co-worker, according to a human resources expert. The power differential between him and literally every other Today show employee is huge. Any relationship he has with an NBC employee will be heavily influenced a better term might be tainted by that differential, The Purposeful Culture Groups Chris Edmonds exclusively tells PEOPLE. The only person who benefits from a workplace affair like this is the person in power. NBC announced early Wednesday that 59-year-old Lauer co-anchor of the morning show since January 1997 had been fired after the network received a detailed complaint from a colleague about inappropriate sexual behavior on Monday, with reason to believe this may not have been an isolated incident. According to a source with knowledge of the former anchors firing, in [Lauers] mind, this had been a consensual affair. And a long-term one at that. Although the source said Lauer, who has been married to Annette Roque for 19 years, was shocked and dumbfounded that the woman who came forward on Monday alleged that their relationship was non-consensual, Edmonds tells PEOPLE that workplace affairs are always a liability, especially so when they occur between a person of power and a subordinate. It creates secrecy and insider/outsider dynamics. If two people fall in love, great one of them needs to work somewhere else. If its lust, its short-lived, anyway (by definition) and the affair will erode trust, respect, and dignity between the parties in the know, Edmonds explains. Though the NBC employee chose to come forward with her allegations, Edmonds says fear of job loss, career impact, and more can prevent victims from reporting sexual misconduct by a superior in the workplace and the victim the woman in nearly all cases suffers 99 percent of the consequences. Story continues Power and control by the higher ranking male or the threat of that power being wielded against the woman leaves the victim feeling alone, shamed, and without any avenue for her experience to be heard by a kind authority, says Edmonds, author of the Amazon bestseller The Culture Engine. That power enables predators to act on their selfish desires with little concern for retribution. Adds Edmonds, Sexual gratification has no place in any work environment. No one at any level has the right to demand it, take it, or even tease about it, at any time. An organizations culture drives everything that happens in that organization, for better or worse. If you want a purposeful, positive, productive work culture where everyone is treated with trust, respect, and dignity in every interaction senior leaders must define that desired culture then align all plans, decisions, and actions to that desired culture every day, he says. On Friday, NBC News Chairman Andrew Lack issued a memo to NBC staff members, in which he said that the network has been spending time listening to your concerns, your feedback, your ideas on how we move forward as an organization in the wake of Matt Lauers appalling behavior, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Lack said that a team of the most experienced NBCUniversal Legal and Human Resources leaders have begun a thorough and timely review of what happened and will share what weve learned, no matter how painful, and act on it. Additionally, Lack said the the News Division is launching an immediate effort to implement in-person training on sexual harassment awareness and appropriate behavior in the workplace and encouraged employees to speak up and raise any concerns they might have. In a report published Wednesday afternoon by Variety, three anonymous women accused the former newsman of sexual harassment, claiming Lauer had once brought a female employee into this office and then dropped his pants, showing her his penis. Lauer then allegedly reprimanded her for not engaging in a sexual act. A former NBC employee who spoke to the The New York Times on condition of anonymity also came forward, saying that Lauer sexually assaulted her in 2001. According to the publication, Lauer had been making inappropriate comments to her after she started working at the media company in the late 1990s. Lauer, who is focusing on his family since he parted ways with the network, spoke out in a statement read by Today anchor Savannah Guthrie on Thursday. There are no words to express my sorrow and regret for the pain I have caused others by words and actions, Lauer said. To the people I have hurt, I am truly sorry. As I am writing this, I realize the depth of the damage and disappointment I have left behind at home and at NBC. 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, he added. Repairing the damage will take a lot of time and soul searching, and Im committed to beginning that effort. It is now my full time job. The last two days have forced me to take a very hard look at my own troubling flaws. Its been humbling. I am blessed to be surrounded by people I love. I thank them for their patience and grace. Dear Colleagues, The most vital thing weve done since terminating Matt Lauers employment on Tuesday night has been spending time listening to your concerns, your feedback, your ideas on how we move forward as an organization. As I said in my note on Wednesday: our highest priority is to create a workplace environment where everyone feels safe and protected, and to ensure that any actions that run counter to our core values are met with consequences, no matter who the offender. Many of you have asked what we are doing to learn as much as we can about the circumstances around Matt Lauers appalling behavior, why this was able to happen, and why it wasnt reported sooner. This week we saw that when an employee comes forward to report misconduct, the system works. The complaint is quickly assessed and meaningful action is taken. But we also learned that we must do a much better job of making people feel empowered to take that crucial first step of reporting bad behavior. To that end, I have three things to share with you. 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. At the conclusion of the review we will share what weve learned, no matter how painful, and act on it. Second while our company has had mandatory online training for all employees on sexual harassment and other workplace issues, we need to do better. Therefore in addition to what is already in place, the News Division is launching an immediate effort to implement in-person training on sexual harassment awareness and appropriate behavior in the workplace. We will share more details on this effort very shortly. And third we need to keep communicating. In addition to the meetings weve had this week with various show teams and departments, we are encouraging the leaders of every group to have smaller, more informal gatherings to further discuss this crucial issue now and on an ongoing basis. And, as we have done regularly over the last few months, but cannot do often enough, we want to remind you again that we encourage all employees to speak up and raise any concerns you have about inappropriate conduct you have experienced or observed. We also want to reinforce with our managers and leaders their responsibility to bring forward concerns about inappropriate workplace behavior they see or hear about. It is always the right thing to do, and any concerns raised should be done without fear of retaliation, and with full assurance that they will be investigated. Here are the multiple avenues available. You can also find these details on the intranet NBCUNow. If you have something on your mind your manager often is in the best position to resolve your concern quickly. If you are not comfortable talking to your direct manager you can talk to another news leader. Reach out to your HR Manager or another member of the news HR team. If you are not comfortable speaking with someone locally about a concern talk to an NBCUniversal Ombudsperson. Call the NBCUniversal Integrity Helpline US 800-622-6221 or International +44 0 20 36186210 , send an email to integrity@nbcuni.com or contact an NBCUniversal Ombudsperson from the list on the NBCUniversal Integrity Website at www.nbcunow.com/integrity/speak-up . Concerns can be raised anonymously. You can call the Comcast Listens Helpline (1-877-40-LISTENS or 1-877-405-4783 ) or visit the Web Portal ( www.ComcastListens.com ) to ask a question or raise a concern. The Helpline and Web Portal are both managed by an independent third-party company, which allows you to remain anonymous if you choose. This has been a very tough week for all of us. Thank you again for your honest feedback. Ill continue to share information and updates with you in the days and weeks ahead. Andy A Texas history teacher has been arrested and charged with sexual assault with a former male student after meeting up at a local Chick-fil-A restaurant, PEOPLE confirms. Michelle Schiffer, 23, has been charged with having an improper relationship with a student, now 16, and sexual assault of a child, court records show. Schiffer appeared in court Wednesday to face her charges. A judge set bond at $30,000, which Schiffer posted later that day, court records show. The judge also told Schiffer that she is not to have contact with anyone under the age of 18. It was not immediately clear if she has entered a plea or retained an attorney. Want to keep up with the latest crime coverage? Click here to get breaking crime news, ongoing trial coverage and details of intriguing unsolved cases in the True Crime Newsletter. Schiffer allegedly told authorities that she met the student, who was 15 at the time, at the fast food restaurant before they went to a friends house to have sex, court records show, according to Click 2 Houston. The student told police Schiffer picked him up once at a park, and then they allegedly drove around the neighborhood before having sex in a parking lot, local TV station CW39 reports. Court records show she and the student allegedly had sex multiple times over the summer, CW39 reports. Schiffer teaches world history at Cypress Springs High School in Cypress. She also allegedly admitted that she smoked marijuana with the student in her vehicle, Click 2 Houston reports. For more compelling True Crime coverage, follow our Crime magazine on Flipboard. An anonymous student reported the alleged situation to the Cypress Springs High School principal on Nov. 10, according to court documents, CW39 reports. The anonymous student told the principal that the male student allegedly admitted that he had had a sexual relationship with the teacher, according to court documents. The Cypress-Fairbanks Independent School District said in a statement that Schiffer was immediately removed from campus and placed on administrative leave once they learned of the charges. We will continue to protect our students and not tolerate relationships of an inappropriate nature, the statement said. Source: Xinhua| 2017-12-02 21:24:26|Editor: Yang Yi Video Player Close GUANGZHOU, Dec. 2 (Xinhua) -- Air pollution has been notably reduced in Beijing, especially during the winter months, and the city is likely to meet its smog control target of the year, a cabinet minister said Saturday. Minister of Environmental Protection Li Ganjie told attendees of an environment forum in Huizhou, Guangdong Province, that Beijing's levels of PM2.5 dropped about 27 percent year-on-year in the March-November period this year. The PM2.5 measures the density of particulate matter in air and is often used to determine smog severity. He said it worths mentioning that the PM2.5 levels plunged 40 percent in October and November. The winter months are known to have Beijing's worst smog because winds slow and residents turn on coal-fired furnaces for heating. Progress in winter is key to winning the battle against smog. The government has taken a series of measures to fight air pollution: closing factories, limiting cars and replacing coal with clean energy. Li said China saw "unprecedented" improvement of environment over the past five years. In the first eleven months, 338 Chinese cities saw a combined 20.4 percent reduction in PM10, compared to that in 2013. The PM2.5 levels in three main metropolitan areas: Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei, Yangtze River Delta and Pearl River Delta were down 38.2 percent, 31.7 percent and 25.6 percent respectively, Li said. For Beijing, which catches much more attention than others on pollution control, a target has been set to lower the year-round PM2.5 average to 60 micrograms per cubic meters in 2017. Li said the government is confident that the target will be met. "We have drawn important lessons," he said. "Despite the challenges, we will redouble the efforts to fight and win the war against pollution to make the sky blue again." Amber alert issued for missing North Carolina girl, Mariah Woods A young girl was reported missing on Monday in North Carolina, and her mother says she was abducted from her home. An amber alert was issued for Mariah Woods, 3, when her mother realized she was missing from her home in Jacksonville early on Monday morning. The girl was confirmed missing by Sherriff Hans Miller. Kristy Hunter, the toddlers mother, said she put Mariah to bed Sunday night and checked on her at 11 p.m. Her boyfriend, Earl Kimrey, lives at the house and said he also checked on the child at midnight. When Hunter went to check on Mariah at 6:30 a.m. the next morning she was nowhere to be found. RELATED: New Details Released In Death Of 3-Year-Old Texas Girl Whose Dad Said He 'Put Her Outside Alone For Punishment' After Mom Also Arrested Mariahs biological father, Alex Woods, found out his daughter was missing via an amber alert. He doesn't believe Hunters story that the girl was kidnapped. 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 asked while talking to News Channel 12. Nobody heard anything? Four people in the house, two adults and two kids someone just comes up and snatches the baby and walks out? #AMBERAlert Update! Mariah was last seen on November 26, 2017 at 11:00 p.m. at 2404 Dawson Cabin Road in Jacksonville, #NorthCarolina.https://t.co/D2vblnGoy9 NCMEC (@MissingKids) November 28, 2017 The sheriff said he is doing everything he can to find Mariah, but the 48-hour mark has passed. The first 48 hours after a child has gone missing are the most crucial hours in investigating and bringing the child home safely. Story continues "We don't know what happened," Sheriff Miller said. "It's entirely premature to try to determine what happened." The blonde-haired, blue-eyed girl was supposed to be in Woods custody but hasn't seen her or her two older brothers, who are 10 and 5 years old, in over a year. After a custodial dispute last year following an incident that brought in Child Protective Services, Woods had custody of the kids for a month before Hunter didn't cooperate with the visitation agreement. RELATED: New Details About The Missing 15-Year-Old Heaven Ray Cox And Why Her Family Thinks She Was Abducted By A Man She Met On Snapchat He hasn't seen the kids since. Woods and his partner told News Channel 12 they are hoping for the best. Police said they do not believe Woods or his partner are suspects. Woods doesn't believe his daughter was kidnapped but said his ex-wife and her boyfriend "have something to do with it." Surveillance footage, WCTI12 FBI released surveillance footage of a woman with a blonde toddler and asked if anyone could identify the woman, wondering if the girl was Mariah. Jetta Long, 23, from Newport told WCTI that the footage was of herself and her daughter, not Mariah. Long said she doesn't know the family of the missing girl but she is frustrated that this misunderstanding may have gotten the hopes of the family up." "The child is not Mariah Woods," FBI spokeswoman Shelley Lynch said in an email. "We appreciate the public's assistance providing the information to investigators and for helping us fully investigate to rule this out as a lead to find Mariah." Local law enforcement along with the FBI, NCIS, four volunteer fire departments and K-9 units are looking for the missing toddler. A military police mobile command unit was set up in front of Hunters house, 2404 Dawson Cabin Road, where the toddler was last seen. The house has been surrounded by crime scene tape. "We are widening the search and working on a plan to include civilian volunteers," Sheriff Hans Miller said. Mariah is a white female, stands about 2 feet 9 inches tall, has blonde hair, blue eyes, and weighs about 30 pounds. If you have any information about the whereabouts of the missing girl, the Oslow County Sheriffs Department urges you to call them immediately at 910-455-3113 or dial 911. RELATED: Horrific New Details Released About WHY A Mother Let Her Boyfriend And His Cousin Rape And Murder Her 10-Year-Old Daughter While She Watched Keywords: North Carolina, Missing Kids, mariah woods read more Najib Balala (L), Kenyan Cabinet Secretary for Tourism, Steve Chege (C), Director Corporate Affairs at Safaricom and Stone He, Huawei Technologies Kenya Chief Executive Officer unveil the Hell's Gate national park photo during the Huawei exploration campaign launch in Nairobi, capital of Kenya, Nov. 30, 2017. This campaign dubbed "Kenya: Exploring a new point of view" by Huawei Technologies will be showcased across multiple digital communication channels globally showcasing the modernity, diversity and beauty of Kenya to millions around the world. (Xinhua/Charles Onyango) By Christine Lagat and Wang Xiaopeng NAIROBI, Dec. 2 (Xinhua) -- Mutua Matheka loved adventure since his childhood days and often defied warnings from older relatives and teachers to scale dangerous heights to test his grit and resilience. The 33-year-old architecture graduate developed a passion for adventure photography during his teenage years and gladly embraced any opportunity to capture fascinating landscapes in his locality. Matheka's prowess came to its own in mid July when Chinese technology firm Huawei recruited him to embark on a photography mission aimed at showcasing Kenya's attractions to the rest of the word. His participation in the Huawei-sponsored photography campaign titled "Kenya: Exploring a new point of view" marked an important milestone in his career. During an interview with Xinhua on Thursday evening at the launch of the Huawei digital photography campaign, Matheka said he felt honored to be part of a crew that helped rewrite Kenya's narrative through visual imagery. "Participating in this project to showcase Kenya's unique physical features was a dream come true for me since I have always aspired to harness the power of images to make positive changes in society," said Matheka. Huawei and Kenya's leading mobile phone company Safaricom sponsored the digital photography campaign to help highlight the positive side of Kenya amid polarization witnessed during the prolonged electoral cycle. Matheka and his crew embarked on a seven-day trip to different parts of the country to capture captivating images on top of Safaricom masts using Huawei's P10 smartphone and cameras. His endurance and stamina was tested to the limit when he climbed up to the apex of the cell phone masts to capture thrilling images of hills, water bodies, wildlife and savannah grasslands. "The seven day photographic journey was grueling and I had to endure freezing cold and strong winds on top of the cell phone masts to get the best snapshot," said Matheka. The eight most outstanding images that he captured during the week-long odyssey to Kenya's hinterland, cities and coastal beaches will be displayed on Huawei's digital platforms to be viewed by millions of people globally. Matheka said he was overwhelmed by the positive feedback he received from the public when his snapshots of Kenya's fascinating landscapes were unveiled. "I will always cherish the experience of climbing tall masts at sunrise and sunset to capture our natural beauty using a smartphone camera. Each picture that I took will live to illustrate our timeless and authentic heritage to future generations," Matheka said. He underscored the role of digital technology to re-invent the Kenyan brand that had experienced a beating due to fractious politics and insecurity. "Most of us Kenyans have always viewed the country through the lenses of foreign media and it is high time we harnessed the power of digital technology to tell the positive side of the story," said Matheka. He is currently mentoring upcoming photographers through social media platforms and is optimistic the photography campaign will boost tourism in Kenya. Matheka's companions during the photography journey had kind words for the venture that not only added luster to their careers but also elevated their fame in Kenya and beyond. Trevor Maingi, 27-year-old aeronautical engineering major, was part of the Huawei photography project that helped refine his photography skills. Maingi started engaging in adventure photography two years ago after graduating from a mid-level college and an opportunity to participate in the Huawei explore Kenya project opened new horizons. "It was a whole new experience to travel hundreds of miles to some of the remotest outposts in the country and take a photo of desolate hills, plateau and water points," said Maingi. He also braved chilly mornings to climb up to the apex of cell phone masts and get a better view of captivating landscapes underneath. "The hardest part was carrying a luggage weighing eight kilos while climbing the masts. It was a grueling task that also boosted our physical stamina and resilience," Maingi said. He vowed to utilize his photography skills to inspire and mentor younger peers. Kenya was the first country in the world to benefit from Huawei sponsored digital photography campaign that aims to spotlight the country's positive attributes. Xavier Wong, Creative Director of Huawei Global, said Kenya has made great strides in many spheres hence the need to magnify this progress using digital technology. Photo credit: Hearst Communications, Inc. All rights reserved From Harper's BAZAAR When Meghan Markle appeared for her first first royal engagement with Prince Harry this morning, she opted for a royal-friendly outfit: a professional yet sophisticated look in a neutral color palette with her own personal flair. While adhering to general royal dress code, she also inadvertently paid tribute to an iconic dynasty from her native USA with a look reminiscent of the late Carolyn Bessette Kennedy's. The outfits are over two decades apart, but the basic elements are all there: a black sweater, a neutral beige midi skirt, and knee-high boots (plus high-profile arm candy). Bessette-Kennedy wore her look in 1996 while making an appearance with her husband JFK Jr. outside their Tribeca apartment. Though she hated paparazzi, she was often photographed sporting chic yet down-to-earth looks that included classy coats and elegant formalwear. Today, Bessette-Kennedy's style is nearly as iconic as that of her mother-in-law, Jackie Kennedy, so it's no surprise Markle channeled it with her own look - even if the homage was accidental. Markle's version included a thin black belt and heavy pleats on the skirt, made by British brand Joseph. Her black boots, by another UK label, Kurt Geiger, had more slouch than Bessette-Kennedy's mahogany pair. Markle also paid tribute to her former country of residence, Canada, by wearing a Montreal-based outerwear brand, Mackage. (She lived in Toronto while filming Suits.) She wrapped up in the navy overcoat while greeting fans on the street. Fashion fans and monarchy-lovers will be interested to see how Markle's royal wardrobe takes shape as she grows into her role as a duchess. If this look proves anything, it's that she may reference and pay tribute to special places from her past. This is just the beginning. [editoriallinks id='79330667-9aba-474d-85a2-82ca4163509e'][/editoriallinks] You Might Also Like Meghan and Harry are wild about each other! Ever since they made their debut as a couple at the Invictus Games, Meghan Markle and Prince Harry have been showing their love for each other with their non-stop PDA. The affection comes in various forms, from hand holding to rubbing each other's backs. This was made even more obvious during the appearances following their engagement announcement earlier this week. Meghan comforted a nervous-looking Harry by frequently rubbing the small of his back during their photo call and BBC interview. During their World AIDS Day outing on Friday, Meghan and Harry couldn't stop holding hands. If you haven't noticed, the couple's PDA is a stark difference from what we've seen from Prince William and Kate Middleton. William and Kate never hold hands in public nor display any other kind of affection. Queen Elizabeth II actually set a precedent that encourages royals to keep their hands to themselves. While Prince Harry and Meghan holding hands is atypical for royal engagements, it is a seemingly welcomed gesture to show unity and celebration of their engagement period, royal etiquette expert Myka Meier told People. There is no protocol that says they can not show affection on official engagements, and this gesture makes them relatable and lovable to the public. RELATED: Meghan and Harry's debut as an engaged couple: The introduction of Meghan into the royal family was dubbed a "breath of fresh air" by the Financial Times. And we totally agree! Perhaps Meghan and Harry's adorable PDA will inspire Kate and William to do the same? If Meghan and Harry's outing on Friday was any indication, Meghan-mania has officially hit the UK. The former "Suits" actress donned a look fit for a princess, wearing a Mackage navy, double-breasted wool coat, Joseph camel skirt and Kurt Geiger suede boots. She accessorized her look with a merlot-hued mini tote from Lane Crawford. Story continues Check out the video above for more on Meghan and Harry! RELATED: Meghan Markle's style transformation: On Friday, just a few days after announcing their engagement, Meghan Markle and Prince Harry had their first public outing together. The couple visited the city of Nottingham and were photographed meeting members of the public before visiting two projects focused on HIV/AIDS and youth crime. Over the past few years, Harry has been carrying on the work of his late mother, Princess Diana, who was a champion for those suffering from the disease. Unlike the Duchess of Cambridge was before she became a royal, Markle is used to charity work thanks to her celebrity status. Shes a regular speaker at the United Nations on womens topics and has worked as a representative for Canadian charity World Vision. For the occasion, Markle wore a double-breasted, navy blue wool coat by Canadian label Mackage. Underneath, the former actress kept warm with a turtleneck and cream skirt, finishing off the winter-ready ensemble with a pair of heeled boots and a tri-tone leather Strathberry bag costing $613. Harry chose a similar hued overcoat worn over his usual smart suit. The couple didnt hide their affection during the outing, having been pictured holding hands and wrapping their arms around each other on multiple occasions. As for the couples wedding date? Reports say that Harry and Meghan will marry on May 26 so that the nation can have a three-day celebration thanks to the holiday. Kensington Palace has yet to confirm a specific date but did say the nuptials will take place that month. [MUSIC] Just when you thought positive tweets didnt exist anymore, the Dalai Lama swept in to change your minds this Friday. The 82-year-olds team took to the social media app to drop a photo of Tibets exiled spiritual leader meeting with a celebrity from the political sphere: Barack Obama. His Holiness the Dalai Lama meeting with former US President Barack Obama in New Delhi, India on December 1, 2017. (Photo taken by Tenzin Taklha), the tweet read. His Holiness the Dalai Lama meeting with former US President Barack Obama in New Delhi, India on December 1, 2017. (Photo by Tenzin Taklha) pic.twitter.com/zGECQLJLcF Dalai Lama (@DalaiLama) December 1, 2017 Were going to give you a moment and let the magnitude of this image sink in before we describe it. Ready? In the shot, Obamadressed in a business casual suitlooks calm with his hands intertwined and placed gently on his crossed legs. Meanwhile, the spiritual leader is seem is his traditional maroon garb with his hands in motion, clearly speaking about something important. RELATED: Take a Tour of the Obamas's Gorgeous Martha's Vineyard Beach House According to The Hill, the meeting comes after the Dalai Lama expressed concern over Donald Trump, previously saying he worries the U.S. is becoming more selfish and nationalist. During his trip to New Delhi, Obama also reportedly offered advice about social media and suggested you think before you tweet. Michelle Obama delivered a similar message earlier this week. 4 ways you can fight Libyas slave trade and help the victims In at least nine different locations across Libya, trapped migrants from other African countries are being sold into slavery for roughy $400 each, according to reports from CNN earlier this month. A team of investigative reporters from CNN traveled to Libya after receiving video footage of a migrant slave auction taking place in the North African country. As reported by the outlet, what they found there was horrifying: Men and women from other African nations being auctioned off for a few hundred dollars by smugglers who originally promised to help them find a safe way to Europe. Over the last three years, over 450,000 migrants and refugees have travelled through Libya and entered Europe. Over 3,000 people have died making the dangerous journey across the Mediterranean Sea but now, the trip is even more dangerous. Efforts by the Libyan coast guard and the Italian government have stopped hundreds of thousands of migrants, many of them fleeing Nigeria, from leaving Libya. It is estimated that between 400,000 and 1 million men, women, and children are trapped in the country. While fleeing, these migrants quickly become vulnerable to theft, rape, murder, and human trafficking. Often, they are preyed upon by smugglers who promise to find them safe passage to Europe. Instead, the migrants are sold at slave auctions to settle debts. Global humanitarian crises like this are usually met with a wave of shock and outrage quickly followed by an overwhelming feeling of helplessness. If you are angry and ready to help in this dire crisis but arent sure how to fight back, here are a few ways to help stop the Libyan slave trade. 1. Know the facts and share them widely. Thousands of migrants and refugees cross Libya each year in search of a better life in Europe. But thanks to a recent crackdown, fewer boats are making it out to sea, leaving human smugglers with a backlog of passengers. So they auction them off as slaves.https://t.co/qCOgPS7UDq pic.twitter.com/4CvflUuT8D CNN (@CNN) November 14, 2017 In an age when the President of the United States calls facts he disagrees with fake news while he simultaneously retweets anti-Muslim propaganda videos, knowing and understanding the facts is crucial. Educate yourself about what is happening in Libya and how it began, who is being affected by the slave trade, and who is actually buying and selling slaves. You should also take time to learn about the different causes of slavery around the world, including poverty, migration, and the global demand for cheap labor and cheap goods. Story continues Once youve brushed up on the facts, share them widely. Spread the word about the atrocities in Libya using your social media accounts. Talk about it in everyday conversation. If you hear someone repeat a false claim about the crisis or youre faced with a person who tries to refute it, stand your ground and give them the facts. 2. Contact U.S. representatives and reach out to global leaders to demand action. If you are concerned about the slave trade in #Libya you can help:1) Contact Ambassador Nikki Haley and urge her to make Libya a priority at the UN. Her twitter is @nikkihaley 2) Contact the @UN & urge them to do an investigation & create a response plan. 3) Support @IOM_Libya tamara white (@tamaratwhite) November 29, 2017 Since news broke about the slave trade in Libya, there has been a global public outcry for world leaders to step in and prevent further atrocities. People have been sharing their outrage on social media and across opinion pages, while others have taken to the streets to protest their governments inaction. If you want to make sure your voice is heard, contact Nikki Haley, U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations. You can also write to the U.N. to express your concern and show support for their current initiative to begin investigating the Libyan slave trade. 3. Shop smarter, and hold businesses accountable for the role they play in the global slave trade. Vulnerable migrants are being sold as slaves in Libya: "this is happening effectively in the open, where people can go to a farmhouse, place a bid and end up 'owning' a human being." https://t.co/ZOV1lvTw8o Polaris (@Polaris_Project) November 30, 2017 In order to put an end to slavery, we have to stop enabling it to flourish. That means changing our consumer behavior and demanding businesses be held accountable for their role in using, promoting, and enabling slavery around the world. According to several reports, technology companies like Facebook make it easier for smugglers to promote their slave auctions by allowing them to broadcast videos of captive migrants on the platform. Other businesses have been accused of using slave labor to keep their production costs low, including H&M, Nestle, and most recently Haribo, the gummy bear company. If you want to combat slavery around the world, make conscious decisions about where you shop and what you buy. As the old saying goes, the customer is always right, so demand that brands and corporations arent complicit in the crisis. Write to them and express your concerns. 4. Support anti-slavery efforts and organizations. Tragic news, of 183 migrants embarking on dangerous Mediterranean journey in search for better life opportunities, 30 migrants lost their lives, among them 2 children. IOM assisted survivors w food water & medical help. IOM expanding psychosocial support 4 all survivors #Libya pic.twitter.com/pN3G2f4cdG IOM Libya (@IOM_Libya) November 27, 2017 There are tens of millions of enslaved people around the world. In order to put an end to this global epidemic, its important to not only raise awareness about Libyas current crisis, but to support the organizations working every day to fight modern slavery. To express your support, donate to anti-slavery organizations like Anti-Slavery International, Free the Slaves, Save the Children, and the Polaris Project. You can also help support broader efforts that combat the root causes of slavery, including those by The International Organization for Migration (IOM) to reform migrant detention and the United Nations Refugee Agency to provide critical emergency services for refugees around the world. It is terrifying to think that, in 2017, men, women, and children are being sold into slavery every day. But by understanding how it happens, who is responsible for it, and how it can be stopped, you can help end this global crisis. (To find more ways to fight back, check out Bustles list of ways to help end slavery around the world.) Manila (AFP) - Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte brought in a special guest on Friday to rally troops battling Islamic State followers in the south -- US action hero Steven Seagal. The star of 80s and 90s hits like "Hard to Kill" and "Under Siege" joined Duterte in a visit to an army camp on the island of Jolo. He was there to impart martial wisdom to soldiers fighting the feared Abu Sayyaf, a band of Muslim extremists, some of whose members have pledged allegiance to the Islamic State group. "I know you guys put your life on the line every day. I myself have done and will do the same thing so I understand this is serious business," he told the soldiers, who have been battling Abu Sayyaf for decades. The extremist group has been blamed for some of the worst terror attacks in the country's history including mass kidnappings and deadly bombings. Some of its members took part in the five-month battle that devastated the southern city of Marawi this year. "I believe there is a formula that can help the armed forces, the police, the intelligence network to combat this very, very well," Seagal said. "I am looking forward to discussing these things with President Duterte at a later time," he added. Although his military background outside Hollywood is questionable, Seagal lectured the troops on how they would have to steel themselves for a lengthy war of attrition. "I hope I can be involved with all of you in this war against all of these evil things," he said. A beaming Duterte praised Seagal, telling the troops "he is a soldier so he is on the same wavelength with you when he talks". Seagal, whose recent career has largely consisted of direct-to-video movies, apparently bonded with fellow tough-guy Duterte when they met in Manila in October. He has previously praised Duterte for making the Philippines safer despite widespread criticism that Duterte is resorting to brutal, strong-arm tactics that have claimed hundreds of lives. Philippine authorities say almost 4,000 "drug personalities" have been killed since Duterte launched a bloody war on drugs after taking office last year. Since being acquired in a trade from the New Orleans Saints, Adrian Peterson has been the key to the Cardinals offense. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin) When Adrian Peterson plays well, the (5-6) Arizona Cardinals win. In the three Cardinals wins hes been a party to, the 32-year-old has eaten up an average of 124 yards of real estate and averaged 4.4 yards per tote. In losses, hes been bottled up for 76 yards on an average of 1.6 yards a carry. Essentially, the Cardinals rely on Peterson in the absence of David Johnson and Carson Palmer to ignite their tepid offense. However, Petersons availability for Sundays pivotal game against the Los Angeles Rams is up in their air. According to ESPNs Cardinals beat reporter Josh Weinfuss, Peterson didnt participate in a practice session that was open to the media on Friday due to a neck injury. Initially, believed to be a minor injury, Peterson unexpectedly missing Thursdays practice as well as his designation as a game-time decision casts doubt on his availability for Sunday. Peterson status is listed as questionable on the Cardinals injury report and missed an entire week of practice. A Week 13 loss would put a major dent in the Cardinals slim playoff hopes. Arizona is currently on the outside looking in for the final NFC Wild Card slot. Kerwynn Williams, who was gaining 2.5 yards per carry before cracking his ribs against the Jags, would lead an anemic attack against a porous Rams rushing defense if Peterson cant go. Source: Xinhua| 2017-12-02 21:34:29|Editor: Yang Yi Video Player Close Zhang Dejiang (2nd R), chairman of China's National People's Congress Standing Committee, meets with foreign delegates to the Communist Party of China (CPC) in Dialogue with World Political Parties High-Level Meeting, who are both parliamentary and political party leaders, in Beijing, capital of China, Dec. 2, 2017. (Xinhua/Ding Lin) BEIJING, Dec. 2 (Xinhua) -- China's top legislator Zhang Dejiang said on Saturday that National People's Congress (NPC) stands ready to strengthen communication and cooperation with the parliaments of other countries to help build a community with a shared future for mankind and a better world. Zhang, chairman of the NPC Standing Committee, made the remarks when meeting with foreign delegates to the CPC in Dialogue with World Political Parties High-Level Meeting in Beijing, who are both parliamentary and political party leaders. The concept of building a community with a shared future for mankind shows that the Communist Party of China (CPC) regards making more contribution to the human being as its mission, Zhang said. People of all countries are pursuing development and progress, Zhang said, noting that building a community with a shared future for humanity is in accordance with their common will. The delegates agreed to step up exchanges with the NPC so that together they can make the world a better place for the people. When the first World AIDS Day was launched in 1988 by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the United Nations, the disease had been identified only four years prior. As TIME reported that year, of the 65,780 cases reported in the U.S. since June 1981, 37,195 of those patients had passed away. As it continued to spread, more than 1,000 protesters seized the Food and Drug Administrations headquarters to pressure the agency to hurry up its notoriously slow drug-approval process, and patients were desperate for some sort of magic bullet or at the very least a drug that would provide a lifeline. But there was one medicine that did not need government approval: information. At least thats how experts like Jim Bunn saw things at the time. Bunn came up with the idea for World AIDS Day with Thomas Netter while they were working as public information officers for WHO. Bunn, who had previously been the nations first full-time television AIDS reporter, knew that knowledge about HIV and AIDS would help people protect themselves. But conveying that information was easier said than done, especially as misinformation, prejudice and fear were passed along just as quickly. The awareness day was one part of a solution to that problem. In the walk-up to World AIDS Day, which falls on Friday, the Peabody and Emmy Award-winning journalist spoke to TIME about what it was like to track the AIDS epidemic, both as a journalist and a public health professional. TIME: Were there any particular obstacles you encountered as a journalist, and then spokesman, on the AIDS beat in the 1980s? BUNN: Back in that day, TV technicians were reticent, sometimes refused, to even put microphones on people with AIDS. I made a point in my stories of bringing a crew with me that had been educated about how the disease is transmitted, because I felt that it was incumbent on me to show them the utmost respect. These people were coming out at a time when the result of them being interviewed could get them fired, evicted, out them to their families and friends. The epidemic thrust people out of the closet because they were now sick and dying. So there was a tremendous amount of courage being displayed just by agreeing to talk to me. Story continues When I was at WHO, for one of the largest single gatherings of health ministers in the history of the U.N., I was asked to put together a video on the epidemic that would empower ministers of health with info they could take back to their Prime Ministers and cabinets. The script I handed in to be translated had the phrase gay or bisexual men, but a Farsi translator said, You cant say this. So I went back and rephrased it as men who had anal sex with other men, using a level of frankness I had not needed to use before. How did you make the epidemic hit home for people who thought they werent at risk? When I was a journalist, what wed try to focus on, in addition to those whose stories we were telling particularly at that time, [was that] the virus is not limited to gay or bisexual men, its not limited to IV drug users, this is a sexually transmitted disease. One of the things we didnt do, we didnt talk about what [the interviewees] sexual preference was. We talked about what their symptoms were. We talked about what it was like to live with this disease. When Rock Hudsons diagnosis became public, all of a sudden everyone got it. The business [side] at KPIX said, Can you do a documentary? So we put one together in four days with everything we had covered. Now our station was engaged, and we launched an AIDS education program with the San Francisco AIDS Foundation and the citys health department. Get your history fix in one place: sign up for the weekly TIME History newsletter Was there a particular patient who inspired you to keep working for the cause along the way? Yes, yes. Ill never forget Tom Wicker who reached out to me saying he had been denied Social Security benefits because he had AIDS or Bobby Reynolds, a very soft spoken lineman for a phone company who climbed up telephone poles for a living. He was one of the leading voices, and I got to see him in the hospital before he died. During the AIDS epidemic, every single person you covered died for the reason you were covering them. There was nothing before then, outside of combat, with anything even close to that kind of calculus. When I was working for the WHO, I was on a video shoot at the Mall in Washington when the AIDS quilt was on display. Each [square] is made by a family member with artifacts from that [victims] life. As Im walking around, I come across one for a childhood friend from Larchmont, N.Y. To see that it was just crushing. I fell to my knees and sobbed. Its one thing to meet someone who has AIDS. Its entirely different when someone you know gets it. How did you come up with the idea for World AIDS Day? One day, [my colleague] Tom Netter was sitting in our offices and reading excerpts of a speech given by the WHO-Director General, Dr. Mahler, describing in typical bureaucratese the need for global mobilization and recognition so that the pandemic can be responded to in the most efficacious and most cost-effective ways. And I said, Oh, we need a day, like Cold Turkey Day. We looked at each other it was a cinematic moment and then jumped up out of our chairs and started brainstorming on whiteboards, activities, strategies, the date. Well, the date was easy. Its still a little dead spot today in the editorial calendar. I felt there was a window between Black Friday stories and holiday stories. If you put something up there for editors to cover, theyd welcome a new story. Thats part of what has kept it alive. Things have changed so much since then, and the disease is no longer a death sentence. Do we still need World AIDS Day today? I think so, for the following reasons: About two years ago I was the keynote speaker at a World AIDS Day observance at Duke, and this fellow came up to me and said, I want to thank you. He was an African-American man who had been in the closet until his church had put on a World AIDS Day. Once people were responding to the religious requisite of caring for people who are sick and dying, he felt like his congregation had come far enough that he came out to this pastor. There are still people today who are newly infected. There are people today who engage in high-risk behavior. And without the horrible experience of seeing your peers dropping dead around you, its not going to get your attention the way it did to those people back then. Bill passed in early hours of Saturday will benefit big businesses and the wealthy, and give Donald Trump his first major legislative victory Senate Republicans have passed the most sweeping overhaul of the US tax code in three decades, a significant step that moves Donald Trump closer to achieving the first major legislative victory of his presidency. The Senate passed its tax plan in a 51-49 vote early on Saturday morning, with Vice-President Mike Pence presiding over the chamber and after a frantic rewrite. Bob Corker was the sole Republican to vote against the bill, which would bestow huge benefits on US corporations and the wealthiest Americans. We think this is a great day for the country, the Senate majority leader, Mitch McConnell, said at a celebratory press conference. On Saturday morning, Trump praised lawmakers and said he was looking forward to signing the bill before Christmas. It was a fantastic evening last night, the president told reporters outside the White House before he left for New York. We passed the largest tax cuts in the history of our country and many other things along with it. 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. The vote marked a significant feat for Republicans, who suffered a series of embarrassing blows earlier this year by failing to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act. Trump and Republicans in Washington staked their political fortunes on the hope that tax reform would not suffer the same fate. The House speaker, Paul Ryan, said: For the first time since 1986, both the House and the Senate have passed a major overhaul of our nations tax code. Now we will move quickly to a conference committee so we can get a final bill to President Trumps desk. The rush to pass the bill sparked outcry from Democrats, who said it would be impossible to fully digest the legislation before voting began. Lawmakers received the nearly 500-page bill, some of it handwritten, hours before they voted on a plan that will affect nearly every US business and taxpayer. Story continues I defy any member of the Senate to stand here, take an oath that they have read this and understand what in the world it means to businesses and families and individuals, said Senator Dick Durbin, the minority whip from Illinois, holding up pages with notes scribbled in the margin. In New York on Saturday, before a fundraising event at Cipriani restaurant on 42nd Street, Trump said: We got no Democrat help and I think thats going to cost them in the election because they voted against tax cuts. I dont think politically its good to vote against tax cuts. After closing debate, the Senate began the tedious process of a vote-a-rama, in which senators can offer an endless series of amendments. At midnight, Pence arrived to break a tie on an amendment offered by Ted Cruz that allows parents to start savings accounts to fund tuition at private and religious K-12 schools known as 529 plans. The provision prevailed. Democrats scored a small victory when four Republicans joined them to strike a provision that appeared tailored to benefit a single Christian college in Michigan with ties to family of the secretary of education, Betsy DeVos. Not a single Democrat crossed the aisle to support the plan, which they attacked as a scam and a handout to corporations and the wealthy. I dont think there is a person more bipartisan than I am, said Joe Manchin, a Democrat from West Virginia, lamenting his frustration with the partisan nature of the process. Earlier this week, he joined red-state Democrats to urge Republicans to work with them on tax reform. This, as I have seen it unfold tonight, it is not designed to have one Democrat on the bill, he added. The House passed its own tax legislation earlier this month. The two bills will now be reconciled, presenting further hurdles in the coming weeks. Republicans have contended the $1.4tn package of cuts enclosed in their plan will in effect pay for themselves through growth. A series of independent projections found they would not. The nonpartisan joint committee on taxation projected that the plan would add $1tn to the federal deficit over the next 10 years even after factoring in the economic growth the bill is projected to generate. On Friday, the independent Tax Policy Center released similar findings, predicting that the Senate bill would add $1.2tn to the federal deficit over the next decade after accounting for increased economic growth. McConnell parried, telling reporters: Im totally confident this is a revenue-neutral bill. I think this will be a revenue producer. Senate Republicans used a vehicle known as budget reconciliation to pass the tax plan using a simple-majority vote, leaving them room for only two defections. On Friday morning, three key holdouts had announced their support. Leadership nonetheless spent the night locked in negotiations. Corker and Jeff Flake, of Arizona, had sought to extract an agreement that would scale back some of the tax cuts in the event growth projections were not met. On Thursday, they unexpectedly held court on the Senate floor, after learning that a mechanism they created to limit the impact on the national debt was not compliant with the Senates budget rules. The tense showdown led Republicans scrambling to find a way to offset the deficit by hundreds of billions of dollars. Ultimately, the plans were rejected by Senate leadership, Cruz told reporters, after he and a number of others objected. That proposal did not carry the day, Cruz said. Those $350bn in tax increases are not in the bill and larding the bill up with new tax increases would have been going the wrong direction. Flake announced that he would support the bill, saying in a statement he had secured two priorities: the elimination of an $85bn expensing budget gimmick and a firm commitment that Congress would enact permanent protections for immigrants brought to the country illegally as children. Corker said he would not support the plan, adding in a statement: 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. Key to winning over Ron Johnson of Wisconsin and Steve Daines of Montana was an agreement to expand tax cuts for millions of businesses known as pass-through entities. Democrats remained united in their opposition, attacking the legislation as a giveaway to corporate America and the wealthy. In the waning hours, this bill is tilting further towards businesses and away from families, said Chuck Schumer, the Senate minority leader, in a floor speech on Friday. Every time the choice is between corporations and families, the Republicans choose corporations. Theresa Scrivener, left, has asked Donald Trump for an apology - Facebook A British woman who Donald Trump tweeted, wrongly including her Twitter name instead of the Prime Minister's, has described how she was on the end of relentless tweets after the mistake. Theresa May Scrivener, who calls herself @theresamay on Twitter, has asked the White House for an apology after she was deluged by tweets after the President's mistake. His tweet, in reply to the Prime Minister calling his retweets of Britain First "wrong", read: "@TheresaMay, 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!" The woman tagged, from Bognor, set up her account in 2009, before Theresa May became Prime Minister. She said she had been deluged with tweets from Donald Trump's followers - despite only having six of her own. Her profile is also locked, meaning only those she approves can view her tweets. Trump Ms Scrivener told the Press Association: "If I wanted to be famous I would have gone on X Factor. "It's amazing to think that the world's most powerful man managed to press the wrong button. "I'm just waiting for a call from the White House with an apology." The woman said she also received many messages apologising on Donald Trump's behalf for the error. "I'm just glad he was not contacting me to say he was going to war with North Korea," she added. She said she didn't realise what had happened until she woke up in the morning, after his tweet was sent in the early hours: "I wasn't really sure what to make of it. I was in bed by half 10 last night and oblivious to it all. "It has been very surreal. I am laughing about it now but he is the one who sent the tweet and I have been inundated with calls. "I haven't been able to leave my house. I've been bombarded and been contacted by press from around the world." Staying out of the debate around Britain First, she said: "He needs to think before he tweets. We - Theresa May and I - are so different. Our profiles are completely different. She runs the country, I'm a mum from Bognor." Story continues She said she was not going to change her name because of the mistake, adding: "Why should I? It's my name, I'm not going to change it. "I hope now I've said my piece I will be left alone." Donald Trump has tweeted the wrong person before, tagging a woman from Brighton instead of his daughter Ivanka. Quoting an account which has since been suspended, he wrote: "@Ivanka Trump is great, a woman with real character and class." The owner of the @Ivanka account, a digital consultant from Brighton, replied: "And you're a man with great responsibilities. May I suggest more care on Twitter and more time learning about #climatechange." Buenos Aires (AFP) - Argentina's navy on Saturday investigated what appeared to be remains of a ship on the South Atlantic seabed, but concluded they did not correspond to the submarine that disappeared more than two weeks ago with 44 crew members on board. The remains detected at 477 meters (1565 feet) under the ocean had dimensions similar to the missing ARA San Juan, but appeared to be from a sunken fishing vessel, Navy spokesman Enrique Balbi told journalists. On Thursday authorities formally ended the search for survivors, shifting its mission from rescue to recovery. "The extreme environment, the time elapsed, and the lack of any evidence prevent sustaining a scenario compatible with human life," Balbi said. The navy's final contact with the ARA San Juan, a 34-year-old German-built diesel-electric sub, came on November 15, when it was sailing in the South Atlantic 450 kilometers (280 miles) from the coast. In its final communication, the submarine reported it had overcome a mechanical breakdown that resulted from a short circuit due to the entry of water via the vessel's snorkel. Three hours later, a noise similar to an explosion was recorded 48 kilometers from where the crew had given its last report. The position was in line with the planned path the submarine would have taken to reach its base in Mar del Plata, the navy has said. An international armada of rescue ships backed by aircraft -- and thousands of personnel -- has been hunting for the submarine. By Yuddy Cahya DENPASAR, Indonesia (Reuters) - A window appeared to be closing on Friday for travelers stranded on the Indonesian holiday island of Bali as airlines cut back on flights, fearing a return of plumes of volcanic ash. An erupting volcano closed the airport for most of this week, stranding thousands of visitors from Australia, China and other countries, before the winds changed and flights resumed. Australian budget airline Jetstar said it would cancel nine flights on Friday after meteorological officials warned the ash could hit operations at Bali airport, about 60 km (37 miles) southwest of the Mount Agung volcano. Malaysia's AirAsia Bhd said it would only operate out of Bali during the day, as the ash could impair visibility at night and wind conditions in the area were unpredictable. "They don't have an answer if they have space for us for the next flight," said Martim Cazado, a traveler who was trying to get home to Portugal via Singapore but had been unable to get a flight. He was worried he might be stuck waiting in front of the Bali airport's departure hall for a few days, he added. A column of white smoke and ash hung above Mount Agung, where tremors continued, meteorological officials said, although with decreasing frequency, while lava sparks flash at night. Ash was visible to the southeast of Mount Agung, the Darwin Volcanic Ash Advisory Centre said on its website. "Volcanological sources indicate a larger eruption is still possible," it said. DAYS OF ASHFALL The wind was blowing the ash toward the east and the airport was clear for normal operations, Indonesia's transport ministry said in a statement. Jetstar and its parent, Qantas Airways Ltd, had planned up to 18 flights on Friday to ferry 4,300 passengers home to Australia, including one by a Qantas 747 jet. But Jetstar will cancel nine flights after "a sudden change in today's forecast for this evening in Bali," it said in a website update. Other airlines with regular Bali flights, including Singapore Airlines Ltd and Garuda Indonesia, have not posted website updates on Friday evening's flight plans. Airlines avoid flying through volcanic ash as it can damage aircraft engines, clogging fuel and cooling systems, hampering pilot visibility and even causing engine failure. A tropical cyclone south of Java island altered wind direction in the area, including for Bali, where it could bring heavy rains and strong winds until Saturday, the Indonesian Meteorological, Climatological and Geophysics agency said. About 10,700 foreign and 6,400 domestic tourists left Bali on Thursday, airport data showed. Thousands of residents remain in a 10-km (6-mile) danger zone around the volcano, reluctant to leave for religious reasons or unwilling to abandon homes and livestock. A rescue team escorted 10 people off its southwestern slope on Friday, some of whom said they had endured days of falling ash and feared potentially deadly volcanic mud flows. An estimated 90,000 to 100,000 people live in the danger area near the volcano in eastern Bali. (Additional reporting by Kanupriya Kapoor in KARANGASEM, Agustinus Da Costa, Cindy Silviana in JAKARTA and Jamie Freed in SINGAPORE; Writing by Fransiska Nangoy and Ed Davies; Editing by Clarence Fernandez) A staffer accused Rep. Blake Farenthold (R-Texas) of harassment in a lawsuit filed in 2014. He settled. (Photo: Bill Clark via Getty Images) Politico on Friday identified Rep. Blake Farenthold (R-Texas) as the congressman who used $84,000 in taxpayer funds to settle a sexual harassment claim. Just one legislator has tapped into a congressional fund to settle a sexual harassment claim since 2013, according to a list released Friday by Rep. Gregg Harper (R-Miss.), chairman of the Committee on House Administration. The fund can be used to settle lawsuits levied against lawmakers. INBOX: House Administration Committee releases info on settlements made by lawmakers' offices since fiscal year 2013: pic.twitter.com/AQO9UhTQT9 Ed O'Keefe (@edatpost) December 1, 2017 Congress declined to name the person connected to the $84,000. But according to a Politico report published Friday, Rep. Blake Farenthold (R-Texas) is the legislator behind the settlement. In a lawsuit filed in 2014, Lauren Greene, Farentholds former communications director, accused the congressman of harassing her. A Farenthold aide told Greene the lawmaker had sexual fantasies and wet dreams about her, the lawsuit said, according to Politico. The lawsuit also claimed Farenthold bragged about a female lobbyist propositioning him for a threesome and told Green she could show her nipples whenever she wanted to, Politico reported. When Greene complained, she says she was fired. The two later settled for an undisclosed amount. In a statement prepared at the time, Farenthold denied wrongdoing and said he settled because it became clear that further litigating this case would come at great expense to all involved including the taxpayers. Farenthold also mentioned taxpayers in another part of the statement, saying he believed the solution saved taxpayers money. In a statement, Farenthold told HuffPost he could neither confirm nor deny he was the legislator connected to the $84,000. Story continues 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, he said. In response to a question from NPR about whether taxpayers should be paying to settle sexual harassment claims against legislators, Speaker Paul Ryan said he has an opinion and will make it known "very soon." (Photo: Joshua Roberts / Reuters) In an interview Friday, House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) said he is reviewing whether the taxpayer-funded settlements should stay secret. He indicated they may need to, in order to protect victims. There are victim-rights issues here as well, so this is not as simple as it seems because of victims, he said. Ryan also said he had an opinion on whether taxpayers should be funding these settlements at all, and would make it known very soon. The House passed legislation Wednesday making it mandatory for members of Congress and their staff to take sexual harassment prevention training. The change comes as an ever-growing group of powerful men in media and politics have been called out for harassing women. Several women have accused Sen. Al Franken (D-Minn.) of sexual misconduct, including one who says he groped her and kissed her without her consent. And Alabama Republican judge Roy Moore who is hoping to take a Senate seat in an upcoming special election faces allegations of preying on teen girls. One woman says Moore groped and assaulted her when she was 16. I believe those allegations [against Moore] are credible, Ryan told NPR. The list of payouts released Friday also includes $76,000 for an age discrimination claim and more than $35,000 for a disability discrimination claim. Earlier this year, Farenthold caught flak when he said if the three female Republican senators who opposed a bill to repeal Obamacare were men, he might ask him to step outside and challenge them to a duel. CORRECTION: A previous version of this story said Sen. Al Franken represents the state of New York. He represent Minnesota. Love HuffPost? Become a founding member of HuffPost Plus today. This article originally appeared on HuffPost. A British politician channeled fictional wizard Albus Dumbledore to cast a spell over a televised debate about President Donald Trump. On BBCs Question Time on Thursday, British Member of Parliament Sam Gyimah recited one of the Harry Potter characters most inspirational phrases almost verbatim as he praised U.K. Prime Minister Theresa Mays criticism of Trumps retweets of anti-Muslim videos. It takes great bravery to stand up to your enemies, said Gyimah, a member of the Conservative Party. It takes even more bravery to stand up to your friends. Check out the full clip here: During Harry Potter and the Philosophers Stone, Dumbledore says: It takes a great deal of bravery to stand up to your enemies, but a great deal more to stand up to your friends. Gyimah also revealed that he was personally deeply uncomfortable about Trumps expected state visit to the U.K. He (Trump) is deliberately divisive and this will be divisive at a time that we are trying to unite our country, he said. The invitation has been sent and has been accepted. Its above my pay grade in terms of what happens next. Conservative @SamGyimah has praised Theresa May for rebuking President Trump on his retweeting of Britain First #bbcqt pic.twitter.com/a9wFONx3KX BBC Question Time (@bbcquestiontime) November 30, 2017 In the segment, Gyimah did not appear to refer to where his quote originally came from. Story continues But it certainly caught the attention of people online. Twitter user David Slocombe shared this montage as a comparison: *MUST WATCH* This gets better with every viewing!! you WONT BELIEVE whats hes just said on national television #bbcqt pic.twitter.com/usvdVvqrDm David Slocombe (@Dai_Slocs) November 30, 2017 Other Twitter users also delighted in the unexpected quotation: Love HuffPost? Become a founding member of HuffPost Plus today. I love Britain! Their politicians quote Dumbledore! https://t.co/nFUgzcxN1U Laura Mccrary (@lauraMcc1422) December 1, 2017 10 points for Neville Longbottom! <3 https://t.co/v3ES9T28Dh Capulcu Tonella (@diehimbeertonis) December 1, 2017 Haha oh my gosh a Dumbledore quote. Brilliant. #HarryPotter https://t.co/EG9pnpMF7j Katelyn Buck (@katelynbuck325) December 1, 2017 Somebodys channeling Dumbledore Linda (@lindariv58) December 1, 2017 Related Coverage J.K. Rowling Says Trump Is Worse Than Voldemort J. K. Rowling Trolls Donald Trumps Family With Hogwarts House Revelation J. K. Rowling Wrongly Blamed Donald Trump For Snubbing A Boy In A Wheelchair Also on HuffPost This article originally appeared on HuffPost. Chinese President Xi Jinping and Aung San Suu Kyi touted their nations' close ties on Friday as Myanmar's civilian leader, under fire over the Rohingya refugee crisis, visited Beijing on Friday. Suu Kyi was in friendly territory in China and neither she nor Xi publicly mentioned the plight of Myanmar's Muslim minority group as they met in the Chinese capital. "The (Communist) Party and the Chinese government will, as in the past, continue their policy of friendship towards Myanmar," Xi told Suu Kyi during their meeting, according to the Xinhua news agency. Suu Kyi, who took office in 2015 after five decades of military dictatorship, gave a speech later during a meeting of world parties hosted by the Chinese Communist Party. "China and Myanmar are committed to creating closer ties," she said, adding that the founding goals of the CCP -- "happiness for the Chinese people and rejuvenation of the Chinese nation" -- and those of her National League for Democracy party are "not that dissimilar". The Nobel Peace Prize winner was adored by the global human rights community but has since been ostracised for failing to speak up in defence of the Rohingya in her Buddhist-majority country. The UN and US say the Rohingya are victims of an ethnic cleansing campaign by Myanmar's military that has sent 620,000 of them fleeing into Bangladesh since late August. Rohingya refugees have recounted widespread cases of rape, murder and arson at the hands of Myanmar's military and Buddhist mobs. Myanmar's army insists its crackdown has been proportionate and targeted only at Rohingya rebels. "Although Myanmar is not yet among the rich and powerful nations of the world, we are ambitious," Suu Kyi said at the CCP gathering. "Our ambition is to become a responsible member of the international community, willing and able to contribute to its peace and friendship throughout the world." Story continues Myanmar has received unflinching support from China, which has invested billions on ports, gas and oil in Rakhine -- including a $2.45 billion pipeline that opened in April. Xi met with Myanmar's powerful army chief Min Aung Hlaing in Beijing last week. Last month, strong Chinese opposition forced the UN Security Council to drop plans to adopt a resolution demanding an end to the violence. Beijing has presented its own proposal to resolve the crisis with a ceasefire, refugee repatriation and poverty alleviation. Bangladesh and Myanmar have reached a deal to begin returning refugees in two months. Arriving in Bangladesh from Myanmar Thursday, Pope Francis urged the world to take "decisive measures" to resolve the crisis, though he avoided using the term "Rohingya" when he was in Myanmar. The label is seen as incendiary to some in the Buddhist-majority country who deny they are a distinct ethnic group. The wave of sexual allegations from Hollywood to Washington has left many U.S. colleges weighing whether to revoke honorary degrees and other accolades awarded to prominent men accused of misconduct. Dozens of schools have bestowed honors upon men who now face accusations ranging from sexual harassment to assault. Fired news anchor Charlie Rose has at least nine honorary degrees, for example, and Pixar executive John Lasseter has two. Some schools have already started cutting ties, including the University at Buffalo, which rescinded a 2001 honorary degree awarded to film mogul and alumnus Harvey Weinstein. The University of Kansas and Arizona State recently pulled two journalism awards from Rose, citing allegations of groping and inappropriate behavior from several women. But other schools have yet to decide the fate of similar symbolic accolades, which are often given to honor success but have increasingly been withdrawn when recipients fall from grace. Its an issue that more colleges are facing now, and I think each one will look very carefully at these situations and make their own determination, said Timothy McDonough, a vice president of the Association of Governing Boards of Universities and Colleges. Three schools North Carolina State, New Yorks Oswego State and New Jerseys Montclair State are all reconsidering honorary degrees given to Rose before he was fired from CBS and PBS on Nov. 21. The final decision at North Carolina State and Oswego State will be made by their governing boards, which traditionally hold the power to confer and rescind degrees. Oswego State officials said Thursday that they have started the process to revoke Roses 2014 honorary degree. These are credible allegations of predatory sexual harassment that completely conflict with the core values of our institution and significantly degrade the achievements that were the basis for awarding him an honorary degree, university President Deborah Stanley said. Story continues Some others, however, are standing behind similar commendations. The Juilliard School in New York, which gave an honorary doctorate to actor Kevin Spacey in 2000, said it does not rescind such honors. Spokeswoman Alexandra Day said the degrees are granted based on information known about the artist at the time of the award. Only hours after NBC host Matt Lauer was fired on Wednesday, some alumni of Ohio University, his alma mater, were calling on officials to scrub his legacy from the school. University officials said they were disappointed to hear of Matt Lauers alleged conduct but have no policy to revoke a 1999 Medal of Merit awarded to him. After another prominent OU alumnus, Fox News founder Roger Ailes, was accused of sexual harassment, the university decided last year to take his name off a campus newsroom and return a $500,000 gift. Georgetown University declined to comment on an honorary degree given to Rose in 2015 but said the school has never revoked one. McDonough, of the governing boards association, said its rare for schools to rescind honors but that more are likely to do so following the recent rash of allegations. At many schools, its a question of whether the recipients alleged actions come into significant conflict with the universitys ideals, he said. Efforts to strip honors have come from students, faculty, administrators and outside critics. More than 20 schools have rescinded honorary degrees given to comedian Bill Cosby, accused by dozens of women of various kinds of sexual misconduct including assault, amid pressure from students and staff. The few that have not rescinded honors from Cosby include Temple University, his alma mater. Student newspapers at North Carolina State and Duke University recently published editorials saying Rose should be stripped of honors from the schools. Officials at Duke, where Rose studied and received an honorary doctorate in 2016, declined to respond specifically to the Rose case but said the school has never revoked any of the hundreds of honorary degrees conferred since the 1920s. Universities vary widely in their policies for granting honorary degrees, and even more so in their rules for revoking them. Many are given to prominent figures who speak on campus or to notable alumni. Governing boards often take recommendations from the president and discuss the matter in private sessions to avoid public scrutiny. Marist College, a private school in New York, has faced calls to rescind a 2001 honorary degree given to alumnus and former Fox News host Bill OReilly over allegations of harassment, but the school has no formal policy for giving or rescinding awards. Spokeswoman Julia Fishman said the governing board recently started the process to craft one. Robert ONeil, a former president at the University of Virginia, said honorary degrees are supposed to honor professional achievement but often have other motivations. In many cases, its just to recognize a wealthy donor, ONeil told the AP. I think the eclectic or haphazard process at some institutions risks creating a very bad precedent. Tax records show that some recently accused men have donated to the schools that honored them. Rose contributed at least $9,500 to Duke through his foundation between 2013 and 2015, records show, while OReilly gave $25,000 to Marist in that period, along with a $1 million donation to start a scholarship program. Many universities declined to comment on honors given to embroiled men, including Clark Atlanta University, which gave an honorary doctorate to Rep. John Conyers, D-Mich., in May, and the Savannah College of Art and Design, which conferred one to Lasseter in 2015. Some schools, however, have long shunned the practice of awarding honorary degrees. The University of Virginia and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology forbid it, with policies that stem from the teachings of Thomas Jefferson, who sometimes disparaged all degrees as meaningless credentials. ONeil said other schools may need to adopt similar policies to avoid embarrassment in the future, while others will likely be more selective when choosing recipients. I expect that the whole process will be much tidier and much more conscientious going forward, he said. They dont want to make any mistakes now. A Patriot missile launcher is pictured during the "Blue Flag" multinational air defence exercise at the Ovda air force base, north of the Israeli city of Eilat, on November 8, 2017. (AFP Photo) DAMASCUS, Dec. 2 (Xinhua) -- Syria's state TV has confirmed earlier report about an Israeli missile attack on a military post near the capital Damascus early Saturday. The air defenses responded to the Israeli attack, destroying two rockets while the rest hit the base in the southwestern countryside of Damascus, leaving damages only, said the TV. Earlier in the day, pro-government media outlets said the air defenses were triggered by a missile attack and people in the capital heard explosions in different areas. Reports said the Israeli warplanes fired the rockets from inside the Lebanese airspace. Syrian pro-government activists said the Israeli attack targeted military positions in the Kisweh area in the southwestern countryside of Damascus, causing several explosions that shook the area and reverberated across the capital. Meanwhile, the online media "Damascus-now" posted a video on its Facebook page, showing "the moment when the air defenses destroyed an "enemy target" in western Ghouta in rural Damascus. Witnesses told Xinhua that cautious calm prevailed in western Ghouta following the attack, which came hours after rebels downed a Syrian military helicopter there. Syria's rebels fired a missile at the helicopter near the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights and the Lebanese border, said the London-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. Israeli officials have said several times that they would not accept any Iranian influence near their borders. The Syrian government has repeatedly accused Israel of aiding the rebels near the Golan Heights. Both the Syrian government and opposition are participating in United Nations (UN)-mediated Syria peace talks in Geneva. Democratic senators complained about the Republicans tax bill on Friday which came to them late in the day with handwritten notes on the pages. Senators debated the Republican tax bill all day Friday, CNN reported, but by evening just hours ahead of the potential vote Republicans still hadnt released a final version. When Democratic senators saw a draft late in the day, some began sharing images of the legislation, which had handwritten notes and additions down the margins. Trying to review the #GOPTaxScam but they are making hand-written changes to brand new text as we speak, Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) tweeted on Friday. Can anyone else read this? Real bipartisan tax reform isn't handwritten behind closed doors. #GOPTaxScam pic.twitter.com/jViQvylMft Senate Democrats (@SenateDems) December 2, 2017 No, I havent had time to read the 500-page #GOPTaxScam bill that were voting on tonight. I couldnt read it if I tried and I did. pic.twitter.com/WgoAT6rxuo Elizabeth Warren (@SenWarren) December 2, 2017 Okay this is absurd. One page of the new #GOPTaxPlan is crossed out with an ex. Another page is just a line. Is that a crossout? Is this page part of the bill? WHY AM I ASKING THESE QUESTIONS HOURS BEFORE WE VOTE ON IT?? #GOPTaxScam pic.twitter.com/57Qbi7gT5F Senator Bob Menendez (@SenatorMenendez) December 1, 2017 .@SenateMajLdr, if you are so intent on forcing middle class families to foot the bill so your donors can have a tax break, at least have the decency to find a printer. #GOPTaxScam pic.twitter.com/qFkfaru6ml Nancy Pelosi (@NancyPelosi) December 1, 2017 Senate Republicans are trying to force a vote in the next few hours on a 479-page tax bill whose final text includes handwritten edits in the margins. That's ridiculous. pic.twitter.com/w3iRZbSN9D Kamala Harris (@KamalaHarris) December 2, 2017 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 This is how were writing legislation now? pic.twitter.com/kfy7yghtJA Mark Warner (@MarkWarner) December 2, 2017 Trying to review the #GOPTaxScam but they are making hand-written changes to brand new text as we speak can anyone else read this? pic.twitter.com/JX8v1v4gyi Senator Dick Durbin (@SenatorDurbin) December 1, 2017 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 Finally received Senate Republican #taxreform bill that will impact every family, economy & country's debt. I'm trying to read it before Senate is expected to vote on it tonight. It's almost 500 pages and has handwritten changes that were just added. Not how Congress should work. pic.twitter.com/Jwr1DxyM5Y Sen. Heidi Heitkamp (@SenatorHeitkamp) December 2, 2017 The entire U.S. tax code is being rewritten at 6:30pm on a Friday in crayon #GOPTaxScam pic.twitter.com/DF6mQWAo0V Ed Markey (@SenMarkey) December 1, 2017 After months of negotiations, Republicans appeared prepared to pass the bill Friday the most sweeping rewrite of the U.S. tax code in three decades but then changed it throughout the day. Nobody knows whats in it, Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) told CNN on Friday. They should be ashamed of themselves that they are willing to pass a bill that is this big with nobody really knowing whats in it. While its apparently not unusual for bills debated in the Senate to have some handwritten changes, Democrats told Bloomberg News that this instance was extreme. This article has been updated with additional reactions from senators. Love HuffPost? Become a founding member of HuffPost Plus today. This article originally appeared on HuffPost. Democratic senators unleashed their anger on Twitter after Republicans voted to pass their tax bill through the Senate shortly before 2 a.m. on Saturday. Senate Republicans voted to pass the controversial bill, a rewrite of the current tax code, after senators debated the bill all day Friday. Democrats, who maintain that the bill unfairly benefits only the very wealthy, had received a final copy of the nearly 500-page bill just hours before the vote took place. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) attempted to push a vote on the bill to Monday so Democrats would have enough time to read it thoroughly. Republicans voted against the delay. (Photo: Aaron Bernstein / Reuters) Many Democratic senators said they werent able to read the entire draft of the tax rewrite, which contained handwritten notes and crossed-out pages, ahead of the vote. Others promised they would keep fighting against the bill, which still needs to be reconciled with the House version before it becomes law. This Congress doesnt work for working families, Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) tweeted early Saturday morning. It works for corporate lobbyists & campaign donors in backroom deals & 1:30 a.m. votes. She added, This corruption is hollowing out Americas middle class & tearing down our democracy. This Congress doesnt work for working families. It works for corporate lobbyists & campaign donors in backroom deals & 1:30 AM votes. This corruption is hollowing out Americas middle class & tearing down our democracy. Elizabeth Warren (@SenWarren) December 2, 2017 Working families are already on the ropes and this #GOPTaxScam is another punch in the gut. We must keep fighting back with everything weve got to stop them from delivering the knockout blow. Elizabeth Warren (@SenWarren) December 2, 2017 Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) warned that the bill will haunt America for decades to come. Story continues Lets be clear: what just happened is a brazen move to rig our political system and our economy to work not for We the People, but for We the Powerful. If the #GOPTaxScam is allowed to become law, it will haunt America for decades to come. Senator Jeff Merkley (@SenJeffMerkley) December 2, 2017 Heres what the GOP just voted for: - Raising taxes on millions of working Americans - Ripping health care away from 13 million - Showering massive giveaways on the richest and most powerful#GOPTaxScam is a disgrace. Senator Jeff Merkley (@SenJeffMerkley) December 2, 2017 See how other Senate Democrats responded to Saturdays vote below. Love HuffPost? Become a founding member of HuffPost Plus today. The 1% are dancing in the streets tonight. Disgusting, disgusting outcome for millions of Americans who will suffer under this bill. We won't give up the fight. Senator Mazie Hirono (@maziehirono) December 2, 2017 The #GOPTaxScam promises relief for all, but massive permanent tax cuts go mostly to corporations and the wealthy, while the crumbs to the middle class are small and temporary. It imposes a mountain of debt on our children and grandchildren. Richard Blumenthal (@SenBlumenthal) December 2, 2017 This bill drives deeper divisions creating more income inequality and uncertainty, engendering increased anger and anxiety, and undermining democracy. The feeble claim that it will spur jobs and economic growth is magical thinking delusion or deception at an enormous price. Richard Blumenthal (@SenBlumenthal) December 2, 2017 The tax plan approved tonight by my Republican colleagues is shameful. This is a victory for corporations and the top 1% of Americans, not teachers, not seniors, and certainly not the middle class. Kamala Harris (@SenKamalaHarris) December 2, 2017 The American people deserve to know whos on their side. Tonight, Senate Republicans gave them a shameful answer. We will be holding them accountable. This isnt overIm not done fighting like hell. -SB Sherrod Brown (@SherrodBrown) December 2, 2017 In 1986, under President Reagan, accomplishing tax reform in Congress took years of public hearings and bipartisan negotiations. That open process and fastidious work reaped bipartisan agreement and long-lasting policy. It stands in stark contrast to what we've witnessed today. Senator Tom Carper (@SenatorCarper) December 2, 2017 I opposed Mitch McConnells bill because it is not tax reform, its a partisan tax hike on Indianas middle class and it does nothing to prevent outsourcing of US jobs to foreign countries. -Joehttps://t.co/k6UMhjeRLW Senator Joe Donnelly (@SenDonnelly) December 2, 2017 This disgraceful legislation will hurt working families in WA and across the country if it becomes law. But the truth is, it doesnt have to. Republicans still have a chance to make this right. This fight isnt over.https://t.co/pGuAffZEu6 Senator Patty Murray (@MurrayCampaign) December 2, 2017 I urge Republicans to stand on the right side of history, stand up to President Trump, and step back from this shameful tax plan. They owe it to families across the nation who are counting on Congress to do the right thing. Senator Patty Murray (@MurrayCampaign) December 2, 2017 51 Senate Republicans voted to commit one of the biggest legislative heists in history. Robbed millions of middle class Americans to give giant tax cuts to corporationsand many foreign stockholders. Their donors will clink champagne glasses while others will pick up the tab. Chris Van Hollen (@ChrisVanHollen) December 2, 2017 Im mad. And sad. We need to work together, compromise, and produce thoughtful results for frustrated families. Not a one-party-behind-closed-doors-no-time-to-debate-no-hearing-jam-it-through-in the-middle-of -the-night-mess. Claire McCaskill (@clairecmc) December 2, 2017 Im furious, but this fight is not over. In the days and weeks to come, Ill do everything I possibly can to ensure this embarrassment of a tax bill never becomes law. Sen. Cory Booker (@SenBooker) December 2, 2017 Ok, that was awful. But tomorrow we dust ourselves off and get back in the fight. Brian Schatz (@brianschatz) December 2, 2017 This article originally appeared on HuffPost. John Grove stood out among the dozens of fatal drug overdose victims the Georgia Bureau of Investigation examined in November 2016. It wasnt just the 34-year-olds hulking frame. At 6 feet 4 inches and nearly 270 pounds at autopsy, Groves muscular body showed few signs of the years hed spent battling opioid addiction. But when his toxicology test came back in January 2017, it revealed something unusual. There were no opioids in his system, nor were there cocaine or benzodiazepines, which are now responsible for the overwhelming majority of drug overdoses. Instead, Grove tested positive for a single substance: mitragynine, best known as the psychoactive ingredient of kratom, an herbal drug derived from the leaves of a Southeast Asian tree related to coffee. And it was mitragynine that had caused Grove to collapse on the floor of his coworkers bathroom and die, GBI concluded. It was an odd and seemingly unprecedented determination. Scientists say theres scant evidence that mitragynine causes fatal overdoses, and many kratom advocates claim that overdosing on the substance alone is impossible. Although authorities have come forward with reports of deaths supposedly related to kratom, all of the cases theyve cited publicly have involved the presence of other, often more dangerous drugs, making it nearly impossible to discern kratoms role in the fatalities. But mitragynine was the only substance on Groves toxicology test. His death, listed as an acute mitragynine intoxication, could have provided an important window into how this drug supposedly kills humans when taken in isolation. HuffPost took a closer look at Groves case and other kratom-related deaths in Georgia. We found that not only is the state using sloppy reporting on these deaths, likely overestimating the apparent harms of kratom, but the state also appears to be rushing to blame mitragynine for the deaths of people like Grove, even when there may be more likely culprits. Story continues John Grove in the late summer of 2016. Grove died months later of acute mitragynine intoxication, according to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation. (Photo: Courtesy of Bob Grove) Grove was one of the first deceased individuals in Georgia to test positive for mitragynine, following GBIs decision in November 2016 to begin routinely screening for the substance amid mounting concerns about kratom, according to records the agency provided to HuffPost. There were four such kratom-related deaths in the state in 2016, according to GBI; and 11 more so far this year. Those figures recently led the states chief medical examiner to warn that kratom is killing people in Georgia. But when HuffPost examined GBIs data, it became clear that the agency is relying on a loose interpretation of what it means for a death to be related to kratom. In fact, it appears to be counting every fatal drug overdose in which mitragynine is present as a so-called kratom-related death. Of the 15 cases GBI has documented, only four individuals tested positive for mitragynine alone. Grove was among them, though HuffPost has learned additional details which show that even in cases like his, mitragynine may not be the most probable killer. Every other supposed kratom-related death in Georgia also involved additional substances, often including much stronger drugs like heroin, prescription drugs or other potent opioid analogs like fentanyl sometimes taken together. In two of the cases GBI considers kratom-related deaths, the subjects tested positive for eight different substances, including opioids, antidepressants and other powerful prescription drugs. Due to the nature of GBIs data collection methods, it considers these deaths to be kratom-related. A breakdown of the 15 "kratom-related deaths" GBI has reported since 2016. Only four cases involved mitragynine alone. (Photo: Alissa Scheller) This system, which indiscriminately lumps cases into the same category despite glaring dissimilarities, says nothing about how or even if GBI determined mitragynine had actually contributed to each death. GBI declined to comment to HuffPost about Groves examination, including what had led to the determination that he had died of acute mitragynine intoxication, as well as what such an incident actually looks like. Using these loose reporting standards, officials in Georgia have been able to claim they have the data necessary to classify kratom as a potentially deadly drug. But emerging science has found mitragynine to be largely benign, especially when taken in low or moderate doses. Additional research is needed to identify potential health conditions or genetic predispositions that could cause complications for kratom users. After all, if officials are genuinely interested in preventing harm related to kratom, they must first identify with certainty what that harm is. GBIs broad-brush treatment of kratom-related deaths does nothing to expand this understanding, and may actually obscure it by a producing a misleading narrative about mitragynines effects. An assortment of kratom products. Consumers say the herbal drug can be used to treat a variety of ailments, including chronic pain, anxiety and opioid addiction. (Photo: Alissa Scheller) Kratom groups estimate that around 3 million people now use the substance in the U.S., where its sold over the counter as an herbal supplement and commonly taken as a powder or tea. More controversial products have also popped up in gas stations or head shops, where they may be hocked as a cheap high. Mitragynine activates opioid receptors, but does so without triggering respiratory depression, an often lethal side effect of traditional opioids. Consumers use kratom for a variety of purposes, including as a treatment for chronic pain, anxiety and depression, as well as a replacement drug for opioid addiction. In the face of a new drug scare, the federal government has predictably responded with promises of aggressive action to protect Americans. And it may be using Georgias reports on kratom-associated deaths or at the very least, a similarly suspect methodology to advance claims that the herbal supplement presents an imminent danger to public health. Earlier this month, Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Scott Gottlieb issued a public health advisory outlining mounting fears about kratoms deadly risks. Gottlieb specifically claimed his agency had identified total 36 deaths associated with kratom-containing products, and argued they were proof of the increasing harms of the drug. The announcement signaled that the federal government was preparing to revive an effort to crack down on or ban kratom. The Drug Enforcement Administration postponed a similar push last year following intense public backlash, and is currently awaiting an official analysis from the FDA on kratoms risk profile before deciding how to proceed. In an interview last month, Gottlieb suggested his agency had already provided the report to DEA. The FDA has not revealed any further information about the 36 cases Gottlieb cited. It denied HuffPosts request to immediately release the data, and has responded to other reporters requests by saying they couldnt locate it. An FDA database that compiles reports of adverse drug interactions shows records of 42 kratom-related deaths since 2011. But all of the incidents on that list also involved the presence of other substances. Some of them took place abroad, and were related to a controversial adulterated kratom product that contains the opioid painkiller tramadol. If the number the FDA is now citing includes cases from Georgia, or even other similar deaths from elsewhere, it is almost certainly exaggerated. At the very least, these questions show there must be more transparency when it comes to reporting on kratom-related deaths. The tendency for public health officials and the media to run with these reports also suggests that there should be an independent review of the data to get a fuller understanding of what, if anything, these cases could actually say about mitragynines potential harms. When cases like Groves have attracted local media attention, theyve largely built on a wave of coverage portraying kratom as a new drug of concern and even a possible killer. Six states, as well as Washington, D.C., have already moved to ban it. At first glance, there appears to be more to Groves case than simple anti-drug hysteria. His toxicology test showed extremely high levels of mitragynine, which likely indicates he took around 90 or 100 grams of kratom, or somewhere between 5 and 20 times a normal daily dose, said Jane Babin, an attorney and molecular biologist who has reviewed previous reports of kratom deaths as part of her consulting work for kratom groups. Love HuffPost? Become a founding member of HuffPost Plus today. A screenshot of John Grove's autopsy report, saying he died of "acute mitragynine intoxication." (Photo: Georgia Bureau of Investigation) Although there is little established research about what mitragynine does to humans at such doses, a GBI medical examiner ultimately concluded that it had killed Grove. Listed as contributing causes to his death are a number of cardiovascular issues, including an extremely enlarged heart and atherosclerosis, a disease that had caused a severe blockage in one of Groves coronary arteries. The autopsy doesnt make clear how the medical examiner determined Groves kratom use had brought about his death. Groves death was the only case of its kind in Cherokee County, said Deputy Coroner Chuck Foster. He didnt conduct the autopsy, but Foster explained how a medical examiner could have linked the presence of mitragynine to the state of Groves heart. He may have taken so much of the drug that the toxicity caused the chain of [cardiac] events, so it has to be listed as the cause of death, even though under other circumstances [the mitragynine] would not have caused the death, he said. Although mitragynine has a lethal dose like pretty much every substance it has generally only killed mice or rats injected with a purified version of the alkaloid. Animal studies show that you need fantastically high doses, hundreds of times more than the equivalents that people take, and then over time, not suddenly, maybe over days or a week or so, [gastrointestinal] problems build up, said Jack Henningfield, an addiction specialist at Johns Hopkins University who has done pro-bono consulting for kratom advocates and conducted his own eight-factor analysis on behalf of industry groups. Even then, animal subjects tend to exhibit few of the acute symptoms typically associated with drug overdoses, such as respiratory depression. They also havent shown clear signs of the sort of cardiac or pulmonary effects often cited in supposed kratom-related deaths, such as Groves. [The animal test subjects] die slowly and in some cases, they think its due to constipation, said Henningfield. Still, its possible Grove overdid it, said his father, Bob Grove. He did everything in the extreme, Grove said of his son. The younger Grove had battled opioid addiction for much of his adult life, and a few years ago was left facing drug charges that carried the possibility of 10 years in prison. He instead entered a two-year drug court program, which he completed in June, his father said. John Grove, left, with his brother Brian, center, and father Bob, right, at a party in 2008. (Photo: Courtesy of Bob Grove) Bob Grove suspects his son may have begun taking kratom during that period. Drug court programs are abstinence-based, but typically dont test for mitragynine. Kratom has been touted as a way to help ease people through opioid withdrawals, or even take the edge off if someone feels at risk of relapse. It wasnt clear if Grove was taking kratom back then, his father said. But even when Grove told him he was using the drug, it wasnt obvious. You can tell when someones kinda strung out, but on this, you could never tell, he said. It seemed like he was normal, very much so. There were no telltale signs. Grove seemed to be getting his life back together after completing his drug diversion program. He was able to get a stable job as a plumber, and was making good money. But his father also noticed physical changes. Grove had used steroids and human growth hormone regularly for years before his most recent arrest, and was open with his father about it. Hed stopped taking these prohibited substances during the course of his court-mandated program, but afterward, he appeared to be bulking up fast. He got out of drug court in June, died in November, and you could tell he got big as hell again, said Bob Grove. He had to be on HGH again. Police found HGH in Groves car after his death, along with two bags of kratom leaves or powder, his father said. But the autopsy makes no mention of HGH, and the toxicology test indicates that neither HGH nor steroids were among the substances GBI screened for. That surprised Bob Grove. I believe there was probably a contributing factor of a steroid, he said. They found that all of his organs were enlarged due to about 10 to 12 years of steroid use. Vials of injectable human growth hormone that police found in John Grove's car after his death. (Photo: Courtesy of Bob Grove) In retrospect, Grove wonders if medical examiners could have been too eager to blame kratom for his sons death, perhaps leading them to miss something else. Maybe they wanted to say this so that they could get enough people who have died from kratom and they can make it a scheduled drug, because if they can say 100 people died from this, they can bring that to Congress to make their case, he said. That did go through my mind. Grove also isnt convinced that kratom is completely harmless. He believes it could have value for people who are struggling with addiction, but is wary of it being sold over the counter until additional research has been conducted on the effects of mitragynine. The problem is that theres not a whole lot of information on this stuff, and some of its contradictory. Some of it says it wont hurt you and some of it says it will kill you, he said. Somewhere in the middle, theres truth. This article originally appeared on HuffPost. 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! 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". Story continues 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". Cairo (AFP) - An Egyptian court on Saturday sentenced a lawyer who said woman wearing ripped jeans should be raped to three years in prison, a judicial source said. The sentence against Nabih al-Wahsh was passed in absentia as the lawyer, previously released on bail, did not attend the hearing on Saturday. Wahsh's comments during a television programme had provoked outrage and complaints to the state prosecutor, who decided to put him on trial. Wahsh had said it was a "national duty" to rape women wearing tight, ripped jeans. The prosecution had charged him with "publicly inciting to flout the law" and "spreading with malice reports and statements meant to perturb public order... and harm the public interest". The sentence can be appealed. Egyptian women have long complained of rampant sexual harassment, which the government has been working for several years to address with a tougher law. By Amina Ismail CAIRO (Reuters) - Former Egyptian Prime Minister Ahmed Shafik, who last week announced plans to run for the presidency, was deported from the United Arab Emirates on Saturday, his family said, and arrived in Cairo hours later. Shafik, a former air force commander and government minister, was seen as the strongest potential opponent of President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, who is expected to run for a second term next year. With airport security high, Shafik landed in a private plane in Cairo airport on Saturday evening, the airport sources said. A Reuters witness at the airport said Egyptian authorities escorted Shafik in a motorcade that was waiting for him outside the airport. Shafik's whereabouts are unknown his family said hours after he left the airport, and officials did not issue any statement about his location. UAE news agency WAM said Shafik left the Emirates, an ally of Sisi's government, for Egypt without giving any details on why or how he departed. It said his family had remained behind in the Emirates. Shafik's daughter May Shafik, told Reuters that authorities had come for him at his home 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 don't know what will they do to him," she said. A Gulf source familiar with the matter said earlier: "Shafik has publicly asked to go to Egypt and his wish will be met." Shafik's lawyer on her Facebook page also said he had been taken from the family home. UAE AN ALLY OF SISI A spokesman for Egypt's 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 acquittal 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. Several other low-profile candidates have said they would run as well. Shafik narrowly lost to Mohamed Mursi of the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt's 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 has been officially silent on Shafik's candidacy announcement. Sisi as a military commander led the ousting of former president Mursi in 2013, before his own landslide election a year later. Sisi's 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. (Reporting by Amina Ismail, additional reporting by Ahmed Mohamed Hassan, Abdel Nasser Aboul Fadl and Ali Abdelaty.; editing by Patrick Markey, Richard Balmforth and Diane Craft) Washington (AFP) - 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. Story continues 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. Source: Xinhua| 2017-12-02 22:04:37|Editor: Yurou Video Player Close KAMPALA, Dec. 2 (Xinhua) -- At least 40 Ugandan military and police officers on Friday left for a two-week's joint East Africa Community (EAC) command post exercise on peace support operations, counter terrorism and disaster management in Tanzania. Brig. Richard Karemire, Ugandan military spokesperson, told Xinhua on Saturday that the officers led by Brig. Stephen Kashure, deputy commandant, army senior command and staff college, Kimaka, will join other five EAC partner states armies and police in the exercise code named "CPX USHIRIKIANO IMARA 2017" in the Tanzanian city of Dar-es-salaam. At least 240 military, police and civilians from the EAC partner states of Tanzania, Uganda, Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda and South Sudan will participate in the command post exercise that kicks off on Dec. 4-Dec. 17. The exercise aims to engage the EAC armed forces and civilians in the planning and conduct of an integrated peace support operation, disaster management, counter-terrorism and counter-piracy in order to improve capabilities to jointly combat complex security challenges. "The joint command post exercise is intended to sharpen the skills of the troops in countering regional instability and security threats as well as supporting international peace," said Karemire. Security remains a primary concern for the EAC partner states due to instability in the Democratic Republic of Congo, South Sudan and Somalia. Gaza City (Palestinian Territories) (AFP) - The Islamist movement Hamas on Saturday accused the Palestinian Authority of blocking a landmark unity deal and called for a lifting of its sanctions on the Gaza Strip. "We demand that the government of (prime minister) Rami Hamdallah assume its responsibilities in full and lift the unjust sanctions imposed on our people in Gaza," said Hamas, the faction which controls the coastal enclave. The Gaza Strip has been blockaded by Israel for a decade, while its only other land border -- with Egypt -- has also been largely sealed in recent years. In addition, Palestinian Authority (PA) president Mahmud Abbas has imposed a string of punitive measures against Gaza, where basic infrastructure for its two million residents is severely lacking. Residents receive only a few hours of electricity per day, and UN officials have said the densely-populated and impoverished territory is becoming rapidly unliveable. The PA, dominated by Fatah, was scheduled to take over control of Gaza by December 1 under a landmark unity deal signed in October, but the deadline passed with the two factions accusing each other of not respecting the accord. In its statement Saturday, Hamas charged that the Palestinian government based in the West Bank had "made no effort to lift the sanctions and ease the sufferings of the people of Gaza". The PA, in a statement of its own, dismissed the charges as "irresponsible". Abbas's PA, seeking to squeeze Hamas, has in recent months reduced the amount it pays Israel for electricity to be piped to Gaza. The Hamas statement referred to the electricity shortages and the fate of tens of thousands of civil servants hired by Hamas, which seized the enclave in 2007 in a near civil war with Fatah. On Wednesday, PA employees were prevented from returning to work at a number of ministries in Gaza, and the handover of power in Gaza has been delayed by at least 10 days. It is now expected to take place on December 10, following talks later Saturday in Cairo between Hamas and Fatah, sources closes to both factions have said. By Gabriel Stargardter and Gustavo Palencia TEGUCIGALPA (Reuters) - At least one protester died, over 20 people were injured and more than 100 others were arrested for looting in Honduras after a delayed presidential vote count sparked unrest amid opposition accusations of electoral fraud. Honduras will publish the final result of last Sunday's presidential election at 9 p.m. local time (0300 GMT) on Friday, the head of the country's electoral tribunal, David Matamoros, said. The count was halted several times due to technical problems, the tribunal has said. The electoral court will also hand-count some 1,031 outstanding ballot boxes, or roughly 6 percent of the total, that had irregularities, Matamoros said. Election results initially favored opposition candidate and TV star Salvador Nasralla by five points with half the votes counted. They then swung in favor of U.S.-backed President Juan Orlando Hernandez after the count came to a halt on Monday and resumed over a day later. With the regular ballot count completed, Hernandez, of the center-right National Party, had a lead of fewer than 50,000 votes. Luis Larach, president of business lobby COHEP, told Reuters that the slim, 1.5 percentage point difference between the candidates meant the hand-count would be crucial. "For me, it's still up in the air," he said. International concern has grown about the electoral crisis in the poor Central American country, which struggles with violent drug gangs and one of the world's highest murder rates. Police sources said at least one man had been shot and killed at a protest in the city of La Ceiba, while about 12 members of the military and police force had been injured in demonstrations that snarled traffic outside Honduras' main port on Friday and around the country. At least 10 protesters were injured in the capital of Tegucigalpa, according to the city's Hospital Escuela. Military officials called for peaceful protests after police reports of looting in the capital and other cities. In the country's second-biggest city of San Pedro Sula, thick plumes of black smoke clouded the air as protesters burned tires and police tried to disperse the crowds with tear gas. More than 100 people were also arrested on suspicion of looting in San Pedro Sula on Friday, a police spokesman said. People flocked to supermarkets on Friday, stocking up on food and provisions as major roads and supply routes were blocked across the country by angry protesters. Lines appeared outside gas stations and cash machines. Banks clogged up with people wanting to withdraw or deposit money. "I'm filling the tank with gas in case anything happens, the situation looks bad and there are protests all over the city," said Carlos Valle as he joined a long line of vehicles waiting at a fuel pump in Tegucigalpa. 'SERIOUS DOUBTS' Both Hernandez and Nasralla, a television game show host allied with leftists, claimed victory after the election, and the challenger has said he will not accept the tribunal's result because of doubts over the counting process. Leading a center-left alliance, the 64-year-old Nasralla is one of Honduras' best-known faces and backed by former President Manuel Zelaya, a leftist ousted in a coup in 2009. Zelaya weighed into the debate on Thursday in a letter in which he accused the tribunal of "electoral crimes" on behalf of Hernandez, who himself was standing for re-election enabled by a contentious 2015 Supreme Court ruling. One of the four magistrates on the electoral tribunal on Thursday flagged "serious doubts" about the counting process. The Organization of American States (OAS) on Wednesday convinced both candidates to vow to respect the final result once disputed votes had been checked. But a few hours later Nasralla rejected the OAS accord, saying his opponents were trying to rob him. He urged supporters to take to the streets in protest. (Editing by Michael Perry, Andrew Hay and Susan Thomas) By Gustavo Palencia and Lizbeth Diaz TEGUCIGALPA (Reuters) - Honduran security forces fanned out on Saturday to enforce a curfew that emptied streets after a contested presidential election triggered looting and violent protests that have left at least three people dead. Hundreds have been arrested after the tally from last Sunday's presidential race stalled without a clear winner and opposition leaders accused the government of trying to steal the election. TV star Salvador Nasralla on Saturday accused his rival, President Juan Orlando Hernandez, of carrying out a coup by manipulating the vote count and declaring the curfew to stifle protests. International concern has grown about the electoral crisis in the poor Central American country, which struggles with violent drug gangs and one of the world's highest murder rates. Lines formed at supermarkets and gas stations early Saturday as people stocked up on supplies, but many shops were shuttered and others closed early as groups of workers waited to catch buses and get back to their homes before the 6 p.m. to 6 a.m. curfew took effect. Nasralla's early lead on Monday was later reversed in favor of Hernandez, leading to accusations of vote fraud and calls for protests. Disputed votes could swing the outcome. Electoral authorities have proposed recounting around 6 percent of the vote, but Nasralla's party has demanded a wider recount, forcing a stand-off with the ruling party and election authorities. Heide Fulton, the top official at the U.S. embassy which does not currently have an ambassador, called for Hondurans to refrain from violence. "The Supreme Electoral Tribunal must have the time and space to count all votes transparently and free from interference," she said on Saturday in a post on Twitter. One man was killed in the port city of La Ceiba on Friday and a 19-year old woman was shot in the head early Saturday in Tegucigalpa as soldiers busted up protesters' blockades of rubble and burning tires that had snarled traffic in the capital and major ports, a spokesman for the national police said. On Friday, police had reported another protestor was killed in La Ceiba. While security forces cleared blockades in the capital, there were still highways obstructed around La Ceiba and other areas outside major cities, a police spokesman said. TV images showed security forces firing tear gas and using a tank to break up protests in the country's second biggest city, San Pedro Sula. More than 200 people have been arrested and more than 20 injuries have been reported in the skirmishes between protesters and security forces. Nearly 100 people were arrested during the first night of the curfew, but most had been released, said Col. Jorge Paz, a spokesman for the military. Thirty-four people who were detained during the week would be charged with terrorism, he said. The government declared the curfew on Friday, expanding powers for the army and police to detain people and break up blockades of roads, bridges and public buildings. The electoral tribunal has been unable to resume the vote tally on Saturday as Nasralla's center-left alliance refused to participate unless the recount was expanded to three regions with alleged vote irregularities. "What everyone already knows is that a coup occurred in Honduras last night precisely in the processing of the ballots. So, the whole world will not recognize these elections," Nasralla told local television. The left-leaning Center for Economic and Policy Research, a Washington based-think tank, said in a statement on Friday that authorities should carry out a full recount of the vote due to "credible allegations of irregularities." The 64-year-old Nasralla is one of Honduras' best-known faces and he is backed by former President Manuel Zelaya, a leftist ousted in a coup in 2009. Hernandez, 49, said Friday the government put the curfew in place at the request of concerned citizen groups. Backed by the United States, Hernandez implemented a military led crackdown on gang violence that is credited with curbing the country's murder rate. (Additional reporting by Adriana Barrera in Mexico City; Writing by Michael O'Boyle; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama and Mary Milliken) A somber Michael Flynn pleaded guilty Friday morning to knowingly making false statements to the FBI last December. Decked in a navy suit and striped tie, Flynn stoically acknowledged that he had told the FBI false statements about his contact with then Russian Ambassador Sergei Kislyak in December 2016 and pledged cooperation with the Special Counsel Robert Mueller, who is helming the investigation into possible collusion between Russia and the Trump campaign in the 2016 election. The hearing lasted under an hour, but the room was filled to capacity, with outstanding attendees directed to the overflow room. The line to enter the courtroom where Flynn would plead guilty extended nearly an entire hallway. The federal prosecutors presentation in the courtroom also included acknowledgements that Flynn discussed his contact with the Russian ambassador with an unnamed, senior member of President Trumps transition team. It also stated that on March 7, 2017 he had made false statements when he filed documents pertaining to the Foreign Agent Registration Act, but no charge for that was included. Flynns responses to the judge were short and clipped. Yes, he said when the Judge asked him if he had discussed his guilty plea with his attorneys. Yes, your honor, he said when he was asked if he understood all the possible consequences of his sentencing. (The guidelines and ultimate punishment is still to be determined). His voice dipped slightly, at least according to the audio provided to the overflow room, when he was asked specifically what he was aware of regarding his possible sentencing, but it remained steady throughout. He left the courtroom stone faced, accompanied by his attorney. The two went into an elevator, setting off a frenzy among the press, who rushed down the stairs to try and catch them. But they never appeared. Instead, Flynn released a statement through his attorney claiming those who alleged he had committed treason were wrong, but he acknowledged he had made mistakes. Story continues The actions I acknowledged in court today were wrong and through my faith in God I am working to set things right, he said. 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 our country. I accept full responsibility for my actions. Here is his full statement: After over 33 years of military service to our country, including nearly 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. 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 Counsels Office reflects a decision I made in the best interests of my family and of our country. I accept full responsibility for my actions. The people of Yemen are currently facing the greatest health care crisis in modern history, and chances are youve never heard of it. For over two years, Yemen has been embroiled in a civil war that has devastated all facets of public life. With less than half of hospitals operational, and less than a third of needed medicines reaching the country, humanitarian organizations cannot meet the needs of Yemens sick. Yahoo News spoke with members of the International Committee of the Red Cross and Doctors Without Borders about the challenges they face on the ground. (Photo: THOMAS PETER via Getty Images) President Donald Trumps former national security adviser Michael Flynn pleaded guilty on Friday to lying to the FBI about his contacts with Sergei Kislyak, the former Russian ambassador to the U.S. One of the alleged falsehoods that led to Flynns indictment appears to implicate Trumps own son-in-law and senior adviser, Jared Kushner. Court filings and multiple reports hint at an elaborate, multinational effort led by Flynn and Kushner to undermine then-President Barack Obama at the behest of then-President-elect Trump. In December 2016, the United Nations Security Council was nearing a vote on a resolution condemning Israeli settlements in the West Bank and Jerusalem. The Obama administration, then in its last full month in office, had decided not to veto the resolution, a landmark shift in U.S. policy toward Israel. Trump, weeks away from assuming the presidency, publicly urged Obama to veto the resolution. It now appears that, behind the scenes, members of Trumps transition team may have pressured other countries to delay the vote until Trump took office. Such coordination could be a violation of the Logan Act, a federal law passed in 1799 that forbids unauthorized citizens from negotiating with foreign governments. Flynn said a very senior member of the Presidential Transition Team directed him to call officials from foreign governments in an attempt to block the vote, according to court records. Sources told several news outlets that Kushner is that senior official. WASHINGTON (AP) AP source: Jared Kushner is 'very senior' Trump transition official who directed Flynn to contact Russians on UN vote. Zeke Miller (@ZekeJMiller) December 1, 2017 Jared called Flynn and told him, you need to get on the phone to every member of the Security Council and tell them to delay the vote, a Trump transition official who was in the room with Flynn at the time of the call told BuzzFeed, adding that Kushner described the issue as a top priority for the president. Story continues Mueller reportedly questioned Kushner about Flynn behind closed doors in November. Kushners alleged direction to interfere with the vote is a major development as Muellers investigators close in on members of the presidents inner circle. The New York Times also reported Friday that Muellers investigators have learned that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu asked Trumps transition team to lobby other nations to back Israel, citing two people briefed on the inquiry. The Wall Street Journal previously reported that Muellers team was examining Kushners contacts with foreign leaders. Love HuffPost? Become a founding member of HuffPost Plus today. This article originally appeared on HuffPost. PRISTINA (Reuters) - Kosovos Prime Minister Ramush Haradinaj was removed from an international arrest warrant issued by Serbia, lifting an obstacle to him travelling outside the country, the justice minister said on Friday. Early this year Ramush Haradinaj, a former Kosovar guerilla leader who in September took over as prime minister, was arrested in France on an arrest warrant issued by Serbia. He was released after a French court rejected Belgrades extradition request. Despite many attempts by Pristina, Belgrade refused to remove his name from the Interpol red notice. Today I was informed that Interpol has removed 18 people from Kosovo that are wanted by Serbia and this list includes also the prime minister, Abelard Tahiri, Kosovos Justice Minister told Reuters. After todays decision all these individuals are free to travel outside the country without any problem. Haradinaj and others are wanted by Serbia for allegedly committing war crimes. Serbia has charged Haradinaj with murdering Serbs in the late 1990s war. The 1998-99 conflict ended after NATO bombed the now-defunct Yugoslavia, then comprising Serbia and Montenegro, for 78 days to force a withdrawal of its troops from Kosovo and end a counter-insurgency campaign against ethnic Albanians. Haradinaj, who has twice been tried and acquitted by the United Nations war crimes tribunal in the Hague, denies any wrongdoing. Kosovo declared independence in 2008 but Serbia refused to recognize its former breakaway province. (Reporting by Fatos Bytyci; Editing by Andrew Hay) Washington (AFP) - Donald Trump's son-in-law and Middle East peace envoy Jared Kushner will make a rare public appearance on Sunday, as the president mulls whether to move the US embassy to Jerusalem. The coincidence of a policy forum, the embassy decision and an imminent trip to the region by Vice President Mike Pence have stirred speculation that a new peace plan is in the works. Kushner will address the annual Saban Forum, hosted by the Brookings think tank for Israeli-American investor Haim Saban, on Sunday, after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The forum, which brings together leaders from Israel and the United States, has served as a launching pad for ideas to bring peace between Israel and the Palestinians in the past. Kushner, the 36-year-old husband of Trump's daughter Ivanka, has been tasked with making good on the president's promise to find a deal that may be "not as difficult as people thought." The envoy has made several trips to the region, despite deep skepticism from the parties, and is working closely with aide Jason Greenblatt to draw up draft proposals. Some well-placed observers, however, worry that the whole idea may be moot if Trump enrages the Palestinians through a too-brutal change in the US stance on Jerusalem. 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. Since 1995 it has been US law that Washington's embassy in Israel must be moved from the coastal city of Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, in line with Israeli government wishes. 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. Story continues The next deadline comes on Monday, and some reports in Washington suggest that Trump is planning a speech on the issue next week, before 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. If he does, this may damage the already moribund peace process, particularly if he offends Palestinians by dubbing the city Israel's "undivided capital" as some there demand. Source: Xinhua| 2017-12-02 22:19:43|Editor: Yurou Video Player Close KAMPALA, Dec. 2 (Xinhua) -- The Ugandan government on Saturday launched the construction of a regional forensic referral center aimed at fighting crime by providing scientific information to investigators and courts. Speaking at the launch in the capital Kampala, Uganda's first deputy prime minister Moses Ali said the center will revolutionize criminal investigations from traditional to modern ways. "This project is a timely intervention as a response to the ever growing sophistication of national, crossborder and transnational crimes and the growing threat of organized criminal networks," he said. He said the center will also be used by other East African Community member states, which include Kenya, Tanzania, Rwanda, Burundi and South Sudan. Gen. Kale Kayihura, Inspector General of Police, said the center will be a big boost in the fight against crime ranging from murders to terrorism. He said the Uganda police has received support from its counterparts in Algeria, Italy, Japan, Singapore among others in helping to design the project. A Florida woman who once led a religious boarding school described by local authorities as "cult-like" has been arrested in the death of a young boy in the 1980s. Anna Elizabeth Young was arrested near Atlanta Friday, according to Alachua County Sheriffs spokesman Art Forgey. Now 75, Young is charged with torturing and withholding food from Emon Harper, who was 2 or 3 years old at the time, leading to his death. Young operated the House of Prayer for All People near Gainesville from about 1985 to 1995, according to authorities. WCBJ reports that some children who "Mother Anna" once had in her charge came forward as adults to describe the alleged abuse to authorities. Young was convicted in 2001 of one prior abuse after she bathed a child in a tub full of chemicals. Now, after a year-long investigation involving the Alachua County Sheriff's Office Cold Case Unit and the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, Young is facing new charges, and investigators say more may follow. "The arrest is in no means going to close this case, because there is so much more and so many more potential victims and witnesses," Forgey said. He added: "Witnesses came forward from the House of Prayer alleging brutality and even some children being murdered." Young was arrested Thursday night and is facing a charge of premeditated first degree homicide-murder of a child, for which she was indicted by a grand jury this week. It is not clear whether she has an attorney. Childhood Abuse Survivor Dresses as Batman to Raise Money for Other Victims Grandson of Charles Manson Hopes to Bury Cult Leader: 'I'll Fight for You' Woman Kills Boyfriend at His Request After He Clashed With Cult: Police Related Articles: Here are things that Garrison Keillor and I have in common. We are both tall. We have both performed at the Historic Fitzgerald Theatre. We have both worked for Minnesota Public Radio. (Specifically, I am a contractor for their parent company, American Public Media.) When Keillor said he was fired this week, following allegations of misconduct, my first thought was, Wait, he still works here? I thought he retired. My second thought was, Bye! I try not to read Internet comments, particularly any that originate in Minnesota, where I grew up and live today. This is the home of Prince. Of Minnesota Nice. The home of Garrison Keillors fictional Lake Wobegon, where the women are strong, the men are good looking, and the children are above average. His long-running show, A Prairie Home Companion, perpetuated a beloved but fictional version of Minnesota. One that is all hot dishes and church basements, oh geeze and ya, you betcha. To read the comments on some of our local media yesterday, youd think that Minnesota Public Radio had dropped a bomb on a real city, not simply severed ties with the creator of a fictional one. Here is what I know about the Garrison Keillor accusations: nothing. Or, nothing more than you know. We read the same condescending and atrocious comment he gave. We read the same sterile PR statement from MPR. Here is what I know about Garrison Keillors work: its brought a lot of money and notoriety to the MPR organization. It wouldnt be unfair of me to say that A Prairie Home Companion and all the money its made have made it possible for me to launch my own show (a podcast called Terrible, Thanks for Asking). Letting Keillor go likely has huge financial implications for the company, which spent a month investigating the allegations. Im not impressed that MPR terminated Garrison Keillors contracts. Believing women is a pretty baseline expectation for me, and giving anyone a round of applause for being decent sets the bar lower than it already is. Story continues And reading the comments on any of these stories, you realize that bar is already dangerously low. People are decrying MPR for firing Garrison Keillor because they assume that where theres smoke, theres a vast feminist conspiracy trying to prevent men from ever touching women again, and heaping huge financial rewards on women who come forward. And one of them, from a person named Ray, went like this: Not to go all slippery slope, but theres a part of me wondering if this isnt going to contribute to some odd gaps in our media history. Once we wipe out every single book, film, television, podcast, radio show, etcthat has been tainted by the presence of an offender, what will we have left? A lot of people seem to share that concern, this odd notion that the choice we have is whatever offender is in a position of poweror nothing at all. I know why people love Lake Wobegon. It offers a comfortable and uncomplicated version of our world, and our state. The gaping hole Ray is talking about already exists: there are plenty of voices in Minnesota and beyond waiting for their airtime. I was one of them. The day before his firing, Keillor published an op-ed in the Washington Post titled Al Franken Should Resign? Thats Absurd. Ill tell you whats absurd: Garrison Keillor. The editorial is an article about not judging past actions by current moral standards. In other words, its about himself. But he cant just say that, so he starts with a few examples. One, is the displeasure he finds in a popular Minneapolis lake being renamed from Calhoun a name that honors a slavery enthusiast and an author of the Indian Removal Act, which stole land west of the Mississippi from Native Americans to the Dakota name Bde Maka Ska. His argument is that renaming it wont change history, that the effect of this on the slave trade in Minneapolis will be slight. [DRAMATIC EYEROLL HERE] Well, duh, dude. We know how time machines work, and we know how words work. Changing a name on a lake doesnt change the past. It changes our present. Its a course correction that says, Hey, hmmm, this is pretty messed up to use the name of a terrible person on a beautiful lake we stole from the Dakota people! No woman who speaks up gets to change her past. And in many cases, speaking up doesnt exactly change her world for the better. Again, I refer you to Internet comments. Calling out an offender for who he is and changing the name of a lake are not pointless just because they inconvenience the status quo. Neither of these actions change the past, but they have the potential to change the world we live in now. The name Bde Maka Ska doesnt change history. But it helps to reflect what this city, this state, this country really are. Not Lake Wobegon. But a place where the economic disparities between blacks and whites are some of the worst in the country. A place where a Somali woman had her face smashed with a glass of beer at an Applebees because her assailant wanted her to speak English. A place with plenty of real stories and real people, ready to take the mic (and some funding, if you have it). Thats the news from our Minnesota. Where our children will learn better, our women are heard, and men like you can stop talking. Its been 50 years, dude. Let the rest of us have a turn. McInerny is the author of Its Okay to Laugh (Crying is Cool, Too) and the host of the American Public Media Podcast Terrible, Thanks for Asking. She lives in Minnesota with her family, where she runs non-profit organization Still Kickin. Source: Xinhua| 2017-12-02 22:24:44|Editor: Yurou Video Player Close TOKYO, Dec. 2 (Xinhua) -- Okinawa Governor Takeshi Onaga on Saturday called for revising the Japan-U.S. Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA) during his meeting with Japanese Foreign Minister Taro Kono in Naha, Okinawa. "People in Okinawa are enduring significant anxiety," Onaga told Kono, citing the repeated criminal cases involving U.S. servicemen and military-linked personnel. He added that the SOFA, a bilateral pact that gives U.S. servicemen and civilian workers in Japan privileged legal status, has been widely criticized as being overly protective of U.S. base workers. Under the 1960 bilateral agreement, the U.S. justice system, instead of Japanese courts, has the primary right of jurisdiction over crimes committed by U.S base service members and their "civilian component" if the accused was "acting on official duty." Onaga, who was elected governor of Okinawa in 2014, also reiterated to Kono his opposition to the plan of relocating Futenma base within the prefecture. The Japanese and U.S. governments have been seeking to move the Futenma base from Ginowan to the less-populated Henoko coastal area of Nago. The people of Okinawa, however, demand that the Futenma base be relocated outside the prefecture. Kono, who was on his first visit to Okinawa since assuming the current portfolio, only said that the central government will try to reduce the burdens of Okinawa for hosting the U.S. bases. Earlier in the day, Kono has met with Lt. Gen. Lawrence Nicholson, the highest-ranking U.S. serviceman in Okinawa prefecture. During the meeting, he asked the U.S. side to take measures to prevent crimes and accidents involving the U.S. military personnel from happening again, while stressing that the Japanese government will make every possible effort to maintain the deterrence capability of the Japan-U.S. alliance. Okinawa hosts the vast majority of the U.S. military bases in Japan and has seen criminal cases involving U.S. military men repeatedly happen. According to earlier reports by the Kyodo News, citing data from the local police and the Okinawa prefectural government, a total of 576 heinous crimes, including murders, robberies and rapes, have been committed by U.S. military-related personnel between May 1972, when the prefecture reverted to Japanese control following postwar U.S. occupation, and last December. By Marine Pennetier OUAGADOUGOU (Reuters) - France's President Emmanuel Macron told African youths on Tuesday that he belonged to a new generation of French leaders who would build partnerships with the continent rather than tell it what to do. But a youth protest against him, stones pelting one of his delegation's vehicles and a botched grenade attack on French troops hours before his arrival in Burkina Faso's capital Ouagadougou showed the hostility that still lingers after decades of an often tense France-Africa relationship. Macron was also subjected to rowdy student questions at the university after his speech in Ouagadougou, and was sometimes left fruitlessly hushing as he struggled to get his answers heard above the crowd. In his speech, peppered with references to African nationalists such as Nelson Mandela and Burkina's revolutionary leader Thomas Sankara, Macron promised a break with a past in which France often seemed to call the shots to former colonies. "I am from a generation that doesn't come to tell Africans what to do," Macron said, prompting applause. "I am from a generation for whom Nelson Mandela's victory is one of the best political memories." The 39-year-old is on a three-day visit to Burkina Faso, Ghana and Ivory Coast aimed at boosting cooperation in education, the digital economy and migration. "I will be alongside those who believe that Africa is neither a lost continent or one that needs to be saved," he said. The grenade attack missed the French soldiers but wounded three civilians hours before Macron arrived. No group claimed responsibility. Stones were thrown at a delegation convoy, however Macron was far away from it at a meeting with his Burkina counterpart, Roch Marc Kabore in the presidential palace. Dozens of local youths clashed with security forces in the centre of the capital throwing stones. Police responded with teargas. Protesters burnt T-shirts with images of Macron and carried slogans including "Down with new-colonialism" and "French military out of Burkina". BREAK WITH PAST? It was not the first time a French president has promised to break with past French politics on the continent. Macron's predecessor Francois Hollande declared while visiting Senegal in 2012 that "the time of La Francafrique is over", referring to a shadowy network of diplomats, soldiers and businessmen who manipulated African leaders for decades after independence. But it comes at a tense time, when French troops are being sucked deeper into a years-long battle to quell Islamist militancy in the Sahel region. France has 4,000 troops deployed there, and there are mixed feelings about their presence - highlighted in a bitter row between France and Mali over the deaths of 11 Malian troops being held captive by Islamist militants in a French air strike. The French are pinning their hopes on the so-called G5 Sahel force being set up by regional country's with French and American backing. It launched a campaign on Oct. 28 amid growing unrest in the desert reaches of the region, where jihadists allied to al Qaeda or inspired by Islamic State roam undetected. Macron earlier told journalists G5 had been too slow to get established. He said he would call for greater co-operation between Europe and Africa to tackle human trafficking and he touted a European initiative to rescue African migrants from being enslaved in Libya. The exchange with heckling students was typical Macron, who during his presidential campaign often managed to turn initially hostile crowds in his favour by answering questions head on. "You speak to me like I'm a colonial power, but I don't want to look after electricity in Burkina Faso. That's the work of your president," he retorted to one hostile questioner. (Additional reporting by John Irish, Richard Lough and Michel Rose in Paris; Writing by Tim Cocks; Editing by Richard Balmforth and Alison Williams) Source: Xinhua| 2017-12-02 22:24:45|Editor: Yurou Video Player Close PHNOM PENH, Dec. 2 (Xinhua) -- Cambodian Prime Minister Samdech Techo Hun Sen said on Saturday that the government had decided not to shut down the Cambodian Center for Human Rights (CCHR), a NGO founded by jailed opposition leader Kem Sokha. The prime minister said the decision was made after the CCHR provided a clear explanation about its human rights activities and the Ministry of Interior found that this center had not involved in any offences. "After receiving a statement along with a request from the CCHR, the government decided to keep this center open, allowing it to continue its human rights activities in Cambodia," he was quoted as saying by the government-aligned media, Fresh News. Hun Sen gave the CCHR a reprieve just a week after he ordered a probe into the center, saying that it "must close" because it was established 15 years ago by Kem Sokha at the behest of a foreign power. Kem Sokha, 64, was arrested on Sept. 3 and charged with treason for allegedly conspiring with a foreign power in an attempt to overthrow the government. He is currently imprisoned awaiting trial on treason charge, a crime that faces up to 30 years in prison if convicted. On Nov. 16, the Supreme Court dissolved Kem Sokha's Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP) for its involvement in his treasonous acts. The dissolution left 55 CNRP lawmakers and 5,007 commune councilors jobless. The former national security adviser is now cooperating with the Mueller investigation. That takes the trail of Russian collusion to the desk of Trump The White House is dismissing Flynn as a bit player in the history of Team Trump. Photograph: Carlos Barria/Reuters That scampering sound you can hear is just the rats disembarking from the sinking ship. Michael Flynn, Trumps first national security adviser, is not just any old rodent. For so long, he was the only faintly known quantity in national security to be desperate or insane enough to get close to Donald Trump. His guilty plea to lying to the FBI about his contacts with the Russian ambassador is no minor development. As all the other stampeding rats know, it is the tip of this perilous iceberg. How can you tell? Because suddenly the White House is dismissing Flynn as a bit player in the history of Team Trump. Ty Cobb, the White House special counsel with the unsavory task of defending Trump on a dozen fronts, issued this statement to the press: Today, Michael Flynn, a former National Security Advisor at the White House for 25 days during the Trump Administration, and a former Obama administration official, entered a guilty plea to a single count of making a false statement to the FBI. Worse than being a nobody, Flynn was actually an Obama official. Yes, seriously. Never mind that he was fired by Obama as head of the defense intelligence agency for being such a screwball. Cue all the talk of the deep state on the fringes of conservative media. But thats not all. Cobb is in agreement with the real special counsel, Robert Mueller, on Flynns multiple crimes. After all, Flynn was fired precisely because he was such a rat. The false statements involved mirror the false statements to White House officials which resulted in his resignation in February of this year, Cobb said. Nothing about the guilty plea or the charge implicates anyone other than Mr Flynn. The conclusion of this phase of the Special Counsels work demonstrates again that the Special Counsel is moving with all deliberate speed and clears the way for a prompt and reasonable conclusion. Story continues Well, at least the last line rings true. Mueller is indeed moving with all deliberate speed, and his direction is totally reasonable. Let us review how far Mueller has traveled in recent weeks. Its only one month since the guilty plea by one George Papadopoulos, the Trump campaigns point man on Russia, on charges of lying about his extensive efforts to collude with Russian officials during last years election. That means its also only one month since Paul Manafort, the former Trump campaign chairman, was charged with multiple counts of laundering Ukraine government money, along with his associate Rick Gates. Manafort, who is pleading not guilty, was freed on bail of $10m this week. In lobbying, they used to call that nice work if you can get it. And its only two weeks since we learned of Donald Trump Jrs coordination with WikiLeaks about Hillary Clintons emails, which you recall were hacked by the Trump campaigns friends in Moscow. Flynns guilty plea suggests hes avoiding far worse charges in exchange for cooperation with Muellers investigations. That isnt surprising, given his failure to disclose his foreign lobbying and all the reporting about his various deals with Turkey and Russia during his time in the campaign, in the transition, and even in the White House. But theres more. According to ABC News, Flynn is sharing with Mueller how Trump himself told him to contact the Russians, at first in an effort to coordinate against Isis. Flynns cooperation takes the trail of Russian collusion to the desk of the man we all know is at the center of this plot: Donald J Trump. We know it because Trump really cant help but broadcast his guilt. When the Russians hacked Clintons emails, Trump publicly asked them to hack some more. When Flynn back-channeled with the Russians to undermine the Obama administration, Trump tweeted about how very smart Putin was. It remains unclear whether Putin feels the same way about Trump. When his son was caught, ironically by email, colluding with the Russian-backed WikiLeaks, Trump tweeted there was NO COLLUSION! Maybe the ALL CAPS are the giveaway here. Trump says he believes Putin when he claims he didnt meddle with Trumps election. At the same time, he really wants all this Russia stuff to go away. Senator Richard Burr, the North Carolina Republican who chairs the intelligence committee, took the unusual step of going on the record about Trumps pressure to end his Russia investigation. It was something along the lines of, I hope you can conclude this as quickly as possible, Burr said. Of course, thats nothing compared to firing the former FBI director James Comey, presumably because he refused to end his Russia investigation before it had really started. All this week there have been warning signs about the cracks appearing in the hull of Steamship Trump. The behavior of the 45th president has grown so bizarre that there is now open talk that he just might be unhinged. Trump managed to astonish the far-right wingnuts with his Islamophobic tweets, cleaving apart his alliance with the British government. He hurled unfounded allegations against news executives, and continued to bleat on about Hillary Clintons emails. Theres something so deliciously guilty about a man who claims his election rival was a threat to national security, at the same time as he was compromising national security. Then again, Flynn himself whipped up all the Trumpistas at the party convention crowd by insisting that he would go to jail if he had done one tenth of Clintons supposed wrongdoing. Now thats truly delicious. With all the hindsight that a week gives us, its clear that Trump isnt mad with his reckless tweeting. Hes just desperate: the last caged rat who knows he has nowhere left to go as his one-time friends leave him behind. If he werent so crassly offensive, he might just be pitiful. WASHINGTON President Donald Trumps former national security adviser pleaded guilty Friday morning to lying to the FBI about his contacts with the Russian government, an extraordinary development in special counsel Robert Muellers investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election. Michael Flynn was charged with one count of making a false statement to FBI agents and appeared in federal court in D.C. NEW: Flynn's statement about guilty plea. pic.twitter.com/8y4kgcTReA Matthew Nussbaum (@MatthewNussbaum) December 1, 2017 In a criminal information filing from Muellers team, the government alleges that Flynn willfully and knowingly made materially false, fictitious, and fraudulent statements in an interview with FBI agents on Jan. 24. It alleges he falsely told the FBI that he did not ask the Russian ambassador to refrain from retaliating to sanctions the Obama administration imposed on Russia in late December. Flynn also allegedly lied about asking the Russian ambassador on Dec. 22 to delay or defeat a pending United Nations Security Council resolution. Considering all of the additional charges Flynn could have faced in connection with his overseas dealings, the fact that he is facing only one charge is an indication that Flynn is offering significant cooperation and information that could further Muellers investigation. Former national security adviser Michael Flynn arrives for a plea hearing at U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C. (Photo: Jonathan Ernst/Reuters) The Associated Press and Washington Post reported Friday that Flynn admitted in his plea that he spoke to the Russians at the direction of Trump transition team officials. In response to Friday mornings charge, Trump lawyer John Dowd told Wall Street Journal reporter Rebecca Ballhaus: I have no reaction. I dont know enough. Im not worried about it. White House lawyer Ty Cobb said the plea implicates only Flynn. The false statements involved mirror the false statements to White House officials which resulted in his resignation in February of this year, Cobb said in a statement. Nothing about the guilty plea or the charge implicates anyone other than Mr. Flynn. The conclusion of this phase of the Special Counsels work demonstrates again that the Special Counsel is moving with all deliberate speed and clears the way for a prompt and reasonable conclusion. Story continues Michael Flynn Plea Agreement by Anonymous MS54FL on Scribd The New York Times reported in late November that Flynns lawyer, Robert Kelner, was no longer sharing information with Trumps legal team, further raising the possibility that Flynn was cooperating with Muellers probe. Kelner later met with the investigators, according to ABC News. Flynns indictment follows Muellers team charging Trumps former campaign chairman Paul Manafort and his former aide Rick Gates with 12 counts, including allegations of conspiracy against the U.S. and money laundering. Manafort and Gates pleaded not guilty to the charges and are scheduled to face a federal trial in May. Love HuffPost? Become a founding member of HuffPost Plus today. In October, the investigators also reached a plea agreement with former Trump campaign adviser George Papadopoulos, who lied to the FBI about being offered dirt on Hillary Clinton during the 2016 election. Papadopoulos also reportedly suggested a meeting between then-candidate Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin last year. But those indictments involved only Trump campaign officials. Flynn is the first former administration official to be charged, making it more difficult for the White House to distance the president from Muellers probe. After Trump fired then-FBI Director James Comey amid his investigation into the campaign, Comey testified that Trump had requested that he end the FBIs investigation into Flynn. Flynn, who stepped down as Trumps national security adviser in February after lying to administration officials about the extent of his communications with Russian officials, had long faced scrutiny from the multiple investigations into Trumps campaign. Flynn stepped down as Trumps national security adviser in February after lying to administration officials about the extent of his communications with Russian officials. (Photo: Jonathan Ernst/Reuters) Of particular interest was Flynns history of suspicious business dealings and financial ties to Russia, as well as his concealing that he worked as a foreign lobbyist for the Turkish government while advising Trumps campaign. In the fall of 2016, a businessman with close ties to Turkeys autocratic President Recep Tayyip Erdogan paid Flynn more than $500,000 to conduct research aimed at discrediting the exiled cleric Fethullah Gulen. Flynn failed to disclose the work until March, after he had already stepped down as national security adviser. Muellers team has reportedly investigated Flynns lobbying firm and its dealings with Turkey. Flynn also hid multiple contacts with Russia during Trumps transition, including discussing sanctions with then-Russian ambassador Sergey Kislyak. He also attended a meeting with Kislyak to discuss creating a backchannel with Putin. Also in attendance was Trumps adviser and son-in-law Jared Kushner, who is now a senior White House adviser and also reportedly a subject of Muellers probe. White House officials have repeatedly denied any collusion between Trumps team and Russia, often by downplaying suspected officials involvement in the campaign or the administration. In March, then-press secretary Sean Spicer diminished Flynn as just a volunteer. Alana Horowitz Satlin contributed reporting. This story has been updated with Flynns guilty plea and responses to his charges. This article originally appeared on HuffPost. They were all in the Oval Office together back in January: President Donald Trump, Vice President Mike Pence and national security adviser Michael Flynn (far right). (Photo: Jonathan Ernst / Reuters) WASHINGTON With Michael Flynns guilty plea bringing fresh attention to what Vice President Mike Pence knew about possible Russian collusion and when he knew it, Pences office has a ready answer: Not much and really late. So far Pence has remained at the periphery of special counsel Robert Muellers Russia investigation. Hes repeatedly toed the Trumpian line that any suggestion of collusion between the campaign and the Russians was nonsense. But hes also pointed out that he wasnt chosen as Donald Trumps running mate until after the campaign started making contact with Russian officials. And hes been careful to couch his own remarks about Russia with phrases like Im not aware and the president has made it very clear. Now, Flynns guilty plea to a single count of lying to the FBI regarding his contacts with Russian officials moves Pence closer to the spotlight. When Flynn, Trumps original national security adviser and longtime campaign aide, was fired just three weeks after the president took office, the purported reason was that Flynn had lied to Pence about his contacts with Russia during the transition a transition led by Pence himself. A White House official who spoke on the condition of anonymity said Pence felt vindicated by Flynns guilty plea as proof that Flynn had lied not only to Pence, but to federal authorities as well. That latest distancing remark follows a statement from Pence last month, after revelations that the presidents son, Donald Trump Jr., had worked with WikiLeaks to publicize stolen emails to hurt Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton. U.S. intelligence has long considered WikiLeaks a virtual arm of Russian intelligence; an official January report specifically named the organization in finding that Russia had acted to help Trump win last years presidential election. In October of last year, Pence was asked if the Trump campaign had been working with WikiLeaks, and he denied it. On Nov. 13 of this year, the day that Trump Jr.s cooperation with WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange was reported, Pences office released this statement: The vice president was never aware of anyone associated with the campaign being in contact with WikiLeaks. He first learned of this news from a published report earlier tonight. Story continues Those statements, though, will not be the end of the matter for Pence. His lawyer reportedly met with Muellers team this summer. And on Friday, the ranking Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee asked Pence for information and documents pertaining to Flynns dealings with a number of foreign entities during the transition, including a scheme to kidnap and deliver a dissident cleric living in Pennsylvania to the government of Turkey. Who on the Trump transition team was aware of Mr. Flynns relationship with the following entities, wrote Connecticut Sen. Richard Blumenthal, who then named Russia, Turkey, China and two lobbying firms. Flynn had a long career in military intelligence before he was fired by then-President Barack Obama from his job running the Defense Intelligence Agency. The retired Army general became one of Trumps earliest high-profile supporters, earning a starring role at the Republican National Convention last summer where he encouraged chants of lock her up regarding Clinton. President Trump hired Flynn as his top national security aide even though he had reportedly been warned against it by both Obama and Trumps original transition chief, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie. Curiously, it was Flynns lying to Pence about conversations with then-Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak that was offered as the reason for Flynns firing, not the conversations themselves. Kislyak and Flynn talked about new sanctions that Obama had imposed on Russia for interfering in the presidential election. According to a document filed in the special counsels case on Friday, Flynn contacted transition team officials at Trumps Palm Beach resort, Mar-a-Lago, on Dec. 29-31 to inform them of his conversations with Kislyak days on which Pence, who was still governor of Indiana, was in Indianapolis. Mike Flynn is a fine person, and I asked for his resignation. He respectfully gave it. He is a man who there was a certain amount of information given to Vice President Pence, who is with us today. And I was not happy with the way that information was given, Trump said at a Feb. 16 news conference. He didnt have to do that, because what he did wasnt wrong what he did in terms of the information he saw. The FBI interviewed Flynn about those conversations with Kislyak just four days after Trump took office, and the White House was warned about them on Jan. 26, when Acting Attorney General Sally Yates went to the Oval Office. Trump fired her days later. The stated reason was her refusal to defend his travel ban against several majority-Muslim nations in court. Love HuffPost? Become a founding member of HuffPost Plus today. This article originally appeared on HuffPost. WASHINGTON By admitting on Friday that he lied to the FBI while he was President Donald Trumps national security adviser, Michael Flynn has further tarnished the reputation he built in the military, already marred by his behavior on the campaign trail, and made it almost impossible for him to hold high office again. But he hasnt lost his lieutenant general rank or the annual pension of likely more than $100,000 that he has been receiving since he retired in 2014 after 33 years in the military. The plea deal Flynn reached with special counsel Robert Mueller as part of the investigation into potential collusion between Russia and Trump does not mention either issue. Thats because there is no obligation for Flynn to surrender those service-related privileges despite his new status as an admitted criminal, experts say. His retirement is protected and his pension is intact, said Eugene Fidell, a lecturer at Yale Law School and former president of the National Institute of Military Justice. Rachel VanLandingham, a Southwestern Law School professor and retired military lawyer, and Geoffrey Corn, a former Army officer and professor at South Texas College of Law in Houston, agreed with that assessment in separate emails to HuffPost. Flynn could commit murder today, and be convicted in federal court, and still retain his retired general status with pension, VanLandingham wrote. She said the only situation in which he would lose his rank and pension is if the Army were to decide to court-martial him for his behavior as a retiree or for some misstep while he was on active duty whose statute of limitations has not yet run out, or if the Army decided to review his rank based on misconduct during his years in uniform. But it appears that Lieutenant General Flynns criminal conduct occurred after he retired from the Army, she wrote. This makes his situation different from that of one-time CIA Director David Petraeus, Corn noted. Petraeus was convicted for mishandling classified information while he was on active duty, so his rank could be adjusted. President Barack Obamas Pentagon debated demoting Petraeus but decided not to following high-profile appeals from figures such as Sens. John McCain (R-Ariz.) and Jack Reed (D-R.I.). Story continues It is rare that a retirement grade determination is conducted for an officer previously retired from the U.S. armed forces, the senators wrote in 2016. Its unlikely that any kind of criminal conviction would lead to an automatic loss of rank and pension, Corn wrote. Being proven guilty of any of a very small subset of national security crimes could lead to an immediate cut-off of pay, but those are not yet being discussed in regard to Flynn, VanLandingham said. In some cases, prominent military officers caught up in legal trouble choose to sever their ties. In 1988, then-Lt. Col. Oliver North, an aide to President Ronald Reagan, resigned from the Marine Corps amid the Reagan administrations Iran-Contra scandal. While on active duty, I am not fully free to speak out or to take other actions which may be necessary ... further silence is a disservice to me, my family and the brave people I have served, North said, after he was named in an indictment and informed that his lawyer might seek subpoenas of high-ranking U.S. officials. But Flynn is already retired as he cooperates with Mueller in the days ahead, he is not bound by the rules affecting Army officers currently serving with Trump as their commander in chief. Still, some critics say its been clear for some time that Flynn no longer deserves the stature of a three-star general. In April, George W. Bush White House ethics official Richard Painter told Business Insider that Trump should strip Flynn of his rank because he received a payment from the Russian government-funded news outlet RT in 2015 after being told by the military that he could not accept money from foreign governments in his retirement. Further investigations outside the Mueller effort could still affect Flynn and his status. If you look at his plea, this does not preclude the Army from prosecuting if it were determined that some purpose would be served by that, Fidell said. The Army of course works for President Trump. And prosecution of military retirees is both internationally frowned upon as the U.S. is one of only a few developed countries that do it and relatively uncommon. While I think he is guilty of both conduct unbecoming an officer and gentlemen as well as service discrediting conduct, its incredibly rare for retirees to be court-martialed and even rarer for general officers ever to be held accountable for their criminal acts VanLandingham wrote. Flynn could end up with no jail time or spend up to six months in prison, according to the plea offer Mueller gave him. He will be fined between $500 and $9,500 though, as is common with plea deals, he can also ask the court to waive any fine. Love HuffPost? Become a founding member of HuffPost Plus today. This article originally appeared on HuffPost. (WASHINGTON) Former national security adviser Michael 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. 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. He was present for consequential moments in the campaign, the transition period and the early days of Trumps presidency, campaign, making him a valuable potential tool for prosecutors and agents. 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 Trumps 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. Story continues Days after Flynns 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. Muellers 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 Muellers 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 bodys 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 Trumps 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. Mr Flynn pleaded guilty to one charge of lying to investigators when he appeared in court: AP President Donald Trumps former National Security adviser Michael Flynn has pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI - a move that has sharply raised the stakes for the President. Prosecutors said Mr Flynn met with Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak at the behest of a senior member of the President-elect's transition team. They said he did to discuss new sanctions imposed by Barack Obama and how Russia should respond to them, The 58-year-old former army general appeared in a court in Washington DC where Judge Rudolph Contreras accepted his plea to lying to federal agents about his conversations with Russians Ambassador to Washington DC. The indictment says Mr Flynn had denied asking Mr Kislyak to refrain from responding in kind to sanctions imposed by Mr Obama over Russias alleged meddling in the 2016 election. As such, Mr Flynn is apparently acknowledging that three weeks before Mr Trump took office, he spoke with Russias top envoy on a matter of significant strategic importance. Some commentators suggested this could have been a breach of the Logan Act which prohibits unauthorised individuals negotiating with foreign countries in dispute with the government. The Associated Press said as part of a plea deal, former national security adviser Michael Flynn has admitted that a senior member of the Trump transition team directed him to make contact with Russian officials in December 2016. Mr Flynn did not speak in court, other than to say he would plead guilty. Mr Flynn later issued a statement saying it had been painful to endure false accusation of treason and other outrageous acts. The search for 3-year-old Mariah Woods of Jacksonville, North Carolina, has entered its fifth day, and despite help from the FBI and volunteers, she still has not been found. Early Monday, the toddlers mother, Kristy Woods, reported her missing, saying she had last seen her daughter Sunday night when she put her to bed, according to the Onslow County Sheriffs Office. On Friday, more than 700 people showed up to volunteer in a search through the woods for the little girl so many that some had to be turned away, according to a Facebook post from the sheriffs office. Some volunteers had driven from as far as 120 miles away in Raleigh, reported local NBC affiliate WYFF News. The sheriffs office reported on Wednesday that more than 14 local, state and federal agencies were cooperating in the search for Mariah, and had so far conducted 100 interviews, followed over 140 leads, and searched hundreds of acres of the county by foot, by air and with dogs. The sheriffs office posted video Friday of the state highway patrol assisting from the air in the search for Mariah: More than 225 investigators, agents, and other law enforcement employees are working around the clock with one goal in mind, to find Mariah and bring her home safely, the sheriffs office posted on Facebook. The search, which has been ongoing since Monday, has extended long past the critical first 48-hour period for authorities to locate a missing child and safely return them home. Each year, hundreds of thousands of children go missing in the United States the vast majority return home alive. Please, bring her back ... Shes my baby, shes my everything, Kristy Woods, who lives with her boyfriend, said at a news conference on Monday. Just to be able to touch her and hold her and not let her go again. Id give anything. The childs biological father, Alex Woods, has expressed skepticism about her disappearance. Someone just walked right up in there, grabbed the 3-year-old out of the bed and she didnt cry, she didnt scream? he told local ABC News affiliate WCTI News on Tuesday. Nobody heard anything? Four people in the house, two adults and two kids someone just comes up and snatches the baby and walks out? Story continues .@FBICharlotte is asking for the public's assistance to locate 3-year-old Mariah Woods, missing since November 27, 2017: https://t.co/MuJOfZH2rR #FBI pic.twitter.com/UVcz2P6gQj FBI Most Wanted (@FBIMostWanted) November 28, 2017 Anyone with information about this incident is asked to contact Onslow County Sheriffs Office at 910-455-3113, or Crime Stoppers at 910-938-3273. Also on HuffPost Love HuffPost? Become a founding member of HuffPost Plus today. Deandre Onley Deveanna Bedney-Howard Meera Janay Layton Tyliyah Janai Gillis Seyauna Parker Tynia Darden Palace Sonogod Maleyta Carr Yididya Endashaw Kevin Vaughn Navaras L. Johnson Suquan Lamar Boozer Daveshia Hockaday Dymn Brown Aniyah Young Jakeem Tariq Pope Taliyah Renne Thomas Miyonnah Davis Faith Nelson Esi Morgan Tyree Juliana Elizabeth Otero Miguel Escobar Niyana Carrington Morgan Richardson Dayanna White Sadie Adams Yahshaiyah Enoch Talisha Coles Dashann Trikia Wallace Jenifer Martinez Tywon Malcom This article originally appeared on HuffPost. The case of a missing girl in North Carolina took a dark turn as police announced the arrest of her mother's live-in boyfriend early Saturday. Mariah Woods was reported missing from her own bed on Monday by her mother, whose tears were seen nationwide as she pleaded for her 3-year-old's safe return. But on Friday, police say they determined the girl is dead and arrested 32-year-old Earl Kimrey in connection with her disappearance. Kimrey has been charged with Concealing of Death, Obstruction of Justice, 2nd Degree Burglary, Felony Larceny and Possession of Stolen Property. Mariah, whose third birthday came just this past November, was reported missing from her Jacksonville home early Monday by her mother, Christine Woods. "Please bring her back," Woods told Mariah's potential captors in an interview with local reporters. "I love her. I'd do anything I can, whatever you want. Just bring her home please, safe and sound. She's my baby. She's my everything." It was an emotional plea that captured a national audience, one that makes the break in the case that much more chilling. In a brief statement that offered few other details, police said District Attorney Ernie Lee has been consulted on the current charges and additional charges could be pending as the investigation continues. Kimrey is being held in the Onslow County Detention Center under a $1,010,000 bond. RELATED STORIES New Surveillance Video Confirms Missing Student, 17, Is With Soccer Coach: Cops Hikers Found Dead After Months Missing May Have Died in 'Sympathetic Murder-Suicide' Cops Search for Missing 3-Year-Old Who Was Thrown Out of the House for Not Drinking Her Milk Related Articles: Source: Xinhua| 2017-12-02 22:39:51|Editor: Mu Xuequan Video Player Close TEHRAN, Dec. 2 (Xinhua) -- Iran and Belarus urged expansion of their banking cooperation to develop economic and political relations, Financial Tribune daily reported on Saturday. Iran is keen on the improvement of Iran-Belarus banking relations, Iran's First Vice President Es'haq Jahangiri said in a meeting with Andrei Kobyakov, the Belarussian prime minister of the East European state on Friday. Jahangiri said that even as the United States is trying to dissuade international banks from working with Iran, Iran has managed to reestablish ties with the international communities. Iran and Belarus have many potentials to cooperate, Jahangiri said, expressing the hope that they can tackle current bilateral trade barriers in the joint commissions of the two countries. Belarus has purchased two oil shipments from Iran recently, and Iran is ready to expand oil ties with the East European country and welcomes investments in its oilfields, he pointed out. Jahangiri also thanked the support Belarus lent to Iran in international affairs, stressing on boosting their political relations. For his part, Kobyakov said his country intends to expand trade and economic ties with Iran, adding that realizing such a goal would require improving cooperation between the banks of both countries. "We will try to prepare the ground for the officials of the central banks of the two countries to meet and resolve the hurdles," he was quoted as saying. Iran is "the most important partner of Belarus in the region," and Minsk is willing to increase its trade and economic ties with Tehran to the highest level possible, he added. Paris (AFP) - 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. Story continues - Keeping the youth interested - 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. Seoul (AFP) - 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. 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. Story continues 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. 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 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. Former President Barack Obama has warned that social media platforms can prompt people to make snap judgements about complex decisions, as his successors hair-trigger use of Twitter has come under fresh criticism. Speaking in New Delhi, India at a conference sponsored by the Hindustan Times media group, Obama said one of the dangers is that instead of deep analysis and evaluation, users of Twitter and other platforms often are just skimming the surface. Obamas remarks came as President Donald Trump faces bitter recriminations from lawmakers in the U.K., including Prime Minister Theresa May, for retweeting anti-Islam videos by a British far-right group. The Presidents use of Twitter to goad opponents and lambast critics has led both Democrats and Republicans to question his judgment. In a pointed moment during the speech, Obama said he has more followers on Twitter than some people who use it more often. According to Twitter, @realDonaldTrump has 43.7 million followers, well less than half the 97.4 million followers on @BarackObama. Obama has largely refrained from criticizing Trump while in office, though he would often take aim at his use of Twitter on the campaign trail. He took a subtle dig at the Presidents social media habits in an April interview, when historian Doris Kearns Goodwin asked how he handled frustration while in office. For starters, by not having a Twitter account, he replied. The former President said in the New Delhi speech he is concerned about how technology is changing the ways in which people consume information, warning that it is too easy to retreat into our own bubbles. He said that those who watch Fox News and those who read The New York Times occupy different spaces, adding that if he got all his information from Fox, I wouldnt vote for me. Obama praised those Americans and Indians who continue to show concern for the environment while fighting against climate change. And, again, without mentioning President Trump he called his successors decision to withdraw the U.S. from the Paris Climate Agreement a pause in American leadership. He also noted other commonalities between India and the U.S., saying both countries were defined by their diversity. Following Obamas speech, he had lunch with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, whom he praised for working to reform Indias bureaucracy. He also expressed fondness for former Indian Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh, noting his efforts to modernize Indias economy. Obama came to India following a meeting earlier this week with President Xi Jinping in China. A tank is seen withdrawing from the front line in Aleksandrovsk Town, near Luhansk, Ukraine, Oct. 3, 2015. (Xinhua/Alexander Ermochenko) KIEV, Dec. 1 (Xinhua) -- The armed conflict in the eastern Donbas region is one of the four main challenges for Ukraine at the current stage of development, former Ukrainian President Leonid Kravchuk said here on Friday. "We need to take control over the situation to prevent it from transforming into a large-scale conflict," Kravchuk said during a public discussion dedicated to the 26th anniversary of Ukraine's Independence Referendum. Among three others primary problems to be addressed by the Ukrainian authorities, Kravchuk named the widespread corruption, the high levels of poverty and the strained security situation. On Dec.1, 1991, Ukraine held a referendum, where more than 90 percent of voters supported the country's independence from the former Soviet Union. Five days later, Kravchuk was elected the first president of independent Ukraine and served as the head of the state until the resignation on July 19, 1994. The armed confrontation between government troops and pro-independence rebels in eastern Ukraine started in April 2014. Some 10,000 people have lost their lives in the conflict. The parents of a Florida man who cops say is behind what could be the serial slayings of four innocent people have spoken out. Along with her husband who shares his name with the accused, Rosita Donaldson told reporters late Friday they are standing by their son while offering condolences to the families of the victims. "We love him, we support him, we believe him, and we're here for him," said Mrs. Donaldson, adding that she and her husband want desperately to see their son. Howell Donaldson III is charged with in the deaths of four people in Seminole Heights, where residents have been shaken to their core since the shootings began in early October. The Donaldson's attorneys advised them not to answer when ABC Action News asked if they'd seen the now viral surveillance video or if they ever suspected that the shadowy figure could have been their son. Donaldson's parents say their son was raised in a home of great faith, which they themselves must now turn to in this time of turmoil. "We're going to lean on our faith as we go through this ordeal," Howell Donaldson, Jr. said. "Our hearts are heavy as their hearts are heavy." Donaldson has been charged with four counts of first-degree, premeditated murder in the killings of Benjamin Edward Mitchell, Monica Caridad Hoffa, Anthony Naiboa and Ronald Felton. Police said Donaldson is a Tampa native who in years past lived in New York City, where he reportedly attended Saint John's University in Queens. Investigators said they don't know what, if any, connection Donaldson has to Seminole Heights. "We don't know what his motive is," Tampa Police Chief Brian Dugan said. "But there is a lot more to go." The first killing took place Oct. 9 when 22-year-old Benjamin Mitchell was shot while waiting for a local bus. Then, on Oct. 13, Tampa city workers found the body of Monica Hoffa, 32, in an empty field. Police said she was also shot. Story continues On Oct. 19, 20-year-old Anthony Naiboa, who had autism, was shot and killed just 50 feet away from where Mitchell had been slain. RELATED STORIES Timeline of Tampa Murders Shows Killer's Path of Terror Tampa Police Arrest Possible Serial Killer After Tip From Co-Worker Reward Rises to $91,000 in Tampa Serial Killer Case as Cops Say Man Caught on Video Is Their Suspect Related Articles: Manila (AFP) - 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. By Krishna N. Das DHAKA (Reuters) - Pope Francis celebrated a huge outdoor Mass on Friday to ordain new priests from Bangladesh on his first full day in the country where he is due to meet Muslim Rohingya refugees from Myanmar later in the day. More than 100,000 people attended the Mass in Dhaka's Suhrawardy Udyan Park, site of a memorial and museum of Bangladesh's independence from Pakistan in 1971, where Francis arrived in an open popemobile. Catholics make up less than one percent of the population of 169 million people in majority-Muslim Bangladesh. "I know that many of you came from afar, for a trip for more than two days," the pope told the crowd in his homily. "Thank you for your generosity. This indicates the love you have for the Church." At an inter-religious gathering later on Friday, the pope was due to meet 18 Rohingya refugees who have fled to Bangladesh from Myanmar where authorities have been accused of ethnic cleansing by the United States and United Nations. The government denies wrongdoing. In calls for peace in Myanmar, he did not use the word Rohingya to describe the refugees, which is contested by the Yangon government and military. The refugees were brought to the Bangladeshi capital from Cox's Bazar, to where 625,000 Rohingya from Myanmar's Rakhine state have fled. The exodus followed a Myanmar military crackdown in response to Rohingya militant attacks on an army base and police posts on Aug. 25. Scores of Rohingya villages were burnt to the ground, and refugees arriving in Bangladesh told of killings and rapes. On Thursday night, the pope called for decisive measures to resolve the political reasons that caused the refugee crisis and urged countries to help the Dhaka government deal with it. (Writing by Philip Pullella; Editing by Nick Macfie) Zagreb (AFP) - Bosnian Croat war criminal Slobodan Praljak, who killed himself in front of UN judges in The Hague this week, will have a private funeral, his lawyer said Saturday. Praljak, in dramatic scenes Wednesday, swallowed poison before the UN tribunal judges, just moments after they upheld his 20-year jail sentence. The 72-year-old was rushed to hospital, where he died the same day. The preliminary results of an autopsy showed Friday that Praljak likely died from heart failure after swallowing potassium cyanide. In a sealed letter handed over to his family a few years ago, to be opened when he dies, Praljak said he wanted that his funeral be a private one, his lawyer Nika Pinter told AFP. "The letter was in no way linked with what happened Wednesday," she stressed without revealing its details. "We (Praljak and lawyer) were talking about how once a person turns 60 one needs to look back and settle some things," she commented. The Vecernji list daily reported earlier that Praljak wanted to be cremated at Zagreb's main Mirogoj cemetery and his ashes scattered there. "I believe he did not want that his funeral possibly turns into a mass gathering, a circus ... to avoid possible abuse" for political goals, Pinter said. "He simply wanted to remain with his family." The lawyer said she had no knowledge on when Praljak's body would be transferred from The Netherlands. A Dutch judge informed her that a letter addressed to her was also found in Praljak's cell. It will be handed over to Pinter once the probe into his death is over. The Bosnian Croat commander, who worked in film and theatre before joining the military, remains a hero to many Croats despite his conviction for war crimes and crimes against humanity during Bosnia's 1990s conflict. The judges confirmed that Praljak and his five Bosnian Croat co-defendants were part of a "joint criminal enterprise" to ethnically cleanse Bosnian Muslims in the war. Story continues Their convictions were upheld for crimes including murder, persecution and inhumane treatment. Since Praljak's death, Croats have paid multiple tributes to the late general, laying flowers and lighting candles in town squares in Croatia and Bosnia. Croatia's Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic said earlier that the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) verdict was one of "deep moral injustice." Lome (AFP) - Thousands of protesters took to the streets of Lome on Saturday for the third time this week to demand the exit of President Faure Gnassingbe, with little sign of progress on promised talks. Gnassingbe, who has ruled Togo for more than 15 years, pledged in November that his government would hold talks with opposition groups "within several weeks", but has kept silent since then. Regional mediators including Ghana's President Nana Akufo-Addo and Guinea's President Alpha Conde have been working to open up negotiations between the two sides. "For now the Guinea and Ghana presidents are trying to have 'appeasement measures' taken so that the talks can start," Jean-Pierre Fabre, leader of the National Alliance for Change, told AFP during the protests Saturday. "The protests are going to continue until our demands our met," he said. The protests which have gripped Togo since late August have been organised by a coalition of 14 opposition parties, who say they will talk only if the government releases detainees, lifts the ban on demonstrations in several northern cities and sends troops back to their barracks. Gnassingbe has been president of the West African nation since 2005, taking over after the death of his father, General Gnassingbe Eyadema, who ruled Togo for 38 years. The opposition parties want two-term limits for presidents, applied retroactively to prevent Gnassingbe from contesting the 2020 and 2025 elections. "These coming talks need to be frank and sincere," and focus on "the terms of Faure's departure, either now or in 2020," when new elections are scheduled, said Adjoa, a market vendor who was attending the Lome protests. Madrid (AFP) - Catalonia's deposed leader Carles Puigdemont will remain in Belgium until after the December 21 elections in his native province, as he is fighting extradition to Spain, his lawyer said Saturday. Puigdemont was sacked as Catalan president after holding a banned independence referendum and declaring, on October 27, that "Catalans have the capacity and the will to become an independent state. And on (December) 21, we must ratify this." Madrid imposed direct rule on the formerly semi-autonomous region to stop the independence drive. Puigdemont, who is awaiting possible extradition to Spain where he is wanted on charges of rebellion, sedition and misuse of public funds, is running in the election at the head of the Junts per Catalunya ("All for Catalonia" in Catalan) grouping. It comprises people from his conservative, separatist PDeCAT party as well as members of civil society. "No matter what, they will be (in Brussels) till at least December 21 and according to my calculations this could go on till mid-January," lawyer Jaume Alonso Cuevillas told Catalan radio Rac1, referring to Puigdemont and four of his former ministers. They all fled to Belgium in October, ignoring a summons to appear in court in Spain, claiming they would not get a fair trial. "I am convinced that no matter what happens they will have recourse to an appeal," the lawyer said. Puigdemont had hoped to form a united separatist front for the new elections, as was the case in the region's last elections in 2015, when the pro-independence camp secured a majority of 72 seats in the 135-seat parliament, even though it won just 47.8 percent of the vote. But ERC -- the party of his former vice-president Oriol Junqueras, who stayed in Spain and was remanded in custody by a judge investigating him and other former regional ministers on the same charges as Puigdemont -- rejected a joint ticket. By Michael Hennelly, Ph.D. Best Defense guest columnist I recently went to Amazons book section and found, to my surprise, that it offers 23 different biographies of Ulysses Grant. One of those biographies stood out. It offered strikingly unique insights into leadership because it was written by Grant himself. The Personal Memoirs of U.S. Grant provides leadership lessons that can be obtained nowhere else. Civil War histories and Grant biographies give the impression that one of Grants most valuable qualities was his relative imperturbability. The fact that he did not get agitated during the course of the war was a characteristic noticed by many of his subordinates. Sherman would always remember Grants steadiness after that first horrible day at Shiloh. Reading Grants memoirs, however, made me realize that focusing on this aspect of Grant is unsatisfactory in the context of leader development. Recommending Grants trait of imperturbability to other leaders is the biographical equivalent of a Keep Calm poster. One of the key insights of his Memoirs is that Grant taught himself to be steady amid the chaos, uncertainty and bloodshed of warfare by his habit of engaging in reflection. He was willing to spend time reflecting on his experiences and he became very good at it. As his example clearly demonstrates, the process of reflection is both achievable and valuable for people interested in developing themselves as leaders. Grant knew that he could perform effectively in combat because he had proved it several times in the Mexican War. Grant, though, had never led a large unit of soldiers in battle until the Civil War and his first experience at this remained fixed in his memory. He writes of his heart being in his throat as he marched his regiment towards a Confederate encampment and eventually finding their camp abandoned. Grant tells us, My heart resumed its place. It occurred to me at once that Harris had been as much afraid of me as I had been of him. This was a view of the question I had never taken before, but it was one I never forgot afterwards. From that event to the close of the war, I never experienced trepidation upon confronting the enemy. Story continues Reflecting on his own behavior, in this case, enabled him to think clearly about his command responsibilities in the face of the enemy and this lesson quickly paid dividends. Only four months later, Grant and his command found themselves surrounded by Confederates on the battlefield. At first some of the officers seemed to think that to be surrounded was to be placed in a hopeless position, where there was nothing to do but surrender. But when I announced that we had cut our way in and could cut our way out just as well, it seemed a new revelation to officers and soldiers. And, of course, under their level-headed commander, cutting their way out of the enemy encirclement was exactly what they proceeded to do. Grants habit of reflecting on others as well as himself enabled him to view the prospect of combat against Lee and his lieutenants with more equanimity than was displayed by many Union commanders. One telling example of this occurred after Grant forced the surrender of Fort Donelson in February 1862 (the battle that raised Grant from obscurity). The commander of the Confederate garrison and the second in command escaped from the fort rather than surrender and they left that task to a junior Confederate general named Simon Bolivar Buckner. As it happened, Grant knew Buckner well (decades later, Buckner would be a pallbearer at Grants funeral). In his Memoirs, Grant provides us with an amusing exchange he had with Buckner, he (Buckner) said to me that if he had been in command I would not have got up to Donelson as easily as I did. I told him that if he had been in command I should not have tried in the way I did One reason why Grant benefited from reflection (and especially self-reflection) was that he didnt let his pride cloud the process. Many people are bad at self-reflection because they are not honest with themselves. Ask a random group of people to rate their performance and ninety percent think they are above average. Grant was not self-delusional. As we saw above, he wasnt reluctant to admit to fear on the battlefield. He was also willing to admit to personal failure. When George McClellan left the Army before the Civil War, he rose to wealth and prominence as an executive of a fast growing railroad company. Many West Pointers of the time found success in the civilian world after leaving the Army. In contrast, when Grant left the Army in 1854, he descended to obscurity and poverty and was reduced to selling firewood on the streets of St. Louis to support his family and we know this because in his Memoirs he told us about the low points of his life as well as the high points. Leadership lesson from Grants Memoirs The ability to engage in reflection is vital for leaders because without reflection, experience is worthless. Leadership scholars often speak of crucible moments those rare and often intense moments that can provide leaders with valuable insights into their nature, their behavior and their potential. But crucible moments, just like normal daily experience, go to waste without honest reflection. A twenty-year career without reflection does not produce twenty years of experience. It yields one year of experience repeated twenty times. Ulysses Grant in his Memoirs gives us a unique glimpse of someone who found that the habit of reflection could serve as a force multiplier for leadership. Mike Hennelly served in the U.S. Army for 21 years where he qualified as an Army Ranger and certified as an Army strategist. Later, as a civilian with a Ph.D. in strategic management, he taught strategy to MBA students at two different universities and then spent seven years teaching strategy and leadership to cadets at West Point. Since retiring from West Point, he provides seminars on strategic leadership to executives of some of the worlds largest companies. A China-Europe freight train X9081 leaves Urumqi, capital of northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, for Poltava, Ukraine, on Oct. 29, 2017. (Xinhua/Hu Huhu) KIEV, Dec. 2 (Xinhua) -- Ukraine wants to join efforts with China to translate their cooperation potential into practical results, a senior Ukrainian official told Xinhua in a recent exclusive interview. "Our task is to turn the opportunities and the potential, which are being widely discussed now, into concrete practical projects," said Natalia Mykolska, deputy minister of economic development and trade of Ukraine. Ukraine attaches a great importance to its long-term economic cooperation with China, Mykolska said, adding that the two countries have all opportunities for pushing the partnership forward given the complementary advantages of each others' economies. "For us, China is a strategic partner in the economic sphere and trade. Ukraine and China can effectively work together on foreign markets. Ukraine can become China's gateway to the European Union (EU), and China for us -- a strategically very important market and a source of investment," Mykolska emphasized. Mykolska, who headed a Ukrainian delegation to the meeting of the Chinese-Ukrainian Subcommittee on Trade and Economic Cooperation in Beijing last month, highlighted that the two countries have developed a roadmap to carry forward the economic partnership. "We have defined a string of very important areas on which Ukraine and China will focus next year. The agriculture sphere, including food and drinks, is among these priority areas." Mykolska said, noting that Ukraine is interested to produce power engineering equipment and electrical appliances jointly with China. Another important sector Mykolska cares within the partnership is machine-building. "We could produce machine-building products in Ukraine, using the know-how of both -- China and Ukraine," she explained. Among other areas for joint cooperation, Mykolska named renewable energy and high-tech industry, pointing that the two countries may establish good tandems on the global digital market with the combined advantages of China's powerful hardware facilities and Ukraine's software developments. While speaking on the business-to-business (B2B) collaboration, Mykolska said more and more Ukrainian companies are preparing to do business with China. Mykolska said China is defined as a "market in focus" under the "Export Strategy of Ukraine". "We are at the stage when this interest should begin to turn into major projects," she said. In a move to deepen the B2B cooperation, on Nov. 14-16, Mykolska led a business delegation to China's Global Food and Hospitality Expo in Shanghai. The trade representative of Ukraine stressed that the Chinese market is very attractive to Ukrainian food producers due to its size. "Currently, it is important for us to increase the supplies of ready-to-eat products to the Chinese market. Among them, we can name dairy products, which are gaining popularity in China, and healthy food products -- fresh and frozen fruit and vegetables," Mykolska said. Besides, Ukrainian berries, meat products, juice, beer and wine, confectionery, baby food and organic goods can find specific market niches in China, she added. According to the official, to gain its foothold on the Chinese market, Ukrainian agri-producers stand ready to manufacture "personalized" products specifically for Chinese consumers and produce goods under the trademarks of Chinese companies. "We can offer high-quality products at a competitive price. And what is extremely important for the Chinese consumers -- an individual approach," Mykolska said. Ukraine, which is rich in natural resources and has the Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Area with the EU and some Western countries, is also interested in attracting Chinese investment to jointly produce various goods for foreign markets, Mykolska said. She pointed that the bilateral and multilateral cooperation could be carried out under the China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative. "This Initiative is very important for us. Ukraine has trade and economic relations with all participants of this initiative. This makes us a natural partner not only for each of these countries but also a natural partner for the entire Initiative," Mykolska emphasized. Next week, a Chinese delegation headed by Chinese Vice Premier Ma Kai is set to visit Kiev to participate in the meeting of the Chinese-Ukrainian intergovernmental commission. Maseru (Lesotho) (AFP) - A 258-strong regional force was deployed to Lesotho on Saturday to ease security concerns in the landlocked kingdom after the killing of the country's top army commander in September. 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. The force is drawn from Angola, Malawi, Namibia, South Africa, Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe. Senator John McCain, seen here on Capitol Hill on November 14, 2017, has regularly criticized Donald Trump: REUTERS/Yuri Gripas With Senator John McCain announcing his support for the Republican tax bill, the Senate is edging closer to passing a measure that would benefit the wealthiest Americans and is estimated to add more than $1 trillion to the federal deficit over the next decade. 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, Mr McCain said in a statement. Mr McCains endorsement may help Senate Republican leaders breathe easier during the final vote, which is expected to take place by the end of the week. In July, their attempt to repeal the Affordable Care Act, otherwise known as Obamacare, failed on the Senate floor after the Arizona Republican dramatically announced his opposition. Mr McCains demonstrated willingness to buck leadership made him a wildcard in his partys effort to cut taxes. He also voted against big Republican tax cut packages in 2001 and 2003. But Mr McCain has said he was satisfied that the Senates tax legislation went through regular order, with sufficient public hearings and opportunities for amendments, unlike the healthcare bill. Despite Mr McCains declaration that he would be a yea vote, it is still not completely certain whether the bill will pass. The Joint Committee on Taxation, which serves as the scorekeeper for growth and revenue estimates in tax bills, has estimated that the measure would add $1 trillion to the federal deficit over the next 10 years even with the projected economic growth that President Donald Trump has touted. This complicates the Republican assertion that the tax cuts would essentially pay for themselves. It is the total opposite of what the Senate sponsors and the Trump administration have been claiming for months, said Democratic Senator Ron Wyden, the ranking member of the Senates finance committee. What it proves is that this bill offers very little other than a holiday bonanza to multinational corporations and special interests. Story continues A spokeswoman for Republican Senator Orrin Hatch has criticised the joint committees analysis, saying it understates the actual economic growth and is not based on the current version of the bill. An analysis of tax provisions that do not reflect the final outcome of the evolving Senate tax bill which will be amended on the floor this week is incomplete, said Julia Lawless, a spokeswoman for the Senate Finance Committee. The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO) has said it was not practicable to issue a macro view of the Senate bill at this time. And given that leading economists have projected the Senate tax bill will deliver significantly higher amounts of economic growth and federal revenue than the Joint Committee on Taxation (JCT) reports, the findings of JCT are curious and deserve further scrutiny. But the projected addition to the deficit could still be a sticking point for deficit hawks such as Senators Jeff Flake and Bob Corker both of whom have sour relationships with Mr Trump and dont have much to lose by voting against the legislation. Mr Corker and Mr Flake have said they wont run for reelection in 2018. On Thursday, both members withheld their votes for an hour on a measure that would have sent the bill back to the Senate finance committee for further amendments a move that would have stopped the legislation in its tracks, possibly even killing it. The senators ultimately voted against doing this. Some Republicans wanted to include a trigger mechanism that would require taxes to be increased automatically if revenue growth doesnt meet projections. But the Senate parliamentarian has struck down that idea as unworkable. Analysts say the current proposal would be a windfall for the rich. Meanwhile, it is expected to have mixed effects on medium and low-income families. It would also cut the corporate tax rate from 35 per cent to 20 per cent, while also repealing Obamacares requirement that most people have health insurance a proposal that would lead to 13 million people losing their health insurance over the next decade, according to the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office. 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 has 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 Kusher, a senior White House adviser and Mr Trump's son-in-law, could be the "very senior official" involved in conversations. Mr Flynn, a former army general, admitted that during telephone conversations with Mr Kislyak, he asked for Russia to try and 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. The questions we need answered now: 1) What does @realDonaldTrump know about Russian meddling? 2) Why does he still refuse to take action against Russia? Nancy Pelosi (@NancyPelosi) December 1, 2017 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. He charge brings a potential sentence of up to five years in prison. Story continues After the hearing Mr Flynn issued a statement in which 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. 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 Kusher has been handed the task of helping to achieve a peace deal between the Israeli's 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. 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. 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. By Krishna N. Das DHAKA (Reuters) - A 27-year-old Rohingya Muslim woman refugee from Myanmar will meet Pope Francis on Friday in the hope he can help her find justice for the abuse she says she suffered at the hands of Myanmar soldiers, including rape. Pope Francis, visiting both Myanmar and Bangladesh this week, has called for decisive measures to resolve the political reasons that caused Rohingya to flee from Myanmar and urged help for Bangladesh to deal with and influx of some 625,000 refugees since late August. The pope will hear first hand, from the woman and other Rohingya, the sort of accounts that have led to accusations from the United Nations that majority-Buddhist Myanmar has waged a policy of ethnic cleansing against the Muslim minority, including killings and rape. "They captured me and some other women, tortured us," the woman told Reuters in the office of an aid group in the Bangladeshi capital, Dhaka. "I still bleed, there is pain in the abdomen, my back hurts, I get headaches. Medicines have not helped much," the woman said as her young daughter clutched at her black burqa. Myanmar's army has denied all accusations of rape and killings by the security forces. It said an internal investigation found no evidence of rape or killings by the security forces. The woman identified herself but Reuters is not publishing her name, or that of her husband, who was with her in Dhaka as she gave her account. The couple said they fled from their village in Myanmar's Rakhine State in late August, soon after the army launched a crackdown following attacks on security posts by Rohingya militants. The woman said that on the fourth day of her 17-day-trek to the safety of a refugee camp in Bangladesh, she was raped by Myanmar soldiers after she got separated briefly from her husband. "I will share my pain with him," the woman said of the pope, referring to him the "head of the Christians". Her husband sighed as she narrated how she was raped along with nearly a dozen other women by a stream. "I will tell him about the stinking bodies we saw on our way to Bangladesh. I want him to recognize us as Rohingya. I want my torturers to be punished," she said. New York-based rights group Human Rights Watch this month accused Myanmar security forces of committing widespread rape as part of a campaign of ethnic cleansing. The United States has said the campaign by Myanmar's military included "horrendous atrocities" aimed at "ethnic cleansing". The pope celebrated a huge outdoor Mass on Friday to ordain new priests from Bangladesh on his first full day in the country after arriving from Myanmar. In calls for peace in Myanmar, he did not use the word Rohingya to describe members of the Muslim minority. The term is contested by the Yangon government and military. Most Rohingya are stateless and they are regarded in Myanmar as illegal immigrants form Bangladesh. The Rohingya refugees who will meet the pope on Friday said they could not risk going back to their homeland without assurances for their safety. "We should be recognized as bona-fide citizens of Myanmar, we should be assured life-long security, we should be allowed to pursue higher education, only then we can go back," said the woman's husband. "I want justice for my wife." (Reporting by Krishna N. Das; Additional reporting by Sunil Kataria in COX's BAZAR and Rafifur Rahman in DHAKA) 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. Speaking 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 Korea's 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 Haley's 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) doesn't 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 won't be very credible in the eyes of those who are now requested to drop their (own) nuclear program like North Korea," Lavrov said. He added that most "serious analysts ... and many officials" in Washington understood this. (Reporting by Andrew Osborn and Dmitry Solovyov in Moscow and Crispian Balmer in Rome; Editing by Matthew Mpoke Bigg) Tegucigalpa (AFP) - The Honduran government declared a state of emergency late Friday and imposed a 10-day curfew in an attempt to stop violent demonstrations across the country triggered by claims of presidential election fraud. Police said at least two officers and 12 civilians were injured, some by gunfire, after clashes in several parts of the country between riot police and opposition supporters. The violence was sparked by opposition candidate Salvador Nasralla claiming election fraud and calling his supporters onto the streets. An executive decree issued by President Juan Orlando Hernandez, who is seeking re-election despite a constitutional ban on a second term, imposes a nighttime curfew from 6:00 pm to 6:00 am. Representatives of the country's Supreme Electoral Tribunal (TSE) and political parties, national and international observers and journalists accredited to cover the elections are exempt. Thousands of Nasralla supporters blocked roads across the country, and footage of their confrontations with the police -- who attempted to disperse demonstrators with tear gas -- went viral on social media. In the capital Tegucigalpa, protesters lit bonfires of sticks and tires on boulevards and on exit routes. The unrest sparked panic, with people rushing to supermarkets and gas stations to stock up, fearing the riots would prevent them from leaving their homes. Shops closed by the afternoon and some international flights were suspended at the capital's airport. - Cliffhanger vote - With nearly 95 percent of the ballots counted from last week's vote, Hernandez had a razor-thin lead of 42.92 percent over Nasralla's 41.42 percent. TSE president David Matamoros postponed until Saturday a special count -- with officials from both camps present -- to review ballots with inconsistencies, blurs and other errors before a result can be declared, following new demands from leftist leader and ex-president Manuel Zelaya. "Within three days, we will have the result. We accept to recognise the final result if they accept these points," Zelaya said. Story continues But in an television interview, Nasralla demanded a full recount, warning of possible collusion between the TSE and the government. "Do not let them steal the presidency," said activist Juan Barahona of Nasralla's Alliance of Opposition Against the Dictatorship. Police said they had arrested 50 people for alleged looting between Thursday and Friday. Security forces said rioters had damaged businesses and vehicles, some of which had been doused in gasoline and set on fire. Earlier, Hernandez broadcast a statement calling for calm and predicting "we are going to do very well" in the vote. The Organization of American States observer mission urged the TSE in a letter Thursday to ensure that 100 percent of the ballots were processed before declaring a result. "Political parties should be given the opportunity to present challenges. These will have to be dealt with impartially and within a reasonable timeframe and following due process," it said. "This is the only way to restore confidence in this election and in the integrity of the popular will." The Hague (AFP) - South Sudan is joining the Chemical Weapons Convention outlawing the use of toxic arms, meaning only three nations have not signed on to the treaty, a global watchdog said Friday. "South Sudan has no reason to sit on the fence," top foreign ministry official Moses Akol Ajawin told the annual meeting of the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW). Juba has almost concluded the process to become the body's "newest and youngest state party", he said, according to a statement from the OPCW. That would leave Israel, Egypt and North Korea as the only countries yet to join the arms treaty which came into force in 1997. "The images of victims of chemical weapons make us all the more appreciative of the goals and objectives of OPCW," Akol Ajawin said. "As such, we, in South Sudan, would unreservedly like to associate ourselves with the noble goals and objectives of this great organisation." The move was welcomed by OPCW chief Ahmet Uzumcu, who said: "Today, we are one step closer to universal membership." "I urge the other nations that have yet to join the convention - Egypt, Israel and North Korea - to unite with the rest of the world in eliminating all chemical weapons forever." A total of 192 nations have already signed up to the convention, and more than 96 percent of the planet's declared chemical weapon stockpiles have been destroyed under OPCW verification. South Sudan is the world's newest nation, having gained independence from Sudan in 2011. But it has been embroiled in a civil war since December 2013 that erupted when President Salva Kiir accused Riek Machar, his former deputy, of plotting a coup. The United States on Tuesday threatened to take unspecified measures against South Sudan's government unless it moves to end the conflict and stop harassing UN peacekeepers and aid workers. The US unsuccessfully pushed last year for an arms embargo on South Sudan and international sanctions on senior officials. Story continues Friday's announcement at the OPCW, based in The Hague, came on the final day of the Nobel Peace Prize winning body's annual meeting which had been dominated by the conflict in Syria. Syria under President Bashar al-Assad finally joined the OPCW in 2013, admitting under US-Russian pressure to having a toxic arms stockpile, and thus staving off threatened US air strikes. But Damascus came under pressure at this week's meeting to fill the gaps in its 2013 declaration, after an joint UN-OPCW body in its latest report blamed the Syrian air force for a sarin gas attack on the opposition-held village of Khan Sheikhun in April that left scores dead. Several times a year, the moon can appear larger and brighter than normal in a phenomenon called a supermoon. The term supermoon is a relatively new term that has made its way into pop culture to describe a full moon that falls near or on perigee, the point in the moon's orbit where it is closest to the Earth. Even though it is an astronomical event, the term originated from an astrologer named Richard Nolle. Nolle coined the term supermoon in 1979 in Horoscope Magazine to describe a new or full moon when it is at or within 90 percent of its closest approach to Earth. A full moon that falls near or on perigee will appear slightly larger and brighter than other full moons. In November of 2016, the full moon fell within just a few hours of an unusually close perigee, making it the biggest full moon in decades. Because of this, the moon appeared approximately 14 percent larger and 30 percent brighter than a full moon that falls near apogee, the point in the moon's orbit where it is farthest away from the Earth. Supermoon (AP image) In this picture made available Sunday, July 13, 2014 the full moon rises above the castle of Somoskoujfalu, 123 kms northeast of Budapest, Hungary, late Saturday, July 12, 2014. (AP Photo/MTI,Peter Komka) In addition to appearing larger and brighter than normal, a supermoon can also affect the oceans. "The supermoon plays a role in the tides and has a stronger influence than other full moons," AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist David Samuhel said. This means that areas near the coast experience larger-than-normal tides and a greater risk of coastal flooding around the time of a supermoon. However, a super full moon's influence is not quite as strong as a new moon that falls near perigee. "When you have a new moon, the sun and the moon align and work in tandem, resulting in some of the biggest tides," Samuhel said. The best time to observe a supermoon is shortly after moonrise and right before moonset. Story continues At these times, the moon is close to the horizon, creating an illusion that makes it appear even larger than when it is high in the night sky. This is also the best time to take photographs of the moon, not only because of the illusion, but also because the moon will appear next to landmarks, such as a city skyline. For more astronomy news, be sure to follow AccuWeather Astronomy on Facebook and Twitter. Questions or comments? Email Brian Lada at Brian.Lada@accuweather.com and be sure to follow him on Twitter! Grand-Bassam (Ivory Coast) (AFP) - European and African leaders have set themselves a tall order to stamp out horrific abuse of African migrants in Libya, where thousands are suffering in a vast, lawless territory. On Thursday, a summit of the African Union and European Union (EU) set a goal of immediately repatriating 3,800 migrants languishing in a camp near Tripoli. Hundreds of thousands more -- "400,000 to 700,000," according to AU Commission head Moussa Faki Mahamat -- remain stranded. But experts point to a daunting array of hurdles, from extracting migrants in perilous situations to giving them incentives to stay put once back home. Even so, the summit's 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 Organization for Migration (IOM) Europe Director Eugenio Ambrosi told AFP 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 showed there was now "international watchdog pressure" that can 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. 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 has decided to work with a task force, involving sharing 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 will set up an investigative panel and the UN could take cases before the International Court of Justice. - Huge challenge - Story continues Despite those commitments, commentators pointed to big practical problems, which begin with the need for African countries to respond rapidly to the need for travel documents so that evacuees can leave quickly. "Something has to be done for people in this situation, obviously, but from an operational and logistical point of view, the evacuations are very complicated," said Matthieu Tardis, a researcher at the French Institute of International Relations in Paris. African diplomats warned that as long as the key issues of insecurity and poverty on their continent were not resolved the migration problem would remain. "You can have as many Frontex (EU border and coastguard agency) agents as you want," Algerian Foreign Minister Abdelkader Messahel told a Mediterranean dialogue meeting of African and EU states in Rome. "If you want no migrants, you have to target development, security" first, Messhel said. "I think we can do better" than what was being proposed in Abidjan, he said. Niger counterpart Ibrahim Yacoubou added that "without a durable solution the problem won't be resolved." Libya's UN-backed Government of National Accord (GNA) is opposed by a rival administration in the east of the country, backed by strongman Khalifa Haftar. - Long-term help - Yves Roland Houeto, coordinator of an Ivorian NGO called the Pan-African Association of Children and Young Workers, said he saw no signs West African governments were ready to offer serious economic prospects to keep their young at home. Governments cannot just offer returning migrants some money and supplies when they land back in their country's airport, he said. "As soon as their supplies and money run out, they will leave again," Houeto told AFP in Grand Bassam, a coastal city of 80,000 people less than an hour's drive from Abidjan. Every month, around 10 young people leave the area for Europe, he said. In Nigeria, the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) on Friday said 1,295 nationals who were stranded in Libya while trying to get to Europe had returned home voluntarily in November. The figure for October was 826. Source: Xinhua| 2017-12-02 22:54:55|Editor: Mu Xuequan Video Player Close TEHRAN, Dec. 2 (Xinhua) -- South Korean rolling stock manufacturer Hyundai Rotem signed a 720-million euro (856-million U.S. dollars) contract with Iran Railways on Saturday to produce 450 suburban railbus wagons in Iran, Financial Tribune daily reported. To this end, the South Korean company will form a consortium with its Iranian partner, the report said, adding that the South Korean side will be financing the project. Iranian Minister of Roads and Urban Development, Abbas Akhoundi, who was present at the signing ceremony, said that the project will create jobs for 4,700 people in Iran and increase the capacity of Iran's suburban transportation to 70 million passengers per year. "The project entails technology transfer to Iran and will generate 1,000 direct and 1,700 indirect jobs in the process and some 2,000 jobs after it comes on stream," Akhoundi was quoted as saying. According to the minister, it will take the South Korean side six and a half years to build the 450 wagons. A further 150 wagons will be built for Iran as per a previous contract between Iran and Hyundai Rotem, he said. "By the end of the contract period, we will have 600 self-propelled suburban railbuses." Iran signed its biggest credit line deal in recent years with South Korea's Eximbank in August. The deal envisages as much as 8 billion euro (9.51 billion dollars) in loans by South Korean companies to finance various projects in Iran. Hyundai Rotem Company manufactures and sells railway vehicles, defense systems, and plants and machinery in South Korea. The White House responded to former national security adviser Michael Flynns guilty plea Friday, saying the charge against him doesnt reflect on anyone else in President Donald Trumps orbit. The false statements involved mirror the false statements to White House officials which resulted in his resignation in February of this year, White House lawyer Ty Cobb told pool reporters. Nothing about the guilty plea or the charge implicates anyone other than Mr. Flynn. Flynn was fired from his Administration position in February after it was revealed that he had misled Vice President Mike Pence about the nature of his contacts with a Russian official. Special counsel Robert Muellers team charged him with making false statements about his contacts with Russians to the FBI. Cobb ended his statement with a remark looking forward to the end of Muellers investigation, which has now criminally charged four people connected to Trump. The conclusion of this phase of the Special Counsels work demonstrates again that the Special Counsel is moving with all deliberate speed and clears the way for a prompt and reasonable conclusion, Cobb said. As part of his plea deal Flynn admitted that an unnamed senior member of Trumps transition team directed him reach out to Russian officials following Trumps election last year, the Associated Press reports. The Trump administration has announced a major policy change about the U.S. position on the status of Jerusalem, a decision that may have dramatic repercussions for the delicate peace process between Israelis and Palestinians. Senior administration officials said Tuesday that President Donald Trump plans to officially recognize Jerusalem as Israels capital and will direct the State Department to begin preparing to relocate the U.S. Embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. Like other presidential candidates before him, Trump repeatedly promised during his campaign to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and move the U.S. Embassy there. On Tuesday, the president reportedly confirmed his intention to do so in a call with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. The move will likely placate the Israeli government and conservative allies in the U.S. but may meet with a furious response from Palestinians and complicate the already daunting task of brokering an Israeli-Palestinian peace accord. Trump did not follow through on his promise during his first months in office, but facing a deadline this week, the president finally decided to move forward with the plan. The Dome of the Rock mosque and a general view of Jerusalem on Dec. 1. (Photo: THOMAS COEX via Getty Images) Jerusalem contains holy sites for Muslims, Jews and Christians, and the citys governance has long been contested. Israel has de facto control of the city since seizing its eastern part from Jordan in 1967, but the international community has refused to recognize that authority. Both Israelis and Palestinians consider the city their capital. The U.S. government has taken the stance that Israelis and Palestinians should determine the citys status between themselves. Keeping the U.S. Embassy in the undisputed city of Tel Aviv has ensured that the U.S. wasnt seen as taking a side on Jerusalems final status. While Congress passed a law in 1995 requiring the U.S. Embassy to be relocated to Jerusalem, every president since has signed a national security waiver every six months to delay the move. Like Trump, former presidents George W. Bush and Bill Clinton made vows to move the embassy but later decided not to pursue the relocation when faced with possible political repercussions. Story continues Trump, too, deferred the decision when the six-month deadline arrived in June. Moving the embassy could jeopardize Trumps expressed hope that his administration would spearhead a peace process under the stewardship of White House adviser and Trump son-in-law Jared Kushner. We have spent a lot of time listening to and engaging with the Israelis, Palestinians and key regional leaders over the past few months to help reach an enduring peace deal, Jason D. Greenblatt, the presidents special representative for international negotiations, told The New York Times in November. Greenblatt noted that the U.S. would not impose a deal but rather work to facilitate ... a lasting peace agreement to improve the lives of Israelis and Palestinians and security across the region. Jared Kushner meets with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on June 21, 2017, in Ramallah, West Bank. (Photo: PPO via Getty Images) Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said the U.S. Embassy needs to be in Jerusalem and would likely be happy to see Trump, whom he praised as a true friend of the State of Israel, make good on his promise. But current and former foreign policy officials have warned of the dangers of moving the embassy to Jerusalem. Former Secretary of State John Kerry, Jordanian King Abdullah II, Turkeys President Tayyip Erdogan and senior Palestinian official and chief negotiator Saeb Erekat are among those who have cautioned of possible consequences. Mr. Trump, Jerusalem is the red line of Muslims, Erdogan said Monday. He also threatened to cut Turkeys diplomatic ties with Israel. During his last weeks on the job, Kerry said placing the embassy in Jerusalem would cause an absolute explosion in the region and provoke widespread diplomatic backlash. King Abdullah II warned that the move could spark violence from Palestinians who have sought to secure the eastern part of the city as the future capital of a Palestinian state. Erekat said last year that the move would mean the destruction of the peace process as a whole. Mustafa Alani, a scholar at the Gulf Research Center, said moving the embassy could send the wrong signal as to Trumps willingness to work with Arab nations. This is a sign that hes going to side with Israel, Alani told The New York Times. If he does it, its going to be a wrong start for his relationship with the Arab world. Khaled Elgindy, a fellow in the Center for Middle East Policy at the Brookings Institution, also warned in an op-ed that an embassy move could embolden extremists and affirm the narratives of groups like ISIS and al-Qaida that the United States and Israel are waging a war against Islam. On Friday, the Palestine Liberation Organization released a statement on Twitter by Nabil Abu Rudeineh, a spokesman for the Palestinian presidency. To move the U.S. embassy to Jerusalem or to recognize the city as the capital of Israel, both are equally dangerous to the future of the peace process & push the region into instability, the statement read. Presidential spokesman Nabil Abu Rudeineh in response to media reports: to move the U.S. embassy to Jerusalem or to recognize the city as the capital of Israel,both are equally dangerous to the future of the peace process & push the region into instability https://t.co/QqE6k4OIy3 Palestine PLO - NAD (@nadplo) December 1, 2017 Love HuffPost? Become a founding member of HuffPost Plus today. This article originally appeared on HuffPost. WASHINGTON President Donald Trump will travel to Utah on Monday a state where lawmakers are known for attacking public lands to announce sweeping cuts to a pair of protected national monuments there. The boundary of Bears Ears National Monument, a 1.35 million-acre area named after a pair of buttes and home to thousands of Native American archeological and cultural sites, will shrink by 85 percent, according to a pair of proclamations first reported on by The Washington Post and later obtained by HuffPost. The 1.87 million-acre Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument, the largest land national monument in the country, will be cut roughly in half, according to the documents. The proclamations would reduce Bears Ears to 201,397 acres and Grand Staircase-Escalante to 997,490 acres a collective loss of more than 2 million acres. Additionally, both monuments would be divvied up into several smaller monuments. The document indicates that Bears Ears would lose its official name, replaced with two monuments called Indian Creek and Shash Jaa. Grand Staircase-Escalante would become three new monuments: Grand Staircase, Escalante Canyons and Kaiparowitz. The two Utah sites, in particular Bears Ears, have been at the center of recent controversy over the Trump administrations attempts to slash acreage from or otherwise weaken protected sites. Members of Utahs Republican delegation and other local officials have described the establishment of Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante, designated by former presidents Barack Obama and Bill Clinton respectively, as clear examples of federal overreach. Early on, they called on Trump to take action. In April, Trump signed a pair of executive orders threatening the future of 27 national monuments. At the signing ceremony, he praised Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) for his never-ending prodding on the issue and boasted that he would end another egregious abuse of federal power, put states back in charge and opening up now-protected areas to tremendously positive things. Story continues Trumps visit to Salt Lake City comes after Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke submitted a report to the White House in late August, recommending that the president weaken protections for a number of national monuments designated or expanded under the Antiquities Act of 1906. Previously, in June, Zinke had recommended that Trump shrink Bears Ears boundaries. The Bears Ears Inter-Tribal Coalition a group of five Native American tribes that came together to petition for monument status has called Zinkes recommendation a slap in the face to the members of our Tribes and an affront to Indian people all across the country. The group has promised to sue the administration if it follows through on its proposal. Along with giving significantly more time to monument opponents during its review process, the Trump administration has yet to substantiate a figure that appears to be the foundation of its argument that recent presidents have abused the Antiquities Act. The Interior Department has claimed that the size of national monuments designated under the Antiquities Act has exploded from an average of 422 acres per monument early on, and that now its not uncommon for a monument to be more than a million acres. The department hasnt cited any evidence to support this claim, and many early U.S. monuments were substantially larger. In 1908, only two years after signing the Antiquities Act into law, Theodore Roosevelt designated more than 800,000 acres of the Grand Canyon as a national monument. Only a few Obama-era land monuments are larger. Roosevelt also designated the 610,000-acre Mount Olympus National Monument and the 20,629-acre Chaco Canyon National Monument. Republican presidents Calvin Coolidge and Herbert Hoover both designated monuments of over a million acres. The Interior Department has ignored numerous requests from HuffPost the first in May and more recently, this week seeking clarification on the source of the 422-acre figure. In a statement Thursday to The Salt Lake Tribune, Hatch said he appreciated Trumps willingness to listen to my advice and, even more importantly, to give the people of Utah a voice in this process. Utah has become ground zero for politically motivated national monument designations that are excessive in size and contemptuous of peoples livelihoods, Hatch added. The President has stood against prior abuses of executive power and his administration has demonstrated a commitment to work in concert with local communities to protect unique public antiquities and objects the right way. But there is no legal precedent that establishes the presidents authority to abolish, shrink or otherwise weaken national monuments. Kate Kelly, public lands director at the Center for American Progress, told The Washington Post that Trump is proposing the largest elimination of protected areas in U.S. history. In addition to Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante, Zinke has recommended shrinking or otherwise modifying at least eight existing national monuments, according to a leaked copy of the report Zinke submitted to the White House in late August. Also on HuffPost Basin and Range National Monument, Nevada Bears Ears National Monument, Utah Berryessa Snow Mountain National Monument, California Canyons of the Ancients National Monument, Colorado Carrizo Plain National Monument, California Cascade Siskiyou National Monument, Oregon Craters of the Moon National Monument, Idaho Giant Sequoia National Monument, California Gold Butte National Monument, Nevada Grand Canyon-Parashant National Monument, Arizona Grand Staircase Escalante National Monument, Utah Hanford Reach National Monument, Washington Ironwood Forest National Monument, Arizona Mojave Trails National Monument, California Organ Mountains-Desert Peaks National Monument, New Mexico Rio Grande del Norte National Monument, New Mexico Sand to Snow National Monument, California San Gabriel Mountains National Monument, California Sonoran Desert National Monument, Arizona Upper Missouri River Breaks National Monument, Montana Vermilion Cliffs National Monument, Arizona Katahdin Woods and Waters National Monument, Maine Marianas Trench Marine National Monument, Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands/Pacific Ocean Northeast Canyons and Seamounts Marine National Monument, Atlantic Ocean Pacific Remote Islands Marine National Monument, Pacific Ocean Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument, Hawaii/Pacific Ocean Rose Atoll Marine National Monument, American Samoa/Pacific Ocean Love HuffPost? Become a founding member of HuffPost Plus today. This article originally appeared on HuffPost. WASHINGTON One of the ways the White House brushed aside the first three indictments in the Russia investigation was by noting they werent directed at anyone serving in the administration. George Papadopoulos and Paul Manafort were on the campaign in limited roles, officials claimed and Rick Gates was simply Manaforts business partner. Special counsel Robert Muellers latest announcement hits closer to home. On Friday, he charged former national security adviser Michael Flynn with lying to the FBI about his contacts with the Russian government. In the campaign, Flynn was one of the first people to give Donald Trump some national security credibility, at a time when the rest of the foreign policy establishment was running away from him. He became one of Trumps most outspoken campaign surrogates, and in return, Trump made him his national security adviser when he became president. The president, often known for feuding with and discarding his employees, remained extremely loyal to Flynn even when he was warned that Flynn could be a liability. A lot of people in the White House dont want anything to do with Flynn, a White House official told Politico in May. But Trump loves him. He thinks everyone is out to get him. White House lawyer Ty Cobb, nevertheless, tried his best to spin and downplay Flynns plea Friday, by saying he wasnt national security adviser for very long, and he was an Obama administration official: Today, Michael Flynn, a former National Security Advisor at the White House for 25 days during the Trump Administration, and a former Obama administration official, 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. Nothing about the guilty plea or the charge implicates anyone other than Mr. Flynn. The conclusion of this phase of the Special Counsels work demonstrates again that the Special Counsel is moving with all deliberate speed and clears the way for a prompt and reasonable conclusion. Story continues Two days after the November election, President Barack Obama warned Trump not to hire Flynn. Obama had fired him from his job as head of the Defense Intelligence Agency. Trump appointed Flynn to the high-ranking job anyway. So Cobb is right that Flynn served in the Obama administration. But even when Obama tried to help his successor out by urging him to cut ties with Flynn, Trump refused to listen. Then shortly after Trump took office, on Jan. 26, acting Attorney General Sally Yates became concerned that Vice President Mike Pence was publicly denying that Flynn had discussed U.S. sanctions on Russia with that countrys ambassador before Trump was inaugurated. Yates told the White House official that Flynn was lying to them; federal officials had evidence that he had, indeed, discussed sanctions. She warned them that he could be subject to blackmail from the Russians and therefore a national security risk. Nevertheless, the White House kept him on board as national security adviser. Trump fired him only after the news of Yates warning became public. Trump later fired Yates for refusing to defend his travel ban. Despite knowing about Flynns lying, Trump continued to defend him. Former FBI Director James Comey said when he met with Trump on Feb. 14, the president asked him to ease up on Flynn. 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, Comey recalled Trump saying. Trump later fired Comey and has hinted that it was because he was upset the FBI director wouldnt stop the Russia investigation. Trump has held out hope that Flynn will be able to come back to him, and even told aides that he thinks firing him was a mistake. Trump feels really, really, really bad about firing him, and he genuinely thinks if the investigation is over Flynn can come back, a White House official told The Daily Beast in May. The fact that Flynn pleaded guilty to a relatively small charge seems to indicate that he is cooperating with Mueller and perhaps has given information that is far more damaging about people in Trumps circle. The Associated Press reported Friday that Flynn admitted in his plea deal that Trump transition officials directed his contact with the Russians. Love HuffPost? Become a founding member of HuffPost Plus today. This article originally appeared on HuffPost. Twitter is standing by its earlier decision to keep up a series of graphic anti-Muslim videos retweeted by President Trump earlier this week though its attempting to reframe its reason for doing so. CEO Jack Dorsey took to the site to retract an earlier statement that Twitter support had left the videos live due to their being newsworthy for public interest, a guideline its invoked numerous times when criticized about its decision to leave up presidential tweets. The site now says that, while it wasnt wrong to keep the content up, its original justification for doing so was wrong. We mistakenly pointed to the wrong reason we didnt take action on the videos from earlier this week, the executive explained, echoing Twitters official statement that, these videos are permitted on Twitter based on our current media policy. We mistakenly pointed to the wrong reason we didnt take action on the videos from earlier this week. Were still looking critically at all of our current policies, and appreciate all the feedback. See our safety calendar for our plans and ship dates. https://t.co/yGytH3eskM jack (@jack) December 1, 2017 Dorsey added, however that the site is, still looking critically at all of our current policies, and appreciate all the feedback. He pointed to recently announced plans to update site guidelines, as Twitter has come under increasing scrutiny over what it does and doesnt pull from the site. Early last month, it posted a new version of its rules, highlighting thing like abusive behavior, adult content and graphic violence all said, however, its tough to see how the Trump RTed videos arent covered by that last point. Story continues To clarify: these videos are not being kept up because they are newsworthy or for public interest. Rather, these videos are permitted on Twitter based on our current media policy. https://t.co/RqEQy3skgc Twitter Safety (@TwitterSafety) December 1, 2017 On Wednesday, the President retweeted a trio of videos by far-right British politician Jayda Fraser that purported to show Muslims performing violent acts. Conservative British Prime Minister Theresa May took Trump to task, calling him wrong for promoting hateful narratives. White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders stood by the President once again, even as the veracity of the videos were called into question by many mainstream press outlets. Whether it is a real video, she told the press, the threat is real. Among other things, Twitters new stance on the subject appears to be a response to reports proving at least one of the videos was not what it claimed to be. The company's original explanation was met with a fair amount of pushback on social media, and this time out, things don't appear to be going much better for the site. It's yet another in a long list of missteps that have made 2017 an on-going PR disaster for Twitter. Just this week, the site apologized for accidentally pulling a New York Times account over a tweet promoting a story about Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau that it accidentally flagged as offensive. Recent months have also found the service in hot water for temporarily blocking actress Rose McGowan over a tweet about Harvey Weinstein and verifying white nationalist Jason Kessler. This article originally appeared on TechCrunch. Related Video: Watch news, TV and more on Yahoo View. President Donald Trumps attorney Ty Cobb is being mocked on Twitter for using one of the worlds most hated fonts. On Friday, Cobb appeared to use Comic Sans for a statement on Trumps former national security adviser Michael Flynn pleading guilty in special counsel Robert Muellers probe into Russian interference in the 2016 election. Cobb downplayed Flynns admission to lying to the FBI about his contacts with the Russian government, and said that nothing about the guilty plea or the charge implicates anyone other than Mr. Flynn. Sahil Kapur, a national political reporter for Bloomberg News, shared a screen shot of the statement to Twitter: Trumps lawyer Ty Cobb: "Nothing about the guilty plea or the charge implicates anyone other than Mr. Flynn." pic.twitter.com/vk7Hx9pOm0 Sahil Kapur (@sahilkapur) December 1, 2017 But people couldnt get over the font that he used, and immediately questioned whether it was real: yes Sahil Kapur (@sahilkapur) December 1, 2017 After Kapur assured them that Trumps lawyer had indeed used the much-maligned sans-serif casual script typeface for the announcement, the jokes began. Heres a sampling of the responses so far: Wanted to avoid using Failing Times New Roman... Rick Horowitz (@Rick_Horowitz) December 2, 2017 There aren't many hills I'll die on in the field of politics but don't you dare come into my mentions and try to defend Comic Sans Liz Finnegan (@TheGingerarchy) December 1, 2017 I have a 7-year-old who thinks Ty Cobb's choice of font is . Erin Altman (@AltmanErin) December 1, 2017 Ty Cobb writes letters in comic sans. Even more proof we're living a simulation. https://t.co/AnwsGywzPW Scott Lincicome (@scottlincicome) December 1, 2017 Comic Sans was designed to be the written voice of a cartoon dog, so this kind of makes a lot of sense. https://t.co/2qc0yR54DG Aaron Sankin (@ASankin) December 1, 2017 today was the day Comic Sans became president Unpopular GOP Tax Kleeform Bill (@MilesKlee) December 1, 2017 So to be clear the White House is crawling with cockroaches, vermin, and memos drafted in Comic Sans https://t.co/f8hCumHm0x Ira Madison III (@ira) December 1, 2017 The president's attorney opened Word, went to the font tab, scrolled past ARIAL and CALIBRI, and said "This is the font I want. Comic Sans." https://t.co/ieEd4hcKlX Bradford Pearson (@BradfordPearson) December 1, 2017 If Trump's lawyer using Comic Sans on purpose for an official statement isn't enough to make you question Trump's judgement then idk what is Liz Finnegan (@TheGingerarchy) December 1, 2017 Is Trumps lawyers use of Comic Sans a chargeable offense? https://t.co/UaH01kQIEt Chris Sacca (@sacca) December 2, 2017 Related Coverage 'The Daily Show' Gives Melania Trump's Christmas Video A Terrifying Twist British Lawmaker Uses Dumbledore's Words To Make Point About Donald Trump Barack Obama Appears To Zing Donald Trump With Twitter Followers Boast Also on HuffPost Love HuffPost? Become a founding member of HuffPost Plus today. This article originally appeared on HuffPost. Bravo Larsa Pippen is known for her eye-catching, body-baring looks, from formfitting minidresses to thigh-high boots to luxurious lingerie. During The Real Housewives of Miami Season 4 reunion, the jewelry designer shut down speculation about possible cosmetic procedures and noted how she keeps herself in such stellar shape. I literally work out seven days a week, she explained at the time. If I show you my photos from five years ago, I was less than 100 pounds. Im 140 pounds now, so yeah, my leg CARACAS (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. [PDVSA.UL], 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) Fireman extinguish fire at a factory in Moscow, Russia, on Jan. 30, 2016. (Xinhua/Sputnik) MOSCOW, Dec. 2 (Xinhua) -- Seven people, including two children, were killed Saturday after a fire broke out at a private house in the Kaluga region southwest of Moscow, TASS news agency reported, citing the local emergency service. The fire began at around 04:50 a.m.(0150 GMT) and lasted some 45 minutes, killing a woman, four men and two girls. A total of 20 firefighters and five vehicles were deployed to the site to put out the blaze. Investigators are still working to find the cause of the incident. What Were Writing North Korea Is Back: North Korea launched an ICBM on Tuesday after a 74-day pause in its missile testing activities. The initial response it elicited from the Trump administration was limited to a tweet promising to take care of it. After the test was concluded, North Korea declared itself a fully-developed nuclear power and is believed to have the capacity to launch a missile that would hit the continental United States. This new reality needs a strong U.S. responseand Mira Rapp-Hooper argues that the Trump administration needs to understand that demanding disarmament is no longer on the table. Any future negotiation on the North Korean nuclear program will need to involve Chinabut, as Krishnadev Calamur explains, the U.S. and China differ greatly in their evaluation of the threat North Korea poses. Deception in the Hands of Autocrats: Amy Zegart argues that great-power deception has evolved, and autocratic powers are now armed with viral platforms like Facebook or Twitterand the capacity to take their misinformation campaigns global. Julia Ioffe explains that Vladimir Putin already uses the tools of misinformation and corporate pressure to censure freedom of the press in Russia, and shes worried that the same thing is happening in Trumps America. And Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is also using a denial and negative-press campaign to forestall the effects of the trial in the United States of Reza Zarrab, a Turkish-Iranian businessman accused of enabling sanctions-avoidance with the help of Turkish authorities. Recommended: Pressure North Korea, Antagonize China Religious Extremism: In light of an Islamist attack that killed more than 300 people at a Sufi mosque in Egypt last week, H.A. Hellyer argues that both detractors and admirers share the same dangerous misunderstanding of Sufism as a heterodox form of Islam. A subset of Muslims is also in danger in Burma, where violence against the Rohingya is driving accusations of ethnic cleansing. Pope Francis, who visited this week, chose not to use the word Rohingya while in the country, possibly in order to avoid endangering the Christian minority. And in India, Harrison Akins argues, Hindu nationalism is visible in the way Uttar Pradeshs Bharatiya Janata Party government is pushing Hindutvaan ideology that puts Hindu faith and culture at the center of Indian identityand writing out the sizable contributions of Indian Muslims, including the Taj Mahal. Story continues Snapshot Tomaso Clavarino Recommended: If Flynn Is Small Fry, Whos the Bigger Fish in Muellers Net? Read about the Baltic paramilitary groups who are preparing the next generation of soldiers to defend their countries against what they see as an inevitable Russian invasion, in this photo essay by documentary photographer Tomaso Clavarino. Quoted You dont counter racism and prejudice by backing down to it, said Mark Farmaner, director of the Burma Campaign U.K. lobby group, about Pope Franciss decision not to use the word Rohingya while in Burma. Weeping, evidently, is quite a thing among jihadists, writes Simon Cottee in an essay about Thomas Hegghammers recent book, Jihadi Culture. Shes managed to get the [royal] family to move with the times, said Prince Harry of England as he praised the Queens willingness to celebrate his recent engagement with American actress and activist Meghan Markle. Read about the significance of the engagement here. Our Long Read of the Week Annabelle Timsit wrote about feminists in France who are trying to make French more gender-neutral as a way to fight gender inequality. The question of whether language affects perception, which is at the center of the debate, is controversial. Read about it here. My homeland is the French language, author Albert Camus once wroteand many French people would agree. Thats why any attempt at changing the language is often met with suspicion. So the uproar was almost instantaneous when, this fall, the first-ever school textbook promoting a gender-neutral version of French was released. It was a victory for a subset of French feminists who had argued that the gendered nature of the language promotes sexist outcomes, and that shifting to a gender-neutral version would improve womens status in society. Educating the next generation in a gender-inclusive way, they claimed, would yield concrete positive changes, like professional environments that are more welcoming to women. Many others found this idea outrageous. They complained that implementing it would badly complicate education, and that theres not enough evidence that changing a language can really change social realities. Clearly in the second camp, the office of Prime Minister Edouard Philippe announced this week that its banning the use of gender-neutral French in all official government documents. What Were Reading From North Korea, With Dread, by Adam B. Ellick and Jonah M. Kessel, is the video-based account of a trip the authors took with New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof and editorial writer Carol Giacomo. Their plea to the international community is heartfelt: We hope this video can serve as a call for politicians on both sides to seek exit ramps for peace. (Via The New York Times) Recommended: The Delights of Parsing the Beatles' Most Nonsensical Song A People Without Refuge, by Zeenat Nagree and Hashim Badani, is a vivid depiction of a Rohingya settlement in India, where refugees await a forthcoming court decision on whether they pose a threat to national security and will need to be deported. (Via Roads & Kingdom) The Abandoned Children of Morocco, by Ali Berrada, tells the story of the thousands of abandoned children who are getting a second chance at a decent life, thanks to organizations like La Ligue Marocaine Pour la Protection de lEnfance and their volunteer caregivers. (Via Pacific Standard Magazine) Read more from The Atlantic: This article was originally published on The Atlantic. Every month, in addition to its original films and TV series, Netflix also brings a few insane movies lost to time and makes them extremely easy to watch. And December 2017 is no exception because the Netflix line up includes easily the weirdest time travel movie ever created: The Santa Clause 3: The Escape Clause. I first saw The Santa Clause 3 on a bus in the summer of 2007, which was about a year after it was released in the winter of 2006. It was a double feature Bolt Bus was offering to kill the time between Los Angeles and Phoenix. The movie that preceded Santa Clause 3 was Live Free or Die Hard, another sequel in a beloved Christmas franchise. Of the two, I liked Santa Clause 3 way more. In fact, with the obvious exception of Its a Wonderful Life, its probably the best Christmas movie ever made that happens to deal with alternate realities, and the perils of rewriting history. Spoiling the premise of the movie will not spoil the movie, no more than knowing Santa is your parents ruins Christmas. Heres what you need to know: Tim Allen is the incumbent Santa Claus, because in the first The Santa Clause film he took over for the old Santa after accidentally knocking him off his roof. This would be like if a new series of Batman movies were made in which Owen Wilson accidentally runs over Batman and has to take his place to keep the tradition going. Sounds better than Justice League, but I digress. By the time of Santa Clause 3, we discover theres a kind of Justice Leauge compromised childrens bedtime stories. Youve got the Tooth Fairy, the Easter Bunny, Mother Nature, Father Time, and the Sandman, notably played by Michael Dorn, AKA Mr. Worf from *Star Trek: The Next Generation. Left: Michael Dorn as the Sandman, putting kids to sleep. Right: Nobody ever fell asleep watching Michael Dorn as Worf. If this set-up sounds familiar, it should, because the excellent animated film, 2012s Rise of the Guardians did the same thing, only in that version Jack Frost was voiced by Chris Pine and Santa was a sword-wielding Russian played by Alec Baldwin. Rise of the Guardians is a better movie than Santa Clause 3, but because it came out after Santa Clause 3, and featured Jack Frost as the main character, and stunt-casting from a Star Trek actor, I think we all know it was ripping-off Santa Clause 3. Story continues In Santa Clause 3, Jack Frost is played by Martin Short, sort of re-entering his Father of the Bride 2 quality of movie-making. Jack Frost is hell-bent on time-traveling back to the moment when Tim Allen became Santa Claus and inserting himself as Santa in Tim Allens place. This ploy is the titular escape clause. Tim Allen from the past opts out of becoming Santa, and a hellscape alternate reality is created in which Martin Shorts Jack Frost rules over everything as an evil Santa. Martin Short as the Santa Claus/Jack Frost chimera. Is this film scarier than the 2015 holiday horror flick Krampus, about an evil demon-version of Santa? Answer: yes. All you have to do is reread the paragraph above and let it sink in. The Santa Clause 3 posits that there is an alternate dimension that is somehow worse than one in which Tim Allen is the incumbent Santa Claus. And, as with any time-travel drama in which history has to be reset, the story gets less interesting as the good guys try to restore things to the correct timeline. Basically, you sort of dont want Tim Allen to succeed, which is kind of what makes the movie great. Because even though Martin Short darkening the legacy of Santa Claus is supposed to be a bad thing, its the best thing to happen to the genre of Christmas movies in a very, very long time. The Santa Clause 3: The Escape Clause will be available to stream on Netflix starting on December 12, 2017. Written by Ryan Britt More articles by Ryan Follow Ryan on Twitter tweetshare More From Inverse World AIDS Day which was first observed in 1988 seeks to raise international awareness of the disease Donald Trump has broken precedent by failing to mention the LGBT community in his World Aids Day statement despite the fact they are most disproportionately affected by the disease. Previous administrations explicitly mentioned those communities in the US particularly affected by the disease, such as gay and bisexual men, trans women, and also black, Latino and Southern groups, but the president excluded those groups in his generic statement. "Today, on World Aids Day, 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," President Trump said in his official statement. This sharply contrasts with former president Barack Obamas statement last year which mentioned those groups at higher risk. Although we have come far in recent decades, our work is not yet done and the urgency to intervene in this epidemic is critical. Gay and bisexual men, transgender people, youth, black and Latino Americans, people living in the Southern United States, and people who inject drugs are at a disproportionate risk, Obama said in 2016. Former president Bill Clinton also took care to emphasize the fact the LGBT was disproportionately affected by the virus. Volunteers across America, members of local service organizations, church groups, gay and lesbian service organisations, and thousands of individuals have heard the summons to action and have given selflessly of their time and energy, he said in his statement. Those who labour to hasten the end of this terrible epidemic deserve our deep appreciation and admiration. Mr Trump has drawn criticism from a number of leading civil rights organisations for the omission. The Human Rights Campaign, a leading LGBT advocate, said: Donald Trumps World Aids Day proclamation is missing a few things: It doesn't mention the marginalised communities disproportionately affected by HIV & AIDS like LGBTQ, Black & Latinx people. Hes touting programs that hes proposing to significantly reduce funding for. Story continues Lambda Legal, a civil rights organisation which focuses on LGBT communities and those living with HIV/Aids, said: "Simply put, HIV affects people in some communities more than others, and our federal government cannot turn a blind eye to that." World AIDS Day, which was first observed in 1988, seeks to raise global awareness of the disease. Across the world, an estimated 36.7 million people are living with HIV/Aids and more than 1.1 million of those live in the US. The Trump administrations omission is particularly troubling when you bear in mind that in 2015 48 per cent of those diagnosed with Aids in the US were African-Americans. Furthermore, in 2014, the Center for Disease Control (CDC) found gay and bisexual men constituted an estimated 70 per cent of new HIV infections in the US. Data on the trans community is less extensive but among the 3.3 million HIV testing events reported to CDC in 2013, the percentage of transgender people who received a new HIV diagnosis was more than three times the national average. President Trumps track record on tackling HIV/Aids has been fiercely criticised. In July, six top health advisers resigned from Mr Trumps advisory council on HIV/Aids, complaining the world leader does not really care about tackling the illness. In a letter, Scott Schoettes, counsel and HIV project director at Lambda Legal, argued the Trump administration has no strategy on Aids and it would be more affective for him and his colleagues to campaign from the outside. He said: The Trump administration has no strategy to address the on-going HIV/Aids epidemic, seeks zero input from experts to formulate HIV policy, and - most concerning - pushes legislation that will harm people living with HIV and halt or reverse important gains made in the fight against this disease. Mr Schoettes continued: If we do not ensure that US leadership at the executive and legislative levels are informed by experience and expertise, real people will be hurt and some will even die. To mark World Aids Day, the ONE Campaign released a troubling report on the potential impact of the White House's proposed $800 million cut to HIV/aids efforts that experts forecast could result in millions of new HIV infections and hundreds of thousands of deaths. "The FY 2018 budget proposal would have led to the first global increase in new HIV infections since 1995, with nearly 200,000 additional HIV infections in the first year," says the report. "If these cuts were maintained, nearly 600,000 additional people could be infected by 2020, dragging the world back to levels of new infections last seen in 2011." Democratic National Committee spokesman Joel Kasnetz condemned Mr Trump's statement on Twitter, saying: "Trying to erase LGBTQ people from the history of HIV/Aids is another slap in the face," "In his first year in office, Trump hasnt missed an opportunity to be cruel to the LGBTQ community and the millions living with HIV all over the world. President Trump has come under heavy fire for his record on LGBT rights since taking office. The billionaire property tycoon touted himself as a champion of gay rights during his presidential bid but LGBT rights groups argue he has waged a war on their freedoms. On inauguration day, the Trump administration immediately erased all references to LGBT people and everyone living with HIV from whitehouse.gov. Days after being sworn in Attorney General Jeff Sessions withdrew his predecessor's guidance on protections for transgender students in public schools that allowed them to use bathrooms corresponding with their gender identity. This summer, President Trump announced a ban on qualified transgender people serving in the military in a series of tweets. He then signed a directive reinstating a ban on transgender individuals from serving in the military. Last month the Justice Department announced that an anti-discrimination law does not protect transgender workers. This has potentially opened people up to discrimination in the workplace because of their gender identity. The wrong Theresa May (PA) The wrong Theresa May is demanding an apology from US President Donald Trump after he mistook her for the British Prime Minister. Theresa Scrivener, from Bognor, was inundated with messages after the Worlds most powerful man accidentally tweeted her on Wednesday. Trump was responding to the British leader after she rebuked his retweets of anti-Muslim videos originally sent by a UK far-right activist, Jayda Fransen. Scriveners follower numbers she uses her middle name for her Twitter handle @TheresaMay have increased from just six to more than 1,300 in just a few days as a result. Speaking exclusively to the Press Association, Miss Scrivener said she had received huge numbers of messages, adding: If I wanted to be famous I would have gone on X Factor. Its amazing to think that the worlds most powerful man managed to press the wrong button, she said. Im just waiting for a call from the White House with an apology. Trumps message to his more than 43 million followers, read: @TheresaMay, dont focus on me, focus on the destructive Radical Islamic Terrorism that is taking place within the United Kingdom. We are doing just fine! Theresa Scrivener and partner Steve McDonnell (PA) Many of those responding on Twitter offered their condolences to the Bognor woman for being at the centre of a Twitter storm involving the US leader. Some Americans on social media even apologised for their president. Im just glad he was not contacting me to say he was going to war with North Korea, she said. The 41-year-old said she was asleep when the incident happened. And the first she knew about it was when she woke at 4am to huge numbers of messages on her phone from reporters hoping to speak to her. It was not until a few hours later she saw the tweets from Mr Trump. I wasnt really sure what to make of it, she said. Theresa Scrivener said she asleep when the Twitter storm started (PA) I was in bed by half 10 last night and oblivious to it all. It has been very surreal. I am laughing about it now but he is the one who sent the tweet and I have been inundated with calls. Story continues I havent been able to leave my house. Ive been bombarded and been contacted by press from around the world. Miss Scrivener said she wanted to stay out of the debate surrounding Mr Trumps conversation with the Prime Minister, but added: He needs to think before he tweets. We Theresa May and I are so different. Our profiles are completely different. She runs the country, Im a mum from Bognor. Her Twitter account is not verified and the profile image she has is of the Prime Minister. She said she was not going to change her name as a result of Mr Trumps blunder, adding: Why should I? Its my name, Im not going to change it. I hope now Ive said my piece I will be left alone. Scriveners follower numbers have increased from just 6 to more than 1,300 (PA) This though was not the first time she has been mistaken for the Prime Minister, as she receives almost daily tweets from Twitter users asking her to fix the NHS or speed up the Brexit process. Neither was it the first time Mr Trump has directed his 44 million followers to the wrong account. In January he mistakenly tagged a woman from Brighton in a tweet instead of his own daughter. Quoting an account which has since been suspended, he wrote: @IvankaTrump is great, a woman with real character and class. The owner of the @Ivanka account, a digital consultant from Brighton, replied: And youre a man with great responsibilities. May I suggest more care on Twitter and more time learning about #climatechange. 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. Together they have fought the Saudi-led coalition which intervened in Yemen in 2015 aiming to restore the internationally recognized government of President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi after the Houthis forced him into exile. 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 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. "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 his GPC party, was the only legitimate power in the country and was ready for talks with the coalition. 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 General People's Congress (GPC) party to return to Arab fold. 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 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." INTERMITTENT GUNFIRE Residents of Sanaa described heavy fighting on the streets of Hadda, a southern residential district of the Yemeni capital 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, but intermittent gunfire was being heard. There was no immediate word on casualties. Both sides have reported that at least 16 people were killed in the fighting, which began on Wednesday when armed Houthi fighters entered the main mosque complex, firing RPGs and grenades. Saleh's GPC party accused the Houthis of failing to honor 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. But the head of the Houthis' Ansarullah group warned that the biggest winner from what he described as Saleh's "sedition" was the Saudi-led coalition. "I appeal to the leader Saleh to show more wisdom and maturity... and not to heed incitement calls," Abdel-Malek al-Houthi said in a speech on the group's Al-Masirah TV, adding that his group was ready to sit down for arbitration and abide by any ruling. 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. (Additional reporting by Omar Fahmy in Cairo; writing by Sami Aboudi; editing by Jason Neely) Sanaa (AFP) - The rebel alliance controlling Yemen's capital appeared to crumble Saturday as a strongman opposed to the internationally recognised government reached out to a Saudi-led coalition fighting the insurgents. The rift within rebel ranks erupted into violence in Sanaa this week, raising fears of a new front in a three-year war that has claimed thousands of lives and triggered a humanitarian catastrophe. Ex-president Ali Abdullah Saleh, who joined forces with the Iran-backed Huthi rebels to seize the capital in 2014, said he was ready to talk to the Saudi-led coalition if it lifts a crippling blockade on Yemen. His about-face sparked warnings of retribution by the Huthis, whose leader accused Saleh of "great treason". Dozens of fighters on both sides were killed in the clashes this week. Rebel chief Abdul Malik al-Huthi confirmed at least 40 killed or injured. Security sources in Sanaa put the toll at more than 60. The armed groups fought Saturday for key positions in the city, including ministries and the international airport, security sources and witnesses said. Sanaa international airport is under a crippling blockade the coalition imposed last month after a Huthi missile was intercepted near Riyadh. Sanaa streets were empty Saturday night as Yemenis stayed home, fearing renewed clashes. One resident described the city as a "ghost town". - Rebels denounce 'coup' - For decades bitter enemies, Saleh and rebel chief Abdulmalik al-Huthi joined forces three years ago to drive President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi's government from Sanaa. But their fragile alliance has shown signs of unravelling for months. Saleh's open overture to Riyadh came a day after talks with the Huthis failed to broker a truce. "I call on our brothers in neighbouring countries... to stop their aggression and lift the blockade... and we will turn the page," he 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." Story continues The Huthi chief said Saleh and the Saudi-led coalition had become "one front" after the former president's "great treason". The Huthis' political office accused Saleh of staging a "coup" against "an alliance he never believed in", and warned that Saudi Arabia and its allies would "pay a heavy price in their own capitals". - 'Iran-backed militias' - Yemen's war has claimed more than 8,750 lives since the Saudi-led coalition intervened to prop up Hadi's government against the rebels in 2015, triggering what the United Nations has described as the world's worst humanitarian crisis. UN envoy Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed said he was "deeply concerned", urging all sides to "exercise restraint" and avoid targeting civilians. The UN also implored the coalition to fully open up Red Sea ports to allow aid deliveries, warning that "more than eight million people could starve without urgent food assistance coming into Yemen". The coalition welcomed Saleh's offer of talks. "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," it said in a statement carried by the official Saudi Press Agency. Hadi's government also appeared to welcome Saleh's move away from the Huthis, whom it accuses of promoting Iranian interests in Yemen. "We declare our determination to... preserve the Arab identity of Yemen and the unity of its territory and cooperate with every loyal Yemeni citizen working to rid our country of these vicious gangs," it said in a statement. Saudi Arabia and the United States have accused Iran of supplying weapons to the Huthis, which Tehran strongly denies. A minister from the UAE, a key member of the military coalition, on Saturday praised what he called the "Sanaa uprising". Anwar Gargash, state minister for foreign affairs, tweeted his support for "the Yemeni people's return to their Arab environment", echoing to the coalition accusations that the Huthis are loyal to Iran. Saleh ruled Yemen as president for 33 years after the 1990 unification of north and south Yemen. A longtime ally of Saudi Arabia, he waged six separate wars against the Huthis, Zaidi Shiites who hail from northern Yemen. Saleh resigned under popular and political pressure in 2012, ceding power to his then-vice president Hadi, who now lives in exile in Saudi Arabia. In 2014, Saleh announced he had joined forces with the Huthis, seizing the capital and setting up a parallel government as Hadi's administration fled to Aden. faw-mou-jj-pho-ny/par/hkb Sanaa (AFP) - Yemeni strongman Ali Abdullah Saleh said Saturday he was open to talks with the Saudi-led coalition fighting Iran-backed rebels, as his alliance with the Huthi insurgents appeared to be crumbling. "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. The capital has been shaken by escalating violence this week between supporters of Saleh and the Huthis, with dozens of fighters killed and injured and residents now fearing a new front in an already devastating war. ADEN (Reuters) - Three fighters from forces loyal to the former Yemeni president Ali Abdullah Saleh were killed in a second day of clashes with their own allies from the Houthi movement in the capital Sanaa, Saleh's party said on Thursday. The two groups are fighting a Saudi-led coalition that has intervened in a 2-1/2 year Yemeni civil war with a view to restoring the internationally recognized government of President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi. A statement from Saleh's General People's Congress Party said three guards were killed when Houthi forces attacked the house of Tarek Saleh, Ali Abdullah Saleh's nephew, adding that they also besieged the residence of Ibrahim Sharaf, a party member and foreign minister of the Sanaa-based government. "The Houthis violated the truce agreement and attacked the residence of colonel Tarek and killed three guards and wounded three others," the statement said. The clashes underscore the complex situation in Yemen, as Hadi's alliance has also seen similar internal fighting between his contingents and pro-independence southern forces backed by the United Arab Emirates, a key member of the Saudi-led coalition Local sources told Reuters some residents fled areas where the fighting, which involved heavy artillery and rocket launchers, raged for several hours for a second day. Four supporters of Ali Abdullah Saleh were killed when a gunfight erupted on Wednesday in the center of Sanaa, after the Houthis broke into the city's main mosque complex and fired RPGs and grenades. Houthi fighters and battalions loyal to Saleh made common cause to fan out through Yemen in 2015 and have weathered thousands of air strikes launched by neighboring Saudi Arabia and its allies. Hadi's government is nominally based in the port city of Aden. (Writing by Aziz El Yaakoubi; Editing by Hugh Lawson) A stolen vehicle that was shot by a Yakima County security officer following a pursuit rests after colliding with other vehicles at the Yakima County Juvenile Justice Center at 1728 Jerome Ave. in Yakima, Wash., Thursday, Nov. 30, 2017. The Yakima County Sheriffs Office also responded to the incident. (SHAWN GUST/Yakima Herald-Republic) Source: Xinhua| 2017-12-03 01:00:18|Editor: Mu Xuequan Video Player Close CAIRO, Dec. 2 (Xinhua) -- Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi met Saturday with U.S. 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-U.S. relations and their distinguished strategic aspects, urging to enhance all aspects of cooperation between the two sides particularly in the military field," Egypt's presidential spokesman Bassam Rady said in a statement. He added that Mattis expressed U.S. keenness to promote cooperation with Egypt as a key player to maintain stability and security in the Middle East region, underscoring U.S. 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 U.S. defense ministers discussed a number of topics related to military cooperation, joint military drills and the exchange of expertise in different fields, said Egypt's military spokesman Tamer al-Refaay in a statement. Egypt's ties with the United States deteriorated after the Egyptian military ousted former Islamist President Mohamed Morsi in July 2013 in response to mass protests. The move has led to the suspension of U.S. military aid to Egypt and the cancellation of the largest joint military exercise between the two countries, known as Bright Star, by former U.S. President Barack Obama. The bilateral ties improved under the new U.S. administration of Donald Trump, who pledged to resume the annual military aid to the key regional ally. Egypt and the United States held Bright Star 2017 joint drill in September after eight-year suspension since 2009. Earlier in April they launched the joint naval exercise Eagle Salute 2017 in the waters of the Red Sea. Cairo annually receives from Washington 1.5 billion U.S. dollars in military and economic aid since it signed the 1979 U.S.-sponsored peace treaty with Israel, the U.S. number one regional ally and the top recipient of U.S. aid. In August, Washington decided to cut or delay nearly 300 million U.S. dollars in aid to Egypt over concerns about human rights record. Mattis' trip to Egypt unveiled his five-day tour in the region including Egypt, Jordan, Pakistan and Kuwait. The U.S. Department of Defense said in a statement on Friday that Mattis' trips are meant to "reaffirm the enduring U.S. commitment to partnerships in the Middle East, West Africa and South Asia." Tbilisi has become a favored destination among Israeli tourists in recent years, and quite rightfully so. The awakening Georgian capital has a lot to offer in practically every area: Interesting historical sites, a breathtaking landscape, a romantic atmosphere, excellent restaurants, bars and a vibrant nightlife, cheap shopping and pampering hotels. Follow Ynetnews on Facebook and Twitter Tourism to Georgia has tripled within less than a decade, indicating that the discerning Israeli traveler is not the only one to discover this beautiful city. Tbilisi has become a favored destination for Iranian tourists as well, in fact, with many planes land in the city at the end of every week, carrying thousands of Iranians on their way to a burqa-less weekend. A Tbilisi street Tbilisi isn't a big, daunting city and its most interesting parts can be explored by foot. It's pleasant and safe to walk around, even at night, and it offer an underground train network. The recommended way to move around, however, is by taxi, as fare is ridiculously cheap. The Georgians are extremely friendly and the many travel agencies in the Old City offer plenty of excursions outside the city, but one can spend a perfectly nice weekend in the city itself, indulging in sins, food and dancing. The Rooms Hotel Rooms is considered the greatest and most luxurious hotel in all Tbilisi. Like many successful hotels, it was built in an area which was quite boring and dull until recently. Rooms' inauguration four years ago, however, sped up development of the area around it, which led to the opening of modern, stylish Georgian restaurants, boutique stores and trendy bars. It offers 125 rooms of nine different sizes, all equipped and designed down to the very last detail, including the Sophia Loren suite, so named after it accommodated the Italian diva. The hotel's entrance The style is warm and invitingvintage with multiple uses of wood, exposed concrete pillars, Italian chandeliers and an old-fashioned iron elevator, which have been well-preserved here. They all originate in the hotel's previous life as a publishing house for one of Georgias highest circulated newspapers. A bathtub by the bed. Vintage style Apart from the excellent rooms, the hotel also includes a romantic and pleasant bar with a creative cocktail menu, blues music and comfortable sofas to sink into. Some of the guests have even fallen asleep on them. Located next to the bar is the hotel's restaurant, which offers a modern Georgian menufish, salads and different Georgian pastries with a modern touch and a vitality shot. The financial profitability of a trip to Tbilisi is reflected here too: a three-course meal at the hotels excellent restaurant, including a glass of wine, costs around NIS 250 (roughly $71). A trendy cocktail at the bar costs NIS 20. The accommodation isn't expensive either: NIS 1,000 for a room during the weekend, if you book ahead of time. Rooms Hotel, 14 Merab Kostava St., Tbilisi 0108 ( www.roomshotels.com/tbilisi ) "You must go to the complex behind Fabrika Hostel," we were told by every up-to-date young man or woman in Tbilisiand there are quite a few of those. So we went. And on evenings during the weekend, we discovered a perky, naughty and vibrant complex filled with alcohol. It is, in fact, the internal yard of a large building that used to be a cloth factory in the Communist era. After the Communist Blocs dissolution, the compound was abandoned. It has been revived in recent years, turning into a recreation complex with restaurants, bars, boutique stores and quite a lovely hotel called Fabrika, which serves as a must stop for young people visiting Tbilisi. Hotel Fabrika Some call the place "Tbilisis Berghain," after Berlins famous nightclub, and although it's a wild exaggeration, the principle is quite similar. So what does one do at the complex? The evening begins at the Tone restaurant, which offers a limited but good menu of traditional Georgian dishes with a modern touch. The owner is married to a Georgian diplomat, who served in the United States and in other countries across the world for many years. During her missions, she acquired culinary knowledge and expertise in hospitality, and she used them to open this pampering food establishment, which has a traditional Georgian oven in its yard to bake the bread. Video: From Hotel Fabrika's Facebook page ( ) X The restaurant often uses traditional Sulguni cheese, which is the Georgian version of mozzarella. It's a dense, heavy type of cheese made from cow milk, which is churned in villages and arrives at the restaurant in huge blocks. Questions about the amount of fat in it are answered with a smile: it's natural, rustic, non-industrial cheese, so there is no accurate measurement of the percentage of fat or salt in it. One thing's for sure: it's to die for. Next to the restaurant, there's an old-fashioned ice cream stand, which is open in the summer days. The pubs around it serve beers or cocktails, and people sit on the stairs or on the benches scattered across the compound and get drunk. You can also visit the skateboard store or the small clothes boutique right next to Fabrika Hostel, which specializes in vintage clothes inspired by the uniform of the women who used to work in the old cloth factory. A square in Tbilisi Fabrika is not a bad hotel to stay in if youre on a limited budget. Some of the rooms are designed like a hostel, but there are private rooms as well, preserving the factorys industrialist and minimalist design. In the evening hours, the hotel offers a bar, a restaurant with tasty pizza and a cafe. And then, in the wee hours of the night, we move on to Bassian, Tbilisi's hottest club. Like every Eastern European city to come alive and embrace Western culture, Tbilisi boasts a club that both celebrates and enjoys nightlife. A large dance floor and a few smaller floors, bars packed with alcohol at ridiculous prices, techno music, international guest DJs and a fun, early-2000s vibe. Sometimes, it's a good thing progress comes late. And then, in the wee hours of the night, we move on to Bassian, Tbilisi's hottest club. Like every Eastern European city to come alive and embrace Western culture, Tbilisi boasts a club that both celebrates and enjoys nightlife. A large dance floor and a few smaller floors, bars packed with alcohol at ridiculous prices, techno music, international guest DJs and a fun, early-2000s vibe. Sometimes, it's a good thing progress comes late. Labor leader Avi Gabbay's comment that the Left has forgotten what it means to be Jewish isnt a comment about Judaism, nor about religion or a return to religion. Its a comment about security. Twenty years ago, Prime Minister Netanyahu whispered this sentence in Rabbi Yitzhak Kaduris hearing-impaired ears, but that was only the first half of the sentence. The second half was: They think if they give the Arabs weapons, the Arabs will protect us. Follow Ynetnews on Facebook and Twitter To win elections in Israel, theres no need to become religious or turn to the Right. All you have to do is to provide a sense of security. The emphasis is on a sense, not on security. Sometimes, Mr. Security is a disguise, and the disguise must be convincing, of course. Examine the election campaigns of the past 40 years, and youll see that the more security-affiliated candidate always won: Menachem Begin beat Shimon Peres, Yitzhak Shamir beat Peres, Yitzhak Rabin beat Shamir, Netanyahu beat Peres, Ehud Barak beat Netanyahu, Ariel Sharon beat Barak, and Netanyahu beat Isaac Herzog. Ehud Olmert, who sat down in the driver's seat of Sharons car, is an unusual case. Labor leader Avi Gabbay, who recently stated that the left forgot what it means to be Jewish (Photo: AFP) Israeli society isnt religious. Its more military than civil. It hasnt become more religious. Rather, it has grown weaker, and its terrified. Late Prime Minister Golda Meir once made a more Jewish comment than Netanyahu's. Golda said, Yes, there is justice, but there is Jewish justice. That comment was also made in a security-related, rather than religious, contextit was said about the return of the Ikrit and Biram refugees. In his book "Der Judenstaat (The Jewish State), Theodor Herzl wrote that we wont let the religious people rear their heads, well keep them in the synagogues, well have a lot of respect for them, but we wont allow them to intervene in the states affairs. Herzl wasnt forced to practice what he preached, because he didnt have to form a coalition. Herzl wanted to tell a story, not to be prime minister. After the states establishment, our life was handed over to the religious people, from birth to burial. The Rabbinical Courts Jurisdiction Law imposes halachic marriage and divorce on secular Jews; there is no public transportation on Shabbat; the corrupt kashrut systems make our food more expensive and raise the cost of living. In the past, people spoke about religious coercion. Today, they call it religionization. They were exaggerating then, and they are exaggerating now. The main problem, I believe, isnt religions takeover of the state, but religions takeover of the foreign and defense policy, which is reflected in the slogan fathers graves come before sons lives. The purpose of the State of Israel was the national revival of the Jewish people, not a religious revival, and a national revival must take into account international, demographic, economic and military considerations. The arrogance of religious supremacy was reflected in the famous meeting between Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion and Rabbi Avraham Yeshaya Karelitz (the Chazon Ish), in which the rabbi boasted that religious people had a full wagon while seculars had an empty one. Prime Minister Netanyahu (L) and opposition leader Herzog. The one who leads a more Jewish life lost the elections (Photos: Alex Kolomoisky, AFP) Another old story, a more basic one, is about a meeting between youth from a religious kibbutz and youth from a Hashomer Hatzair kibbutz, in which they discussed the question: Is there a god? They sat in a circle and argued fervently: There is a god, there isnt a god. After a heated debate, they said a friendly goodbye. The guys from the religious kibbutz went home in the same state they arrived in, confident there is a God. The Hashomer Hatzair guys said to themselves: Theres definitely no god, definitely, but if there is a godwere screwed. The Left hasnt forgotten what it means to be Jewish, but it has forgotten what it means to win elections. In Israel, you win elections with the help of security, not with the help of God. There were two candidates for prime minister in the last elections. One is married to his third wife, his second wife was a gentile who underwent a Reform conversion, he confessed on live television that he had cheated on his current wife, he doesnt observe Shabbat and he eats seafood in non-kosher restaurants. The other candidate is the grandson of Israels first chief rabbi, he observes Shabbat, he goes to synagogue every Saturday, he leads a remarkable Jewish family life and he only eats kosher food. Well, who won? Following the row sparked by Deputy Foreign Minister Tzipi Hotovelys comments about the differences between Israelis and American Jews, its clear to everyone that the time has come for deep-rooted change and repair. Follow Ynetnews on Facebook and Twitter I dont mean another committee whose conclusions will be shelved, but rather thorough, systemic work by everyone: The government, the civil society and philanthropists in Israel and in the United States. The public discourse reveals the difficult reality of a widening gap between Israel and US Jewry, and the conclusion that there is a need to reduce the differences in knowledge between us. Despite the special challenges the State of Israel is dealing with, US Jews are learning about Israel, showing an interest in the state and engaging with it. Standing by Israel, for now (Photo: AFP) On the other side, we Israelis are in a very different place. We dont learn about the US Jewry, and many of us have never even met American Jews face-to-face. The Education Ministrys official curriculum doesnt include the history of the Jewish immigration to the US, it doesnt share the tremendous success story of this community and its influence on American society, Israel and the entire world. It doesnt deal with the challenges and changes they are undergoing as a society. This lack of knowledge was evident in the deputy ministers comments . Regardless of the timing and style, Hotovelys remarks werent wrong, but they were made without context and misrepresented the general picture. As involved as can be Jews make up about two percent of the general US population, but their contribution to American society is immeasurably higher than their share in the population. They are patriots of both their countries, the US and Israel, and the vast majority of them dont see any contradiction in that. Its important to understand that the US Army is not the peoples army, but rather an army of hired soldiers, which naturally attracts weaker populations that benefit from their service financially, rather than the Jews who are considered an elite. Nevertheless, at times of emergency and crisis, Jews contribute their share even more than their percentage in the population: During World War II, more than 600,000 Jews joined the US Army, and many of the fallen soldiers in US cemeteries are Jews. Even the US Air Force chief is Jewish. Some 6,000 American Jews have voluntarily joined the Israeli army in recent years (Photo: IDF Spokespersons Unit) The share of US Jews in public service, including in national security, is higher than their share in the population as well. There are six Jewish Supreme Court justices serving in the US today. The US Jewry is a leader in donations and private philanthropy, including support for the two ruling parties. Fifty percent of donations to the Democratic Party and 25 percent of donations to the Republican Party come from Jewish donors. In 2006, then-US President George W. Bush issued a presidential proclamation designating the month of May as Jewish American Heritage Month, to mark the US Jewrys contribution to American society and to humanity in general. As for US Jews involvement in the IDF, its important to understand the overall picture. They enlisted to fight alongside the pioneers and the immigrants in Israels wars throughout the history of the Jewish Yishuv. Two American Jews were killed in the Battle of Tel Hai: Jake Toker and Wolf Scharf. Most Israelis have never heard of them. Upon the states establishment, Jews from the Diaspora formed a unit of 3,000 volunteers, one-third of whom were Americans. Ninety percent of them enlisted for combat service, joining 200 other American Jews who had already arrived in Israel to fight for its independence. For 70 years, the State of Israel took in thousands of Jewish American volunteers who arrived to serve in the IDF . The Nefesh BNefesh organization, for example, has helped some 6,000 Jewish American soldiers join the IDF from 2002. Sixty-eight Jewish volunteers from the US joined the IDF last August as part of an Immigrant Absorption Ministry project. So when it comes to the US Jewrys support for the IDF, theres no doubt its one of the most impressive philanthropy enterprises the State of Israel has ever known. In the past decade alone, American organization Friends of the Israel Defense Forces (FIDF) has raised more than $400 million, which were used for students scholarships, rehabilitation and welfare for lone and underprivileged soldiers. Israelis ignorance and unfamiliarity with the US Jewry carries a serious price tag. While in the past we were able to say that the Israelis dont care about Diaspora Jews, today we experience highly alarming hostility and alienation. The alienation, hostility and ignorance can only be defeated through a deep systemic change. Now its our turn to get to know the US Jewry (Photo: AP) Learning about the Diaspora Jewry is a key part of our history, present and future, and there must be room for it in the Education Ministrys curriculum. Education Minister Naftali Bennett is also the Diaspora minister, and he has a golden opportunity to lead a systemic move and introduce Jewish people studies into the curriculum of every school in Israel. Every Israeli who enters the gates of the Hadassah Medical Center should know who Henrietta Szold was and who were the Hadassah women; every Israeli who lives in Netanya should know who Nathan Straus was; every Israeli who immigrated from Ethiopia and the Soviet Union should know that his immigration and absorption project is a joint project of Israel and the US Jewry; every Israeli who voices an opinion about the Western Wall plan should learn about the Reform Movement and the Conservative Movement and the part they play in the Zionist enterprise. Its vital for every Israeli to know about the Jewish organizations that are leading the battle against the boycott movement in the US, and for every Israeli to meet a Jew who doesnt live in Israel at least once in his life. If only we succeed in leading a systemic change in the way the Israeli public learns about and knows the Diaspora Jewry, we will be able to raise a new generation of young Israelis who wont accept the fact that their brethren dont feel at home in Israel. We must raise a generation here with a deep understanding of the implications of the rift on both sides of the ocean; a generation that will cry out against hostile comments on both sides; a generation that feels responsibility, solidarity and commitment towards the Jewish people in the deepest manner; a generation that will be able to fix things and mend the rift created by the previous generation. Source: Xinhua| 2017-12-03 01:15:21|Editor: Mu Xuequan Video Player Close WASHINGTON, Dec. 2 (Xinhua) -- A man was shot and killed inside a hotel in Detroit in U.S. state of Michigan early Saturday, local police said. Police said the victim, in his 20s, was shot at around 4:00 a.m. at the Greektown Casino Hotel. The man and the suspect were reportedly inside a room on the hotel when an argument started and led to a fight. The suspect brought out a gun and shot the victim, according to police. The victim was taken to a hospital where he died of the gunshot injury. The suspect, 28, was taken into custody and is being held at a local detention center. Lebanon has been "hijacked" by Hezbollah and the country can only flourish if the Iranian-backed group disarms, Saudi Arabia's foreign minister said on Friday. "Lebanon will only survive or prosper if you disarm Hezbollah," Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir told a conference in Italy. "As long as you have an armed militia, you will not have peace in Lebanon." Shi'ite Muslim Hezbollah has emerged as a big winner in the turmoil that has swept the Arab world since the uprisings of 2011. This growing strength has alarmed the Sunni Muslim monarchy Saudi Arabia, Shi'ite Iran's regional arch-rival. Arab media outlets reported Israel attacked an Iranian base near the town of Al-Kiswah, 15 kilometers southwest of Syrian capital Damascus. Sky News reported that jets launched surface-air missiles from Lebanese airspace at the base. BBC revealed the base's location three weeks ago. The jets launched five missiles, three of which Syrian antiaircraft systems shot down, media affiliated with President Bashar al-Assad's regime reported. Arab media outlets reported Saturday Israel attacked an Iranian base near the town of al-Kiswah, 15 kilometers southwest of Syrian capital Damascus. Arab-language Sky News reported that Israeli fighter jets launched air-to-surface missiles from Lebanese airspace at the compound. Follow Ynetnews on Facebook and Twitter Syrian state television corroborated the report, saying Israeli missiles struck a military position near Damascus overnight and Syria's air defense system thwarted them. Map showing the location of the reported attack in Syria "The Israeli enemy launched...several surface-to-surface missiles towards a military position," state television said, adding there had been "material losses" at the site. A BBC report revealed the base's existence three weeks ago, showing satellite images of the compound, located 50 kilometers from the Israeli Golan Heights. Explosions and light flashes visible over Damascus X Media outlets affiliated with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's regime and with Hezbollah reported the jets attacked a stockpile of ammunition belonging to the Syrian Army's First Division between the towns of Sahnaya and al-Kiswah. The attack was carried out using five missiles, whereas antiaircraft systems deployed in a military airport in the Mezzeh neighborhood of the Syrian capital were able to shoot down three of them. The remaining two missiles detonated near the cache. Reported expansion on the Iranian base (Photo: Digital Globe, McKenze intelligence Services, BBC) The Hezbollah-affiliated Lebanese Al Akhbar newspaper reported the Israeli jets conducted several dummy raids over Lebanese territory, with one of them used to attack the stockpiles, which were located in a vast military complex larger in size than Lebanese capital Beirut, the report said. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported loud explosions clearly audibly throughout Damascus and its outliers and light flashes seen around the capital. The Observatory further reported power outages in many areas of the Syrian capital. Opposition sources, meanwhile, posted unconfirmed reports to social media that the attack was aimed at a Hezbollah outpost near the 91st Brigade of the Syrian Army's First Division. The Iranian base as reported by BBC (Photo: Digital Globe, McKenze intelligence Services, BBC) The BBC network originally reported satellite imagery three weeks ago it said showed construction work being done on the base near al-Kiswah, between January and October of this year. The images showed more than 20 relatively short buildings the network said were most likely used as barracks for soldiers and to house vehicles. This past summer, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said intelligence reports showed Iran was ramping up its expansion in Syria. "The Mossad chief gave the government a review of the security threats Israel faces. I'll summarize in one sentence: the Islamic State moves out while Iran moves in. It's quite simple. We're mostly talking about Syria here. We are vehemently opposed to the military entrenchment of Iran and its satellitesfirst and foremost Hezbollahin Syria, and we'll do whatever it takes to preserve Israel's security," the prime minister said in August. In the past four years dozens of attacks in Syria were attributed by various media outlets to Israel, usually reporting the aim was to hinder efforts to transfer relatively advancedor "balance-breaking"weaponry to Hezbollah. ABOARD A US MILITARY AIRCRAFT US Defense Secretary Jim Mattis said on Friday that as offensive operations against Islamic State in Syria entered their final stages, he expected the focus to move towards holding territory instead of arming Syrian Kurdish fighters. Speaking with reporters on a military plane en route to Cairo, Mattis did not say if there had already been a halt to weapons transfers. President Donald Trump informed Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan in a call last week that Washington was adjusting military support to partners on the ground in Syria. Hamas's leader in Gaza Yahya Sinwar and deputy commander of the organization's Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades military wing Marwan Issa left the strip covertly for Egypt Friday. Follow Ynetnews on Facebook and Twitter The Lebanese Al Mayadeen news channel initially reported the pair headed south to discuss a possible prisoner swap deal with Israel, but an official announcement made by Hamas Friday claimed the Sinwar-led delegation's aim was to discuss intra-Palestinian reconciliation with Fatah. A delegation led by Hamas leader in Gaza Yahya Sinwar left for Egypt Friday (: AP) The pair's departure to Egypt was made possible despite the fact the Rafah Border Crossing, connecting Gaza with Egypt, is currently closed following the deadly terrorist attack in Sinai and despite early Egyptian plans to reopen in temporarily. Issa, second in command to Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades commander Mohammed Deif, serves as a link between Hamas's military and political wings. Sinwar was accompanied by Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades deputy commander Issa (circled) A similar report of a Hamas delegation arriving to Egypt to discuss a potential prisoner swap with Israel came to light this past July. Sinwar was reported to head the party then, alongside Issa and other senior military wing officials. During the previous jaunt, Hamas's stated goal was to receive hundreds of Palestinian prisoners in return for the Israelis it detained. The list of prisoners Hamas was said to demand included prominent Palestinian leaders such as Secretary-General of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine Ahmad Sa'adat and Fatah Central Committee member Marwan Barghouti, Al-Hayyat estimated then. Hamas holds the bodies of First Sergeant Oron Shaul and Lieutenant Hadar Goldin killed during Operation Protective Edge, as well as Abera Mengistu , a mentally ill young man from Ashkelon who crossed the border into Gaza three years ago, on September 7, 2014. The Intelli Times blog reported Friday that contrary to their public statements, Iranian involvement and aid given to Houthi rebels in Yemen runs far deeper than the Islamic republic admitted, with reports of an armament smuggling operation from Yemen to the Gaza terrorist organizations being underway. Follow Ynetnews on Facebook and Twitter Originally, Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Commander Maj.-Gen. Mohammad Ali Jafari said last month Iran provided Yemenite rebels with moral support and consultation, partly in response to Saudi allegations the missile launched at the kingdom from Yemen was Iranian-made. Shahlai (L) and Abu Abdullah, tasked by Quds Force to direct smuggling of weapons to Gaza Intelli Times refuted this assertion, however, unveiling the Revolutionary Guards' Maj.-Gen. Qasem Soleimani-commanded Quds Force operative responsible for the Yemen theater of operations. The blog reported that man was Abdul Reza Shahlai, said to be commander of the Quds Force's elite special-ops Unit 400. Shahlai was previously said to have planned the 2011 plot to assassinate Adel al-Jubeir, then Saudi ambassador to the United States and current Saudi foreign minister. In addition, he was linked in several media reports to be the brains behind an attack on an American military installation in Karbala, Iraq, which claimed the lives of several American soldiers. Beyond assisting Houthi rebels with munitions and training, the intelligence blog reported, Iran also attempted to conduct an armament smuggling ring to Gaza terrorist organizations, chiefly among them Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad. A rocket launched at Saudi Arabia from Yemen was said to be Iranian-made X As part of the smuggling operation, two locals named Abu Ibrahim al-Hadi and Rabi' Jarman were said to have been tasked with temporarily storing the armaments in Yemen. Two additional people named Abed al-Majid al-Harazi and Abu Abdullah were fingered by the blog as those managing the link between the Quds Force's smuggling ring and Hamas. The armaments were meant to be transferred to Gaza via the Red Sea and were said to include rockets and advanced Kornet-model antitank missiles. Hezbollah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah boasted only recently his organization had also supplied Kornet missiles to Gazan terrorist organizations. Despite the complex operation, Iran's alleged success rate in operating the smuggling ring has not been high over the past few years, with reasons cited being the involvement of Yemenite entities whose interests do not necessarily align with those of the Palestinians as well as the international campaign to foil Red Sea armaments shipments. Quds Force commander Soleimani touring Syria in October X On a related matter, a video was published recently showing the Iranian Quds Force's commander Soleimani touring the Syrian town of Mayadin, taken from the Islamic State this past October. The video ran contrary to a statement made by Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman in a Ynet studio interview this week in which the minister said there was no Iranian military presence in Syria. President Donald Trump is likely to announce Wednesday that the United States recognizes 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. Follow Ynetnews on Facebook and Twitter Secretary-General of the PLO Executive Committee and chief negotiator with Israel Saeb Erekat said, "Any American recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel will bring about the end of the Jerusalem issue. This issue is weighty and dealing with it is playing with fire." President Trump will likely officially recognize Jerusalem as Israel's capital Wednesday (Photo: AFP) 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 American embassy will likely stay put in Tel Aviv for now (Photo: Yaron Brener) 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. Israel, meanwhile, estimated the chances of Trump announcing US recognition of Jerusalem as Israel's capital in the coming days and saying he would commence preparations to move the embassy to Jerusalem were very high. Vice President Pence's comments on the embassy move X Vice President Mike Pence provided support for the above estimate, speaking at an event commemorating the 70th anniversary of the United Nations' vote calling for the establishment of a Jewish state. Pence said Trump was actively considering " when and how " to move the US embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. Israel also received information saying Trump was apprehensive about not signing the traditional six-month waiver overriding a 1995 law requiring that the US embassy be moved from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. Trump's apprehension, the information alleged, stemmed from internal American political considerations relating to pressures exerted on the president by Republican Party officials and Evangelical Christians. Official American recognition of Jerusalem as Israel's capital as a gesture for Israel's 70th anniversary may thusly ameliorate the anger Trump would face if any further delay in transferring the embassy took place. 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. Speakers of African parliaments are expected to arrive to Israel next week for a first-of-its-kind conference to take place in the Knesset. Follow Ynetnews on Facebook and Twitter The parliamentarians will be arriving from such countries as Uganda, Benin, Ghana, Cameroon, Tanzania, Seychelles and South Sudan. The Israeli parliament is also still waiting to hear back from parliament speakers of several additional countries. The Knesset will host African parliamentary speakers Tuesday (Photo: Gil Yohanan) An event of this magnitude had never taken place in Israel's parliament before, as no more than two parliament speakers visited the capital simultaneously before. The African parliaments' heads will be visiting at the behest of Israel's own speaker Yuli-Yoel Edelstein. The conference they will attend is slated to take place this Tuesday, with panels on various topics. Rwandan Parliament Speaker Donatille Mukabalisa, for instance, hails from the only country in the world where women hold a majority in parliament. Mukabalisa will moderate a public panel on empowering women and gender equality alongside Chairperson of the Knesset's Committee on the Status of Women and Gender Equality MK Aida Touma-Suleiman (Joint List). Chairman of the Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee MK Avi Dichter (Likud) will be speaking about the challenges facing both Israel and Africa when it comes to the war on terror, while MK Benny Begin (Likud) will explain Israel's Anti-Terrorism Law and what it means. Speaker Edelstein said Israel's relations with African countries are vital (Photo: Yitzhak Harari / Knesset Spokesmanship) Chairperson of the Transparency Committee MK Stav Shaffir (Zionist Union) and Chairman of the Committee for Immigration, Absorption and Diaspora Affairs MK Avraham Neguise (Likud) will share their parliamentary experience with the visiting African dignitaries. Lastly, Knesset Director General Albert Sakharovich will speak to the parliament speakers on making the Israeli parliament accessible to persons with disabilities. "I'm very excited in anticipation of one of the largest and most significant conference the Knesset has ever hosted. Cooperation with African countries has political and economic significance of the highest order," said Speaker Edelstein. If there is truth to the many reports coming from opposition sources and Syrian regime media that the Israeli Air Force attacked an Iranian base on the outskirts of Damascus early Saturday, Israel demonstrated to all players stirring the pot in Syria that its warnings are serious. Follow Ynetnews on Facebook and Twitter The attack overnight, it's safe to assume, was meant to validate the red lines Israel set to the Russians, the Americans, Bashar Assad's regime, Hezbollah and, of course, the Iranians. The main message: Israel will not allow Iranian military presence of any kind in Syria. The fact the Russians and the Iranians ignored that message in talks Russian President Vladimir Putin had with the leaders of Iran and Turkey was likely what prompted Israel to further emphasize its message. Reported expansion on the Iranian base (Photo: Digital Globe, McKenze intelligence Services, BBC) In the first stage three weeks ago, the BBC obtained aerial photos of an old Syrian military base, which is being demolished and rebuilt. The report noted the base, which is near the town of al-Kiswah, 15km southwest of Damascus, was supposed to house some 500 militia fighters operating in Syria on Iranian orders. The base is some 50km from the Golan Heights, and while it's not close enough to pose a direct threat to Israel, it certainly constitutes an important and clear component in Iran's military entrenchment in Syria. The Iranian base as reported by BBC The excuse the Iranians gave the Russians was that the Shiite militia fighters are supposed to protect the Assad regime in the Damascus area from rebel attempts to overthrow him. But there's no real doubt that this was supposed to be an Iranian base for all intents and purposes on Syrian soil. The report about the base, it's possible to assume, was supposed to deter the Iranians and the Syrian regime from continuing the construction work there. But Iran and the Syrian army apparently continued the construction, and while the al-Kiswah base has yet to be populated, it is safe to assume there was already Iranian "representation" there at the time of the strikea few Iranian military and Revolutionary Guards personnel, no more. It was apparently enough for Israel. Map showing the location of the reported attack in Syria Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov recently said that Iranian (and Russian) military presence in Syria was "legitimate," because the Assad regime, which is the legal government, invited them. But Jerusalem is not bound by Moscow's declarations. For Israel, as recent events and declarations make clear, permanent Iranian military presence in Syria is a red line that will not be accepted, even in its initial stages. The obvious conclusion is that it's better to handle a problem when it is still small than to bomb this facility when it is fully manned and causing many casualties. The publication of the aerial photos constituted a yellow penalty card, while the reported overnight attack was the red one. Explosions and light flashes visible over Damascus X More to the point, it appears the strike on the Iranian facility near al-Kiswah, as well as the reported attack on a weapons cache meant for Hezbollahalso near Damascuswas not done from inside Syrian airspace, but from outside of it, using air-to-surface missiles. This makes the reports of Syrian aerial defense attempts to intercept using anti-aircraft munitions appear credible, with these reports also supported by documentation. But contrary to the Syrian regime's claims, it does not appear the Israeli air-to-surface missiles were hit by the interception fire. The fighter jets were likely already on their way back to base when the Syrian anti-aircraft missiles were fired. It is safe to assume the Syrians would try to improve their capabilities to thwart and respond to such situations, and that they will file a complaint with the UN Security Council. Regardless, it appears this attack is not going to lead to escalation in the near future. The Iranian army chief visited Syria recently, and he apparently plans to provide the Syrians with better aerial defense systems, but at present the Assad regime has no significant measures to respond with. The Iranian commander warned at the time that "It is not acceptable for the Zionist regime to violate Syria anytime it wants." But it still remains to be seen whether the Iranians suffered any losses as a result of the attack, which could lead to possible retaliation. And the Russians? They're staying out of it, in accordance with Kremlin policy that what happens between Israel and the Iranians and Syrians is none of their concern, unless it poses a direct threat to Russia's men, its presence and interest in Syria. Source: Xinhua| 2017-12-03 03:30:44|Editor: Mu Xuequan Video Player Close TIRANA, Dec. 2 (Xinhua) -- The Albanian government Saturday said that it had started work to carry a transparent assessment of the flood damages that hit Albania recently. Speaking at the meeting of the civil emergencies committee, Albania's Prime Minister Edi Rama assured all flood-hit farmers, businesses and households that they would be compensated. Rama said that the investments made so far in the irrigation and drainage systems mitigated the flood effects. "Fortunately, the consequences of the floods were less devastating than the floods in 2015 and this happened thanks to the investments made," Rama said. The torrential rains that swept Albania in the last three days caused massive floods across the country. Farmers were the most affected ones as huge crop losses and damages to the agricultural land have been reported and thousands of hectares of land are still under water. Considerable greenhouse areas have been totally damaged by flooding, while losses in livestock continue to grow. Head of civil emergencies Shemsi Prenci said the situation is now under control while no victims were reported as a result of floods. He said that there is no room for panic and the emergencies groups and the Armed Forces would continue to stay alert in case of worsening of weather conditions. But as the rain continues in several parts of the country, citizens' fears grow for another wave of rain that might be devastating for them. Many roads in the region have been blocked by mudslides. Ports and airport were temporarily paralyzed while several bridges were destroyed. According to officials on Saturday, more than 3,000 households were underwater, around 45,000 residents were without power while 3,016 hectares were flooded. The Gaza terror organization Hamas called on Saturday to "renew the Jerusalem intifada" to prevent the United States from recognizing Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. Follow Ynetnews on Facebook and Twitter "This decision would represent a US assault on the city and give legitimacy to (Israel) over the city," a Hamas statement said Saturday. It would also violate international law, which views Jerusalem as occupied territory, and "give a cover to Israel to pursue the judaization of Jerusalem and expulsion of the Palestinians from the city," Hamas said. Hamas fighters in Gaza (Photo: AFP) "We call on the Palestinian people to stand as an impenetrable floodgate and a tall wall against this decision and renew the Jerusalem intifada," the statement added. Recent reports on both Reuters and the Associated Press quoted US administration officials who said President Donald Trump is likely to make the announcement this coming Wednesday. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas's adviser Mahmoud Habash said Saturday if President Trump were to do so it would amount to a "complete destruction of the peace process." Speaking in Abbas' presence, Habash said "the world will pay the price" for any change in Jerusalem's status. Palestinian President Abbas (Photo: Reuters) Earlier, secretary-general of the PLO Executive Committee and chief negotiator with Israel Saeb Erekat warned that "Any American recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel will bring about the end of the Jerusalem issue. This issue is weighty and dealing with it is playing with fire." 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." The Arab League also condemned the move, warning it would fuel extremism and violence. "Today we say very clearly that taking such action is not justified ... It will not serve peace or stability, but will fuel extremism and resort to violence," Arab League Secretary-General Ahmed Aboul Gheit said in a statement published on the Arab League's website on Saturday. "It only benefits one side; the Israeli government that is hostile to peace," he added. Trump angry at 'overly cautious bureaucratic hand-wringing' 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. A senior official and two other government sources quoted by Reuters said final decisions had not yet been made. Meanwhile, a report on the Washington Post on Friday revealed details behind the scenes of the decision. The US president is due to sign the traditional six-month waiver overriding a 1995 law requiring that the US embassy be moved from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. Trump was said to be apprehensive about not signing the waiver amid pressures exerted on the president by Republican Party officials and Evangelical Christians. US President Donald Trump (Photo: AP) According to the Post, several of Trump's top national security advisors met at the White House on Monday to discuss the issue. Most of the officials present, according to the Post, expected the White House to once again postpone the embassy's move, but to say Trump remains committed to his campaign promise, stressing it was a question of when, not whether, the embassy is moved. When Trump joined the meeting, however, he "became agitated and exasperated at what he saw as overly cautious bureaucratic hand-wringing," the Post quoted two officials who were present as saying. Eventually, the decision was made to postpone the embassy's move, but at the same time make a formal declaration that the United States recognizes Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. While such a declaration would not have any immediate practical consequences, it would still be a departure from decades-long American policy about Jerusalem, according to which the city's status can only be determined in negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians. WASHINGTON - Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reiterated Israel's policy that it would not allow Iranian military entrenchment in Syria in a speech the Saban Forum in Washington taped on Thursday, a day before Israel allegedly attacked an Iranian base in Syria Follow Ynetnews on Facebook and Twitter "We will not allow a regime hell-bent on the annihilation of the Jewish state to acquire nuclear weapons. We will not allow that regime to entrench itself militarily in Syria as it seeks to do for the expressed purpose of eradicating our state," Netanyahu said in English in the pre-taped speech, which will be screened on Sunday. Arab media outlets reported Saturday Israel attacked an Iranian base near the town of al-Kiswah, 15 kilometers southwest of Syrian capital Damascus. Arab-language Sky News reported that Israeli fighter jets launched air-to-surface missiles from Lebanese airspace at the compound. Excerpt from Netanyahu's speech to Saban Forum (: ") X A BBC report revealed the base's existence three weeks ago, showing satellite images of the compound, located 50 kilometers from the Israeli Golan Heights. Media outlets affiliated with Syrian President Bashar Assad's regime and with Hezbollah reported the jets attacked a stockpile of ammunition belonging to the Syrian Army's First Division between the towns of Sahnaya and al-Kiswah. The attack was carried out using five missiles, whereas antiaircraft systems deployed in a military airport in the Mezzeh neighborhood of the Syrian capital were able to shoot down three of them. The remaining two missiles detonated near the cache. "The Israeli enemy launched...several surface-to-surface missiles towards a military position," state television said, adding there had been "material losses" at the site. The Hezbollah-affiliated Lebanese Al Akhbar newspaper reported the Israeli jets conducted several dummy raids over Lebanese territory, with one of them used to attack the stockpiles, which were located in a vast military complex larger in size than Lebanese capital Beirut, the report said. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported loud explosions clearly audibly throughout Damascus and its outliers and light flashes seen around the capital. The Observatory further reported power outages in many areas of the Syrian capital. Tens of thousands of people participated in the "March of Shame" Saturday night in Tel Aviv in protest of government corruption and what demonstrators said was foot-dragging in the investigations against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Follow Ynetnews on Facebook and Twitter The march, which made its way from Independence Hall on Rothschild Boulevard to Habima Square, was organized by the same people who hold the weekly protest outside the Petah Tikva home of Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit. Uzi Arad, the former national security advisor and once Netanyahu's advisor, was the key speaker at the protest. "One of the things the Prophets of Israel knew how to admonish the people as well, and beyond that they knew how to courageously rebuke their kings when they were led astray," Arad said. Protesters in Tel Aviv; top sign: 'There will be nothing, because we'll make sure the public knows nothing!!!'; right sign: 'INS Corrupted' (Photos: Motti Kimchi) "In a civilized country," Arad asserted, "the government would have established a body to fight corruption... because otherwise corruption cannot be eradicated. Instead, the authorities are doing the complete opposite, which is very suspicious." "We're here to demand what we deserve as citizens," said Maj. Gen. (ret.) Amiram Levin. "We're strong because we're all proud to be Israeli. For 70 years, we built a magnificent society with achievements in almost every field. But in politics... we're responsible because we didn't realize we deserved more, and we're worthy of a good leadership that represents the public, rather than shames it." "Corrupt governments don't win, and it doesn't matter how many tanks, planes and submarines they buy," Levin continued. "Bibi, I tell you... history will not forgive you for what you're doing today." Protesters against corruption in Tel Aviv (: ) X Even before the protesters started marching, calls of "Money, government, underworld" were heard, alongside "Cowardly Bibi, you're out of time." Protesters also carried signs saying "We're tired of the corrupted," "The people demand legal justice," "I'm a sourpuss, Bibi is rotten," and "Mandelblit, you're the problem, not the solution." According to march organizers, Eldad Yaniv and former PMO chief caretaker Meni Naftali, they had to escalate the protest in light of "the attempts to pass laws that enable corruption," including the so-called recommendation billwhich bars police from releasing their recommendations on indictmentand the so-called French billwhich shields a sitting prime minister from police investigation. Protesters in Tel Aviv (Photo: Barel Efraim) "If we bring thousands of people out to the streets, some of (Finance Minister) Kahlon's Knesset members will flee the plenum during the second and third readings out of shame," Yaniv said in the invitation to the march. "And not just them, because there are normal people at the Knesset. The sane ones won't vote for the mob laws borne out of the need to silence the police and save Bibi, and this is why these laws will collapse. If we go out to the streets in droves, they'll listen to us. Come to protest and please bring everyone you know. Bring flags. Bring family and kids." During the protest, Yaniv, who claimed 50,000 people showed up to demonstrate, said: "Together we brought hope back to the State of Israel. We're fighting for our country. Together we will send a corrupt prime minister hope." Alternative money with photos of Netanyahu loyalists, including (top to bottom): Miri Regev, Tzipi Hotovely, David Bitan and David Amsalem (Photo: Motti Kimchi) Opposition leader MK Isaac Herzog (Zionist Union), while not present at the rally, said that "The public has made its voice heard tonight in its masses near the place our independence was announced. The protest and the frustration came from the bottom, from all walks of life. This frustration is not because of the professional politicians, but because of the feeling the lack of fairness, the revulsion at the corruption, and the serious moral objection to a law tailor-made for one person." Herzog went on to say that "these thousands, and many thousands more like them, have come to thwart the recommendations bill (set to pass) this coming Monday." He called on the masses to "come and back us when we fight at the Knesset committees and at the plenum against it. Come and lay siege to the Knesset in a mass protest to save Israeli democracy." Some protesters started the demonstration at Goren Square in Petah Tivkah, where they've been protesting every Saturday night for over a year. "We're not leaving Petah Tikvah," Meni Naftali said on his way to the protest. "We're holding a large demonstration in Tel Aviv to explain to Netanyahu that this country is not his... in his eyes, he doesn't serve the peopleneither him nor his Knesset members. The government is not functioning, which is why we're changing the government." Israel may have to make adjustments to its corporate tax rate, Finance Minister Moshe Kahlon said on Saturday in response to a tax slash approved by the US Senate. US President Donald Trump said the US tax overhaul could cut the corporate tax rate from 35 to 20 percent once the Senate and House of Representatives reconcile their respective versions of the legislation. The corporate tax rate in Israel is to be reduced this month from 24 to 23 percent. But a lower, more attractive, rate in the United States could lead Israeli companies to consider moving there. "We will receive all the details from our companies abroad about the tax reform and we must address it," Kahlon told Channel 10's weekly politics show Hamateh. "What the danger is of companies here packing up and moving there? There are many implications. We will have to make adjustments." Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has been working over the weekend to prevent the US from recognizing Jerusalem as Israel's capital. Follow Ynetnews on Facebook and Twitter Abbas launched a diplomatic campaign, meeting and speaking with leaders from all over the world in an effort to convince them to pressure Washington to drop the move, which US officials said is expected to be announced on Wednesday. The Palestinian president spoke on the phone to Jordan's King Abdullah II, Egyptian President Abdel Fatah al-Sisi, French President Emmanuel Macron, and Qatar's Emir Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani. Palestinian President Abbas (Photo: Reuters) Mahmoud Habash, one of Abbas's top advisers, said Saturday if President Trump were to go ahead with the move, it would amount to a "complete destruction of the peace process." Speaking in Abbas's presence, Habash said "the world will pay the price" for any change in Jerusalem's status. The Arab League also condemned the move, warning it would fuel extremism and violence. "Today we say very clearly that taking such action is not justified ... It will not serve peace or stability, but will fuel extremism and resort to violence," Arab League Secretary-General Ahmed Aboul Gheit said in a statement published on the Arab League's website on Saturday. "It only benefits one side; the Israeli government that is hostile to peace," he added. An earlier warning came from secretary-general of the PLO Executive Committee and chief negotiator with Israel Saeb Erekat, who said that "Any American recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel will bring about the end of the Jerusalem issue. This issue is weighty and dealing with it is playing with fire." Hamas, meanwhile, threatened to "restart the Jerusalem intifada," saying "This decision would represent a US assault on the city and give legitimacy to (Israel) over the city." In addition to the large protest in Tel Aviv Saturday night, some 200 protesters demonstrated outside of the Prime Minister's Residence in Jerusalem against "government corruption and foot-dragging in the investigation of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu." About 400 people attended a similar protest in the Carmel center area of Haifa. Rosh Pina too was witness to dozens of protesters. The first female Commissioner of Police (COP) in Ghana, Rose Bio Atinga has retired after 29 years of service to the police. She started her her retirement on Thursday, November 30, 2017. Click here for all the latest news in Ghana Madam Bio Atinga at the time of her retirement was the Director General in charge of Technical at the Police Headquarters. COP Rose Atinga Bio addressing the police officers READ ALSO: LPG, diesel prices go down; as petrol remain unchanged She joined the Ghana Police in 1988 as an officer and rose through the ranks to become the first female Commissioner of Police in Ghana having served in various capacities within the service across the country. She had her GCE O-Level Certificate (196974) at St Francis Secondary School and A-Level (197476) at St. Monicas Secondary School. COP Bio Atinga also earned a degree in Political Science and a masters degree in Public Administration from the School of Administration, University of Ghana. Get more YEN news here. In 1985, Ms Bio-Atinga obtained a Post-graduate Certificate in Public Administration from the Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administration. She is a Frafra from the Upper East Region of Ghana. READ ALSO: I never had to sleep with movie producers for a role - Nana Ama McBrown brags Send us a message on our official YEN Facebook group or at info@yen.com.gh. YEN is building a platform where Ghanaians can share local news and own experiences with each other. Witnessing an incident? Want to tell about a local problem? Know someone who is extremely talented and needs recognition? Your stories and photos are always welcome. Source: YEN.com.gh Source: Xinhua| 2017-12-03 03:35:45|Editor: Mu Xuequan Video Player Close TRIPOLI, Dec. 2 (Xinhua) -- Conflicts between the Libyan eastern-based army and militants in the eastern city of Benghazi killed 17 people in November, a military source told Xinhua on Saturday. "The military operations in November in the city of Benghazi, mainly in Ekhrebish area where the last terrorists are stationed, killed seven of our troops and injured 20 others, while 10 terrorists were killed by the army," Miloud al-Zwai, spokesman for the army's special forces, told Xinhua. Benghazi, Libya's second largest city and the birthplace of the 2011 uprising that toppled former leader Muammar Gaddafi, has witnessed a three-year war between the army led by General Khalifa Haftar and extremist groups. Haftar announced earlier in June to take over the entire city of Benghazi and to defeat the rival armed groups, however, some militants still remain in the city and mainly use landmines. Source: Xinhua| 2017-12-03 04:15:51|Editor: Mu Xuequan Video Player Close GABORONE, Dec. 2 (Xinhua) -- Botswana has dismissed reports that Zimbabwe's former vice President Phelekezela Mphoko was deported from the country. Mphoko has sort sanctuary in Botswana after Zimbabwe's military took over power from former president Mugabe. "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," said a statement issued by Botswana's government spokesperson Jeff Ramsay on Saturday. Ramasay said Mphoko entered Botswana on November 22 from a third country. "He departed for Zimbabwe yesterday (Friday) of his own free will," Ramsay added. Media reports also indicated that Mphoko has appealed for safe return to Zimbabwe from the country's current President Emmerson Mnangagwa. by Tian Ying BERLIN, Dec. 2 (Xinhua) -- The two giant pandas sent by China in June, Jiao Qing and Meng Meng, are well-adjusted to their new lives here, according to director of the Zoo Berlin Andreas Knieriem, who said they "eat well and sleep well." The male panda Jiao Qing, born in 2010, and the female one Meng Meng, born in 2013, arrived in Berlin in June this year from the panda breeding and research base in Chengdu, southwest China. The panda pair will stay in Berlin Zoo, the oldest in Germany, for 15 years. Their Chinese keepers stayed in Berlin for just two months -- another sign of the two getting accustomed to the new environment well, Knieriem said. In Berlin, the pandas are expected to see their first ever snow: "Let's see whether they like it," said the director. However, growth always comes with pains. While Jiao Qiao has grown into a calm adult male panda, Meng Meng is still in the middle of puberty and shows behavior similar to human teens in a rebellious phase. According to Knieriem, Meng Meng is a sensitive panda who has developed a habit of walking backward. She is picky about keepers and bamboos. "Meng Meng may protest when things do not go her way, for example, through, walking backwards. She has learnt that if she is moving backward, someone will immediately come to her," Knieriem said. The director said it would be bad parenting "if your child smashes her food on the plate and you change the food immediately". Rather the director hopes Meng Meng could realize that walking backwards wouldn't make any difference. In the past few weeks, Meng Meng has shown greater acceptance for other keepers. And bamboo she refused to eat in the morning was eventually accepted by her in the afternoon, according to the Zoo. During a visit by Xinhua, Jiao Qing was sitting next to a wall, chewing bamboos, half facing the audience but clearly not minding the attention at all. Meng Meng, in another enclosure, bottom to the audience, walked backward to the glass wall and then forward to another direction. Even in this demonstration of, perhaps, mischief, Meng Meng did not fail to provoke adoration from the audience. A teenage girl said: "This is the cutest thing I've ever seen." Knieriem said with the advent of the panda pair, the zoo registers a daily average of more than 10,000 visits, despite a rainier-than-usual summer this year. "Every day is like Sunday now, because there are many panda friends who come," the director said. "The pandas are the pride of this zoo, and they make the zoo complete again," Knieriem said. The last panda in Berlin Zoo died five years ago. As Meng Meng is approaching sexual maturity, she will be introduced to Jiao Qing next year. If they like each other, they are expected to mate in July or August next year. "There is no must, but we'll make sure everything is prepared," said Knieriem, adding their friends in Chengdu will help them in preparation. Meng Meng is now also getting prepared for this next big thing as she undertakes medical training everyday so that she can show her tummy to trainers without having to be sedated, a preparation for her ultrasound pregnancy check-ups. Credit: Architect of the Capitol(WASHINGTON) -- Two democrats on the Senate Agriculture committee have asked President Donald Trump to provide specific details about his decision to shrink the boundaries of Bears Ears National Monument, which is expected to be announced Monday. Sens. Debbie Stabenow and Michael Bennett say that Stephen Vaden, who is under consideration as nominee for USDA general counsel, told them the Forest Service did not recommend removing any land from the monuments and that the USDA's recommendations were sent to the Department of the Interior without Forest Service input. "Mr. Vaden indicated that USDAs submissions to DOI were sent without a recommendation for removing Forest Service acreage from the monuments under review. In response to questioning about what specific Forest Service acres USDA recommended removing from national monuments, Mr. Vaden reiterated that, 'No specific acres were recommended for removal,'" the senators wrote in their letter to the president. The Forest Service manages 289,000 acres of the Bears Ears National Monument, according to its website, and the Bureau of Land Management manages the remaining 1.06 million acres. Trump is expected to announce that Bears Ears will be reduced to around 180,000 acres, according to the Salt Lake Tribune. The review of national monuments designated under the Antiquities Act was initiated by an executive order Trump signed in April that called for the Secretary of Interior to look into whether monuments were created without proper consideration of input from the public and state, tribal, and local governments. The senators are asking the president to clarify whether any land being managed by the Forest Service will be removed from Bears Ears National Monument or any other monuments under review and to identify specifically which areas will be removed and what legal authority he has to do so. Monday's announcement is expected to face almost immediate legal challenges from environmental groups and groups that advocate for protecting public lands who say that the Antiquities Act does not give the president the authority to eliminate national monuments once they've been created. Separately the Bureau of Land Management announced today that 29 parcels of land in southeastern Utah, many of which are close to the national monument or other protected areas, will in March be made available for sale for oil and gas activity. Copyright 2017, ABC Radio. All rights reserved. Twenty years ago, LaJean Kurtz was a passenger in a car that hit a dairy cow. During the next nine months she underwent three back surgeries, and after that never fully recovered her health. These days, Kurtz, 57, of Billings deals with kidney failure, diabetes and heart problems. That means she travels to Billings Clinic for physician appointments two to three times a week from her South Side apartment, and sometimes more often. For the past 18 months, since she hasnt had a car, she has relied on the clinics free ride program to get her to and from those appointments, whether downtown, in the Heights or the West End. Theyre really great, she said. I use it so much, and Im going to miss it. As of Jan. 1, Kurtz, like other patients who have gotten rides through Billings Clinic Patient Assistance Liaisons (PALs), will have to find another mode of transportation. Kurtz got a letter dated Nov. 21 from Chad Miller, vice president of clinic operations, telling her the program would end. We understand that this will be an adjustment for you, and we apologize for any inconvenience this may cause, Miller wrote. The decision was difficult, he said. It was made to focus resources on other important and pressing needs to deliver health care services for you, Miller wrote, though he didnt identify what those services would be. Arianne Snyder, public relations liaison for Billings Clinic, said about 25 people use the service each month. There is no vetting process and the rides are open to everyone. Previously, Billings Clinic had a volunteer ride program for many years. Ten years ago, liability insurance changes required that paid staff drive the vans and transport patients, so Billings Clinic has used paid staff for this service since then, Snyder said. The cost of the program includes two full-time employees, a part-time staff member to schedule rides and the expense of operating two vans. The van drivers will be re-deployed to help patients as they arrive at clinic entrances, Snyder said. A spokeswoman for St. Vincent Healthcare said it does not offer any kind of free ride program for patients. Millers letter included other resources available in the community to provide alternate transportation. They include ride-share programs Uber and Lyft, local cab companies, MET Special Transit, the Medicaid Hotline for individuals who qualify for Medicaid and the Adult Resource Alliance Medical Cab Ride Program. The Yellowstone County Adult Resource Alliance recently passed a mill levy that has increased taxpayer dollars to provide rides through their Medical Cab Ride Program, the letter said. On Friday, Bea Ann Melichar, executive director of the Yellowstone County Adult Resource Alliance, said the mill levy actually was put on the ballot by the Yellowstone County commissioners. The mill levy dollars are divided among a number of different senior programs, with the Medical Cab Ride Program one of those. The levy boosted the ride program by $10,000, from $22,600 to $32,600, Melichar said. It is open to seniors 60 and older who are unable to drive themselves, can get in and out of a cab without assistance and have no alternative sources of transportation. Applicants are pre-screened and then must answer additional in-depth questions. Once theyre approved, their names are given to the cab companies and they can call for a cab directly. Donations are suggested, she said, but not required. The money that comes in to the Medical Cab Ride Program help keeps it going. But Melichar said funding for the program isnt unlimited. Were going to have to be watching the bills closely, she said. If the funds are used up quickly, there wont be rides. Kathy Barr, para-transit coordinator for MET Transit in Billings, said MET Special Transit is available to people unable to use regular fixed bus routes. We provide door-to-door service to most locations in the city, she said, and the rides dont have to be for medical reasons. The cost each way is $3.50. People must schedule their rides 24 hours in advance. Potential users must complete an application, Barr said, which includes an assessment from their physician. Some qualify for full certification. Some people receive conditional certification, which grants them rides only in inclement weather. And others can access the special transit temporarily for a verified medical reason, such as knee surgery. We do look at every situation and need, Barr said. Regarding Medicaid transportation services, people who qualify for standard Medicaid coverage must seek prior approval before they travel. The funds help patients get to and from medical appointments, and in certain cases cover lodging and meals. Approval is based on travel to the closest provider. And the mode used must be the least-expensive available and suitable to the individuals medical needs. The PALs program runs from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., Kurtz said. On Wednesday, her appointment went past 4 p.m., and PALs arranged for a cab to pick her up. She waited 90 minutes for the ride. The batteries on her oxygen pack last only two hours, and they ran out before the cab arrived. Despite that, Kurtz feels fortunate that she qualifies for the Medicaid service, and so will have an alternative come January. Source: Xinhua| 2017-12-03 05:10:59|Editor: Mu Xuequan Video Player Close LOS ANGELES, Dec. 2 (Xinhua) -- A new report conducted by Los Angeles County shows that the gap of residents' well-being and equity to use development resource is striking with some boasting the highest levels in the United States while others having some of the lowest. The country's Supervisor Sheila Kuehl was quoted by the NBC 4 news channel Saturday as saying that the report, entitled "A Portrait of Los Angeles County," offered an understanding that there were grave disparities across the county in term of income, health and education, and some communities "experienced well-being or live at a great disadvantage." The report presented American Human Development (HD) Index scores for LA County places and demographic groups and explored a range of critical issues, including health, education, living standards, environmental justice, housing, homelessness, violence, and inequality. A total of 106 cities and unincorporated areas in Los Angeles County as well as the thirty-five community plan areas within the City of Los Angeles were calculated in the report. The HD Index was based on the Human Development Index developed by the United Nations, the gold standard for measuring the well-being of people in every nation. Los Angeles County's overall HD Index score is 5.43 out of 10, which is higher than the U.S. average value of 5.17, but some community face challenges akin to those found in impoverished areas of Appalachia and the Mississippi Delta. Moreover, On the 10-point HD Index scale, the highest- and lowest- scoring communities are separated by seven points in the county, with three communities which top the list scoring over 9.3 and three poorest each scoring lower than 2.7. Within the city of Los Angeles, the gap is even larger. Bel Air-Beverly Crest and Brentwood-Pacific Palisades are on top with scores of 9.51 and 9.24, respectively while southeast L.A., gathering communities for Black Angelenos, is at the bottom with 2.26. Median personal annual earnings in Los Angeles County are 30,700 U.S. dollars, slightly less than the U.S. median of 31,416 U.S. dollars. However, the range within the county is from a peak of 82,813 U.S. dollars to a mere 16,044 U.S. dollars. Whites earn the most in the county among the major racial and ethnic groups with 47,600 U.S. dollars on average, Asians followed by 38,000 U.S. dollars, while Latinos earn the least, with median personal earnings of 22,600 U.S. dollars. Los Angeles County's report, released last Wednesday, is the fifth that Measure of America has produced on the state of California. Source: Xinhua| 2017-12-03 05:26:03|Editor: Mu Xuequan Video Player Close ADEN, Yemen, Dec. 2 (Xinhua) -- Yemen's internationally-backed government declared on Saturday its full support for the ongoing military activities against the Shiite Houthi group in the country's capital Sanaa that killed 80 people and injured more than 120 others. The government voiced support for the anti-Houthi campaign in a statement, following a closed meeting chaired by President Abdu-Rabbu Mansour Hadi and attended by senior officials in Saudi Arabia's capital Riyadh. Hadi hailed what he described as the "popular uprising" against the Houthi rebels in Sanaa as a "historic moment" to bring back legitimacy to Yemen. The Yemeni president also extended his hand to the forces loyal to former President Ali Abdullah Saleh and called for "opening a new page with all the political parties in the country and forgetting what happened in the past." Hadi's Aden-based government also called for "unity and demanded the political parties in Yemen to form a national alliance that overcomes the differences of the past and move on to confront the Iranian-backed Houthi militias." Earlier in the day, more than 80 people were killed and 120 others injured during fierce armed confrontations between the elite Republican Guard Forces loyal to Saleh and the Houthis in different areas of Sanaa. The Houthis and Saleh used to be allies during the three-year military conflict with the Saudi-backed government and the newly-recruited forces of Hadi across Yemen. On Saturday, Saleh delivered a televised speech calling upon Yemenis to rise up and fight against the Houthis. "I call upon all Yemenis to come together and do their national duty by defending our republic, institutions and freedom against the aggression of the Houthi militias which lasted for three years now," Saleh said. Saleh also announced his willingness to conduct negotiations with the Saudi-led coalition via the Parliament. "I also urge the coalition to conduct a ceasefire in Yemen, open airports, allow humanitarian aid into the devastated country. Our hand is extended to them to start a new chapter of relations," he added. Security sources in Sanaa told Xinhua that intense street gun fights took place between pro-Saleh forces and the Houthi militants using different types of heavy and medium weapons. Saleh's forces managed to retake the Sanaa International Airport, the 48th military camp, the Presidential Compound, key government institutions and ministries after fierce clashes with Houthi militias. Sources close to Saleh said that "the popular uprising and the military campaign against Houthis will continue in Sanaa and some neighboring provinces on all different levels." The sources also said that "Qatar tried to organize desperate mediation to end the clashes in Sanaa. The Qataris attempted to convince Saleh to withdraw his forces from areas under control in Sanaa and negotiate with Houthis to reach a settlement, but he strongly refused and the mediation failed." On the other hand, the Saudi state media reported that Saleh loyalists freed his rival Hadi's Defense Minister Major General Mahmoud al-Subaihi from a Houthi prison in Sanaa. He was captured by Houthi forces in southern Yemen in mid 2015. Chief of Houthi Abdul-Malik Al-Houthi gave a speech on Saturday evening saying that "all residents of Sanaa enjoyed peace. But unfortunately, those militants supported by Saleh are seeking to undermine it and spread chaos." The Houthi leader called for peace and stability and demanded the tribal leaders and others to intervene to stop this sedition and end the escalation of situation in Sanaa as soon as possible. Military commander loyal to the Houthi group said that the fight for taking full control over Sanaa will continue overnight and claimed they will take back all the neighborhoods in Sanaa within 24 hours. After the fiery speeches of the two warring rival leaders, Sanaa witnessed a cautious calm that prevailed in the city's neighborhoods despite the sporadic gunfire and explosions that rocked the city in the past hours. Thousands of terrified citizens and children are trapped in the middle of Sanaa, and each side mobilizes fighters and arms into the diplomatic district in preparation for possible violent confrontations tonight, according to local residents. The Republican Guard Forces loyal to Saleh announced a curfew, asking people to remain indoor starting from 10:00 p.m. Sanaa time. In September 2014, the two factions unified and toppled the legitimate government of Hadi and forced him along with his cabinet members into exile in neighboring Saudi Arabia. The fragile alliance between the two parties has faced much trouble over the vying of power. On Aug. 26, a deadly fighting erupted near the residential house of Saleh's son in the southern part of Sanaa, during which the Houthis killed a senior security official close to Saleh. Houthis and Saleh's party have since been trading accusations of secret links with the U.S.-backed Saudi-led military coalition. The coalition intervened in the Yemeni conflict in March 2015 to roll back the Iranian-allied Houthi group and reinstate Hadi into power. The nearly three years of war has killed over 10,000 Yemeni people, mostly civilians, and pushed the poor Arab country into the most humanitarian catastrophe and near mass famine. Source: Xinhua| 2017-12-03 05:26:03|Editor: Mu Xuequan Video Player Close RAMALLAH/GAZA, Dec. 2 (Xinhua) -- Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on Saturday conducted a series of Arab and international contacts to warn of the danger from any U.S. administration's decision on Jerusalem, the Palestinian state-run News Agency (WAFA) reported. The report said that Abbas contacted Arab leaders of Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Egypt, Tunisia, Kuwait and Qatar, and explained to them that any U.S. decision on recognizing the city as the capital of Israel or moving its embassy to the city "is very dangerous to peace stability in the region." Abbas has also contacted leaders of France, the European Union, the Islamic Conference and the Arab League, and explained to them that such a move "would get the region into unexpected consequences." Islamic Hamas movement on Saturday called for a new Palestinian uprising in case the United States recognizes Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, according to an official Hamas statement. "In light of what is being circulated in the media on President Trump's intentions to declare Jerusalem as the capital of the occupying state, Hamas warns of the consequences of such a decision," said the movement in an emailed statement. Media reports in the U.S. said Friday that President Trump was considering to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and might announce it on next Wednesday. However, it is expected that he may postpone the implementation of his promise to move the U.S. embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. "We call upon the Palestinian people to stand up and block the wall in the face of this unjust decision and to incite an uprising in Jerusalem so that this conspiracy does not pass," said Hamas statement. It added that the move "is a blatant attack by the United States on the city, and gives the entity (Israel) a legitimate control on the city of Jerusalem, and a cover to continue the crimes of Judaization of the city." Hamas said that any decision whatsoever will not change the fact that Jerusalem is a Palestinian Arab and Islamic land. The movement called on Arab and Islamic states at the official and public levels "to stand by their responsibilities and to work to stop this resolution and to criminalize it." Member of Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) Executive Committee and Head of Information and Culture Department Hanan Ashrawi said Saturday that "such a step would destabilize the whole region, destroy the peace process, disqualify the U.S. 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 extremely irresponsible and dangerous," she told Xinhua in a telephone interview, warning that it is "very dangerous and would transform into a religious issue" and that any "attempt at annexation or imposing an illegal position on Jerusalem would generate desirability in the entire region." On Friday, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas's spokesperson Nabil Abu Rudeinah said that the U.S. recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, or moving its embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem is "equally dangerous to the future of the peace process and would take the region into the square of instability." Abu Rudeinah 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." Trump issued an exceptional decision to keep the U.S. embassy in Tel Aviv last June, which is expected to expire this month, but it is not clear yet if Trump will renew his decision or not. The issue of moving the U.S. 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 U.S.-sponsored talks that lasted for nine months achieved no tangible results. Source: Xinhua| 2017-12-03 06:01:08|Editor: Mu Xuequan Video Player Close BETHLEHEM, West Bank, Dec. 2 (Xinhua) -- The two-state solution is in real danger due to Israel's "persistent violations and disregard for international law," said Palestinian Prime Minister Rami al-Hamdallah on Saturday evening. The prime minister made the remarks on a Christmas ceremony in Bethlehem, during which he lit the Christmas tree at the Church of Nativity Square, marking the start of the Christmas celebrations. "The Palestinian people still believe in the culture of coexistence, brotherhood and peace that Jesus carried out despite the settlement activities practiced by Israel," Hamdallah said. He called on the whole world to take a united stance to end the longest occupation and injustice known to modern history "and to recognize the rights of our people and to recognize its state in particular." "Israel is continuing to undermine any efforts to revive the peace process and to initiate laws that violate international law and unleash its army and settlers to seize our land and continue its violations," he added. Mayor of Bethlehem Anton Salman said that Christmas in the city was "surrounded by the wall and besieged by the settlements on every side." "As long as Bethlehem remains under Israeli occupation and is besieged by walls, settlements and barriers, peace will remain absent from the holy land," he said. The city of Bethlehem is a destination for Christians around the world because here situated the Church of Nativity, which was built by Constantine the Great in 330 A.D. above a cave where Jesus was born. It is believed that the Church of Nativity is the oldest church in the world. Source: Xinhua| 2017-12-03 06:06:09|Editor: Mu Xuequan Video Player Close SANAA, Dec. 2 (Xinhua) -- Houthi fighters stormed Saleh-owned Al-Yemen Alyoum satellite TV station in southern Sanaa and took it over following deadly clashes late on Saturday, according to spokesmen from both sides. Houthi spokesman Mohammed Abdulsalam said on Twitter that all the guards and crew members of the channel were now under arrest. Spokesman of Saleh's Media Office Nabil al-Soufi confirmed that all crew members of the station were arrested by Houthis and the station is under the control of the Houthis. A resident in Bait Baous district, where the station is located, said in a phone call with Xinhua that the clashes were eased in the area. There was no report of casualties from either sides. Houthis' move came few hours after Saleh delivered a speech televised by Al-Yemen Alyoum, during which he called on the army, security forces and tribes to join his party's "armed revolution to defend themselves, the country and the republic against Houthis." In his speech, Saleh also said he is ready to turn a new page if the Saudi-led military coalition agreed to his demands. "I call upon our neighboring brothers in Saudi Arabia and the coalition's states to stop their aggression, lift the blockade, open the airports and allow food aid in and we will turn a new page," Saleh said. Saleh also called for a direct peace talk between his party the General People's Congress (GPC) and the leaders of the coalition. The coalition later issued a statement carried by Saudi-run Al-Arabiya channel, welcoming Saleh's new stance and said it was "confident of Saleh's will and his GPC." In response to Saleh, Houthi chief Abdul-Malek al-Houthi made a speech in his Al-Masirah TV channel, accusing Saleh and his party of "betrayal" and pledged to "continue fighting against the aggression," in reference to the Saudi-led coalition war. Together, Houthis and Saleh's loyalists have been aligned and fighting the coalition since both forces stormed the capital Sanaa in 2014 and forced Saudi-backed President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi into exile. Source: Xinhua| 2017-12-03 06:11:12|Editor: ZD Video Player Close ATHENS, Dec. 2 (Xinhua) -- Turkey President Tayyip Recep Erdogan will visit Greece on Dec. 7-8, the first by a Turkish head of state in 65 years, following an invitation by his Greek counterpart Prokopis Pavlopoulos, said a press statement from the Greek presidential office on Saturday. Erdogan will meet with Pavlopoulos and Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras, while he will also visit the northeast border province of Thrace, which hosts a large Muslim minority. The two presidents are expected to discuss issues that affect bilateral relations, the refugee crisis, security in the wider region and European Union-Turkish ties, said the statement. Closer economic cooperation will also be discussed and will focus on joint projects currently underway. Source: Xinhua| 2017-12-03 06:21:14|Editor: ZD Video Player Close PARIS, Dec. 2 (Xinhua) -- France calls for a constructive national dialogue in Iraq to have a "strong and integrated" Iraq and a "respect for pluralism" in the country's Kurdish region, French President Emmanuel Macron announced on Saturday. The dialogue must be built around four fundamental elements, in full compliance with the 2005 Constitution of Iraq, Macron said after meeting here Nechirvan Barzani, prime minister of Iraqi Kurdish regional government. "The first essential element is that the legitimacy of a federal control of the external borders is fully recognized," Macron said. Secondly, the French president said, there can be gradual demilitarization. "The third is that this dialogue makes it possible to have budget balances and financial transfers just in the spirit of the Constitution, which will allow all the regions to live in. And the last element is that there is full respect for the territorial elements provided for in the Constitution, in particular Article 140," the Macron said. Moreover, he expressed hope that this national and constructive dialogue can be launched "very quickly". "France will do everything possible to preserve the unity and integrity of Iraq and the full recognition of the Kurds and their rights in this context," he said. An international campaign to raise awareness about gender-based violence against women and girls is coming to Montana State University Billings. The Womens and Gender Studies Center at MSUB, the Phoenix Center and Zonta Club of Billings are hosting 16 Days of Activism on campus through Dec. 10. It's part of the international 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence. The annual movement emphasizes that violence against women and girls in all forms is a human-rights issue. Each year the campaign begins on Nov. 25, the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women, and continues through Dec. 10, International Human Rights Day. The public is invited to follow the event on social media and participate in four upcoming activities on campus at MSUB, starting Monday and throughout the week. Events are free. For more information, go to msubillings.edu/wgsc. Taliban militants on Friday stormed a training institute in the northwestern city of Peshawar where nine people were killed and several injured as the Pakistan marked the birthday of the Prophet Mohammed. Police said four burqa-clad militants opened fire on the gates of the Agriculture Training Institute, injuring the guard before making their way inside. Peshawar Police Chief Muhammad Tahir Khan said three gunmen had been killed and that security forces were carrying out a clearance operation inside the building to track down for any remaining militants. The clearance operation is under way, he told AFP. Spokeswomen for two hospitals in the city said they had received a total of nine bodies and were treating some 38 injured, including several in critical condition. 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. 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 area where the incident occurred is a hub for educational institutions in the city including the University of Peshawar. An interior ministry official told AFP that cellular networks had been suspended in various cities across the country for security reasons. The incident comes amid tight security across Pakistan as it celebrates the birthday of the Prophet Mohammed. The country is tense after weeks-long anti-blasphemy protests in Islamabad that saw seven killed and hundreds wounded in clashes with police. Violence erupted over the weekend after police and paramilitary forces launched a bungled attempt to clear the sit-in, igniting fresh demonstrations in cities across the country, including in Lahore and Karachi. The protests finally ended just days ago under a military-brokered deal. In December 2014, a Taliban attack on the army-run school in Peshawar killed 151 people, mostly schoolchildren. Three Alaba traders were charged to the Federal High court in Lagos on thursday due to the Piracy infringment on Nollywood Movie The accused are David Chukwudi, Austin Igboukwu, Ugochukwu Ukwuagu. The News Agency of Nigeria reported that Chukwudi was charged with 11 counts bordering on copyright infringement and use of premises to promote copyright infringement. Igboukwu and Ukwuagwu were charged with 13 counts, also bordering on copyright infringement. In the first case, the prosecutor, Mr. K.J. Oluwole, from the Force headquarters, said Chukwudi committed the offence on August 14 on the premises of the Alaba International Market, Lagos. He said the accused forged packets of uncensored Nollywood films, including Jenifas Diary, Lord of War, The Village War, My kids and I, What I want, Osinachi my wife, among others. Oluwole said Chukwudi also engaged in unauthorised recording of the said works, as well as utilising his business premises for copyright infringement. Chukwudi, however, pleaded not guilty to the charges. Justice Muslim Hassan, in a short ruling, ordered Chukwudi to be remanded in prison while he adjourned the case till Decemeber 8 for hearing of the accuseds bail application and commencement of his trial. Igboukwu and Ukwuagwu, who were charged with similar offences, also pleaded not guilty to the charges. They were alleged to have committed the offences on August 12 at a shop in Alaba International Market. Both accused were said to have flagrantly packaged for distribution the following unauthorised works: Proposal of Arms, Sword of Justice, Brave Medium, Wedding Party, The Kings Wealth, A trip to Jamaica, among others. The offences were said to have contravened the provisions of Section 58 of the Nigeria Films and Video Censor Board Act, 2004 and Section 20 of the Copyright Act, Cap 28, Laws of The Federation, 2004. Justice Hassan also adjourned the case till December 8 for trial and hearing of the bail application of the accused. The justice also ordered that the accused be remanded in prison, pending the next adjourned date. Comments Policy Comments that are excessively crude, obscene or profane - especially when they consist of nothing more than gratuitous insults or aspersions upon the character of authors or other commenters - will be vigorously discouraged. Therefore, if you find your comment has been deleted, you will know why. In keeping with its solidarity-based African policy, Morocco will send planes to repatriate about 3,800 migrants mostly from West Africa who are currently stranded in a camp in Tripoli. The decision was announced at the end of the 5th AU-EU Summit in Abidjan, which was attended by King Mohammed VI along with African and EU heads of state and governments. The move evidences Moroccos solidarity-based foreign policy in Africa and reflects the Kingdoms humanistic approach regarding migrants and migration. The Moroccan initiative was taken after leaders from Europe and Africa agreed on an emergency plan to start with the evacuation of as many as 700,000 migrants from Libya, 3,800 of whom are in dire need. UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres appointed Canadian diplomat Colin Stewart as his Special Representative for the Sahara and Chief of the UN mission, the MINURSO. Stewart succeeds his fellow countrywoman Kim Bolduc, who finished her mission as MINURSO chief on Nov. 22, said UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric in the daily press briefing. The Secretary General is grateful to Bolduc for her strong leadership and perseverance during her mandate, Dujarric added. In March 2016, Morocco expelled the 84 international civilian personnel staffed on MINURSO, after verbal blunders by the former UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon who, during a visit to the separatists rear-base of Tindouf, referred to Moroccos presence in its retrieved southern provinces as occupation. In July 2016, Morocco agreed to restore the full functionality of the MINURSO in line with its initial mandate, while requiring the MINURSO staff to uphold neutrality and non-interference. The MINURSO was established in 1991 to monitor a cease-fire and organize a referendum on the status of the Saharan provinces. The plebiscite never took place due to irreconcilable disagreements over who is eligible to vote. Since then, cease-fire monitoring as well as other military tasks constitute the bulk of the MINURSOs tasks. After more than a decade of failed attempts to organize a referendum on the status of Western Sahara, the UN decided in 2002 to abandon the idea and instead pursue a negotiated political solution to the conflict. In 2007, Morocco proposed a compromise solution based on broad autonomy for the Sahara under its sovereignty. Lost Roads Press is true to its name. Since its founding in 1977, the publishing company has wandered the country. From its roots in Arkansas, the company was based in Rhode Island and Colorado before settling in Jackson, Wyoming, in 2009 and becoming one of two presses that are based in or associated with the Cowboy State. Wyoming is an ideal home for Lost Roads Press, Executive Editor Susan Scarlata said. The press started in a small town in Arkansas and has always aimed to give a voice to people who dont live in major metropolises and dont have as much exposure or ability to be part of an arts community, she said. The heart of Lost Roads Press is to give those authors a venue. I think throughout Wyoming there are networks of artists that span large geographic areas, but its not necessarily the same thing as being in a centralized box, so thats something that the press looks to support is those voices, Scarlata said. She particularly likes to focus on women writers, who are underrepresented in the publishing world, she said. It really did feel appropriate, in that its always really sought to help authors that are somewhat off the beaten path find a place to publish and find a venue for their work, she said. So it felt very apropos or fitting to be here. A humble history Writer Frank Stanford founded Lost Roads Press in 1978 to support writers in Arkansas and other locations off the beaten path, Scarlata said. Well-known writer C.D. Wright took over as editor after Stanfords death that year and moved the press to Rhode Island. She and her husband, Forrest Gander, published more than 40 titles by other writers, including fiction, poetry, visual art and a guide for tourists in New Orleans, according to Scarlatas November presentation at the Wyoming Arts Summit in Lander. Wright was a well-established author in the literary community and a MacArthur Fellow, Scarlata said. Her death last January was a huge loss to the literature world, Scarlata said. Wright and Gander were two of Scarlatas professors at Brown University. The two educators told many of their students that they were looking for someone to take over the press for them after two decades. In 2004, the year after Scarlata graduated with her masters from Brown, she told them she was interested. She officially took over as executive director about two years later and brought Lost Roads out West, first to Colorado before settling in Jackson. Scarlata set to work going through the press backlist of previously published books to determine which titles could be successfully brought back into print or to reprint in new designs suitable for todays market. She chose seven titles out of more than 40. But something apparent to her right away there werent many women among the authors of those chosen books, she said. She wasnt comfortable being a female publisher with a mostly-male list of authors, Scarlata said. Only about 25 percent of books published in the U.S. are by women, she said. So she started the Brigham Award, named after writer Besmilr Brigham, whod been published by Lost Roads Press and was well-known for her commitment to writing as an art form, Scarlata said. The award commemorates the writers legacy and brings to light work by women authors who live between the land between the publishing hubs on the coasts, Scarlata said. I wanted, in whatever small way, to make a concerted effort to change, first of all, my own list and shift it towards gender balance, she said. And perhaps now were moving towards more women than men, which Id be fine with. Fellow writers volunteer as judges for the contest each year. We get to have a really fun conversation about deciding what we will publish that year, she said. Thats an aspect thats so compelling for me, is to be in conversation with different authors and making this decision about what we agree on as three different people with three different perspectives on what well publish for the year. The press helps the chosen authors connect with audiences by organizing readings, workshops and events. Those are largely made possible with support from the Wyoming Arts Council, she said. Even some of the big publishing houses have little ability to promote their authors, leaving them to organize and pay for their reading tours. We try to take on however much we can to help make that happen and help create connections, Scarlata said. I really like that element, as well as bringing some teaching and ability for people in Wyoming to learn from the authors were publishing and get their perspective. Wyoming Arts Council executive director Michael Lange said the press is well-respected in its field and the team works hard to share their expertise by setting up readings an around the state. Scarlata has provided valuable professional development for writers in Wyoming, he said in an email. The state is lucky to have Lost Roads Press call Wyoming home, he said. Keeping it alive Scarlata runs Lost Roads Press with assistant editor Linnea Ogden. The press is based in her home, while printing takes place elsewhere through an independent contract, she said. The press publishes one or two books a year, one being the winner of the contest. Scarlatas interest in writing and literature began in childhood. She and a friend created a newsletter for their families, and she focused on creative writing in high school. Her first job out of college was an internship for Copper Canyon Press. She writes professionally today and is a published author herself. A book of her poems has been published by Horse Less Press, shes published at Pen America online and and has work in a number of anthologies. She mainly writes poetry, nonfiction, reviews and other literary work. It always was a passion and a way to make sense of the world and share and understand other peoples experiences, she said. Scarlata works full time as the communications and marketing officer at the Community Foundation of Jackson Hole. The press, she said, is a labor of love. Its all volunteer, in terms of the time and effort that goes into it, she said. I think its pretty amazing to live in Wyoming and be able to have an independent press, and with our current world, its just gets kind of easier and easier, Scarlata said. I really feel like it is something that allows me to stay connected to the broader literary world and really appreciate that about keeping it alive, keeping it going. Alleged wet dreamer. Photo: Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call,Inc. The only sitting U.S. congressman known to wear ducky pajamas in public is also the only sitting U.S. congressman to have settled a sexual-harassment claim with Treasury Department funds in the past five years. Texas Republican Blake Farenthold paid a former staffer $84,000 from a Treasury Department fund in 2014, settling charges of gender discrimination and sexual harassment, Politico reports. In a lawsuit, Farentholds former communications director Lauren Greene said the 55-year-old father of two regularly drank to excess and was so flirtatious that staffers accompanying him to Capitol Hill functions would have to be on red head patrol to keep him out of trouble. Greene said in the suit that Farenthold once told her about a threesome he turned down and complained about his less-than-active sex life with his wife. He also told Greene, the suit claims, that she could show her nipples whenever she wanted, while another staffer told her the congressman had sexual fantasies and wet dreams about her. After Greene complained, she said Farenthold froze her out and then fired her. She quickly filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court in the District of Columbia, but it was dropped after Greene was paid $84,000 from a Treasury Department fund created to settle workplace claims for members of Congress. On Friday, the Office of Compliance reported to Congress on how that fund has been used the past five years. Farenthold is the only member to use it to settle a sexual-harassment claim. Five other settlements, mostly resulting from employment-discrimination claims, were also paid in the past five years. Farentholds office put out a statement Friday saying the he adamantly denies any wrongdoing. And the Office of Congressional Ethics, which investigated the allegations, sided with the four-term congressman after finding no substantial reason to believe Greenes charges. But Farenthold will have a harder time convincing the American public that hes not a creep as long as this picture is still on the internet. Its all good. Photo: Mark Wilson/Getty Images President Trump tried to appear unconcerned Saturday morning about the news that his former national security adviser Michael Flynn pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI and is now cooperating with Robert Muellers investigation into Russias 2016 election meddling. Trump, speaking with reporters as he departed the White House for a fundraising trip to New York, was asked if he was worried about what Flynn might tell special counsel Mueller. No Im not. What has been shown is no collusion. No collusion. There has been absolutely no collusion, Trump replied, So we are very happy. Later Saturday, Trump also tweeted about his former adviser, insisting that while Flynn may have lied to the FBI, nothing he did during the transition was illegal, so there was nothing for Trump officials to hide regarding that time period: 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 is the first Trump administration official to be charged as part of Muellers probe. On Friday, he pleaded guilty to lying to federal agents about conversations he had with the Russian ambassador to the U.S. last December, and admitted that he discussed those conversations with senior officials on the Trump transition team, reportedly including Trumps son-in-law, Jared Kushner. In all likelihood, Mueller has flipped Flynn to act as a witness against larger targets in the probe. Whether Mueller eventually proves any kind of collusion, his probe appears to have finally reached Trumps inner circle. Whatever the president may say in public, hes probably worried and he should be. This post has been updated to include Trumps tweet about Flynn. A Brief History of Michael Flynn's Downfall The Tillerson perma-scowl. Photo: Aaron P. Bernstein/Bloomberg via Getty Images President Trump denied in a tweet on Friday that Rex Tillerson, his permanently embattled secretary of State, is on the chopping block. 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!https://t.co/FrqiPLFJ1E Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 1, 2017 The message came on the heels of an apparently amicable lunch with Tillerson and Defense Secretary James Mattis, amid rampant speculation that the former ExxonMobil executive would be forced out of the administration. Trump has publicly toyed with Tillersons fate over the last few days, to somewhat mysterious ends. On Thursday, the New York Times reported that the Trump administration planned to replace Tillerson with Mike Pompeo at the State Department, then shift Senator Tom Cotton to the top spot at the CIA. Later that day, Trump offered an unenthusiastic hes here when asked about if he still wanted Tillerson in his Cabinet. Tillerson today called the rumors of his ouster laughable, but his sangfroid contradicted reports that forecast an imminent political funeral. Its no secret that Tillerson is not Trumps favorite Cabinet member. His relatively moderate views on issues like the Iran deal and the Paris climate accords have long put him at odds with his hard-line boss, and the two have little personal rapport. Tillerson distanced himself from Trump over the white-nationalist violence in Charlottesville. Then there was the time he called Trump a fucking moron and the president responded by bragging that he had a higher IQ, in the tradition of Washington and Lincoln. But why Trump continues to embarrass Tillerson, rather than just put him out of his misery, is puzzling; perhaps the simplest explanation is that, for all his bluster, Trump truly hates firing people. Despite his West Wing unpopularity, Tillerson has been perniciously effective in fulfilling Steve Bannons infamous deconstruction of the administrative state. His zeal for has cost-cutting and centralized power has inspired a mass exodus of bureaucrats from the agency, and a hollowing out of the countrys diplomatic corps at a time when it can scarcely afford it. One dispatch after another has described a demoralized work force yearning to feel useful again. Staffers are so dismayed, Politico reported on Thursday, that an inexperienced hard-right hawk like Mike Pompeo, whose diplomacy style would likely consist mostly of brute force, would be welcomed with open arms. But they may have to wait until Tillersons ritual humiliation reaches truly unsustainable levels to get the chance. Apparently, we arent quite there yet. Step aside, State Department. Photo: Jaap Arriens/NurPhoto via Getty Images It cant be good for anyones nerves to work at the State Department right now. From one day to the next, you cant be sure whether your boss is about to get fired, whether your job still exists, or whether (as was the case on Wednesday) youll come into work to learn that the president wrote something on Twitter that would make people in other countries very angry at the United States. The retweet heard round the world was of highly dubious videos circulated by the leader of the U.K.s virulently Islamophobic Britain First party, purporting to show Muslims committing acts of violence. President Donald Trumps decision to share a sloppy, racist propaganda message with his 44 million Twitter followers (and not for the first time) led to condemnations from British politicians and pundits of all stripes, with some calling for Trump to be banned from the U.K. or, even more helpfully, from Twitter. As a matter of basic decency and online etiquette, to say nothing of presidential leadership, it is generally unwise to endorse and distribute the recruiting material of foreign neo-Nazis, especially when Europes new, young, anti-immigrant right wing is making disconcerting gains. As a matter of U.S. foreign policy, its outright malpractice. Britain First is not a marginally mainstream party like Nigel Farages single-issue Brexit vehicle, the erstwhile U.K. Independence Party. Instead, it is what Alex Massie calls a fringe organization even by the standards of fringe organizations: An electorally irrelevant offshoot of the British National Party, Britain First exists mainly to threaten and terrorize British Muslims in the hopes of stoking the civilizational conflict they imagine is already ongoing. In other words, the president of the United States just lent his imprimatur to a right-wing gang of fewer than 1,000 active members that the British government tends to view as criminals and troublemakers rather than a legitimate political movement. Not content with poisoning American public life, Trump now coarsens Britains, Massie sighs, though the forcefulness with which the British mainstream is rejecting the message is somewhat encouraging. In any case, the incident has soured our relationship with a key ally and will surely account for some new gray hairs in the Foreign Service. What really caused the State Department to panic, however, was not the damage Trump was doing to our relationship with the U.K., but rather the potential for this gesture to be met with protests or violence at U.S. embassies, particularly in Muslim countries. It didnt manifest in anything actionable, but it was a big concern, a State Department official told CNN. We saw in Cairo and other places that simply posting something on the internet, even if nothing was intended by it, could have real consequences. Someone ought to tell that to the president. In fairness, that was indeed the message the State Department was trying to communicate to the White House on Wednesday, but it has become abundantly clear by now that Trump is not heeding any advice to be more cautious in his tweeting. He has surely been told this before and has chosen to ignore it. Furthermore, this is not the first time his uncontrollable Twitter behavior has had consequences for U.S. foreign policy and it will not be the last. Amplifying a right-wing fringe group in Britain is bad enough, but what happens when a tweet containing a threat is interpreted as a declaration of war, or leads to a misinterpretation of U.S. nuclear posture? These are real risks when the president has a giant, unfiltered, unchecked, unaccountable microphone to shout into whenever the spirit moves him. The calls from British MPs for Trump to either voluntarily give up his Twitter account or have it shut down are hardly outrageous. In the first year of his administration, @realDonaldTrump has proven to be a foreign-policy wild card and a national security risk. The inability to control or account for the presidents Twitter behavior is one of many reasons why Rex Tillerson has failed as secretary of State though his possible firing may be more of a punishment for trying to tame Trump than for failing. If CIA director Mike Pompeo ends up rolling into Foggy Bottom as Tillersons successor thinking that he wont run into the same Twitter problem just because Trump likes him more, he has a rude awakening ahead of him. Will Trump check with Pompeo before firing off cryptic, hostile tweets in the wee hours of the morning? Will he consent to having his tweets pre-cleared by advisers? As long as everyone in the government refuses to admit that Trumps Twitter habit is the problem that it is, or to do anything about it, U.S. government policies and priorities will continue to be set, unpredictably, 140 to 280 characters at a time. The Unite the Right in Charlottesville. Photo: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images Police in Charlottesville, Virginia, failed to adequately prepare for a white-supremacist rally earlier this summer and deserve much of the blame for the violent clashes that took place, an independent review released Friday said. Prepared by the law firm of Tim Heaphy, a former U.S. Attorney, the 200-page report calls out the Charlottesville Police Department (CPD) and Virginia State Police for poor communication, a lack of training, and a plan that allowed violence to flourish on August 12. Among the most damning claims in the report is that Charlottesville police chief Al Thomas told officers to allow clashes between protesters and the far-right demonstrators early in the day so the rally could be shut down later. Let them fight for a little. It will make it easier to declare an unlawful assembly, Thomas said, according to Heaphy, who spoke at a press conference on Friday. Police told Heaphy that they were ordered to stay out of the most violent street clashes. We let the community down, police told him. Rather than brush up on its training for civil unrest or even test out its riot gear, which some officers had never used, the CPD prepared for the rally as it would have prepared for a visit from someone like the president or the Dalai Lama, the report says. One police captain compared preparing for the influx of racist demonstrators to preparing for the annual UVA block party. The report referred to the death of Heather Heyer, a counterprotester who was run over by a white supremacist, as the most tragic manifestation of the failure to protect public safety. Earlier in the day, an officer was stationed at an intersection near the spot where James Fields drove his car into a crowd, killing Heyer, the report says. But when the officer told commanders she feared for her safety, she was removed from the post and not replaced. Instead, the report says, a single wooden saw horse was set up to stop traffic from entering the crowded streets. Government has launched a new sustainable development strategy that aims at catapulting Uganda into a green economy by 2040. Dubbed the Green Growth Development Strategy (GGDS), the plan serves as the blue print towards a socially and economically inclusive development pathway for Uganda as the country endeavours to reach a middle-income status. Speaking at the launch of the strategy at Imperial Royale Hotel recently, first Deputy Prime Minister Moses Ali said this plan presents an opportunity to renew governments political commitment to the principles of sustainable development enshrined in the constitution, the NRM manifesto, Uganda Vision 2040 and the second National Development Plan (NDP II). Green Growth is an inclusive, low emissions economic growth process that emphasizes efficient use of natural, human, and physical capital while ensuring these assets continue to provide for present and future generations. The strategy focuses on five priority areas: sustainable transport systems; planned urbanisation; sustainable energy with emphasis on greening the energy mix to include solar and wind; natural resource management with focus on green tourism, water resources management and sustainable use of forests and wetlands; and sustainable agriculture with concentration on solar-powered irrigation. Once implemented, the strategy is expected to boost gross domestic product by 10 per cent beyond current projections and create an additional four million green jobs by 2040. It is also expected to reduce greenhouse emissions by 28 per cent over the same period. The GGDS was developed by the National Planning Authority (NPA) in partnership with the ministry of Water and Environment and the Global Green Growth Institute. UNDP provided technical assistance for the development of the strategy with financial support from the European Union. As Uganda prepares for the oil production stage in 2020, many companies have come up to partner. On Tuesday, 46 French business delegates representing more than 30 French companies in the oil and gas sector explored investment opportunities in Uganda. The delegation networked with the Ugandan business community at the residence of Stephanie Rivoal, the French ambassador to Uganda, in Nakasero. She revealed that France is set to become the biggest investor in Uganda due to their involvement in the oil projects. Thereafter, the delegation attended the oil and gas business forum at Sheraton hotel. At the event, Simon DUjanga, the minister of State for energy, said Uganda governments policy is to encourage private sector investment in the oil and gas industry. He also observed that since the discovery of oil in 2006, significant investments have been made in the sector, adding that in 2011, Uganda attracted the highest FDI in EAC, especially in Oil and gas and mineral sectors, thanks to its conducive investment climate. To date, 6.5 billion barrels of oil have been discovered with 1.4 to 1.7 billion barrels recovery rates, a 500 billion cubic feet of non-associated gas and under 200 billion feet of associated gas, just from 40 per cent of the exploration areas, he said. He further noted that Ugandas oil and gas sector is at a critical stage as it transitions from exploration to production. He revealed that government has so far issued nine production licences and is evaluating three more ahead of the production phase. Dr Elly Karuhanga, chairman Uganda Chamber of Mines and Petroleum (UCMP), described the visit of the French firms as historic. We have confidence in Total; one of the top oil companies in the world coming from France which is not an oil-producing country. We would like France to help skill our people and help make Ugandas oil industry a benchmark for the whole of Africa, he said, adding that French language would be an added opportunity in this endeavor. He encouraged the French investors to make Ugandans part of their investments, assuring them of political and economic stability. Ugandans are aware that capital is a coward; it will run away as fast as possible if threatened by political and economically instability. We will not nationalize your companies, he reassured. alfredodcho@gmail.com Crystal Newman The first edition of the newly-introduced Pearl of Africa Fashion Awards (PAFA) will be happening this weekend at Sky Beach in Entebbe. The awards that will be recognizing individuals in the field of fashion are to be hosted by a number of media personalities. Roger Mugisha, Crystal Newman, Miss Deedan, Sheila Gashumba, Kabs Haloha, Denzel Mwiyeretsi and Zahara Totto will host the event. Various performances are lined up for the evening from the likes of Cindy, CathyViccyRoz dance group and 256 Kings. PAFA 2017 will be awarding various personalities including Maurice Kirya (best fashionable artiste), Anita Fabiola (best red carpet host), Captain Mike Mukula (best dressed politician), Idringi Salvado (best fashionable comedian) and so many others. The nominee voting ended on Thursday. There are 72 categories being vied for. The event also has categories for best fashion designers, fashionistas and best stylists for East, West, North and Southern region of the country. The move, according to the organizers, is geared towards recognizing talent beyond Kampala or central region. This is intended to introduce little-known players in the sector to the bigger market; hence, creating more jobs. Ordinary tickets cost Shs 50,000, Shs 1 million for the VIP and Shs 3 million for the VVIP table seating. barangsam@gmail.com Sabina Ddumba may not be known to an ordinary Ugandan music listener, yet shes one of the most sought-after acts in Sweden where shes based. This Monday at the weekly Jam Sessions at the National theatre, Ddumba will make her debut on the Ugandan scene with a well-crafted performance. Highly viewed as her homecoming, the show is intended to get the Ugandan audience to meet her in person. She has various songs including Scared for Life, Effortless and Time, among others. Sabina Ddumba Her music is an influence of RnB with a classical church feel. But staying true to her age, Not Too Young, which is the lead single off her latest album, was certified platinum twice. She later performed it at the Grammis Sweden the countrys version of the famous Grammy Awards. Judging by her music on YouTube, Ddumba will be an interesting act to watch. The show is scheduled to start at 7:30pm until 11pm. It is a free show made possible by Bayimba Productions and the Swedish Embassy. kaggwandre@gmail.com Egyptian officials attending the Nile Basin Discourse Summit (NBDS) on Thursday walked out of the meeting aimed at promoting development in the catchment area. Trouble began at around 4pm when officials from Egypt showed discontent at how the summit organisers were selecting the days main speakers. The Egyptians especially complained on why only presenters from Ethiopia were chosen to present without giving them (Egyptians) the opportunity. Organisers of the Kampala summit had planned that after lunch, a panel of experts would be selected to make various presentations on how all the Nile Basin countries can harness development in the catchment area. But mid-way through the announcements, two Egyptians officials (male and female) stood up in protest saying the organisers aim was to sideline their country by stopping them from presenting. They have chosen four Ethiopians to speak and they havent given us a chance to present. Why have they refused us from speaking? protested one of the unidentified Egyptian male official who was later joined by his colleagues in protest. Adding: This is really unfair to us and our country and we wont allow it. They are making Egypt look bad. Officials outside the meeting room Officials from participating countries like those from Sudan tried to calm the situation but their Egyptian counterparts couldnt have anymore of the insults and vowed not to go back to the summit. According to an insider, Egypt only tried to politicise the issue because the summit wasnt political at all as its intentions were not to discuss the contentious articles in the Cooperative Framework Agreement (CFA). Under the CFA, all countries want to have equal shares to the Nile waters but Egypt maintains that the colonial agreements give it more power. It hasnt ratified the CFA and maintains that all countries in the catchment should first seek permission from it before they set up any project on the Nile. The other countries object this. The Egyptians and Ethiopians act this way every time we have discussions pertaining the Nile and its these issues that are slowing us down. The Ethiopian presenters were only chosen to sit on the panel of experts to discuss how we can promote development in the Nile Basin. They were not even going to talk about their issues with Egypt, said an official who preferred anonymity. In 2011, Ethiopia embarked on a project to construct the Grand Renaissance Dam on the Nile, the largest power plant in Africa, but ever since then it has come under intense attack from Egypt. The predominantly Arab country argues that its 94 million people depend on the river for water and construction of the $4.2bn dam will disrupt the flow of the Nile River and sees it as a national water security threat. The colonial treaties signed between Egypt and Britain in 1929 and 1959 give the Arab Country close to 90 per cent rights to the Nile waters. Recent calls for studies to find out the potential effects of the Renaissance Dam have yielded no results as Sudan, Ethiopia and Egypt have failed to agree on which consultancy firm should do the job. Speaking at the two-day summit, Prof Muawia Shaddad, the incoming NBDS chairperson, observed that the Nile Basin was faced with a lot of challenges. He noted that problems like climate change, population outburst, poverty would be sorted if Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) under NBDF were involved in the activities of the Nile Basin Initiative (NBI). Shaddad explained that now that the Nile Council of Ministers(Nile-COM) had approved NBIs strategic 10-year plan, the CSOs would work together with the initiative to address a number of bottlenecks. At the same event, a three-year memorandum of understanding was signed between NBDS and NBI aimed at achieving the latters strategic plan. abumay1988@gmail.com What little tenuous high ground the Democrats in Congress had when it comes to recent sexual harassment and assault has all but evaporated in what continues to be a shocking string of elected officials engaged in reprehensible behavior. Sure, the Democrats want to keep focused on alleged child predator and Senate hopeful Roy Moore and that's a good thing. If these accusations prove to be right, then Moore doesn't belong in Congress, he belongs in a courtroom or a jail cell. There can be no explaining or defense for preying on minors. This isn't a matter of politics, it's a matter of protecting children. And, we're all familiar with President Donald Trump's remarks about grabbing women's genitals. Unfortunately, his election has seemed to provide cover to those who have read his victory as proof that molestation and harassment need not be a disqualification for public office. That's a shame and a dangerous message to send. What little high ground the Democrats had was ceded last week when Minnesota Sen. Al Franken was exposed by an awful photo of him pretending to grope a woman while she slept. The victim also said he had forced himself on her with unwanted kissing. Franken didn't deny the accounts, apologized and pledged to work with a Senate ethics investigation. Though many in his home state of Minnesota thought that what he did was decidedly Minnesota not-nice, Franken rejected calls to resign, and pledged to continue on. Many members of the Democrat Party were either silent or side stepped the issue. The righteous criticism they've aimed so squarely at folks like Trump and Moore has seemed to evaporate when turned internally. Commenting on Franken, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-New York, said,"Sexual harassment is never acceptable and must not be tolerated." And yet, Schumer hasn't called for Franken's resignation. Schumer's words ring hollow and insincere. What the photographic evidence shows is proof of sexual harassment. Groping at a woman while she sleeps is harassment. And yet even when confronted with photographic evidence, Schumer would not stand by his own words. Allowing Franken to continue on in the Senate appears to be acceptable and tolerated. We'd point out that when the brave women who came forward to confront Moore, even Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Kentucky, stood opposed to Moore. Even McConnell did more than Democratic leadership. We're also proud that Montana Sen. Steve Daines, after hearing of the depth and seriousness of the charges against Moore, pulled his support of the candidate. Montana Democratic Jon Tester donated the amount of money that the Franken campaign gave to him to the Montana Coalition Against Domestic and Sexual Violence. That's a good move. Tester also called Franken's actions "inappropriate and unacceptable," but seems to be content with the Minnesotan senator's continued service. During the weekend, another congressional sex scandal broke when the public learned that longtime Rep. John Conyers of Michigan would step aside from his leadership post after it was revealed that two cases of sexual harassment had been settled against him, including one in which taxpayers were left holding the $27,000 severance bill for his actions. Instead of condemning this sort of inexcusable and all-too-common behavior, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi revealed the same entrenched attitude on NBC's "Meet The Press," with Chuck Todd. Here's the transcript: TODD: John Conyers. What does that mean for him? Right now. In or out? PELOSI: We are strengthened by due process. Just because someone is accused and was it one accusation? Is it two? I think there has to be John Conyers is an icon in our country. He has done a great deal to protect women Violence Against Women Act, which the left right-wing is now quoting me as praising him for his work on that, and he did great work on that. But the fact is, as John reviews his case, which he knows, which I dont, I believe he will do the right thing. TODD:Why dont you? PELOSI: Excuse me. May I finish my sentence? TODD: Sure, sure. PELOSI: That he will do the right thing. Instead of condemning what Conyers did, Pelosi sounded exactly like so many conservatives who have rushed to Moore's defense. In the case of Conyers, due process is one thing a settlement is quite another. By Thursday, Pelosi had changed her tune and called for Conyers' resignation. But she failed to immediately respond to the accusations. For too many years, those elected to the serve have used their power and status as icons and leaders to prey upon others. Leaders have spent plenty of time with mealy-mouthed promises of zero tolerance, but have done little more than a light tongue lashing, usually via press release. There is one very faint silver lining in this otherwise black cloud of terrible behavior. Neither political party has the upper hand when it comes to tolerating the cancer of sexual harassment. Because of that, we hope there is enough outrage aimed at leaders in both parties that Congress completely overhauls the rules of ethics and investigations. Because members of Congress got to write their own rules as lawmakers, they made ethics violations and sanctions cumbersome and secret. The process is almost completely outside of the public purview, and therefore, without scrutiny, there is no accountability. Instead, we call for a complete overhaul. Congress must fully fund and permanently protect an office for ethics investigations. It must be non-partisan and claims that are proven must be fully and widely disclosed. Congress must not be able to bury information that may tarnish the reputation of one of its members. Without making these changes immediately, it not only leaves the public out of the loop, it also sets up a situation where members can continue to prey on staff members and others without the fear of being caught. Finally Infosys India's second largest IT services company has made its choice. Salil Satish Parekh the man who helped build Capgemini's India operations is the new CEO and MD effective January 2018. Unlike IBM and Accenture, which recognized India's potential early in the late 90's and early part of the 21st century, Capgemini was slow in getting off the ground here. This was critical as having a large number of talented employees in a low-cost destination like India was critical to the success of a number of these multinationals. After a late start, it was under Parekh's leadership that Capgemini began to scale in India. Today Capgemini which has revenues of about $15 billion and 190,000 employees has roughly a third of its headcount in the Indian operations. It was aided by the iGate acquisition too which had a large India base. Parekh was credited with the smooth scaling of Capgemini in India in spite of a late start and playing a key role in the iGate acquisition. He was richly rewarded for this. He was eventually made the deputy CEO of the insular French company and even inducted into the group management team. Salil has primarily expertise in the European market where Capgemini has a large footprint. 53-year-old Parekh incidentally came to Capgemini when it acquired the consulting division of Ernst & Young, where he was a key leader in that practice. An IIT Powai aeronautical engineer, he also holds a master's in computer science and mechanical engineering from Cornell University He takes over at Infosys during a challenging time in the company's 36-year history. His ability to get growth back at Infosys, improve morale, navigate issues with promoters and senior talent at the company, will be what observers will be watching. Parekh clearly has his task cut out. Industry veterans have hailed Infosys' move to appoint Parekh as the CEO. Nasscom President R Chandrashekhar told PTI that Parekh is well entrenched in the industry and has international experience as well as a good understanding of Indian IT ecosystem. Parekh's appointment as the new Infosys CEO got a thumbs up from Infosys co-founder NR Narayana Murthy. "I'm happy that Infosys has appointed Salil Parekh as the CEO. My best wishes to him," Murthy said. On August 18, Vishal Sikka, the first non-promoter CEO and MD made a dramatic announcement that he would resign after being at the helm for three years. Sikka had said that he could not carry on his "...job as CEO and continue to create value, while also constantly defending against unrelenting, baseless/malicious and increasingly personal attacks." The $3.5 trillion global IT services industry is undergoing a seismic shift with automation and Artificial Intelligence commoditising a large chunk of the market. Traditional models which served the $158 billion a year in revenue Indian IT industry well in the past like 'lift and shift' and 'labour arbitrage' have been upended. From Greg Swank, 12-4-2 You are about to read a list of 45 goals that found their way down the halls of our great Capitol back in 1963. As... Pastor to share mission in Africa Pastor Themba Mkhabela, a missionary with Evangelical Lutheran Church of America and supported by Good Shepherd Lutheran Church, 106 Osage Ave. in Bismarck, will be preaching at all services held today and Sunday. Themba also will be presenting a special program, "In Mission Together: Locally and Globally," from 10 a.m. to noon today at the Lynne Center to highlight the work being done by the global church in Madagascar as well as the West and Central Africa region. Themba, a graduate of the Pacific Lutheran Theological Seminary in Berkeley, Calif., served as pastor for an ELCA congregation, the Lutheran Church of the Reformation on St. Thomas in the U.S. Virgin Islands for six years prior to accepting his current call. While serving in the Virgin Islands, he had an opportunity to serve in the Synod Council of the Caribbean Synod and Board of Trustees of Lutheran Theological Southern Seminary in Colombia, S.C. He was also the dean of the Virgin Islands District of the Caribbean Synod for three years. To find more information on the mission and ministries of Good Shepherd Lutheran Church, visit www.GoodShepherdBismarck.com. Advent retreat to be held on Dec. 10 The Oblates of Annunciation Monastery, Bismarck, will meet at Annunciation Monastery from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Dec. 10 for an Advent retreat themed Who is Mary? Sister Nancy Gunderson will offer a day of reflection and sharing on the mystery of the Blessed Virgin Mary. In this Advent retreat, we will explore the mystery surrounding the mother of Jesus. Who is this woman who has had cathedrals named for her, art created about her and battles fought in her honor? We will ponder why she returns again and again," Gunderson said. Oblates are Christian women and men of varied faiths who associate themselves with a monastery and live according to the Rule of St. Benedict as their state in life permits. All are welcome to attend this free retreat and join the sisters for Eucharistic liturgy at 11 a.m., followed by a light lunch and the second portion of the retreat. For more information, call 701-255-1520. Breakfast to benefit the Curtis family A breakfast at First Lutheran Church, 800 N. Seventh St. in Bismarck, will benefit Jon Curtis and his family as he struggles with cancer of the tonsils and lymph nodes. Sausage, eggs, pancakes, juice and coffee will be served from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Sunday. In conjunction, there will be a silent auction and bake sale items offered. Curtis was diagnosed in August and underwent surgery. He is doing chemo and radiation. There will be months of recovery and therapy ahead, which will impede his ability to pay for increasing medical bills and provide for his family. Curtis and his wife, Shelly, along with their three boys, live in Bismarck, where he has been employed with Missouri River Contracting for the past five years. Back in September the Guardian reported that the European commission is examining the increased detention and deportation of EU citizens from Britain and has warned it will take appropriate action against Theresa Mays government if it believes the rights of EU nationals are being compromised.They add that detentions and enforced removals of EU citizens from the UK have risen sharply since the Brexit vote, prompting critics to claim the Home Office is deliberately targeting EU nationals as part of the hostile environment May promised for those she believes should not be in the country.In addition as the Migration Observatory advises , in 2016, 39,626 people were removed from the UK or departed voluntarily after the initiation of removal. The UK removed 6,171 foreign national offenders in 2016. Almost 5 out of every 10 people (48%) deported or voluntarily removed from the UK in 2016 were nationals of Asian countries. Nationals of India, Pakistan, and Romania made up 32% of the 2016.In that context a few letters in today's Guardian are of interest:Judy Clement from York asks:Whilst Austen Lynch from Gatstang in Lancashire adds:These are fair point. As Corinne Boyce from Swainsthorpe in Norfolk says:Like others I extend my best wishes to Harry and Meghan. I hope they will be very happy and have a long and fruitful marriage. However, rather than Meghan being the exception to UK immigration law and practises wouldn't it be nice if, in future, the way she is treated becomes the standard for everybody else in her situation. This blog will focus on political images I have found all around the Internet, though I will intersperse some commentary and quotes that I find interesting. WHITEHALL Nestled on 22 acres of hillside just past the intersection of routes 18 and 21 in the town of Whitehall are 14,589 solar panels. And this solar array, sitting on a third of John Milletts land, blends with the landscape, looking more like light gray mountains than an energy source designed to power 85 percent of Gore Mountain Ski Resorts power needs. It is designed to follow the terrain. It is TerraSmart racking, said John Millett Jr., who leases about 30 acres of his 80 acres for the solar project. This way, there is no damage to the land. In a ribbon-cutting ceremony officially announcing the completion of the Millett Whitehall Solar Array on Friday morning, local and state officials praised the initiative that started two years ago. Its a win-win, said Whitehall Supervisor George Armstrong. The town gets more tax income than they were getting, the landowner makes significant income, there is more renewable energy. Every town should look at doing it. Keeping the status quo is unacceptable. State Assemblyman Dan Stec, R-Queensbury, echoed Armstrongs sentiments. It is good for the town, the landowner, the state, he said. Any drop of oil we dont have to get from the Middle East is a good thing. The 5.3-megawatt Whitehall solar installation, a combined project of the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority, the Olympic Regional Development Authority and Borrego Solar, supports Gov. Andrew Cuomos Clean Energy Standard for the state. And it moves New York closer to meeting Cuomos 100 percent renewable energy goal for the states three ski areas Gore Mountain in North Creek, Whiteface Mountain in Wilmington and Belleayre Ski Center in Highmount by 2030. It took a lot of vision and creativity to set this up. ... One thing I learned about solar, it doesnt have to have sun, said state Sen. Elizabeth Little, R-Queensbury. Now, 85 percent of all the energy Gore Mountain uses to keep everything running is renewable. This is important for our environment. The Whitehall solar installation, which was operating at full capacity in September 2016, provides 85 percent of Gore Mountains energy through a financial credit for the power generated from the Whitehall solar array to a nearby substation. Landowner Millett said having the installation next to the home he shares with his wife and father is no problem. We were the first ones in the area and weve been through the growing pains, he said. I would do it again. It is the cleanest energy. And because of the switch to solar, Gore Mountain has been awarded four environmental awards. The last one was the Golden Eagle, from SKI magazine. Its the most prestigious environmental award, said Mike Pratt, president and CEO of ORDA. According to news accounts, the solar energy project estimated to save Gore $213,043 in the first year and a cumulative savings by 2020 of $9,985,787 was a big reason the ski resort was given the 2016 award. This is a key step in meeting our environmental goals, said Bone Bayse, general manager of Gore, explaining that the solar energy project is only one of many changes Gore officials have taken toward protecting the environment. We replaced all our snow guns for more efficiency. All our lights are LED. Our sinks and toilets have been replaced with low flow. Its important to continue to look at being good stewards of the environment. Armstrong, Whitehalls supervisor, said there are two other solar projects underway in Whitehall. On Cemetery Lane in Whitehall there is one half this size, he said. And over on Route 4 there is one about this size. ... We will have about 55 acres of solar in total. Were going to get significantly more tax dollars. FORT EDWARD A Vermont man who was arrested in September for possessing heroin with intent to distribute during a traffic stop in Fort Ann has pleaded guilty to a felony charge. Benjamin O. Broughton, 37, of Bristol, Vermont, pleaded guilty in connection with the seizure of 100 packets of heroin and an unspecified amount of cocaine during the bust on Route 149 by State Police. He was a passenger in a vehicle that was stopped for traffic violations. Broughton, who has a history of drug offenses in Vermont, likely faces 3 years in state prison and 2 years on parole when sentenced Dec. 15 by Washington County Judge Kelly McKeighan. Charges are still pending against the driver of the car, Brian M. Davidson, 35, of New Haven, Vermont. Police said he was found to be driving under the influence of drugs. Editor's Note: This story was corrected to reflect Mr. Bovair was headed back to the nursing home from a medical appointment. QUEENSBURY A resident of Warren Center for Rehabilitation and Nursing died Friday evening when he was thrown from a wheelchair while in a nursing home van that was taking him back to the home from a medical appointment, police said. The mans name was not released early Saturday. The accident happened on Main Street around 5 p.m. Friday, and the Warren County Sheriffs Office is investigating. Sheriffs Lt. Steve Stockdale said the nursing home staff driving the van told police they had to take quick action to avoid a car that cut them off. The man who was being transported from the Queensbury home was thrown from the chair and suffered unspecified injuries, and was pronounced dead a short time later. The wheelchair was secured in the van, but he was not secured to the wheelchair, Stockdale said. Stockdale said nursing home staff indicated they did not have a belt that fit the man comfortably on the wheelchair. It was unclear Saturday whether the other vehicle purportedly involved remained at the scene. A call to the home was referred to the company that owns the home, Centers Health Care, of New York City. Jeffrey Jacomowitz, a spokesman, said the homes staff was devastated by the residents death. We express our deepest condolences to the family and, at the same time, the facility is working closely with authorities to determine the cause of this tragedy, he said in a prepared statement. As a well-respected post-acute care organization in the community, we will take every step to make sure that something like this never happens again. Centers Health Care purchased the home from Warren County at the end of 2015. An autopsy on the man was scheduled for Saturday at Albany Medical Center. Stockdale said no charges had been filed, but the investigation was continuing. The sale of the county-run home was controversial, as many critics were concerned about what they considered a dubious track record at Centers Health Cares other homes. The company bought numerous home in upstate New York in recent years. Warren Center, formerly known as Westmount Health Facility, had a four-star rating from the state when sold by the county, but that rating had dropped to one star this year. The companys leader said in August that drop occurred because it was accepting patients with more medical problems than the county did. LAKE GEORGE Miles Martin inspected the broken pieces of 18th-century glass carefully. He ran his finger along the rounded edges and studied them intensely. They look like the ones I found! Martin, 9, of Warrensburg, said Tuesday night at the Old Warren County Court House Museum. Martin had been walking through the woods with his mother one day, he explained to a group of history buffs much older than him, and came across an uncovered stone foundation and shattered glass. I dont remember where I was, but they were definitely artifacts, he announced excitedly. Martin, who went to the museum with his grandpa Gary, was one of a few residents who participated in the tell part of the show and tell workshop as part of the Fort George Battlefield Project. The hour-long event was part of the interactive phase of the project where about 20 people gathered in the museum to hear a presentation by Hartgen Archaeological Associates and then shared their own stories and asked questions. A PowerPoint, artifacts and maps were presented to the group. Then it was the publics turn to share. One resident said he had found old graves and a cabin. Others had seen more shattered glass. A ladle, a horse-grooming tool, a possible grenade and other 18th-century military artifacts were on display Tuesday. One reason we got this grant is because there is not much that is known of what happened here, said Dan Barush, director of planning and zoning. People are interested in knowing more, he said. In a state park along the southern end of Lake George is the site of fighting during the French and Indian War and the American Revolution. The Fort George Battlefield Project kicked off last year when officials received a planning grant to study the battlegrounds military history. The grant is being used to research and analyze the areas rich history. If further research needs to be conducted after this grant is used up, for things like field work, a follow-up grant would have to be applied for. The project aims to inform residents on how they can help preserve the areas land and interpret the military history for planning purposes. Why wouldnt we go back and point some reverence to these properties? asked Marisa Muratori, a councilwoman in the town. This doesnt stop development, but its our history. The next steps include documenting anything important that comes from the workshop to investigate it. The archaeologists will continue working on inventory sheets and mapping based on the materials gathered through the data collection. The last step will be developing a report of the project, which is scheduled for late winter or early spring and will be available to the public. A final workshop will be held at the end of the project to present the report and findings. Editor: After allowing the murk of Sundays (Nov. 26) editorial settle, I think it is time to respond. First, although I do not believe The Post-Star intentionally uses false news to advance the left-wing media agenda, I do believe the papers editorial board is guilty of presenting false narratives, sometimes blatantly, sometimes with a subtleness that belies any claim of being nonpartisan. Sundays editorial is a case in point. That deduction benefits residents of high-tax states like New York, Massachusetts and California. Coincidentally (a lot of coincidences pop up with this bill), those are Democratic states. Perhaps The Post-Star would better serve readers by pointing out states traditionally ruled by Democrats have a much higher tax load than those ruled more conservatively. Or instead of putting the blame for the soak-the-blue-states strategy on Paul Ryan and crew, where it belongs, Stefanik blamed New York state leaders (Democrats, coincidentally) for failing to reduce state taxes. Really? Last I was aware, the federal government did not create state taxes. Those state taxes were created by the states. The editorial is raft with such false narratives. They all too often are. Clearly the blame for high New York state taxes does not fall on the shoulders of the federal government or, for that matter, on Republicans. The reason New York is often referred to as the Vampire State is because the progressive tax policies and cost of government intervention into everyday life in this state is a financial burden placed on citizens by the states progressive Democrats, not the federal government. What you are really complaining about is an unintended consequence of progressive tax policy. Certainly New Yorkers pay more. They earn more. That is what progressives claim to support, isnt it? Carl Tucker, Queensbury A State Troopers offer of assistance to the driver of an overheated vehicle ended in the arrests of three people and the seizure of 1 pounds of fentanyl and nearly $62,000 in cash. The Bettendorf High School Fine Arts Boosters will host a carnival from 4 to 7 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 9, in the Bettendorf High School gym. The event will feature carnival games, inflatables, prizes and food. Niki Jeffery, BHS Fine Arts Boosters, said the carnival will raise money to help offset the cost of the fine arts trip to Florida in the spring. Wristbands for unlimited inflatables are $10 in advance or $12 at the door. Tickets are $10 for 20 at the door, with an additional five free tickets if purchased in advance. Buy them through Dec. 6 at the BHS Activities Office, 3333 18th St. For more information, go to bhs.bettendorf.k21.ia.us. DAVENPORT -- Humility of Mary Shelter announces the opening of the Corner Closet, 530 Vine St. on Monday, Dec. 4 at 8 a.m. Residents staying at the Humility of Mary Shelter, around the corner from the Corner Closet, will be able to obtain donated clothing and toiletries at the Corner Closet. The Corner Closet opens will then be open Monday through Friday 8 a.m. to noon. The Humility of Mary Shelter is the only low-barrier emergency shelter in the Quad-Cities with 70 beds for men and women. The Corner Closet welcomes gently used and new clothing and full size toiletries. Please take your donations to the Fresh Start Donation Center located at Humility of Mary Housing, 3805 Mississippi Ave. Davenport, Monday through Friday 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. To find out how you can help our participants this winter or for volunteer opportunities, please call Patti at 563-326-1330 x 105. A 29-year-old Kewanee, Illinois, man who is listed as a sexual predator on the states sex offender registry, is in jail after he solicited a minor on social media and then attempted to meet up with the victim, Kewanee police said. James Gardner James, Jr., 406 E. 7th St., Kewanee, is charged in Henry County Circuit Court with aggravated criminal sexual abuse-indecent solicitation of a child, traveling to meet a minor, and violating the states sex offender registry laws. Each of those charges is a Class 3 felony under Illinois law that carries a prison sentence of two to five years. James also is charged with one count of solicitation to meet a child, a Class 4 felony that carries a prison sentence of one to three years. Kewanee Police said that on Thursday, investigators began a sting operation regarding a person attempting to solicit a minor. James is alleged to having contact with a minor through social media in an effort to meet up. James was met by police when he arrived at the agreed upon meeting place and was arrested. The Knox County Sheriffs Department assisted in the investigation. A preliminary hearing on the case is set for Dec. 11 in Henry County Circuit Court. James was being held Friday night in the Henry County Jail on $150,000 bond. In 2009, James was arrested and charged with two counts of aggravated criminal sexual abuse of a victim below the age of 13. The Illinois Sex Offender Registry indicates that James victim at that time was a 3-year-old and that he was 20-years-old at the time. Both of the charges were Class 2 felonies that carried a prison sentence of three to seven years. On Sept. 16, 2009, James pleaded guilty to the charges and was sentenced to 180 days in the Henry County Jail with credit for time served. He also was sentenced to four years on probation with the conditions that he must register on the Illinois Sex Offender Registry and obtain treatment. On Sept. 23, charges were filed in Henry County Circuit Court when police arrested James on charges of being a child sex offender loitering in a school zone and being a child sex offender in a school zone. His probation was revoked and he was sentenced to serve three years in the Illinois Department of Corrections. In February of 2013, James was arrested for failing to properly report as a sex offender. On June 13, 2013, he pleaded guilty to the charge and was sentenced to four years in the Illinois Department of Corrections. Two Davenport teens Friday admitted to their roles in the June 2016 death of 15-year-old Ayana Culbreath, who was killed when the two teens started shooting at each other during a large backyard gathering. Trevor D. Owens, 19, and Kamario C. Hill, 15, both of whom faced first-degree murder charges, appeared in front of Judge Mary Howes in Scott County District Court and entered pleas of guilty to lesser charges. Owens, who was charged as an adult, pleaded guilty to intimidation with a dangerous weapon, a Class C felony, involuntary manslaughter, and possession of a firearm or offensive weapon by a felon, both Class D felonies. Scott County prosecutors at sentencing will recommend consecutive prison sentences, for a total of up to 20 years. Because Owens was younger than 18 at the time of the shooting, the judge has the option under Iowa code to suspend the sentence in whole or in part, including any mandatory minimum sentence, or defer the sentence and place him on probation. Hill, who was 14 at the time of the shooting, pleaded guilty as a youthful offender to attempted murder, a Class B felony punishable by up to 25 years in prison. At sentencing, prosecutors will dismiss additional charges of intimidation with a dangerous weapon and possession of a firearm or offensive weapon by a felon. As a youthful offender, Hill will be sentenced in juvenile court and will be under the court's supervision until he turns 18. The judge at sentencing could also order him to be placed at the Iowa State Training School for Boys in Eldora. Once he turns 18, the case then would be remanded to adult court, where a judge would determine whether to sentence him to adult prison or discharge him, among other sentencing options. Hill will not face a mandatory minimum on the charge. Owens and Hill will be sentenced Feb. 1. Each will be ordered to pay $150,000 in restitution under the terms of their plea agreements. Police say Owens and Hill each fired a handgun toward a group of people during a large gathering in the backyard of 4233 Warren St. on June 26, 2016. Culbreath, who was shot in the chest, was taken to Genesis Medical Center-East Rusholme Street, Davenport, where she was pronounced dead. Witnesses at the gathering identified Hill and Owens as the shooters, according to police. Owens, under questioning Friday from defense attorney Michael Motto Jr., admitted that he fired toward a group of rival gang members with the intent to scare them. He was previously adjudicated as a delinquent on a felony burglary charge and is prohibited from possessing or owning a firearm. Owens also admitted that Culbreath was unintentionally struck as the two were firing at each other. Hill, under questioning from defense attorney Robert Rosenstiel, admitted during his plea hearing that he fired at Owens and that he expected that it could or would result in his death, and that he had intent to cause death to Owens. Scott County Attorney Mike Walton said Friday that he made the decision to move forward with the plea agreements, rather than take the case to trial, based on evidence concerns. One of those concerns, he said, is that there is no evidence as to which shooter killed Culbreath. However, the teens are both liable for Culbreaths death when they engaged in mutual combat, he said. We thought this was the best outcome, Walton said. Sally Cerra of Davenport claimed the 10th of 19 top prizes of $30,000 available in the Iowa Lotterys Jolly Holiday Crossword scratch game. Cerra, 37, said she bought her winning ticket Wednesday at Golden Mart, 1026 W. River Drive, Davenport. She said she scratched off her ticket that night when she got home, while her husband, Don, was sleeping. As she finished scratching off her ticket, she said she knew that shed won. Im patting my husband telling him, You have to get up. And he goes, What? Cerra told lottery employees Thursday as she claimed her prize at the lotterys regional office in Cedar Rapids. I said, I won $30,000! He goes, OK. Im going back to bed. And Im like, No, youre driving me to the gas station. Cerra had her winning ticket confirmed at a local gas station. She said she plans to put a majority of her winnings toward a home remodeling project. --Times staff ANKENY The Des Moines company selected to grow marijuana and manufacture medical cannabis products would like to produce tinctures, creams, soft gels, suppositories and even inhalers that allow patients with a variety of ailments to get customized therapies. We want to create efficacious doses within the parameters established by the law, Lucas Nelson, an attorney for Kemin Industries and a consultant with MedPharm Iowa, told the Iowa Medical Cannabidiol Advisory Board Friday morning. The Iowa Department of Public Health on Tuesday released a notice of intent to give MedPharm Iowa a cannabidiol manufacturing license. The company, affiliated with Kemin, a Des Moines ingredient firm, would be charged with supplying medical cannabis products by Dec. 1, 2018. The state will issue up to five licenses for medical cannabis dispensaries by April. Tom Swegle, chief executive officer of MedCara Pharmaceuticals, of Conrad, demonstrated a transdermal cream applicator that would dispense 2.25 milliliters of prescription cannabis cream per click to be applied topically for joint pain, for example. A penlike oil dispenser also could be adapted to release one drop per click. All products would be in child-resistant containers, like traditional medications. MedPharm Iowa was the only company to apply for a manufacturers license, possibly because of the tight turnaround to develop products and an annual fee of $150,000 to $200,000, said Sarah Reisetter, deputy director of the public health department. The relatively low cap for tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC, allowed in the products may restrict the market so manufacturers would have a hard time making it profitable. People are concerned about the sustainability of the program, Reisetter said. Iowas new medical marijuana law expands beyond chronic epilepsy the illnesses patients with a doctors prescription could treat with medical cannabis to include cancer, multiple sclerosis, AIDS or HIV and others. But Nelson and others who spoke at the meeting Friday would like more conditions, including post-traumatic stress disorder or ulcerative colitis. We see this bill as a great start, Nelson said. The state and this board, we really do want to make this a collaborative effort to bring this treatment to the people of Iowa. Dr. Bob Shreck, a Des Moines oncologist and board member, expressed concern about the lack of research findings on the effectiveness of medical cannabis. The federal government has tightly controlled studies of medical marijuana, which advocates argue has hamstrung efforts to use these therapies legally. We, as doctors, are stuck, Shreck said. We live in an evidence-based world. I would be reluctant to open this wide open to every single use everyone wants this to be open to. At this time, the board does not plan to ask the Iowa Legislature to raise the THC limit or add more medical conditions, but will lobby for removing a prohibition on some felons getting medical cannabis. The state health department will request permission to retain fees to pay for the cost of the program. The bad marriage of President Trump and Secretary of State Rex Tillerson seems to be nearing an end, probably to the relief of both. The question is how the new national-security team that appears to be coming will change American policy. Tillerson for months has been a target of bad-mouthing from the White House, reflecting Trump's feeling that the quiet, sometimes phlegmatic Tillerson was out of step with the president. The sense that Tillerson was moving from dead man walking to former secretary increased Thursday, as both The New York Times and The Washington Post reported that the White House was readying plans for a transition at State. The centerboard of this administration's foreign policy team will remain Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis, still steady in balancing military policy. But there will be a lot more sail aloft, adding speed and also danger. The changes will likely be seen as a signal of greater U.S. willingness to use force, which will increase anxieties at home and abroad about possible conflict with North Korea and Iran. Mike Pompeo, the feisty and politically ambitious CIA director who's likely headed to State, is the un-Tillerson. He's flamboyant where Tillerson is guarded; sharp and sometimes snarky where Tillerson is reticent. He's a far better communicator than Tillerson, and he'll probably do better conveying to Congress, the public and U.S. allies his version of diplomacy than did Tillerson, whose dislike for his job was palpable. The atmospherics will be a more activist, hawkish, extroverted U.S. foreign policy. Pompeo is good at the things Tillerson wasn't. And he has the president's confidence and speaks with the tough, confident voice that Trump wants to project. How big will the substantive policy changes be? That's hard to predict. Mattis and Tillerson have been joined at the hip on most policy issues, especially North Korea. They presented a formidable united front in the Situation Room; the power axis may now shift a bit, because of the chemistry between Trump and Pompeo. On North Korea policy, there will likely be continuity in the short run. Pompeo knows as well as Tillerson did that U.S. military options are bad, and that working with allies is an essential requirement. Pompeo has been aggressively developing covert options for North Korea, but he probably agrees with Tillerson that there is no "silver bullet" for solving this problem. Tillerson said Tuesday, after North Korea's latest missile test: "Diplomatic options remain viable and open, for now." That's still the operative policy. So is Tillerson's plan to convene in Canada a meeting of the so-called "sending states," the 15 U.S. allies that sent troops to fight North Korea in 1950 under a U.N. Security Council resolution. Mattis was the first to endorse this idea publicly, and he still backs it strongly. North Korea boasted Wednesday that with its latest missile test, it has completed its goal of a "rocket weaponry system development." Pyongyang may now want to talk from a position of strength. But Tillerson recently told Chinese diplomats that North Korea must "earn its way" to negotiations by moderating its actions. Obviously, that still holds, too. The wild card in the new team is Sen. Tom Cotton, reputed to be the president's choice to replace Pompeo as CIA director. Cotton has played an outsize policy role in recent months, especially in shaping Iran strategy. He cultivates the image of a hard man, lanky, laconic and Arkansas tough. Like Pompeo, he combines book smarts with a high tolerance for risk. Pyongyang and Tehran should be worried. This team has not been selected to manage compromise. U.S. allies will probably be worried, too. Tillerson was liked and trusted by key allies and seen as a check on Trump's impulsiveness. Cotton's reputation at the Pentagon is that of the "smart young captain" who fought courageously in Iraq but is untested in senior command. CIA operations officers will like his reputation as a "doer"; analysts will worry that he's too close to policymakers at the White House. Most successful CIA directors quickly learn how much they don't know; humility is part of the job description, along with boldness. In the early months of the Trump administration, the Mattis-Tillerson alliance led many analysts to say that the "adults" were in charge of foreign policy, and that their influence checked the tweet-happy president. Trump hated that formulation. Now he'll have a new team, one that is tuned more closely to his pitch. The new ascendancy of the hawks doesn't mean conflict is ahead, necessarily. But Pyongyang and Tehran should understand that Washington is recalculating its tolerance for risk. Thumbs up to a small victory in the battle to save the Renewable Fuel Standard. Environmental Protection Agency officials rolled out the RFS standards for blending bio-fuels into the nation's gas supply. The result: largely unchanged from this year. That's a win for Iowa, since recent proposals would have slashed the amount of ethanol required in gasoline, something the oil industry has sought for more than a decade. The issue has pit Midwestern Republicans against those from the Oil Belt, namely Chuck Grassley vs. Ted Cruz of Texas. Iowa Agriculture Secretary Bill Northey, nominated for a position in the Trump administration, has been stuck in limbo due to Cruz' anger over the issue. Reuters reported Friday that President Trump agreed to a sit down with Big Oil to discuss further its desire to winnow RFS in the future. But, at least for now, the ethanol mandate remains intact. And that's a win for Iowa. Thumbs down to Republicans in Iowa Legislature already drooling over the prospect of tax cuts. The state budget is bare bones and in need of constant triage. School funding is too low. Medicaid is a mess. And, still, dozens of schools districts receive less than their neighbors. And yet, it's tax cuts that sit atop the list of legislative priorities for the 2018 session, GOP lawmakers said. Iowa's 2013 tax cuts were bad policy and continue to cost the state millions. The last thing Iowa needs is another round. At some point, providing basic services must take priority. Thumbs up to a coalition of Quad-Cities organizations and schools, which this week were honored for an effort to boost reading among elementary students. National Campaign for Grade-Level Reading, represented by Ron Fairchild, highlighted his organization's award at an event hosted by United Way of the Quad-Cities Area. The program seeks to boost grade-level reading attainment among third-grade students. It's widely considered a key metric that correlates with future educational success. CACTUS CITY, Calif. The remains of a retired U.S. Army captain and North Dakota native who has been missing in the San Diego area since early September may have been found, police confirmed Friday. The remains, suspected to be that of Julia Jacobson and her dog, Boogie, were found in a shallow grave near the 10 Freeway and Box Canyon Road near Cactus City on Friday, the Ontario (Calif.) Police Department said. Cactus City is an unincorporated area northeast of San Diego. Jacobson, 37, who was born in Dickinson and grew up throughout the region, was originally reported missing on Sept. 2 to the San Diego Police Department. Investigators from the SDPD conducted an extensive search for Jacobson, which led them to the city of Ontario. The Ontario Police Department then became the lead agency. Jacobson was last spotted on security video at a store in Ontario around 8 p.m. on Sept. 2. Jacobson's work vehicle was located on Sept. 7 about half a mile away from her residence in San Diego. Police said the windows were down and the keys were inside. Jacobsons ex-husband Dalen Ware was arrested for the possible murder of Jacobson in October. Based on additional investigative actions, which included the forensic analysis of Jacobsons car, detectives have reason to believe that Julia Jacobson was murdered, the Ontario Police Department said in a news release in October. Cpl. Fred Alvarez, with the Ontario Police Department, said the investigation eventually led them to Cactus City in Riverside County. Alvarez said starting Wednesday they had around 140 officers from various police departments searching the area for evidence and remains of Jacobson. The suspect provided some information and (Friday) we came out to the area with the San Bernardino County Sheriff cadaver dog, Ellie, who did a search and found a shallow grave which had some remains that looked to be an adult female and a dog, Alvarez said. Alvarez said the coroners office will confirm the identity of the remains at a later time. Jacobson has family and friends in the Bismarck-Mandan area and around the region. A memorial service was held for her in Mandan on Friday afternoon. The family has also created bracelets in honor of Julia and Boogie. Proceeds will go towards a scholarship in memory of Julia at Spearfish High School in Spearfish, S.D., where she went to high school. They are available at www.amazon.com/dp/B076ZVMRDV. President Regan nominated Justice Kennedy to the Supreme Court in February 1988. Since Regan was leaving office in 1989, Democrats argued that the next president-elect should make the nomination. Sen. Chuck Grassley opposed this. Surprise. When President Obama nominated Merrick Garland in March 2016, Grassley argued for the exact opposite. With over 100 federal judge positions to fill, Obama filled 20, and Grassley argued against any other nominations, stating that "there were too many federal positions, and that some of them should be left open." President Trump has filled 58, and Grassley writes to this paper to complain that the Democrats are using "blue slips" to slow down the nominating process. Meanwhile, Trump fired three district attorneys in districts where he does business and is interviewing replacements. One would think that Iowa's esteemed senator would be concerned about the separation of the judicial and executive branch, and the extreme lack of diversity in Trump's nominations. Instead, he uses his time, financed by our tax dollars, to cry "hypocrisy." Take a long look in the mirror, Chucky. Wayne Sapp Maysville According to Republicans, after reducing the corporate tax rate from 35 percent to 20 percent, Corporate America wouldl use this money to stimulate the economy by reinvesting it into their businesses creating new jobs and raising wages. The problem is, it didn't happen after the Reagan tax cuts, nor the Bush tax cuts. What most corporations did was pay CEO's more, bought up more stock and passed the money on to stockholders. In fact, an August 30 New York Times analysis found that 92 companies from 2008-2015 paid below the 20 percent figure touted by the Republican plan. And, of those 92 companies, 48 eliminated 483,000 jobs. The non-partisan Research Services has determined that there is no direct correlation between tax cuts to the rich and job creation. On Nov. 14, Gary Cohn, chief economic advisor to President Trump, attended a Wall Street Journal CEO council meeting. The moderator, John Bussey asked the audience, "If the tax reform bill goes through, do you plan to increase investments in your company?" He asked for a show of hands. Very few CEO's raised their hands and Cohn was shocked. History has shown that the Republican myth of "trickle down" economics is nothing more than voodoo or horse manure economics. Rather than trickling down to the low and middle income American families, it trickles upward to the wealthy and Corporate America. Jennifer Reed Coal Valley Nov. 20 2:15 p.m. Suspicious circumstances reported in the 300 block of Main Street. 7:47 p.m. Third degree assault reported in the 100 block of West Second Street. 9:25 p.m. Suspicious circumstances reported in Pony Park Trailer Court. 10:09 p.m. Arrested 26-year-old male on a Sheridan County warrant for failure to appear in the 800 block of West Highway 20. Nov. 21 11:59 a.m. Suspicious circumstances reported in Westview Trailer Court. 12:10 p.m. Citation issued to 33-year-old male for parking complaint in the 500 block of Chadron Avenue. 2:57 p.m. Non-injury accident in the 200 block of Morehead Street. 6:13 p.m. Theft by unlawful taking reported in the 500 block of East Sixth Street. Nov. 23 12:31 a.m. Disturbance reported in the 200 block of Main Street. 12:50 a.m. Arrested 29-year-old male for driving under suspension in the 700 block of West Third Street. 1:24 a.m. Criminal mischief reported in the 100 block of Maple Street. 1:36 a.m. Suspicious circumstances reported in the 300 block of Main Street. Nov. 24 7:03 a.m. Theft of motor vehicle reported in the 500 block of Linden Street. 12:51 p.m. Suspicious circumstances reported in the 300 block of Morehead Street. Nov. 25 1:07 a.m. Suspicious circumstances reported in the 400 block of Chapin Street. 1:39 a.m. Disturbance reported in the 100 block of Main Street. 8:48 a.m. Domestic disturbance reported in the 400 block of Mears Street. 11:11 a.m. Disturbance reported in the 200 block of West Second Street. 11:23 a.m. Suspicious circumstances reported in the 200 block of Lake Street. 3:30 p.m. Issued verbal warning to 38-year-old male for dog at large, times two, in the 800 block of East Second Street. 10:33 p.m. Issued citation to 16-year-old female for minor in possession in Regency Trailer Court. 11:47 p.m. Non-injury accident in Regency Trailer Court. Nov. 26 3:39 p.m. Arrested 36-year-old male on warrant for failure to pay child support in the 400 block of West Niobrara Avenue. 3:49 p.m. Burglary reported in the 100 block of Maple Street. BOX ELDER | Sixty vehicles sitting in the parking lot of a Box Elder church early afternoon Friday was the first indication something interesting was going on inside. Another was that people paid between $99 and $159 to be there. Inside the worship hall of Outreach Community Church, Barry Young was speaking to an audience of about 80 people. Police enforce laws, put bad guys in jail. Church security does something completely opposite, he said. What do we do? Secure a building, and put bad guys where? In heaven. Young, a Missouri pastor and vice president at Strategos security training/consulting firm, was conducting a seminar on how churches can respond to threats in the face of church shootings around the country. His talk included advice on organizing a church security ministry, congregants who will come up with the churchs security policy, making decisions like whether there should be armed members to engage active shooters. Members need to exhibit certain qualities, such as a servant heart but a warrior mindset, as well as pass background checks and undergo a formal interview. A fellow trainer passed out a list of a dozen suggested interview questions, such as: What are your strengths and weaknesses? Do you think you could take the life of another person if the situation justified it? Although not likely, you understand you could lose your life taking this responsibility. Have you discussed this with your wife and family? The seminar attendees came not just from West and East River, but from Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota and Wyoming, said Box Elder Police Department Lt. Chris Misselt, who helped organize the event. Misselt said the two-day seminar, which continues today, is the first church security training to be conducted in the Black Hills. No one else was doing it, so we did, he said in an interview on the seminars sidelines. The participants included Beth Strain, administrator at the Cathedral of Our Lady of Perpetual Help in Rapid City. She came in a group of about 20 people to find out how the parish could put together its own security team, Strain said. Andrew Novak and Josh Mueller, who traveled from Yankton, hoped to learn the same things on behalf of their Restore Church. The days audience was bigger than the seminars usual 20 to 50 attendees, Young told the Journal. The church shooting in Texas last month, in which 25 people were killed, increased the demand for the Strategos training program, he said. Young said attackers typically stay away from churches that can put up a defense because theyre looking for victims, not people who can fight back. Since 1999, he said, church attacks in the United States have been on the rise, but the majority of churches are in denial that they could become targets. At the recent Texas church shooting, he told seminar attendees, the gunman fired 400 rounds and none came from a church member. Be ready for a gun battle, Young said. We gotta start fighting back. It is not a sin to protect ourselves. It is a sin to kill innocent people. How long are we going to pretend that President Trump is fully rational? Trump's supporters comfort themselves with the idea that he's being crazy like a fox that all the outrageous lies, abrupt reversals, bizarre pronouncements and vicious personal attacks are calculated to achieve some rational goal. He's just playing to his base, perhaps, or distracting everyone from unpopular legislation cutting taxes for the rich, or trying to deceive other world leaders into thinking he might be unhinged and should be accommodated. But what evidence is there of calculation? Congress may indeed pass a slapped-together tax bill, but there is no indication Trump even knows what's in it. That would be his first and only significant legislative accomplishment. He has managed to alienate our closest allies even drawing a rare rebuke this week from British Prime Minister Theresa May and created a vacuum in world leadership that China is happily beginning to fill. The most alarming development is the revelation that Trump continues to entertain paranoid conspiracy theories of the kind usually found beneath tinfoil hats. According to both The Washington Post and The New York Times, Trump still clings to the "birther" theories about where former President Barack Obama was born. The papers also reported that Trump has privately claimed the infamous "Access Hollywood" tape, in which he bragged about harassing and assaulting women, was forged or doctored. You will recall that Obama's birth in Hawaii has been definitively proved and also that Trump acknowledged the "Access Hollywood" tape when it surfaced last year and gave a televised address apologizing for it. "I said it, I was wrong, and I apologize," then-candidate Trump told the nation. It would be one thing if Trump were broadcasting this nonsense for a reason. I'd feel better even if he had a nefarious reason to appeal to racists who cannot accept the legitimacy of the first black president, say, or to encourage his base to doubt everything they see and hear in the media and instead to trust only him. But Trump has raised these off-the-wall subjects in private conversations with aides, associates and a sitting U.S. senator settings in which the president is likely to say what he believes. For decades, when he was a publicity-seeking developer and social-climbing Manhattan playboy, Trump's method was to fabricate his own reality; he even called gossip columnists and pretended to be a publicist named "John Miller" or "John Barron" in order to sing his own praises. But he employed this shtick with a wink and a smile, knowing it was all a game. Increasingly he sounds and acts as if he thinks his make-believe is real. One of the things that first drew attention to Trump as a presidential candidate was his public speaking style free-association, basically, with no discernible filter between brain and lip. Follow one of his speeches and you can track how his mind works. On Monday, at a White House ceremony honoring Navajo code talkers, he bizarrely slipped in his "Pocahontas" slur against Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., who wasn't there and had nothing to do with the event. On Wednesday, at a Missouri rally touting the tax bill, he came to a line about how it would add "rocket fuel" to the economy, paused a second, and then reprised his "Rocket Man" insult of North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un, whom Trump went on to call a "sick puppy." Kim's state-controlled media has called Trump an "old lunatic." That the rival, nuclear-armed leaders speak the same language is not comforting. Maybe Trump is rattled by the Great Reckoning on sexual harassment and assault. Maybe he is worried about the steamrolling Robert Mueller investigation. Or maybe his mental state is just deteriorating. Whatever the problem is, it's serious and it's getting worse. It happened this way in Germany, Cambodia, Rwanda, and countless other sites of genocide, ethnic cleansing, and mass persecution. The pamphlets, megaphones, and radio broadcasts came before the pogroms, murders, and forced relocations. The pamphlets, megaphones, and radio broadcasts came before the pogroms, murders, and forced relocations . And today, we have even more effective ways to reach millions of people at a time, as the presidents more than 43 million followers on Twitter can attest; the established media only magnify his reach.Daniel Altman* As Larry May explains in his book, Genocide: A Normative Account (Cambridge University Press, 2010), [i]n international law, genocide has a specialized meaning that is not necessarily consonant with that of the publics understanding of genocide, because it includes acts that do not involve mass killing. To wit: Article II: In the present Convention, genocide means any of the following acts committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group, as such: (a) Killing members of the group; (b) Causing serious bodily or mental harm to members of the group; (c) Deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part; (d) Imposing measures intended to prevent births within the group; (e) Forcibly transferring children of the group to another group. Article III lists the following acts as punishable: (a) Genocide; (b) Conspiracy to commit genocide; (c) Direct and public incitement to commit genocide; (d) Attempt to commit genocide; (e) Complicity in genocide. For our purposes, that is, in examining the possible criminal character of Trumps re-tweeting of inflammatory and unverified anti-Muslim videos, (c) immediately above is germane. Incitement means encouraging or persuading another to commit an offence. May cites the Akayesu Trial Chamber for the two principal ways such incitement is understood in criminal law: Under common law systems, incitement tends to be viewed as a particular form of criminal participation, punishable as such, whereas in most civil law systems, incitement is most often treated as a form of complicity. If incitement is treated merely as a form of complicity, then it may not be charge and punished in its own right. Both the Genocide Convention and the more recent Rwanda Tribunal Statute favor the common law view. As May reminds us, the hardest element to establish for the crime of incitement to genocide is mens rea [guilty mind, i.e., either the intention to commit a crime or knowledge that ones commissive act or omissive act will result in a crime]. In our case, this means [t]here is a desire to create in others a desire to commit a crime. This rather stringent and somewhat awkward requirement is, as May says, especially hard to prove, because in effect we must peer into the mind of two different people, or infer from their behavior what the mental states of two different people are [it also implicates a causal connection so as to be logically sufficient]. The ICTRs [International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda] Akayesu Trial states: The prosecution must prove a definite causation between the act characterized as incitement and a specific offence. May points out that the Media Case Trial Chamber expressed a somewhat less stringent requirement, for [T]he Chamber is of the opinion that the direct element of incitement should be viewed in light of its cultural and linguistic element, thereby allowing what May terms indirect forms of proof. And heres the most significant part as it applies to ouri.e. Trumpscase: The Media Case Trial Chamber stated that [i]t is the potential of the communication to cause genocide that makes it incitement. This seems not to effectively eliminate the direct causation element, in that, in Mays words, the crime does not require a successful instigation for prosecution. The Appeals Chamber of the ICTR later more or less reinstated the direct incitement element in causal terms as such speech must directly call for the commission of genocide. As some have correctly noted, this still does not mean that incitement is necessarily tied to a commissive act as such, thus incitement need not result in genocidal acts for prosecution! As Mays analysis proceeds to inform us, the above legal elements for incitement to genocide bring it within the class of inchoate crimes, such as attempted murder, that do not require the completion of a harmful act in order form criminal liability to be assigned. [It just so happens that there are two books on one such category of these, attempts: R.A. Duffs Criminal Attempts (Oxford University Press, 1997) and Gideon Yaffes Attempts (in the philosophy of action and criminal law) (Oxford University Press, 2010); May cites material from the former book.] The standard list of inchoate crimes includes attempt, conspiracy, solicitation, and incitement. In all such cases, there may be sufficient warrant for punishment, but at a minimum, [t]here has to be an anticipated harm that is foreseen. May, after Duff, thinks incitement should entail a causal element closely related to the intent element as well as a notion of explicit endangerment that falls short of the actual commission or occurrence of the primary harm. This leaves incitement looking something like recklessness rather than like a straightforward intent crime. One of Mays conclusions is that on both deterrence and retributive grounds, the inchoate crime should be punished severely only when there [is] a high likelihood that harm might result from the act of incitement. He furthermore notes the lag time that often exists between when the racist hate speech is broadcast or printed and when the violence ensues, a conceptual problem insofar as incitement derives from the Latin word citare, which means to set in rapid motion. I now quote in full a paragraph of Mays that completes much of his argument for clarifying the notion of incitement to genocide in international law: In my view, incitement makes the most conceptual sense when it is linked with its Latin root, namely, where a persons actions begin a causal chain, and soon thereafter there is, or would normally be, a certain harmful result. In the case of incitement to genocide, the result, of course, is a series of genocidal harms. Incitement is not best understood as preparing the ground for harm, but rather as initiating a causal process. It is also to do so intentionally, although the intention is only to take a risk, not to do that which is risked. And here is where the inchoate nature of the crime arises, for if one were to start such a causal chain by ones words, spoken or written, and to intend that these words would have a certain result, then this is enough for incitement, as long as the so-called proximity condition is met, namely, the condition that states that the act must involve causation that is more than mere preparation. It seems confusing to highlight the proximity condition of this inchoate crime in as much as it need not lead to completion in a harmful outcome. May attempts to clarify this, however, in his final summary of the principal elements in the incitement to commit genocide: Incitement involves the intention to take certain actions that initiate a causal chain that is known to risk serious harm, but where the harm need not be intended, and in addition the harm need not be effected. Incitement is thus an inchoate crime in that harm need not result from the inciters action, but incitement is not like most other inchoate crimes in how the proximity test is to be met. There is a very limited sense in which preparation must be taken, in that the inciter must in fact do those things that, by strongly affecting others, risks causing these others to engage in harms. But this is not best thought of in terms of preparation because it is not as if the inciter need be planning to do things that those who are likely to be affected by his or her actions may cause, nor that he or she intends there to be a plan to produce these harms. There will be degrees of incitement [.] [and thus the severity of punishment will hinge] on a secondary element, namely, whether the specific harm is intended or merely the result of recklessness or negligence. Incitement is thus what is often called a crime of specific or special mens rea. Incitement to genocide is thus to be understood as the kind of crime where there must be both the intent to do an act of broadcasting or publishing or public speaking in a highly prejudicial way about a groups members, and where the risk of harm so created is at least known by the inciter. Darby High School students in Steve Gideons U.S. History class experienced the passion of Montana Humanities speaker and historian Hal Stearns on Monday. Gideon said he was Stearns freshman student at Sentinel High School in 1977 and credited him for making history exciting and starting him on his career. Gideon invited Stearns as part of a Humanities in Montana-Speakers in the School Series grant. It is always good to have guest speakers in class as they provide another viewpoint about something they are passionate and knowledgeable about, Gideon said. I have had a large number of speakers in the past, on everything from eastern Montana settlers to people from the Middle East growing up in Montana. Stearns spoke on Small Towns - Then, Now, and Tomorrow at the Darby Community Public Library a few weeks ago and was to speak with the students the same day, but a conflict caused the need to reschedule. Stearns taught at Sentinel, University of Montana Western, and Nebraska, then began to freelance during the renewed interest in the Lewis and Clark Expedition. I spoke in 43 states, Japan, Korea, Brazil, Argentina, England, and Germany, he said. The Lewis and Clark thing just kind of caught people they ate it up. Stearns taught My Love Affair with Montana and brought a passion and lively discussion of Montana through time. Im a historian, he told the Darby students. A historian takes a look at something back a ways. Darby means a lot to me because one of my key areas of interest Lewis and Clark came right through this area. We ask what were they doing, who did they meet, and what evidence did they leave for us? Stearns said a great moment in history was when Lewis and Clark met the Flathead Indians in the Big Hole. He showed a photo of the Charlie Russell painting that hangs in the House of Representatives at the Montana Capitol. Sometimes historians dont like what we see, Stearns said. When I was in Hiroshima I didnt want to look the Japanese people in the eye. There are some times when Id like to have a pencil with an eraser and Id like to erase the past. Stearns taught history with color, frank discussions, and passion. My focus is on the American west, and I have a love affair of Montana, he said. Stearns showed photos and covered many of Montanas historical moments bringing excitement to each one: hay-raking beaver slides, the journals of Lewis and Clark, Missoula in 1894, Teddy Roosevelt in Missoula in 1912, Fort Missoula Bicycle Corps, Gary Cooper, Fort Shaw, Shep the dog, smoke stacks and sugar beets, weather cycles, world wars, Fort Peck, and current events. But what really gets Stearns' enthusiasm is talking about the Lewis and Clark expedition. He noted that they have five of the seven journals from the trip, and they show how dangerous the trip was, including encountering 39 grizzly bears - and how they had to shoot one 15 times to take it down. Even today, the wilderness of Montana remains intact. We have the wild place, the wild game, he said. We have the grizzly, prong horn antelope, and wolf. Weve got the out of doors and a lot of places dont have that at all. Stearns encouraged Darby students to make a bucket list of all the things they want to do in their life and the places theyd like to visit, and place the White Cliffs of the Missouri River on that list. Mr. Gideon you make darn sure they do that or Im going to change your grade and youll go back to Sentinel High School as a freshman, Stearns said. Also, they need to go for a walk to listen to the silence and they need to visit the Travelers Rest near Lolo. Stearns ended with the story of the loyal sheep dog Shep in Fort Benton, whose owners dead body was shipped to Iowa. Shep met the train every day for five and a half years waiting for his owner to return. When Shep died in 1941, over 1,000 people came to that dogs funeral and next to the river there is a monument showing the dog looking for the train and at the bottom it says Forever Faithful, Stearns said. The students listened intently to Stearns as he brought history to life and a few had tears in their eyes when he told about Shep. Gideon praised Stearns and his exciting presentation that took his students through time. Thats the cool thing about being a history teacher is you slowly connect yourself and your personal history with the state, Gideon said. When you transfer that on to your kids, its neat. Blog Archive June (1) May (16) April (23) March (20) February (17) January (13) December (22) November (40) October (57) September (45) August (55) July (52) June (165) May (121) April (141) March (32) February (76) January (141) December (85) November (130) October (146) September (96) August (89) July (82) June (64) May (99) April (41) March (98) February (61) January (64) December (67) November (51) October (70) September (75) August (52) July (66) June (76) May (104) April (93) March (151) February (168) January (107) December (42) November (56) October (69) September (103) August (75) July (191) June (171) May (207) April (302) March (490) February (155) January (138) December (135) November (226) October (146) September (107) August (160) July (292) June (316) May (361) April (460) March (327) February (49) January (2) November (13) October (3) September (37) August (43) July (6) June (12) May (1) April (29) March (30) February (58) January (27) December (11) November (16) October (34) September (81) August (81) July (93) June (12) May (1) February (1) November (3) October (2) September (6) August (1) July (2) June (14) May (10) April (8) March (13) February (1) January (5) A series of governments across the West have crafted policies designed to help women achieve their goals. However, they failed to ask women what those goals might be. Economic interventions designed to nudge women into careers they dont want, or to enter the workforce full-time even if they prefer to work in the home, uniquely disempower the women they are intended to help. Juan A. Soto, executive director of the Barcelona-based think tank Fundacion Arete, tackles the issue in a new essay for Religion & Liberty Transatlantic. After a sweeping glance at gender-based affirmative action policies across Europe, he surgically dissects the policies and the social conditions that cause them to fail. Most women do not wish to order their economic lives the way the government has decided they should. Sotos insights are at times withering. The EU claims that only 33 percent of scientists and engineers are women, he notes. However, Eurostat statistics from June 2017 also indicate that women only make up 26 percent of students in that field. Rather than blame this on the heteropatriarchal structure of Western societies, policymakers ought to ask whether this also corresponds to different life choices, he writes. The same is true of women working full-time outside the home. The data are readily available. Pew found that more than two-thirds (67 percent) of mothers would prefer not to work outside the home at all, or to work part-time. Mothers are rightly concerned about the quality of daycare watching their children. Lindsey Burke of the Heritage Foundation has noted that researchers: point to certain negative behavioral effects resulting from preschool attendance, including a negative impact on classroom behavior and elevated expulsion rates In fact, preschoolers in state-funded programs are expelled at three times the rate of K- 12 students nationally, with those children enrolled in full-day programs being more likely to be expelled than children in half-day programs. A study by researchers at Stanford University and the University of California showed negative socialization in the areas of externalizing behaviors, interpersonal skills, and self-control as a result of even short periods of time spent in preschool centers. On the other hand, spending more time at home improves the lives of children well beyond their formative years. Eric Bettinger, associate professor at the Stanford Graduate School of Education, found that high school children in Norway got better grades when they had a stay-at-home parent. Bettinger intended his research to support Oslos program to subsidize stay-at-home parents for the first three years of a childs life. After the government incentivized mothers to work outside the home full-time, it is now trying to fix the problem it created through a new welfare policy with the remarkably mercenary-sounding name, Cash for Care. Soto argues it is better to allow parents to make the choices that they know are in their own best economic, and family, interests. Soto notes one additional layer of interference with womens wishes: The European Union has its own gender-based policies, norms, and expectations. The European Commission writes that its policies exist to help women exercise control over their lives and to make genuine choices. Soto writes, we must ask whether government policy stigmatizes women who decide to make other genuine choices, such as being parents. Read the full article here. (Photo credit: Public domain.) Education Reporter Mathew Burciaga is a Santa Maria Times reporter who covers education, agriculture and public safety. Prior to joining the Times, Mathew ran a 114-year-old community newspaper in Wyoming. He owns more than 40 pairs of crazy socks from across the globe. Latest OSJCL issue available on-line provide lots to read | Main | Obama Administration making key decisions on how to prosecute key terror suspects William Jefferson is facing a lengthy prison sentence from U.S. District Judge T.S. Ellis III on Friday, legal experts say, but probably not the 27 to 33 years recommended by prosecutors. Jefferson, 62, the New Orleans Democrat who served nine terms in the House of Representatives, is due for sentencing Friday afternoon in the same Alexandria, Va., federal courthouse where he was convicted in August 11 public corruption counts. The jury acquitted him on five other charges after an eight-week trial. Those willing to predict a sentence suggest that Jefferson faces something in the range of 10 to 20 years, still the harshest punishment handed down in a congressional corruption case. "The federal government is going to want to make an example of him," said Kevin Tamez, managing partner of a New Jersey firm that specializes in federal sentencing issues. "But I would be shocked if he got anything close to 27 or 33 years."... Predicting how long a sentence the defendant will get is difficult, especially now that judges are not required to strictly follow federal sentencing guidelines. Ellis appears to have established a floor by imposing stiff prison terms for two men who pleaded guilty in the case. Brett Pfeffer, a former Jefferson aide, got eight years for conspiracy to commit bribery. Vernon Jackson, CEO of a Kentucky technology firm who testified that he sent payments to a firm headed by Jefferson's wife in return for the congressman's help landing contracts in Western Africa, was given seven years and three months. "This is a hard one because the sentencing guidelines are almost off the charts, in effect a life sentence for Jefferson who is 62," said Harry Rosenberg, a former chief federal prosecutor in New Orleans now in private practice. Rosenberg said he doesn't expect the judge to along with what the Justice Department wants but believes the sentence will be "significantly longer" than the terms given Jackson and Pfeffer. But Dane Ciolino, a Loyola University law professor, said that while the Jackson and Pfeffer sentences "are partly the result of lesser culpability, the acceptance of responsibility and cooperation with the government, Mr. Jefferson's sentence should not be grossly disproportionate to theirs." "Otherwise, his sentence will appear to be a penalty for the exercise of his constitutional right to a fair trial," Ciolino said. Jefferson should benefit by some calculations used in sentencing such as this being his first criminal offense and the fact that other members of Congress convicted of corruption have received sentences no higher than eight years, four months. That sentence was given to former Rep. Duke Cunningham, R-Calif, after he pleaded guilty to taking bribes to get appropriations in House spending bills for defense contractors. Jefferson's lawyers argue that their client never introduced a bill or sought an earmark, or appropriation in return for the payments alleged by the government. In a memorandum submitted Thursday, lead prosecutor Mark Lytle and his co-prosecutors disagreed. "The jury found beyond a reasonable doubt that the defendant converted his congressional office into criminal racketeering enterprise in which he repeatedly sold his office to business people willing to pay cash, stock and equity interests through which the defendant and his family stood to gain more than $500 million," the prosecutors wrote. "Even the most egregious of the cases cited by the defendant do not involve the potential for payoffs of hundreds of millions of dollars." Transcripts now available for oral arguments in Graham and Sullivan | Main | Texas conviction of FLDS member resulting in fascinating jury sentencing experience November 10, 2009 Prosecutors seeking long prison term for ex-Rep. William Jefferson As detailed in lots of media coverage, federal prosecutors are seeking a long prison term for former US Representative William Jefferson following his bribery convictions. Yet, as these different headlines from different press sources reveal, it is not perfectly clear how long a prison term prosecutors are seeking: This AP piece is headlined "Govt asks 27 years in prison for ex-Rep. Jefferson This Politico piece is headlined "Feds seek 30 year sentence for William Jefferson" This BLT piece is headlined "Prosecutors Want 33 Years for Jefferson" I suspect this variation in reporting is a result of the government's guidelines, which prosecutors are likely stressing because they produce a range of 324-405 months of recommended imprisonment. The piece from The BLT reports on how Jefferson's lawyers are countering the prosecution's sentencing recommendations: Jeffersons lawyers issued their own sentencing memorandum ... asking for a sentence of less than 10 years. The memo notes that no member of Congress has ever been sentenced to more than 100 months in prison, and that other sentences in the Jefferson investigation have been less than a decade. November 10, 2009 at 08:51 AM | Permalink TrackBack TrackBack URL for this entry: https://www.typepad.com/services/trackback/6a00d83451574769e20128756f7d05970c Listed below are links to weblogs that reference Prosecutors seeking long prison term for ex-Rep. William Jefferson: Comments "The memo notes that no member of Congress has ever been sentenced to more than 100 months in prison." Well, there's a first time for everything. Hopefully this will be it. Jefferson did something that strikes at the fundamental heart of being a representative, and a strong message needs to be sent. Posted by: Res ipsa | Nov 10, 2009 9:31:05 AM Sending Rep Jefferson to more than 100 months in prison makes no more sense than Bernie Kerik pleading guilty and expecting 27 months in prison. Neither case sends any "message" and nothing is be gained from harsh sentencing as to Jefferson or minimal sentencing as to Kerik. They are examples of the same misjudgments and corruption as found in the current administration of advisors who fail to obey the law or fail to pay taxes and maintain their jobs in Washington DC without penalty. The public has rightfully given up on leadership from the Top. Thiscountry is slowing engaging in becoming a "house divided" at various levels and on a variety of topics. The Congress heeds not the examples of Jefferson and Kerik or the welfare of the american middle class. Indeed, these cases are mere representations of what is happening wholesale by the protested few while the National Treasury is being looted and useless foreign wars are being promulgated. Posted by: Dr. Paul Luskin | Nov 10, 2009 2:34:43 PM I wonder what the CBC thinks. Posted by: federalist | Nov 10, 2009 2:56:04 PM Why aren't Jefferson's lawyers asking for ZERO jail time? According to what they passionately told the jury, their client didn't do anything wrong. How could they now ask for a prison sentence of any kind unless they, you know, didn't believe what they were saying in court -- arms flailing -- only weeks ago? What's that? They didn't actually believe what they were saying?? OH NO!!! Actually, given the idiot Republican who replaced Jefferson in his Congressional seat, it wouldn't bother me if the judge sentenced him to return to the House. Unlike his replacement, at least Jefferson knew what he was doing. Posted by: Bill Otis | Nov 10, 2009 3:49:50 PM Just to pick one point: as if prosecutors believe all of what they are saying. . . Posted by: Mark # 1 | Nov 11, 2009 2:12:43 AM "Thiscountry is slowing engaging in becoming a "house divided" at various levels and on a variety of topics. The Congress heeds not the examples of Jefferson and Kerik or the welfare of the american middle class. Indeed, these cases are mere representations of what is happening wholesale by the protested few while the National Treasury is being looted and useless foreign wars are being promulgated. Posted by: Dr. Paul Luskin | Nov 10, 2009 2:34:43 PM" hi Dr! i think it's more correct to say this county is WELL ON IT'S WAY to becoming a 3rd World banana republic! just like the crooked govt of mexico and south america we used to laugh at. Pity a lot of them have managed to get their act together and we have went completely NUTS. Posted by: rodsmith3510 | Nov 12, 2009 3:20:02 AM Post a comment Thanks to SCOTUS McDonnell ruling, record-long sentence for Congress member reduced to (significant) time served | Main | "Disproportionate Impact: An Impetus to Raise the Standard of Proof at Sentencing" December 2, 2017 Lies, damn lies, and executions statistics for the first year of recent presidential terms This recent story, reporting that Texas' last scheduled execution of the year was canceled, suggests it is not too early to start taking stock of 2017 with respect to the application of the death penalty. This DPIC upcoming execution page reports that no more executions are slated to go forward in 2017, meaning that Ohio closed the books on 2017 executions with its failed efforts to kill Alva Campbell (details here) and that Texas and Florida were the last states to actually complete executions with their separate executions on November 8th (details here). Notably, the AP has this new accounting headlined "US executions increase slightly in 2017," which includes these details: The year-end numbers also show that Texas will regain its standing as the nations most active state in carrying out capital punishment.... Texas put to death seven prisoners this year, matching the state total from 2016. They were among the 23 inmates up from 20 last year put to death in eight states in 2017. Arkansas carried out four executions, followed by Alabama and Florida with three each, and Ohio and Virginia with two each. Georgia, which topped the nation in 2016 with nine, executed one prisoner this year, as did Missouri. Oklahoma, which typically has one of the busiest execution chambers in the country, went another year without putting any inmates to death as the state struggles with implementing a new execution protocol. Oklahoma put all executions on hold two years ago after several mishaps, including a botched lethal injection in 2014 and drug mix-ups in 2015, and the states attorney generals office has said it wont request any execution dates until at least 150 days after new protocols are released.... Executions in the U.S. peaked in 1999, when 98 inmates were put to death. The following year, Texas alone carried out a record 40 executions. As recently as 2010, the national total was 46, but it has been declining steadily. Partly its because of impediments to execution, like the embargo of the optimum drugs, said Kent Scheidegger, legal director of the California-based Criminal Justice Legal Foundation, which advocates for capital punishment. Although Texas seems to have found ways to get them, many states have not. Scheidegger also attributed the decline to a dramatically lower homicide rate compared with the 1990s and greater selectivity in which defendants are sentenced to death, by both prosecutors and juries.... At least eight inmates five from Texas and one each from Missouri, Alabama and Ohio are set to die in the first quarter of 2018. The first, scheduled for Jan. 18 in Texas, is Anthony Allen Shore, who confessed to killing multiple people and is known in the Houston area as the Tourniquet Killer. As the title of this post hints, one (distorting?) way to look at this year's execution numbers is to reflect on the impact (or lack of impact) from a change in presidential leadership in 2017. Because executions take place almost exclusively at the state level there has not been a federal execution in nearly 15 years arguably the politics and actions of the person in the Oval Office has little or no impact on yearly execution realities. But I actually think a President (and an Attorney General) can and historically have, at least in subtle ways, an impact on capital policies and practices nationwide. And, as the accounting below suggests, the raw first-year-of-term US execution numbers (drawn from DPIC here) are just intriguing: Jimmy Carter only term: 1 execution in 1977 Ronald Reagan first term: 1 execution in 1981 Ronald Reagan second term: 18 executions in 1985 George H.W. Bush only term: 16 executions in 1989 Bill Clinton first term: 38 executions in 1993 Bill Clinton second term: 74 executions in 1997 George W. Bush first term: 66 executions in 2001 George W. Bush second term: 60 executions in 2005 Barack Obama first term: 52 executions in 2009 Barack Obama second term: 39 executions in 2013 Donald Trump first term: 23 executions in 2017 So, in last four decades we have had: five Democratic Prez first terms with a total of 204 executions (40.8/year); six Republican Prez first terms with a total of 184 executions (30.7/year). This fact that there have been, in modern times, an average of 10 more executions in the year starting Democratic terms than in the year starting Republican terms is itself perhaps proof that who is in the Oval Office is of no matter to state execution practices. But I still find even this facile sort of number crunching interesting, as will be watching whether Prez Trump and his Department of Justice gives any attention to these matters in the years ahead. December 2, 2017 at 10:45 AM | Permalink Comments The death penalty of the United States is a cruel hoax by the Supreme court on the people of the nation, especially on black murder victims. Time to end this vicious and costly game by the Court. Move on to the Italian Death Penalty. Posted by: David Behar | Dec 2, 2017 1:40:16 PM I don't find the political label of much relevance here -- it would be more useful to look at sentences there. The low numbers in the early years was a result of the results of the moratorium and the lag time in applying Furman and the first set of people running out of appeals. This as a whole would result in an uptick somewhere in the late 1980s or early 1990s. Presidents have limited power here except in regard to federal prosecutions but there were only a handful of federal executions. They do have some limited [more so if they pick strong ideological judges in either direction in death belt circuits] influence over time as to nominations. They might be a way, if they really push it, to do more but not aware much of any president doing that. Not that I'm totally sure what that would be. Posted by: Joe | Dec 2, 2017 3:17:39 PM ETA: Again, most of these cases are state cases though there are federal prosecutions; but even there, executions are what at issue. Maybe, a bit more on these "at least in subtle ways" as compared as other factors. Posted by: Joe | Dec 2, 2017 3:19:47 PM Vaffanculo DB, vaffanculo miserabile stronzo. Posted by: Claudio Giusti | Dec 3, 2017 3:41:19 PM Cool Italian Word of the Week: Stronzo (piece of shit). Posted by: David Behar | Dec 4, 2017 12:33:59 AM ass hole Posted by: Claudio Giusti | Dec 4, 2017 2:35:12 PM I can't prove it, but I agree with the gist of the suggestion. The tone from the executive has an important influence on many issues, including executions and death sentences. I don't think the executive merely reflects sentiment, it guides it (in part, obviously). Of course, the policies of the executive may also be relevant for substantive reasons. To name a couple: importation of LI drugs and certification of states for expedited federal habeas review. Posted by: John | Dec 5, 2017 12:06:39 AM Does the immunity of the court extend to its agents carrying out a court order to execute a prisoner? If it does, can the executioner import carfentanyl from China, openly, and use it as a poison, not under the jurisdiction of the FDA, but under the jurisdiction of the Agriculture Department? The latter has poisons as a matter of regulation, and understand their praxis better. Posted by: David Behar | Dec 5, 2017 2:04:51 PM I am reminded of how many factors go into the timing of an execution. I had a case with two co-defendants, both of whom got the death penalty. Trials occurred three months apart (by fluke of sequencing, non-shooter went first). That three month gap grew to eleven months at the state supreme court on direct appeal. As both offenders were involved in multiple states, further proceedings were delayed while the other state tried their cases resulting in a three-year gap by the time that state collateral review proceedings ended. By the time that the federal court of appeals denied their appeals on the habeas petition, however, the gap was back down to four months. Then, when the inmates were on the wait list to be executed, the non-shooter went just before the drugs expired and by the time that the new protocol had been approved and executions resumed over four years had passed. While presidents and governors can do a lot of things that have some impact on how cases move through the pipeline, how many executions occur in a given year is relatively meaningless. It is the trend over time that has more significance and, even then, the impact of a given president or given governor may not be felt for years. Even if a president/governor appoints judges who are sympathetic to the death penalty, different judges process cases and write opinions at different rates. Posted by: tmm | Dec 5, 2017 4:41:31 PM Post a comment Looking into the politics and personnel of state-level criminal justice reforms | Main | Lies, damn lies, and executions statistics for the first year of recent presidential terms A little more than eight years ago, as detailed in this post, federal prosecutors were seeking a (within-guideline) sentence of 27 years or more years for former US Representative William Jefferson following his bribery convictions. Jeffersons attorneys urged a sentence of less than 10 years, noting that no member of Congress had ever previously been sentenced to more than 100 months in prison. As reported in this post, US District Judge T.S. Ellis ultimately imposed a record-setting prison sentence of 13 years. Fast forward to this press story from yesterday, and we learn the details of the notable final chapter in this particular federal white-collar sentencing saga: Ex-New Orleans Congressman Bill Jefferson walked out of a suburban Washington courthouse Friday owing no further obligations to the United States government, aside from monthly check-ins with a federal parole officer. The five years and five months Jefferson spent in prison, as well as the $189,215.42 the feds seized from his bank accounts, served as enough punishment for Jeffersons corruption convictions, U.S. District Judge T.S. Ellis III ruled. The judge signed off on an agreement between Jeffersons attorneys and federal prosecutors letting the disgraced former lawmaker walk away from the public corruption case against him after serving less than half of his original prison sentence. So, Mr. Jefferson, this ends a long saga, Ellis said as Jefferson, his balding head shaved smooth and shoulders stooped slightly, stood before him. You have paid your debt." The former nine-term Democratic congressman was toppled from power a decade ago amid high-profile FBI raids on his home and congressional offices. Agents had secretly recorded meetings between Jefferson and a wealthy Virginia businesswoman acting as an FBI informant, eventually capturing Jefferson on video accepting a suitcase with $100,000 in cash in a suburban hotel room. Agents later found $90,000 of the money in Jeffersons freezer, wrapped in tinfoil and stuffed inside frozen food boxes. The raid garnered national headlines and left Jeffersons reputation in tatters.... Ellis, who presided over Jeffersons trial and originally sentenced him to 13 years in federal prison, threw out seven of the ten counts against Jefferson in October in light of a 2016 U.S. Supreme Court decision requiring federal prosecutors to do more to prove public officials had abused their positions in corruption cases. The decision, which vacated the corruption conviction of former Virginia Gov. Robert McDonnell, triggered a wave of appeals from other former public officials. The judge also ordered Jefferson to be released early from federal prison. Jefferson, however, had faced the prospect of returning to prison. Ellis left three counts of the conviction standing, each of which carried a potential prison term well beyond the five years Jefferson spent locked up. At Fridays hearing, Jefferson said little, instead letting his attorneys both of whom represented him during his eight-week trial do the talking.... Jefferson offered his gratitude to friends, relatives and supporters whod stood by him over the years while speaking to reporters outside the courtroom. The former politician said he plans to stay retired from public life but hopes to become involved in the community and his local church.... I dont have time to be angry with anything, Jefferson said when asked if he harbored bitterness about his time in prison. Jefferson maintained his innocence in the case even after his conviction but declined Friday morning to say whether he did anything wrong. As part of the deal with prosecutors, Jefferson accepted his conviction on two federal conspiracy counts and agreed not to file any further appeals in the case. Ellis, in signing off on the agreement, noted that federal sentencing guidelines recommend 8 to 10 years in prison on those two charges. The judge called it a fair resolution for everyone involved. Yet Ellis still castigated the ex-lawmakers actions as venal in handing down the lesser sentence. International Business Times Peddles Fake News About Mossad's Gal Gadot | Main | Fatah Official: Iran is Hindering Palestinian Reconciliation December 01, 2017 Israeli Peace Offers Go Missing in Politico A Politico report about the Trump administration possibly moving the U.S. Embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, omitted the numerous instances of Palestinian leadership rejecting a Palestinian state if it meant peacefully co-existing with a Jewish one (Trump inches toward moving U.S. Embassy to Jerusalem,? Nov. 20, 2017). The article, by reporters Andrew Rusticcia and Eliana Johnson, claimed that moving the U.S. Embassy could derail Trumps attempts to restart peace talks between the Israelis and the Palestinians.? Politico reported that Jordans King Adbullah II has told administration officials that such a move could derail efforts to reach a peace agreement in the region,? and some administration officials have claimed it could heighten tensions in the region.? However, Politico failed to inform readers that Palestinians have refused opportunities for statehood on numerous occasions, including 2000 at Camp David, 2001 at Taba and 2008 after the Annapolis Conference. As CAMERA has detailed, the 2008 offer included 93% of the West Bank (Judea and Samaria) and a Palestinian state with its capital in eastern Jerusalem. Not only did Palestinian Authority (PA) President Mahmoud Abbas reject this proposal, he failed to either make a counteroffer or to call Israeli and American negotiators back. Politico also stated that some Trump administration officials are worried that an embassy move could heighten tensions in the region.? Yet, as CAMERAs Senior Research Analyst Steve Stotsky has pointed out, Palestinian terrorism increased after the establishment of the PA and peace talks as part of the Oslo process during the 1990s (The Straight Facts about the Palestinian Authority and Fighting Terrorism,? Oct. 25, 2012). In 1995, the U.S. Congress passed a law mandating that the U.S. Embassy be moved to Jerusalem, in keeping with the custom of maintaining embassies in a nations capitol. Yet, as Politico noted, U.S. presidents have overridden that law by continually signing a six-month waiver keeping the embassy in Tel Aviv. The publication did not note, however, that failing to move the embassy didnt stop endemic Palestinian anti-Jewish violence, including during the Second Intifada, in which more than 1,000 Israelismost of them civilianswere murdered (Jimmy Carters Second Draft,? CAMERA, March 3, 2009). History is clear: Palestinian leadership has rejected opportunities for peace and statehood while supporting terrorism. And theyve done so without the U.S. moving an embassy to Jerusalem, as mandated by law. Posted by SD at December 1, 2017 03:00 PM Guidelines for posting This is a moderated blog. We will not post comments that include racism, bigotry, threats, or factually inaccurate material. Post a comment Vietnam is the first country in Asia and the second in the world to ratify the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) in 1990 yet corporal punishment is causing public anger. Averagely, over 2,000 Vietnamese kids are suffering violence and abuse. As per the Ministry of Public Security, there are 3,000 - 4,000 cases of violence against children yearly, including the murder of 100 children and 1,000 cases of child sexual abuse which have been detected. Meantime, as per the World Vision Organizations survey in the northern provinces of Yen Bai and Tuyen Quang showed 44 percent of children have violently punished and23 percent of them are beaten, slapped. In the new hot line 18001567 report, of 689 violence child cases, six over tenth are corporal punishment with four cases in family and two cases in schools. (Hot line 18001567 provides consultation and assistance to children Lately, many cases of child abuse in families and school stirred anger in the public. Corporal punishment badly affects on a childs mental heath and his development. By staff writers - Translated by UYEN PHUONG NORTH SIOUX CITY | A major real estate investment firm with ties to northeast Nebraska has agreed to purchase the former Gateway campus in North Sioux City. Keating Resources CEO Gerard Keating said Friday the deal will lead to significant investment by some local companies who will purchase portions of the campus, which covers seven acres and more than 750,000 square feet of space. Terms of the deal will be released after the sale's scheduled closing on Jan. 10, he said. Im really excited to build upon the great success that Ted and Norm (Waitt) had in the building, which gave me confidence to make the investment, Keating said of the Waitt brothers, who built Gateway into one of the nations largest makers of personal computers. My family has done business in the greater Siouxland market for five generations and Im excited to invest in the market, said Keating, who grew up in Atkinson, Nebraska, about a 2 1/2 hour drive from metro Sioux City. The plan for the property will be a catalyst for growth in North Sioux City. Keating said more details will be released upon the closing, including the purchase price paid to Acer Inc., the Taiwan-based computer maker that inherited the North Sioux City campus when it acquired Gateway's consumer division for $710 million in 2007. At the time of the sale, Acer said it did not want to be a landlord. Instead, the company put the property on the market, with the goal of leasing back the approximate 20,000 square feet of space that houses its servers and a handful of workers that maintain the network. Realtors listed the campus for $15 million. The value of the land alone has been estimated at between $5 million and $7 million. Gateways former offices and manufacturing and warehouse space were built in the 1990s after the PC maker moved across the Big Sioux River from Sergeant Bluff to North Sioux City. The The exteriors of the five large metal, machine shed-like buildings -- named Main, Mexico, Pacific, Peru and Argentina were painted black and white to resemble the spots on the Holstein cows featured in Gateways quirky ads. Keating Resources, which has offices in Atkinson, Nebraska and Naples, Florida, specializes in buying large vacant properties throughout the United States and repositioning the parcels for the future, Gerald Keating said. Since 1996, Keating, individually, and with partners, has purchased over $300 million in real estate in the agriculture, industrial, retail, office, mining, port terminals, and rail terminals, according to the companys website, www.keatingresources.com. Keating said existing leases in the former Gateway building will be honored. At last report, FIMCO, a North Sioux City-based manufacturer of agricultural equipment, occupies about 144,00 square feet in the former Peru building. In May, Alorica closed its call center in the Argentina building, eliminating 260 jobs. The Chino, California-based contract services company had leased about 100,000 square feet on the first floor. Editor's note: An earlier version of this story misspelled Gerard Keating's first name. ABOUT THE DONOR: The practice's five family physicians, one physician assistant and one nurse practitioner along with their 30 dedicated staff members have been providing quality health care to Siouxland for 32 years, first in Riverside and for the past 15 years in Dakota Dunes. ORANGE CITY, Iowa | Prosecutors have consolidated dozens of sexual abuse and other charges filed against a former Sioux Center Christian School teacher accused of having inappropriate contact with numerous children. In a procedural move, Sioux County Attorney Thomas Kunstle on Thursday filed a motion in Sioux County District Court to dismiss 29 cases against Curtis Van Dam because all charges will prosecuted under a single case rather than in each individual case. District Judge Patrick Tott granted the motion and dismissed the cases. The action does not dismiss any of the more than 100 charges that authorities have filed against Van Dam. Van Dam, 36, of Sioux Center, was arrested Oct. 23 after a complaint was filed against him for inappropriate contact with a Sioux Center Christian student. Van Dam was charged with lascivious acts with a child. After Sioux Center police continued to investigate the case, they filed additional charges related to incidents that occurred from Aug. 23, 2014, to the present with several other children. Van Dam, who taught at the private school for nine years, faces 101 felonies and 39 misdemeanors, including charges of second-degree sexual abuse, third-degree sexual abuse, sexual exploitation by a teacher and lascivious acts with a child. Police have declined to identify the victims' gender and how many children were involved. According to court documents, Van Dam touched the genitals of one of the victims, who was under age 12, twice a week for 10 weeks. Another charge accuses Van Dam of having a child under age 12 touch his genitals and persuading another minor to partially disrobe once a week for six weeks. Van Dam is also accused of exposing himself to children on more than one occasion. Police have said the incidents took place at various locations, including the school. School administrators removed Van Dam, who taught fifth grade, from the school after the first complaint was filed and later fired him. SIOUX CITY | Small, affectionate and full of pep, this years Little Yellow Dog will bring her spunky spirit to the home of the highest bidder at next Saturday's annual auction. Samantha, a four-month-old Maltese, will find her new home Dec. 9 at the 82nd annual Little Yellow Dog Auction in the atrium of the Ho-Chunk Centre. "She is very playful and she is fearless," said Dr. Michelle Bader, kennel master for the Ancient and Effervescent Order of the Little Yellow Dog and veterinarian at Family Pet Hospital in Sioux City. "I brought her home (Wednesday), and she wanted to play with my dogs right away. She was playing with my cats." Video: Meet the 2017 Little Yellow Dog Dr. Michelle Bader from Family Pet Hospital introduces Samantha, this year's Little Yellow D Proceeds from the auction, sponsored by the Ancient and Effervescent Order of the Little Yellow Dog, a local civic group, will benefit the Journals Mr. Goodfellow Charity, a tradition that provides gifts and books to 8,000 underprivileged area children at Christmastime. The Journal's Goodfellows fund began in 1914 to provide Christmas toys to needy children and expanded in 1936 to include the auction of a puppy. Samantha was donated by Powell Broadcasting, the Louisiana-based company that owns KSCJ radio and a group of other local stations. Dennis Bullock, general manager for KSCJ, said the organization wanted to do something more for the community as part of a celebration of KSCJ's 90th year of broadcasting. "To give back a little to the community, we decided to purchase the dog," he said, thanking another donor for stepping aside to let them contribute during their anniversary year. Bullock said the puppy's name, Samantha, is a tribute to the late Sam Seldon, a longtime engineer and historian at KSCJ who was heavily involved in the Yellow Dog auction each year and with KSCJ's broadcasts of the auction. "He was very dedicated to the Yellow Dog, was just a good man," Bullock said. "We love Sam and thought since this was our 90th year, we'd honor him." Samantha is the second Maltese in a row to be named Little Yellow Dog. Last year's pup, Aspen, sold for $16,000 to an anonymous buyer last year. "I think (Samantha's) actually a bit more outgoing than Aspen," Bader said. "She will give anybody and everybody kisses. She's a very affectionate and loving dog." Currently around 2 pounds, Bader said Samantha will weigh about 6-7 pounds when she's fully grown. Does our country face a big problem with deficits? Is it a mistake to add to them? House Speaker Paul Ryan certainly thinks so. Or he used to. In 2010, he told Fortune magazine that the nation was "sleep-walking toward a debt crisis," and he foresaw calamity on a grand scale. "Within a few years, a sale of government bonds will fail," he said. "The capital markets will go crazy, and the Fed and Treasury will run to Capitol Hill demanding a giant bailout." Wow. He offered much the same view in 2011. "We face a crushing burden of debt, which will take down our economy," Ryan predicted. "It will lower our living standards." Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell also once seemed to think it ill-advised to enact a whopping corporate tax cut when the deficit is such an enormous challenge. He said so as recently as last December. "I think this level of national debt is dangerous and unacceptable," McConnell argued. "My preference on tax reform is that it be revenue neutral." Yes, McConnell really said "revenue neutral," which usually means offsetting tax cuts with tax hikes elsewhere. He now says that miraculous economic growth will take care of everything. One other thing McConnell used to believe: that it's a bad idea to advance far-reaching initiatives on a partisan basis. In March 2009, the Republican leader said he had hoped that the newly installed President Obama "would govern more to the middle." He assailed Democrats for instead intending to do as much as they could "on a strictly partisan basis." "The danger of that, politically, is they end up owning the whole thing," McConnell said, warning of "blowback." This week or next, McConnell will be pressuring Republicans in the Senate to pass a sweeping, 515-page tax bill on, well, a strictly partisan basis. The radical bill would shift taxes away from corporations and the rich to regular folks and would increase the deficit by at least $1.4 trillion. When it comes to the middle class, by the way, this proposal doesn't even deserve to be called a tax cut. According to the Tax Policy Center, it would leave about half of taxpayers paying more by 2027. Republicans are lying coming and going. They hold down the sticker price of the bill and minimize its impact on the deficit by having the middle-class tax cuts (but not the corporate reductions) expire. But they insist that future Congresses would keep the middle-class tax cuts in place. So they are either lying about the deficit, or misleading the middle class. Ryan has already burnished his standing as a deficit hypocrite by pushing a comparable tax cut through the House. But don't you worry. As soon as Republicans shovel every dollar they can to the people who pay their party's bills, he'll dust off those old the-sky-is-falling quotes and warn about the deficits he helped to bloat. He'll tell us how urgent it is to slash Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security and programs for the needy (although he'll try to bamboozle us again by claiming only to be "reforming" them). What can stop this duplicitous raid on the federal treasury? A mobilization at the grass roots that tries to muster some of the energy that went into saving Obamacare would be helpful. But in the end, the honor of the Republican Party is in the hands of a small number of senators. Sens. Bob Corker of Tennessee and Jeff Flake of Arizona have said over and over that (unlike their two-faced leaders) they actually do care about the deficit, even where this tax-cut bill is concerned. If they don't vote against it, they will be enrolling in the Ryan-McConnell Deficit Prevarication Association. Sen. Susan Collins of Maine is as close as there is to a genuine moderate in the Senate GOP. Voting for this utterly immoderate scheme will mean tossing her moderate credentials into a bonfire. But the man whose voice most needs to be heard is Arizona Sen. John McCain's. Over the last few months, he really has been the conscience of the Senate. This summer, he gave a remarkable speech during the Obamacare debate in which he chided the party's leadership for "asking us to swallow our doubts and force [the bill] past a unified opposition." "I don't think that's going to work in the end," he said, "and it probably shouldn't." It definitely shouldn't work on this Pay-Off-Our-Donors tax cut. More than anyone, McCain could give Corker, Flake and Collins the heart to follow their convictions. Quick thinking by the driver of a fuel tanker averted what could have been a disastrous crash at Tufulele on Wednesday afternoon. The Petroleum Products Supplies (P.P.S.) tanker was heading towards the airport when a vehicle in front turned left without using any indicators. This forced the driver of the truck to act quickly as there were other vehicles coming from the opposite direction. A bystander who declined to reveal his name told the Samoa Observer the driver of the tanker saved what could have been a deadly crash. The driver of the car that was right in front of the truck is wrong, he said. He just turned to the left side of the road without turning on his blinkers. So the driver of the truck slammed the breaks and turned the truck, forcing it on the side of the road. He crashed the truck into a breadfruit tree. I reckon in doing that he saved the lives of those in other vehicles and families located in the area as well. The bystander said the tanker was full and it was heading to the airport. Lucky no one here was near our house when the truck turned at the time, he said. The truck could have ended in the sea or exploded. The bystander said motorists have got to be extra careful. We are now into the festive season, we have to be careful so that everyone enjoys a happy and peaceful Christmas and New Year. Attempts to get comments from the Police were unsuccessful. The gravity of the existential threat we face from Islamic Jihad is truly of epic proportions. It is essentially a battle pitting free-civilized man against a totalitarian barbarian. What is at stake is the struggle for our very soul - namely who we are and what we represent. The lives that were sacrificed for individual rights and freedoms that we've come to cherish are being chiseled away from right under our noses by the stealth jihadists. And many of us are in denial and totally clueless. The left's appeasement and pandering to evil is nothing new. What makes their utopian delusions so infuriating and unpardonable is that it is not only they who will have to pay the consequences, and deservedly, so, they are thwarting and undermining our best efforts at resistance and are thus dragging us down in the process as well. By Peter Lancz,, the head of the Raoul Wallenberg World Campaign Against Racism. Voyager NASA If you tried to start a car thats been sitting in a garage for decades, you might not expect the engine to respond. But a set of thrusters aboard the Voyager 1 spacecraft successfully fired up Wednesday after 37 years without use. Voyager 1, NASAs farthest and fastest spacecraft, is the only human-made object in interstellar space, the environment between the stars. 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. Now, the Voyager team is 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, Pasadena, California. 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. The Voyager team assembled a group of propulsion experts at NASAs Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, California, to study the problem. Chris Jones, Robert Shotwell, Carl Guernsey and Todd Barber analyzed 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 maneuver, or TCM, thrusters that are identical in size and functionality to the attitude control thrusters, and are located on the back side of the spacecraft. But because Voyager 1s last planetary encounter was Saturn, the Voyager team hadnt 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. All of Voyagers thrusters were developed by Aerojet Rocketdyne. The same kind of thruster, called the MR-103, flew on other NASA spacecraft as well, such as Cassini and Dawn. On Tuesday, Nov. 28, 2017, 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 traveled through space, taking 19 hours and 35 minutes to reach an antenna in Goldstone, California, that is part of NASAs Deep Space Network. Lo and behold, on Wednesday, Nov. 29, they learned the TCM thrusters worked perfectly and just as well as the attitude control thrusters. 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 Barber, a JPL propulsion engineer. 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 aging mission. When there is no longer enough power to operate the heaters, the team will switch back to the attitude control thrusters. The thruster test went so well, the team will likely do a similar test on the TCM thrusters for Voyager 2, the twin spacecraft of Voyager 1. The attitude control thrusters currently used for Voyager 2 are not yet as degraded as Voyager 1s, however. Voyager 2 is also on course to enter interstellar space, likely within the next few years. The Voyager spacecraft were built by JPL, which continues to operate both. JPL is a division of Caltech in Pasadena. The Voyager missions are a part of the NASA Heliophysics System Observatory, sponsored by the Heliophysics Division of the Science Mission Directorate in Washington. For more information about the Voyager spacecraft, visit: https://www.nasa.gov/voyager https://voyager.jpl.nasa.gov Activists Conduct Acts of Civil Disobedience at Abortion Clinics in Defense of Unborn #RedRoseRescue takes place in three US cities Contact: Mark Harrington, Executive Director, Created Equal, 614-419-9000, Mark@CreatedEqual.org COLUMBUS, Ohio, Dec.2, 2017 / Standard Newswire / -- This morning, in three different cities across the United States, pro-lifers simultaneously entered abortion centers to counsel women scheduled for abortions, and by refusing to leave the clinics when told to do so by law enforcement, they offered an act of non-violent defense of unborn children about to be aborted, resulting in the pro-lifers' arrests. For up-to-the-minute information, go to: facebook.com/CreatedEqual Those defending the unborn entered: Western Women's Center, 6765 Orchard Lake Rd, West Bloomfield, MI 48322 Women's Health 101 S Whiting St Alexandria, VA, 22304 Capital Women's Services 6323 Georgia Ave NW Suite 210, Washington, DC Once inside the clinics, small teams of pro-lifers peacefully approached mothers seated in the waiting rooms and offered them red roses as a symbol of life. Attached to each rose was a card which on one side read, "You were made to love and to be loved ... Your goodness is greater than the difficulties of your situation. Circumstances in life change. A new life, however tiny, brings the promise of unrepeatable joy." The card also contained phone numbers of local pregnancy help centers. In addition to reaching out to the mothers, the rescuers chose to remain in the clinic as an act of solidarity with the unborn children scheduled to be killed by abortionists. The rescuers, like any others who recognize an urgent situation, responded to dire circumstances of imminent peril in a spirit of intervention on behalf of innocent babies and beleaguered mothers. These rescues did not involve the blockading of abortion center entrances or procedure rooms. When police officers arrived on the scene, pro-lifers attempted to continue conversation with women or sat on the floor praying quietly or singing hymns until they were placed under arrest. Monica Migliorino Miller, director of Citizens for a Pro-Life Society who participated in the rescue at the Michigan facility, explains: The Red Rose Rescue is an act of charity for women who feel for whatever reason they must have their innocent unborn children killed. Those who took part were willing to embrace risks for these women and their babies. We will go into the very places where the unborn are put to death and extend help to the moms. Should this help be refusedwe will not leave the abortion centers but remain in solidarity with the helpless victims oppressed by the injustice of abortion. Saint Mother Teresa of Calcutta said that her work was "to go into the dark holes of the poor." For additional Information please contact: West Bloomfield, Michigan: Monica Miller, Citizens for a Pro-Life Society, 248.444.9096, mmmillerlife@gmail.com Alexandria, VA, Washington, DC: 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 / Standard 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 Kajsa Ollongren @DefensieMin Berichten over raketinslagen en slachtoffers in Polen zijn verontrustend. We leven mee met de Poolse bevolkin... Mira Costa became the first team this season to win a set against Cathedral Catholic, but the Mustangs eventually fell in four sets in the CIF SoCal Regional final Tuesday night. One person has already pleaded guilty in a massive illegal poaching ring, and three suspects have hearings scheduled for later this month in Skamania County Superior Court. Bryan Christopher Tretiak, 31, of Lewis County pleaded guilty to a single amended charge of second-degree illegal hunting of big game on Nov. 2. The offense carried a maximum penalty of 364 days in jail and/or a $5,000 fine, but Skamania County Superior Court Judge Randall Krog sentenced Tretiak to 14 days of community service and a $500 fine given that this was Tretiaks first poaching-related offense. Tretiaks 364-day jail sentence was suspended with the conditions that he not engage in hunting or possess any hunting dogs for the next two years, according to court documents. Cowlitz County residents Joseph Allen Dills, Eddy Alvin Dills and Erik Christian Martin have suppression hearings scheduled for Dec. 14. After pleading not guilty to a total of 118 charges at an Oct. 12 arraignment, the three men also have trial dates set for Jan. 8, 2018. The hearings will likely determine whether a mountain of evidence documenting illegal animal killings in the Gifford Pinchot National Forest in Southwest Washington and Mount Hood National Forest in Oregon is admissible in court. Our search warrants were reviewed and we feel confident, said Sergeant Brad Rhoden, an investigator with the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, in an interview Friday. Suppression hearings are fairly routine in criminal cases, Rhoden said. The warrants resulted in hundreds of images, videos and text messages showing many of the eight suspects now facing charges gleefully participating in the illegal killing and harvesting of more than 50 animals, including deer, elk, bears and bobcats. News of the alleged poaching ring members of which are accused of illegal use of dogs to pursue animals in broad daylight shocked the public this fall and disgusted honest hunters. WDFW investigators Tyler Bahrenburg and Denis Budai spent months retracing the suspects footsteps this summer using GPS coordinates embedded in photos on their seized cell phones. By the end of the investigation, investigators had compiled a vast cache of evidence that Skamania County prosecutors are using to support at least 187 total charges. The investigation is still ongoing and more individuals could be charged, Rhoden said. Investigators with the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife are still pursuing their own investigation and could also recommend additional charges for suspected crimes in Mount Hood National Forest, he said. There are a whole bunch of players, unfortunately, and were still looking at other potential charges for other individuals in other counties, he said. William J. Haynes, 23, of Longview was another prominent figure in the investigation whose cell phone contained graphic evidence. One photo shows Haynes with blood spattered across his face and clothing after shooting a bear at close range. Haynes, who is facing 61 different charges, has a suppression hearing scheduled for March 1, 2018, and a trial date set for March 12. Meanwhile, Cowlitz County resident Kyle S. Manley, 35, was charged with one count of second-degree illegal hunting of big game and one count of illegal hunting of bears, bobcats, cougars and lynx with the aid of dogs. He has a status conference hearing scheduled for Dec. 4. Other suspects in the investigation include Aubri McKenna, 35, of Longview and a 17-year-old girl. Aubri McKenna has a Dec. 18 status hearing and has not entered a plea at this time. She is charged with two counts of second-degree unlawful hunting of big game and one count of illegal hunting with the aid of dogs. The 17-year-old girl has a Dec. 4 status hearing and has not entered a plea at this time. She is charged with one count of unlawful hunting of big game and one count of illegal hunting with the aid of dogs. These arent the first poaching-related charges that Joseph Dills has faced. Dills, who kept dogs with GPS-enabled collars with his father, Eddy, pleaded guilty in Wahkiakum County District Court in 2008 to second-degree unlawful hunting of big game and second-degree criminal trespassing. Rhoden said he hopes the poaching investigation will encourage people to be more vigilant when theyre deep within some of regions premiere state and national forests. I hope it opened some eyes to what some of the issues are that were dealing with. Obviously, this is on a grand scale, but the activity in and of itself isnt uncommon, he said. I hope this helps people understand what we need from them when theyre out in the woods as far as seeing things and reporting them. Way of life In days of old people had to stay busy working to survive. Todays idle time creates boredom. Boredom creates a dissatisfied life that can cause catastrophic actions. Negative news can cause disrupted thinking and bring harms way to todays society. So many bad things going on worldwide but the USA is our concern and we have the power to make it well. Copycats and mentality come out of the woodwork causing a loss of lives for fame etc. Cellphones have become a dependent way of communication that can cause many adverse conditions to thoughts through texting and voice. So much hate for everything brings the USA to the very bottom of its capability. Dreams of being successful and comfortable in life have been ignored for many Americans. Our way of life in America was paved by dreamers and hard workers through the inventions of the production for our mobility and so much more. Our future is in the future generations hands, literally! Parents, bring up your children for their part in Americas solid great future. Ernie Gerald Longview Congress for sale The Senate is approaching a vote on an amended tax plan. It is difficult to see how the richest Americans need tax relief. We have seen the greatest concentration of wealth and inequality of income in human history under the current plan. The past tax forgiveness plans for overseas profits have only enriched CEOs because they used the money for stock buybacks thereby raising their pay. Not only that, they did not result in job growth. The middle and working class will pay for this travesty with continued lack of investment in infrastructure, decaying healthcare, further wealth inequality, and increased taxes. This reform movement is simply a payback for the billions invested by the richest Americans for the best Congress money can buy. Mike Phillips Kalama Trickle down Legislation being pushed by the Republicans will clearly add over $1 trillion to the federal deficit. To offset this disaster, the GOP will try to do two things. First, they will offer us the old lie that tax cuts to businesses and the wealthy will trickle down to the middle class. That didnt work before, as Reaganomics and the more recent Kansas debacle clearly proved. Most economists predict that tax breaks to businesses from the GOP tax plan will go to increased dividends, stock buybacks, or increased cash holdings that just wont trickle down. More disturbing, the American worker will see few if any benefits from the Republican tax plan. There will be no automatic raises, no hiring binge (the economy is already at 95.8 percent employment), and the tax cuts for individuals making less than $75,000 are meager at best and temporary. However, the big tax cuts for the wealthy and for businesses are permanent and will significantly contribute to a widening of the already horrendous wealth gap in America. Second, since the fake economics behind the Republican tax cut will actually explode the deficit, other budget reductions will become necessary. Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, and other critical social assistance programs will be falsely attacked by the Republicans as the cause of the deficit and will receive budget cuts to compensate for the tax cuts given to the wealthy and businesses. Alan Howard Longview Record of success Council member Mary Jane Melinks guest editorial praising the local Housing Authority was right on the mark. This is an agency that the general public doesnt hear much about. One reason they rarely make the news is that they do their job so well. Because of their successful track record they have been requested by cities and counties outside of Longview to manage projects for them. Most of this success and growth has come during the leadership of Chris Peg, supported by a dedicated board of directors. Council member Melink mentions the outstanding citizens who are currently serving on the board. One member in particular, Wayne Ostermiller, has volunteered his time and expertise since the early 1980s likely a record for the state. Volunteerism is a part of our American culture and no less so here in Cowlitz County. But it can be fragile if the citizens who are devoting their time are treated with disdain by elected officials. The mayor of Longview would do well to support the continued success and legacy of the Housing Authority and spend his time focusing on issues that are real problems. George Raiter Longview OCEAN SPRINGS, Mississippi -- An employee with three decades of service has been named Ocean Springs' new Public Works Director John Russell was named the new director Thursday night, replacing Johnny Groue, who resigned in January to take a job with Jackson County. City Engineer James Foster has been doing double duty, serving as interim public works head since. Contrary to erroneous reports, aldermen voted 6-0 (Mike Impey was absent) to name Russell to the post, with another longtime employee, Allan Ladnier, named the assistant director. The vote came during a special call meeting of the board Thursday evening. Russell and Ladnier were the only two candidates for the director post to interview Thursday night, with former Public Works Director Andre Kaufman having interviewed earlier. Russell said he only expected to interview Thursday night and thought the board would make its decision later. "I was surprised," he said. "I thought that night was just an interview. Allan and I went up there. His interview was at 6 and mine was at 7. We were outside (the board room) talking and they asked us to come back in. They had made their decision." Russell began his career with OSPW in 1987 in the maintenance department. Roughly a year later, he moved over to the water department as assistant supervisor and a decade later became the supervisor, staying in that position for 15 years before moving over to city hall for the past 6-7 years, he said. Alderman Rob Blackman said it was Russell's experience and ability to hit the ground running that tipped the scales in his favor. "His years of experience with the city and the public works department, his willingness to right the ship, so to speak, to get out there and get things going in the direction they need to be going were all factors," Blackman said. Blackman also said putting Ladnier in the assistant director's post was something of a no-brainer. "Allen's been basically in that role for the past two months on a temporary basis," he said. "It's worked so well, with he and Candace (Hooks) sharing the assistant duties in the absence of a full-time director, we realized it was best to simply continue that." Russell likewise is pleased to have Ladnier as his second in command. "He's an excellent guy, an excellent worker," Russell said of Ladnier. "He's a lot like me. He just believes in getting the job done and not having any excuses. "That's what I told the board. I will get everything done that can possibly be done. I'm a working supervisor. I always have been, so you'll see me out there working. That's just the way I am. I don't want to sit behind a desk all day long." Suu Kyi meets Xi as Rohingya censure grows BEIJING (AP) : Myanmar's civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi, facing growing international criticism over her country's persecution of Rohingya Muslims, said Friday her government has made progress in creating a peaceful society but acknowledged that "much still remains to be done." In remarks on a visit to Beijing, Suu Kyi did not directly address the crisis that has seen more than 620,000 Rohingya flee the country over the last few months in what the U.N. and the U.S. say is a campaign of ethnic cleansing by Myanmar. Suu Kyi, who spent 15 years under house arrest during the nation's military rule, has come under widespread criticism for not speaking out against the violence. But she was warmly welcomed in China, Myanmar's friendly northern neighbor, including when she met with Chinese President Xi Jinping on Friday. Suu Kyi spoke at a gathering of political parties hosted by China's ruling Communist Party and said her National League for Democracy-led government "has made progress in its endeavors to create a peaceful, stable and harmonious society." "But much still remains to be done," she added. China has avoided criticizing the crisis and state media did not say whether the issue was discussed during her meeting with Xi. The two leaders hailed the potential for future cooperation through a "China-Myanmar economic corridor," state broadcaster CCTV reported. Suu Kyi's visit comes just a week after Min Aung Hlaing, the commander of Myanmar's military, held his own talks with Xi in Beijing. Myanmar's army remains politically powerful and the civilian government has no control over certain areas such as defense and national security. Analysts said Beijing has likely won greater leverage over Myanmar by helping shield it from criticism over the Rohingya crisis. "Myanmar has leaned toward China because of international criticism and condemnation on Myanmar over the crisis," said prominent Myanmar political analyst Yan Myo Thein. Beijing immediately saw that the crisis provided an opportunity for China to restructure a relationship that stalled after Myanmar began opening to the West earlier this decade, said David Mathieson, a former human rights researcher who is now an independent analyst based in Myanmar. The international outrage and a U.N. human rights investigation into Myanmar's armed conflicts has "given Beijing the opportunity to redefine and rejuvenate its support for the Myanmar state - but at a hefty price," Mathieson said. China was a longstanding friend of Myanmar during the Southeast Asian country's isolation from the West, and its present interests in the country include security along China's southern border, access to Myanmar's natural resources and the construction of dams, pipelines and other projects. Among the biggest, a recently opened pipeline running through Myanmar carries oil from the Middle East and the Caucuses to China's landlocked Yunnan province, allowing it to bypass the Malacca Strait. The pipeline starts at the Bay of Bengal in Rakhine state in western Myanmar, the epicenter of the anti-Rohingya violence. Chinese projects have been blamed for uprooting villagers and harming the environment, factors that led Myanmar in 2011 to suspend the $3.6 billion Myitsone dam primarily funded by Chinese energy interests. The suspension remains a sore point and China is eager to see resumption of work on the project, which had hardly broken ground when it was stopped. Although Suu Kyi's delegation includes the country's minister of electricity and energy, real progress on the dam issue is unlikely, said Yan Myo Thein, the analyst. "There is only a small possibility that this particular dam project will be implemented under a Suu Kyi-led government because it's a controversial national project," he said. Instead, the two sides may discuss alternative projects such as a road serving the Kuming-Mandalay-Yangon-Kyaukphyu economic platform, he said. Xi and Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen were also among those who addressed the gathering at the Great Hall of the People, the hulking seat of China's legislature in the heart of Beijing. Other participants included U.S. Republican National Committee Treasurer Tony Parker. The gathering of delegates representing more than 200 political parties from around the world was hosted by China's ruling Communist Party, which last month reappointed Xi to a second five-year term as its leader. Mayor Annisul Huq laid to rest at Banani Graveyard Dhaka North Mayor Annisul Huq has been laid to rest at the capitals Banani Graveyard. People from all walks of life attended his funeral prayers and bade the final farewell to the beloved mayor on Friday. His well-wishers said they would never forget the mayor who brought tangible changes in the northern part of the capital city. Politicians from across the political spectrum, including the BNP, paid their final respects to the departed mayor. Business leaders were also in attendance. The coffin bearing the mayor's body arrived froam London Saturday afternoon and was first taken to his Banani home to allow people to pay their respects and then to the Army Stadium for funeral prayers before being brought to Banani Graveyard. Annisul Huqs wife Rubana Huq accompanied the body from London. The late mayor's brother, Army Chief Abu Belal Mohammad Shafiul Huq, accompanied his brothers mortal remains from the airport to his final resting place. Annisul's son Navidul Huq said at the funeral prayer at Army Stadium, "My father was a happy person. "He never hurt anyone for his or our family's interests. He never wished bad for anyone. "Even if he hurt some of yours' feelings for the sake of the responsibilities he was discharging, please forgive him," Navidul said. Rubana broke into tears when Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina visited the bereaved family at Banani earlier in the afternoon. Sheikh Hasina offered prayers next to the body before holding a private conversation with the family members. Obaidul Quader, the general secretary of the ruling Awami League party that picked Annisul for the mayoral election, said there would never be another person who would serve the city the way he did. Besides Road Transport and Bridges Minister Quader, Awami League Advisory Council member and Commerce Minister Tofail Ahmed, the party's Presidium member Faruq Khan, and Muhiuddin Khan Alamgir, MP, also visited the house. "He was honest and competent. He will remain in the heart of Dhaka residents forever," Tofail said. BNP National Standing Committee member Amir Khasru Mahmud Chowdhury led the party's delegation that visited the house to pay respects to Annisul. "He set an example of running a local government unit and development projects with a non-partisan stance," Khasru said. Dhaka South Mayor Sayeed Khokon said Annisul's death was an irreparable loss. Speaker Shirin Sharmin Chaudhury and Professor Muhammad Zafar Iqbal, among others, came to condole the bereaved family. "His departed soul will get peace if someone fulfils his dreams about the city," Prof Iqbal said. Thousands gathered in front of the house to pay respect to Annisul with tears dripping down their eyes. Employees of Dhaka North City Corporation and Annisul's Mohammadi Group also came. One of the visitors, Kutub Uddin from Ibrahimpur, thinks Dhaka would be developed much if Annisul was not dead. "Maybe Dhaka would not turn into a city like Singapore, but there will be developments," he said. Ishita Alam Abonee, a World Bank official from Gulshan, thinks Annisul devoted himself to the development of Dhaka. "He was 200 percent, not 100 percent, committed. I think extra work put pressure on his body," she said. Dhaka North City Corporation Executive Engineer Khandaker Mahbub Alam said he never got a leader like Annisul in his around two decades of career. He hoped to complete the unfinished jobs of Annisul. Annisul had headed business bodies FBCCI and BGMEA. AK Azad, who took charge of the apex trade body FBCCI from Annisul, termed the mayor the 'most successful president of the organisation'. Anwar-ul-Alam Chowdhury (Parvez), a former BGMEA president, said, "He was our leader. His departure is an irreparable loss for the country." Mayor Huq went to London at the end of July as his daughter was scheduled to give birth the following month. He was admitted to a hospital there after suddenly falling ill. He died at the hospital on Thursday night at the age of 65 after around four months of treatment when the British doctors left no stone unturned for his cure. The doctors had diagnosed him with cerebral vasculitis an inflammation of the blood vessel wall involving the brain. Huq was elected Dhaka North City Corporation mayor on a ruling Awami League ticket in April 2015. He had served as president of Bangladeshs apex trade body FBCCI during the military-installed caretaker administration. Before that, he also headed the trade body of apparel makers and exporters, BGMEA. With no apparent political ties, he was a surprise pick by the Awami League. Born in his mothers ancestral village of Sonapur at Sonagazi in Feni on Oct 27, 1952, Huq graduated in economics from Chittagong University. His father Shariful Huq, hailing from Noakhalis Companyganj, was an official of the Ansar force while his brother General Abu Belal Mohammad Shafiul Huq is the current chief of Bangladesh Army. He founded Mohammadi Group in 1986 after a stint in television as an anchor in the 1980s and 90s. His wife Rubana Huq is the managing director of Mohammadi Group. Their daughter Tanisha Fariaman Huq is also a company director. The two other directors of the group are Annisuls son Navidul Huq and Rubanas daughter Wamiq Umaira, who is working at the International Labour Organization. PASCAGOULA, Mississippi -- With the downtown area adorned with Christmas lighting and decorations, coupled with horse-drawn carriage rides, numerous vendors, activities for children, a parade fireworks, Pascagoula hit what Mayor Dane Maxwell called a "home run" Friday night with the "Downtown for the Holiday" festival. "We tweaked it some and made it more business-friendly by working with businesses to open up their doors and have their participation in the event," Maxwell said of the annual holiday festival. Maxwell said a number of businesses reported selling out of products and doing "more business Friday night than they have in the previous two months combined." "We had a lot more people this year," he said. "We probably doubled the size of it. I contribute that to our new community relations division and the work they did marketing the event. "For Pascagoula, it was just a home run." Those attending seemed to agree. "This is just such a wonderful Christmas atmosphere," said Sam Stephens of Pascagoula, attending with his wife and children. "There's something here for everyone. Games and rides for the kids, shopping and food vendors for adults, plus the parade and fireworks. We really enjoyed the ride in the horse-drawn wagon." Maxwell said last night marked the first of what he hopes will be numerous successful city events which will be not only enjoyed by the public but prove profitable for local business. "Our policy is everything we do has to have a return on investment," he said. "That doesn't necessarily mean the funding part of it, but it means we have to have community involvement or promoting our businesses. "I've told them all it's our job to promote their businesses and to put on good quality events for our citizens." For anyone heading to this part of Indonesia, I have come up with a list of what to do in Alor Island and it is based purely on my experience here in September 2017. Well, Alor Island is not your regular tourist destination, so the information is quite crucial for anyone planning to head to this part of Indonesia. You must know that there is only one main town on the island called Kalabahi and probably 90% of the people here do not speak English. There are no modern buildings, cafes, malls, Starbucks or what you usually find at popular tourism destinations. This is the real kind of Indonesia that some travellers want to experience. What to do in Alor Island? One of the iconic structures at Alor Island, East Nusa Tenggara Alor Island is actually well known for scuba diving but after my visit here, I managed to compile a list of things to do in Alor Island for just about any other traveller.You must know that there is only one main town on the island called Kalabahi and probably 90% of the people here do not speak English.There are no modern buildings, cafes, malls, Starbucks or what you usually find at popular tourism destinations. This is the real kind of Indonesia that some travellers want to experience. For those who love to explore the unexplored, Alor Island is a great place for this, considering this is one of the least visited places around this region. I have compiled a list of things to do in Alor Island is in no order below. Takpala Village, one of the highlights of Alor Island I will be very honest as during my four days on Alor Island in East Nusa Tenggara, I managed to do some other things besides scuba diving. I wish I had more time to explore this beautiful island too.For those who love to explore the unexplored, Alor Island is a great place for this, considering this is one of the least visited places around this region.I have compiled a list of things to do in Alor Island is in no order below. 1. Visit Takpala Village Takpala Village is a traditional Alornese tribe that lives on a hill. They are probably the only tourist-friendly attraction on the island where you can visit with a tour. You most definitely need a tour guide as no one in the village speaks any English, hence the translation is needed. The beautiful clear waters for scuba diving in Alor Island 2. Scuba Diving at Alor Island To visit Takpala Village , it is about 30 minutes drive from Kalabahi and arrangements need to be made by the tour company. Here, you will witness the traditional lifestyle of the Abui tribe of Alor Island. The underwater landscape is rich with marine life and comes with crystal clear visibility. For macro and leisure divers, you will be in for a treat of your life when you dive here at Alor. A photo was taken with a GoPro during one of my dives at Alor Island Diving at Alor can be done by staying on land or with a live onboard. However, for my trip, we used a live onboard boat for our daily diving but stayed at the only hotel on the island which is Pulo Alor Hotel. You can find out about the Most of you will be visiting Alor for scuba diving as it is probably the main and only attraction here. Scuba diving at Alor Island will allow you to see one of Indonesia's best dive spots.The underwater landscape is rich with marine life and comes with crystal clear visibility. For macro and leisure divers, you will be in for a treat of your life when you dive here at Alor.Diving at Alor can be done by staying on land or with a live onboard. However, for my trip, we used a live onboard boat for our daily diving but stayed at the only hotel on the island which is Pulo Alor Hotel.You can find out about the dive sites in Alor Island for those interested. For those of you who want to experience cold water diving and with crystal clear visibility, I highly recommend this place. I also have an The local Bubu Fishermen of Alor Island with their huge bamboo fish traps 3. See the Alor 'Bubu' Fishermen One of the uniqueness of the Alor fishermen is the fact that they can dive deep underwater with only their handmade wooden goggles. These are called the Bubu Fishermen of Alor, where Bubu means bamboo fish traps in the local Indonesian language. These Bubu fish traps are massive, ranging around one to two meters in length. They are brought down underwater by the diving fishermen and placed there to catch whatever goes in. The fish caught are consumed by the locals and not commercially sold. Seeing the Bubu Fishermen of Alor in action is one of the highlights when you go scuba diving around here. If you are lucky, chances are that you may come across them at one of the dive sites of Alor. A sea bird with its catch spotted at Alor Island 4. Bird Watching in Alor Island I also have an Alor Island scuba diving trip report based on the few days of diving here. That article has photos are taken underwater and an overall review of the place.One of the uniqueness of the Alor fishermen is the fact that they can dive deep underwater with only their handmade wooden goggles.These are called the Bubu Fishermen of Alor, where Bubu means bamboo fish traps in the local Indonesian language. These Bubu fish traps are massive, ranging around one to two meters in length.They are brought down underwater by the diving fishermen and placed there to catch whatever goes in. The fish caught are consumed by the locals and not commercially sold.Seeing the Bubu Fishermen of Alor in action is one of the highlights when you go scuba diving around here.If you are lucky, chances are that you may come across them at one of the dive sites of Alor. This is for those who are into bird watching as Alor is home to several island birds, sea birds, and land birds. As an amateur bird watcher, I must have spotted at least 20 to 30 species of birds during my trip here. I think there are probably no bird guides available on Alor Island, therefore you need to engage one from Labuan Bajo or Kupang. Bird watching in Alor is relatively new, as there are no proper guide books on this. I use the general Indonesia birds guide book. The Cantik Homestay at Alor Island 5. Experience an Alornese Homestay For the culture lover, you can book a homestay on the island in Kalabahi and there are a few of them around. This will allow you to get to know the local Alornese people, their cultures and eat local food. Most of the homestays in Alor cater to tourists and also local travellers, and they speak decent English. The rooms are basic and decent while the local home-cooked meals are worth the experience. I had the pleasure of visiting a homestay and having dinner there, twice too. Locals at Pasar Kadelang Market in Alor Island 6. Explore the Local Alor Market This wet and dry market in Kalabahi known as Pasar Kadelang (Kadelang Market) is pretty raw and original. Therefore, if you are the type that enjoys a proper market, give this a miss. At the local 'Pasar Kalabahi' or Kalabahi market, you will see how daily life revolves among the Alornese people. The market sells a variety of local homegrown produce, dry goods, fish and meats and some of the local Alor snacks and cakes. These are the ones to try, especially the local Alor popcorn. People are friendly and smile when you smile at them here. Mike, Nick, and Olly try betel nut chewing at the Pasar Kadelang market in Alor Island 7. Try Chewing Betel Nut in Alor Island One thing that is on your must-try list at Pasar Kadelang is the Betel Nut or Areca Nut, which is a popular habit among the locals. The Betel Nut is chewed with the leaf and is one of the very unique strange food or customs in this part of the world. The taste can be exhilarating and out of this world, but it is an experience of a lifetime. If you are a food lover, this is hands down a mist-try thing. To do this, you need to engage a local guide to bring you around here. Inside the Museum Seribu Moko in Kalabahi. Photo by https://backpackerjakarta.com 8. Visit the Museum 1000 Moko I wanted to see this place but time did not permit me, hence I will still list it down here. Located in Kalabahi, this Alor Island museum showcases the diverse culture of the Alor people and their old traditions. The museum is also called Museum Seribu Moko or 1000 Moko Museum and gets its name from the Moko jar which represents an important Alornese cultural object. Among the items on display, you will find traditional looms, woven fabrics, pottery, fishing equipment on display here. The museum is pretty informative and you can easily spend an hour here. It is open from Monday to Friday only and from 8.00 AM till 2.00 PM, and till 3.00 PM on Fridays. Sarah from Girls That Scuba spots some dolphins 9. Go Dolphin Watching The fact that the waters around here are untouched almost guarantees you that you can spot dolphins easily. On my trip in September, I was an entire school of dolphins, numbering into the hundreds which included a pilot whale. This can be arranged by the dive operators as they would know where the best places to spot dolphins in Alor Island. You should know that to charter the boat, it is best done in groups, as there are no dolphin tours here at the moment. 10. Learn an Alor Language With so many different tribes found in Alor Island, the languages are said to be from Papuan or non-Austronesian descend. However, from one village to another, the locals do not communicate in their mother tongue but in Bahasa Indonesia, which is widely spoken throughout Indonesia. For the linguistic traveller, you could probably learn a language from the Abui, Adang, Hamap, Kabola, Kafoa, Woisika, Kelo, and Kui tribes here. Unfortunately, I tried to learn a few words but it was quite hard, even for a Malaysian so I can imagine this for others. One of the amazing beaches at Alor Island. Photo by https://www.pesonaindo.com 11. Explore the Alor Beaches This is for those who are into bird watching as Alor is home to several island birds, sea birds, and land birds.As an amateur bird watcher, I must have spotted at least 20 to 30 species of birds during my trip here.I think there are probably no bird guides available on Alor Island, therefore you need to engage one from Labuan Bajo or Kupang.Bird watching in Alor is relatively new, as there are no proper guide books on this. I use the general Indonesia birds guide book.For the culture lover, you can book a homestay on the island in Kalabahi and there are a few of them around. This will allow you to get to know the local Alornese people, their cultures and eat local food.Most of the homestays in Alor cater to tourists and also local travellers, and they speak decent English.The rooms are basic and decent while the local home-cooked meals are worth the experience. I had the pleasure of visiting a homestay and having dinner there, twice too.This wet and dry market in Kalabahi known as(Kadelang Market) is pretty raw and original. Therefore, if you are the type that enjoys a proper market, give this a miss.At the local '' or Kalabahi market, you will see how daily life revolves among the Alornese people.The market sells a variety of local homegrown produce, dry goods, fish and meats and some of the local Alor snacks and cakes.These are the ones to try, especially the local Alor popcorn. People are friendly and smile when you smile at them here.One thing that is on your must-try list at Pasar Kadelang is the Betel Nut or Areca Nut, which is a popular habit among the locals.The Betel Nut is chewed with the leaf and is one of the very unique strange food or customs in this part of the world.The taste can be exhilarating and out of this world, but it is an experience of a lifetime. If you are a food lover, this is hands down a mist-try thing.To do this, you need to engage a local guide to bring you around here.I wanted to see this place but time did not permit me, hence I will still list it down here. Located in Kalabahi, this Alor Island museum showcases the diverse culture of the Alor people and their old traditions.The museum is also called Museum Seribu Moko or 1000 Moko Museum and gets its name from the Moko jar which represents an important Alornese cultural object.Among the items on display, you will find traditional looms, woven fabrics, pottery, fishing equipment on display here.The museum is pretty informative and you can easily spend an hour here. It is open from Monday to Friday only and from 8.00 AM till 2.00 PM, and till 3.00 PM on Fridays.The fact that the waters around here are untouched almost guarantees you that you can spot dolphins easily.On my trip in September, I was an entire school of dolphins, numbering into the hundreds which included a pilot whale.This can be arranged by the dive operators as they would know where the best places to spot dolphins in Alor Island.You should know that to charter the boat, it is best done in groups, as there are no dolphin tours here at the moment.With so many different tribes found in Alor Island, the languages are said to be from Papuan or non-Austronesian descend.However, from one village to another, the locals do not communicate in their mother tongue but in Bahasa Indonesia, which is widely spoken throughout Indonesia.For the linguistic traveller, you could probably learn a language from the Abui, Adang, Hamap, Kabola, Kafoa, Woisika, Kelo, and Kui tribes here.Unfortunately, I tried to learn a few words but it was quite hard, even for a Malaysian so I can imagine this for others. There are quite a few beautiful beaches found all over Alor Island, and some of them in pristine condition. This means, it is generally untouched and only by the locals here. You can only imagine what you will discover on some of the wonderful beaches at Alor Island. Ling'al Beach - Found on the southwest of Alor Island and is known as probably the most beautiful beach on the island. Travelling from Kalabahi overland will take around five hours, while there are boat charters that take around three to four hours. The closest village to the beach is called Halerman Village. A beautiful photo of Ling'al Beach by https://travel.tempo.co Dola Koya Koya Beach - This beautiful spot is found on the eastern part of Alor Island and is known for their scenic views. People come here to take beautiful postcard-perfect photos. Imagine no crowds or people in your photos. Batu Putih Beach - Known in English as White Stone Beach, it is in the north of Alor Island. This beach gets its name from the white corals that dominate the beach here. The turquoise tone waters and white beach make this a perfect place to just relax. Sakura Kalabahi Beach - Found on the northwest of Alor Island, Sakura Kalabahi Beach is a popular beach among the locals. No actual Japanese Sakura trees are found here, but you can find the local cherry blossom species grown along the main road of the beach here. Sakura Kalabahi beach is quite popular among the locals, especially during the sunset hour, where you can get some beautiful photos of the Alor sunset here. The Sakura Kalabahi Beach in Alor Island. Photo from https://aroundguides.com What else to do in Alor Island? Generally, the above kind of sums it up. Alor is considered a very new destination to many, and still in the infancy stage for tourism. A lot needs to be done to cater for mass tourism, but I honestly hope it stays the way it is. Indonesia already has many places that cater to mass tourism, with places like Bali, Lombok, However, for those wanting to see the natural side of Indonesia, then Alor Island is the place to visit. The Alor Island Airport is known as Bandar Udara Mali Alor How to get to Alor Island? The best way to get to Alor Island is via flight if you want to save time. There is only one flight that lands at the Alor Island airport which is via Kupang in Flores. There are no direct flights from Bali or Jakarta, so please note that you have to connect from the larger cities. Even if you are in Labuan Bajo or Komodo, you still need to connect via Kupang. Flights that codeshare and connect to Alor Island are Garuda Airlines, Lion Air, Sriwijaya Air, TransNusa Airlines and Wings Abadi Airlines. Only TransNusa and Wings Abadi fly in from Kupang to Alor. The Wings Abadi Airline plane which I took from Kupang to Alor Island The other way to get here is via ferry, and there are a few companies that operate the Alor island service. You should know that ferries take long and timings are quite tricky. You have the option to take the Another good choice is to check There are quite a few beautiful beaches found all over Alor Island, and some of them in pristine condition.This means, it is generally untouched and only by the locals here. You can only imagine what you will discover on some of the wonderful beaches at Alor Island.- Found on the southwest of Alor Island and is known as probably the most beautiful beach on the island.Travelling from Kalabahi overland will take around five hours, while there are boat charters that take around three to four hours. The closest village to the beach is called Halerman Village.- This beautiful spot is found on the eastern part of Alor Island and is known for their scenic views. People come here to take beautiful postcard-perfect photos. Imagine no crowds or people in your photos.- Known in English as White Stone Beach, it is in the north of Alor Island. This beach gets its name from the white corals that dominate the beach here. The turquoise tone waters and white beach make this a perfect place to just relax.- Found on the northwest of Alor Island, Sakura Kalabahi Beach is a popular beach among the locals.No actual Japanese Sakura trees are found here, but you can find the local cherry blossom species grown along the main road of the beach here.Sakura Kalabahi beach is quite popular among the locals, especially during the sunset hour, where you can get some beautiful photos of the Alor sunset here.Generally, the above kind of sums it up. Alor is considered a very new destination to many, and still in the infancy stage for tourism.A lot needs to be done to cater for mass tourism, but I honestly hope it stays the way it is.Indonesia already has many places that cater to mass tourism, with places like Bali, Lombok, Gili Trawangan and now Komodo Island.However, for those wanting to see the natural side of Indonesia, then Alor Island is the place to visit.The best way to get to Alor Island is via flight if you want to save time. There is only one flight that lands at the Alor Island airport which is via Kupang in Flores.There are no direct flights from Bali or Jakarta, so please note that you have to connect from the larger cities. Even if you are in Labuan Bajo or Komodo, you still need to connect via Kupang.Flights that codeshare and connect to Alor Island are Garuda Airlines, Lion Air, Sriwijaya Air, TransNusa Airlines and Wings Abadi Airlines.Only TransNusa and Wings Abadi fly in from Kupang to Alor.The other way to get here is via ferry, and there are a few companies that operate the Alor island service. You should know that ferries take long and timings are quite tricky.You have the option to take the Pelni Ferry from Kupang to Kalabahi, Alor Island.Another good choice is to check Indonesia Ferry for the timings and schedules, and you can also book your ferry tickets there. If you are looking for the new Immoral Minority posts, you should know that they can be found here at our new home Please stop by to get caught up on politics, join the conversations, or simply check out the new digs. A place to exercise ideas before writing about them with greater discipline. The Illinois Critical Access Hospital Network (ICAHN) recently recognized Pinckneyville Community Hospital District for its ongoing commitment to exceptional quality of care. As part of the Federal Office of Rural Health Policy Medicare Beneficiary Quality Improvement Program, Pinckneyville Community Hospital District and other critical access hospitals were asked to voluntarily participate in four defined domains of quality outcomes. These four domains include patient safety/inpatient, patient engagement, care transitions and outpatient measures. PCHD was recognized for its quality of care outcomes (for participating in all measures in all four domains), for demonstrating top performance over two quarters in any domain (as is demonstrated by a more than 95 percent quality score), and as the most improved over four quarters in any one measure or domain. We are very proud of our team for achieving this level of excellence in health quality, CEO Randall Dauby said in a news release. This is truly a team effort that recognizes our dedication to delivering a healthcare experience that our patients and staff can be proud of. I dont write about politics. I choose not to use the privilege of this space to talk about what divides us. Instead I try to focus on what unites us. Newspapers are full of needed political commentary, but thats not me. The goal of this column is to take us all off the political grid and give us a needed moment of pause. I hope and pray that I find seven hundred weekly words that convey common ground and help create a bond between neighbors. More than a year has passed since the historic elections of 2016. In my lifetime, I have never experienced such extreme vitriol from both sides. We have all witnessed an alarming separation of friends and family, almost entirely based upon political views. I thought by this point, much of the frustration and anger would have dissipated but sadly, it has not. The extremes on both sides keep tugging away at the majority near the middle, causing a painful tension that pulls us apart I continue to be struck by a sermon I heard several months ago. It was delivered by Pastor Tara Beth Leach of Pasadena First Church of the Nazarene, Pasadena California. By way of disclosure, Ill share that I am the very proud father of this pastor. Last week, while visiting her church, I heard her close with the same words from that sermon in the form of four simple statements that I feel compelled to share. Regardless of your faith or lack of, I believe she shared four simple truths that, when contemplated and internalized, can calm a stressed nation and world. I need you I need you to walk beside me, encourage me and hold me accountable. I need you to love me even when you disagree and respect me regardless of my views. I need you to understand that even though I may think and feel differently, I do think and feel. I need you to accept me for who I am but to also help me become who I am meant to be, the best version of me, and You need me You need me to walk beside you and be your friend. To love you regardless of what or how you think, and understand that just because I may disagree, it does not make you wrong. You need me to understand that even though we may see life through different colored eyes and from a different vantage point, we can still learn from and love one another. We need you As a community, we need you to positively contribute to enhance the greater collective. We need to understand that you are unique and often bring a different point of view to the group. We need to not be threatened by our differences, but to embrace what makes us different and be better for it. We need you to not make judgments about us based upon skin color or religious beliefs, but to learn from us and accept us for who we are. You need us To paraphrase John Donne, No man or woman is an island, entire of itself. We are all a piece of the continent and part of the main. Human beings are herd animals. We learn, grow and thrive as part of the collective. This doesnt mean your individualism and personal talents are not important, but quite the opposite. It means you, the unique and talented individual that you are, is needed to support and help move the herd forward. It is our shared differences that make us stronger as a group. Much like a symphony orchestra, full of instruments that look different, sound different and perform different roles, when cooperating and working together the most beautiful music is made. The violin needs the trumpet, the trumpet needs the timpani. The entire orchestra needs the oboe and the French horn needs the entire orchestra. When cooperating differences work together in harmony, beautiful music is made. Four simple statements when internalized and accepted can change our heart. I need you. You need me. We need you. You need us. I wonder how our world would change if we forgave each other for not voting the way you believe we should and we accepted and loved each other, even when we think and feel differently? What if we approached social media as a connection to love our friends and learn from each other, rather than weaponizing Facebook as a device to launch our political WMDs at those who disagree? What if we didnt excuse our bad behavior by pointing to actors and political figures and their bad behavior? What if we spoke encouraging and understanding words to each other and set examples of kindness and civility for others to follow? What would happen if we love each other as we love ourselves? What if? CARBONDALE For the recently homeless, equipping a new apartment with basic household items can prove challenging. Disadvantaged families often have nothing left to spend after coming up with money for rent and deposits, according to Camille Dorris, executive director of the Southern Illinois Coalition for the Homeless, an organization that provides affordable housing and supportive services to the homeless and near-homeless. There have been times when I have walked into somebodys apartment, and they may have already been there for a couple of weeks in the dead of winter, but they have no blanket, they have no sheets, may not have a shower curtain up theyve just not been able to afford to be able to bring these items into their home and purchase these items, Dorris said. Agents at Realty Central, a real estate agency in Carbondale, recently donated 18 "welcome home" baskets that will be provided to SICH clients moving into new homes or apartments. The baskets contain basic household items such as towels, utensils, shower curtains, paper products, mops and brooms. They usually come with the clothes on their back and not too much more, Dorris said. So helping them with things like cleaning supplies, laundry detergent, towels, those kinds of things, it really is a boost. It helps them out so much, financially as well as kind of in terms of sending them in the right direction. SICH provides affordable transitional and permanent supportive housing all over the Southern Illinois region. The whole goal is to try to help them remain permanently housed, not go back into a cycle of going into a shelter or losing their place, Dorris said. The agency works with low-income individuals on setting goals to increase their income and self-sufficiency. We help them put resumes together, we help them with their interviewing skills, help them with finding a more permanent, stable job. We might help them work on reducing some of their debt while theyre in our program, Dorris said. Dorris said most people imagine that homeless people are single individuals, but thats not the reality in Southern Illinois. A lot of that comes from the things we see on TV, stories that we hear. But in Southern Illinois, the majority of people that are homeless are families. They are single women with children, they are families struggling because maybe one person has lost income, they are domestic violence victims, Dorris said. These are families and theyre people that are in our community, and theyre trying to be more productive citizens by getting better jobs and becoming more self-sufficient. Those who wish to donate household items to families in need can call SICHs Marion office at 618-993-0094. MARION Mayor Robert Butler announced his retirement on Friday, which means, according to Illinois Code, the city finance commissioner will fill the position of mayor. That means Commissioner Anthony Rinella will become mayor. In a few short days, something will happen that hasnt happened in 55 years. Marion will have a new mayor, Rinella said Friday afternoon. Rinella retired from Marion Fire Department. He began working as a firefighter at the age of 21 and spent 32 years with the department. He has served on Marion City Council eight years. Ive spent my entire adult life working for the people of Marion. Thats all I know, Rinella said. Both Rinella and Commissioner Angelo Hightower previously announced their intentions to seek the office of mayor in 2019 when Butlers term was set to expire. He did not do this for my political benefit. He did it for the city and his love for the city, Rinella said. He didnt want to do anything with his health to put an imposition on the city. Rinella and the mayor talked, so he was aware that Butler might have to resign. Rinella called it something you never thought he would do. Rinella said he is a different person than Butler with a different personality, calling Butler more outgoing. Rinella has learned a lot of good lessons from Butler. The big thing is to listen to people. Let them voice their concerns to you, Rinella said. Rinella said the city has a great administration in place, with knowledge it would be impossible to replace. You dont replace experience and knowledge. Our workforce is unbelievable as well, Rinella said. All jobs are important and vital to the working of the city. As fire chief, Rinella wanted the firemen to feel the department was theirs, likening himself to a conductor and the firemen to an orchestra. He wants to do the same in the city. He also would like to add to the economic growth accomplished under Butlers leadership, drawing another employer with sustainable jobs that will support a family. Hes put the city on a good foundation and I want to certainly build and add blocks to that foundation, Rinella said. Hightower said the mayors resignation was something he anticipated long before Mayor Butler talked to the city council at Mondays meeting. Its not surprising. He warned the entire council at Monday nights meeting. Even prior to announcement he made to us, I anticipated this, Hightower said. Hightower said some people will see this as a move to strengthen Rinellas campaign for mayor. This is one of those times where it appears to be some shenanigans, but I take him at his word, Hightower said. He added that he still likes his chances for becoming mayor in 2019. Hightower also hopes Butler can relax and live his remaining days in peace, reflecting on his career. AVA Driving through the rural back roads and even on some major highways in Southern Illinois, there is a seemingly endless expanse of farm fields. Corn and beans in the summer, wheat in the winter. Some in the region are hoping for a change, though. A meeting of the minds Sunday at Scratch Brewing Co. is looking to encourage farmers to transition to organic and to consider better soil management. Sponsored by Food Works of Southern Illinois, the Small Grains Field Day will focus on providing tips to conventional farmers looking to simply improve their soil health through cover cropping a process of planting soil-nourishing crops between major harvested crops or who are even interested in entering the organic marketplace. Kathleen Logan Smith is executive director of FWSI and said that this event gets at the core the organizations mission to improve the food system in Southern Illinois. She said for some, turning to these methods of farming moves beyond trying to protect the environment. It has more to do with the viability of the land they will be leaving their children. People are looking at their legacy, she said. For others, the environmental impacts are of a concern. Wesley York is a 35-year-old fifth generation farmer in McLeansboro. He has 350 acres of organic grain and said four years ago he realized he needed to break the mold of how his family had been farming for decades. My instincts told me that what we were doing as far as injecting synthetic fertilizers into our environment was not right, York said of conventional farming methods. It wasnt an easy sell to his father, who farms the other 2,600 acres of his familys land. But, eventually he said his dad has started to see the light. York said he doesnt think he will ever see his dad make the switch, but said he has started to move to growing conventional grains that are not genetically modified. Logan Smith said there was also the monetary consideration to making the change. While, yes, there is investment on the front end, she said for example organic corn prices have at times been better than conventionally-grown corn in recent years. That aside, there are also a variety of markets that are currently in need of organic grains like wheat, barley and corn. Theres other niche markets out there for specialty products, she said. She said breweries, distilleries, live stock feed, bird seed manufacturers and even cooking oil manufacturers could all be potential clients. We have to create layers of extra markets, she said. She noted there are complications to the matter; for example, if barley is substandard for malting that year, there has to be another place for farmers to sell. All of this could mean more jobs for a struggling local economy. Logan Smith said this shift could cause niche markets to spring up to process the grains. She said this could mean organic and non-GMO grain elevators opening, organic malting floors for beer and spirit producers are among the first that come to mind. York said of his big three crops wheat, corn and soybeans he is only able to sell one in-state. He takes his beans to Mattoon. The wheat he takes to Wisconsin and the corn goes to market in Kentucky. We have yet to find a good, consistent local market for our organic grains, York said. He said it would be a huge boost to him if markets sprung up locally that were competitive in price. Logan Smith said this could also help America be more food independent. She said that 40 percent of organic grain sold in America comes from overseas. It just seems silly that America isnt feeding itself, Logan Smith said. These are all huge issues, much more than a few hours on a Sunday over a beer can solve. Still, Logan Smith this is where it starts. Come and make some connections, she said. Ask questions. The event begins at 1 p.m. Sunday at Scratch in Ava. Speakers will include farmers Steve Buxton and Will Glazik. Those interested are asked to register at fwsoil.org. Missouris Normandy school districtthe states only unaccredited public school systemwill gain provisional accreditation next year. The district, now officially known as the Normandy Schools Collaborative and located in St. Louis County, lost its accreditation in 2013. The state took control of the districts finances in February 2014, before fully taking over the district in May of that year. Normandy is the district from which Michael Brown, the teenager who was shot and killed by a Ferguson, Mo, police officer, had recently graduated. Before the takeover, the academically-challenged district was on the verge of bankruptcy from expenses it had incurred by paying transportation and tuition costs for students who were allowed by Missouri law to transfer to an accredited school district. The Missouri state board of education voted unanimously Friday to grant provisional accreditation to the district. Normandy had fallen within the range of provisional accreditation for the last two years, but the state considers more than one year when making its decision, according to the department of education. The districts score went from 7.1 percent in 2014 to 62.5 in 2017, according to the department of education. The state award points for things like academic performance, attendance, college-and-career readiness, graduation, and other factors. The districts English/language arts proficiency rates went from 24.4 in 2015 to 34 percent in 2017. Math proficiency rates remain very low, with the rates of 12.3 in 2015 and 19.2 in 2017, according to state data. Since the state took over, a new board and new superintendent were appointed. As the St. Louis Post Dispatch reported , the early days of the takeover were rocky, with the hiring of inexperienced teachers and the cutting of Advanced Placement and honors classes at Normandy High School. Financial agreements with neighboring school districts have reduced transfer and tuition costs, easing the districts financial burden. The designation will become effective on Jan. 2. I finally found my passion, Adrienne Johnson says. I dont see this as a job. Its a calling. Johnson is the behavior specialist at the STAR Center for Learning in Cope, where she serves middle school students from Orangeburg Consolidated School District 4 and Bamberg Districts 1 and 2. Johnson was recently honored as Staff Person of the Year by OCSD4. She has made a difference in many lives, but theres one she remembers above all others. A young man was sent to the STAR Center whod been threatened with expulsion in his regular school, she said. He was homeless. His father was deceased; his mother battled substance abuse, and he needed the opportunity to vent. He needed someone to work with one-on-one, and she gave him that special attention, Johnson said. He and I just clicked, she said. We established a relationship, and he continued to go to school. She found him places to stay in shelters and eventually found him a more permanent place at a halfway house in Greenwood. But he wouldnt stay because it would have taken him out of the district, Johnson said. Eventually, he found a home with friends in Denmark, and they brought him to school, she said. His grades improved. He started feeling he could be successful, and he graduated from high school and OCtech, Johnson said. Today, he has his own family. The hardest thing about her job is that people think the kids are just difficult, she said. They think, The STAR Center? Oh, thats the place the bad children go, Johnson said. Thats just not so, she said. There are times when their situation in life makes them get discouraged, she said. Circumstances have not presented them with the opportunities they need, and they just need a second chance. They are the ones who need just a little more encouragement just a little more push. A lot of people give up on them and often they give up on themselves, Johnson said. But with the right tools and placing the right person in their lives, they can overcome. If these children get the right gift, the right tools and the right people in their lives, they can succeed, she said. Actually, the STAR Center offers three programs: Middle School Matters, Jump Start to High School and disciplinary action, Johnson said. Middle School Matters is for sixth and seventh graders who are overage for their grade levels, she said. It supplies intensive academic interventions and requires them to attend summer school. The principal can recommend they enter the program or they can request it themselves. Jump Start for High School targets eighth graders who are overage for their grade level, Johnson said. They are placed at the STAR Center by their principal or request it themselves. They attend the school for the entire year and get the chance to jump-start their education. They actually are attempting to do two years in one. Under disciplinary placement, students are sent to the STAR Center for a semester in lieu of expulsion. Theyre placed there by Assistant Superintendent Larry Wolfe or the Discipline Panel. The purpose is to teach them to modify behavior, to control anger, etc. Johnsons job is to work with parents as well as students, to be part of their lives, she said. She does individual and group counseling and uses behavior modification techniques to help the students learn to behave. She teaches parenting skills and makes home visits. The idea is to be a part of the community and let them know shes available to help, Johnson said. Johnson was selected by her peers to represent them as Staff Person of the Year at the STAR Center. She was then chosen as one of three finalists at the district level. She appeared before a panel of educators at the STAR Center, where she was chosen to represent the district of Staff Person of the Year. Johnsons mother lived in New York, and she was reared by her grandmother. When she graduated from high school, she wasnt particularly interested in attending college, she said. But at the urging of her mother and her grandmother, who actually filled out the application for her, Johnson attended South Carolina State University. She graduated with a bachelors degree in counseling education and psychology. She went on to graduate school and earned a masters degree in rehabilitation. Her first job after graduation was at Orangeburg County Mental Health. She spent 16 years there before applying at the STAR Center, where she immediately clicked, she said. I found purpose here, Johnson said. I dont see this as a job. Its a win-win situation. Its a calling. By Trend The plane carrying out Moscow (Vnukovo)-Baku (J2 810) flight, which was supposed to land in Baku at 23:30, is delayed, the Heydar Aliyev International Airport told Trend on December 1. "The plane left with a delay and will land in Baku at 01:05. There is no any official information in connection with the delay of other flights from Moscow", the airport said. Ninety-six flights have been delayed and four flights cancelled at Moscow airports due to a snowstorm. According to recent information, 77 flights were delayed at the Sheremetyevo Airport, six flights delayed and three cancelled at the Vnukovo Airport, and 13 flights delayed and 1 flight cancelled at the Domodedovo Airport. Saudi-based Islamic Corporation for the Development of the Private Sector (ICD) and Shobak Wind Energy have signed facility agreements for a $26-million financing to part fund the construction of a 45 MW wind farm in Jordan near the Shobak town municipality, 160 km south of capital Amman. The balance of the Shariah-compliant senior financing is being provided by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and Europe Arab Bank (EAB), reported The Saudi Gazette. The project company is majority-owned by Alcazar Energy Partners, a UAE-based independent developer active in the Middle East, Africa and Turkey. Alcazar Energy is developing the project in partnership with Hecate Energy, a US-based developer. The project, which will deploy 13 wind turbines supplied by Vestas Wind Systems, will be constructed over a 2-year period and have a total cost of approximately $104 million. Once the project is operational, the generated power will be sold to the Jordanian National Electricity Power Company (Nepco) under a long-term power purchase agreement. The project will support Jordan in increasing its electricity generation capacity from clean, indigenous and renewable sources and reducing reliance on costly hydrocarbon imports. It will help the country abate more than 100,000 tons of CO2-equivalent per annum, supporting Jordans emission reduction targets under the Paris Climate Agreement, as well as promoting sustainable energy development and private sector participation in the countrys energy landscape. Enviromena Power Systems, a leading clean energy project company in the Middle East and North Africa (Mena) region, has been acquired by Arjun Infrastructure Partners, a UK-based independent infrastructure investment advisory company. A portfolio company of Abu Dhabi Future Energy Company (Masdar), Enviromena develops, deploys and operates clean energy solutions throughout the region. With a project footprint spanning nine countries, it has installed more than 17,000 solar systems and has the largest portfolio of solar rooftops in the region. The company has over 175 MW of projects under operation and a further 500 MW under construction. AIP is an independent infrastructure investment advisory company founded in 2015 by Surinder Toor, former Head of Europe for the Global Infrastructure Investments Fund at JP Morgan Asset Management. Commenting on the deal, Mohamed Jameel Al Ramahi, CEO of Masdar, said: "This successful acquisition by leading international investors supports the realisation of our overall strategy. We look forward to our continued collaboration with Environmena on renewable projects throughout the region." Enviromena CEO Sami Khoreibi acknowledged Masdars support as an industry leader for the continued evolution of the energy sector across the region. "This transaction comes at perfect time for Enviromena. The opportunity to deploy solar assets throughout Mena is happening now, and the strategic support and access to capital that AIP brings to the table enables us to enhance our position as the market leader," remarked Khoreibi. "We are very thankful towards our previous shareholders, particularly Masdar and Zouk Capital, who were early believers in the potential for solar in the region, and provided valuable guidance and support over our years of growth," he added. Eversheds Sutherland advised on the transaction. In order to access direct infrastructure investments, AIP has partnered with institutional investors. On the strategic move, Toor said: "We are very excited to complete this transaction and become part of the incredible story of clean energy in the Mena. We are firm believers in the solar opportunity presented in the region, and see Enviromena as the ideal platform to facilitate our strategy to deploy capital into renewable assets." We are firm believers in the solar opportunity presented in the region, and see Enviromena as the ideal platform to facilitate our strategy to deploy capital into renewable assets, he added Toor.-TradeArabia News Service UAEs General Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA) Board of Directors reviewed the financial statements for the third quarter (Q3) of 2017 and approved the GCAA budget for the year 2018. During the 5th meeting held under the chairmanship of Sultan Bin Saeed Al Mansouri, Minister of Economy and chairman of GCAA, the Board also addressed a range of topics including measures to ensure the safety of UAE airports and airspace in preparation for the winter fog, reported Wam, the official Emirates news agency. The Board also launched some new initiatives, including a world first helicopter application and the new "Edarti HUB". GCAA launched the first-of-its-kind technical innovation application at the Dubai Airshow. The application provides a database of continually updated, technical information about vertical airstrips and locations in the UAE for helicopters. The application includes a database of 151 vertical airstrips covering all emirates for helicopter users such as helicopter companies, police helicopters, search and rescue and medical as well as senior personnel. The launch of the application was part of the TRA's technical innovation initiative to enhance the helicopter industry. Saif Mohammed Al Suwaidi, director-general of the GCAA said: "The General Authority of Civil Aviation seeks to play its role in the development of the country and enable the civil aviation sector to contribute to the achievement of the federal government's strategy. It will be the first application of its kind to be applied by the vertical ramps. Usually, information about vertical ramps is only available manually and not updated. The application will mostly target the provision of humanitarian services and will be available for all vertical hubs of hospitals, in addition to the airfields located in major cities, thus allowing helicopter users to carry out their tasks effectively." The Edarti HUB is a one-stop, integrated platform that consolidates all internal services for GCAA employees and is compatible with a wide range of devices helping to create a paperless work environment. The HUB solution has a large array of features, including a centralised task management system for managing the resource utilisation, measuring employee happiness and team collaboration. For instance, a user can directly create a Minutes of Meeting and assign tasks against each action item and then track progress. The application also features live social media feeds providing a real time display of GCAA news and events to enhance employee experience and engagement. Edarti also features a ChatBot which simplifies internal service delivery mechanisms creating an interactive and easy to use system for GCAA employees to do things like apply for leave and book transport etc. HotelsCombined, a global hotel price comparison website, said that international hotel bookings are up by 35 per cent compared to domestic bookings for UAE National Day Weekend, according to recent data analysis. The most popular international destinations for the holiday weekend for UAE residents include Muscat, Makkah, London, Madinah and Istanbul. As well as being the most sought-after destination Muscat is also the most expensive, with a hotel room costing travellers an average of $303 (Dh1,100) per night. Makkah and Madinah offer more affordable accommodation, with rates sitting at $198 (Dh693) and $162 (Dh594) per night respectively, while London and Istanbul have the cheapest rates on offer at $142 (Dh521) and $48 (Dh176) per night. Amer Alhalabi, regional manager Mena, HotelsCombined said: "The UAE local or expat population love to take advantage of long weekends or holiday breaks. Their target destinations are always planned on the basis of offers or air fare. Be it a domestic or regional holiday arrangement, planning and booking of these trips are usually done in advance to secure availability and good prices. Depending on demand, hotels normally increase their rates especially during peak seasons. Therefore, there's always a variation in prices that makes the decision process longer thus inducing guests to book from their desktop rather than mobile." HotelsCombined also analysed the top international hotels for the UAE National Day Weekend, looking at bookings from November 30 to December 3. Al Areen Hotel Apartment in Oman is the most popular, while Golden Tulip Resort Dibba and Hormuz Grand Muscat ranked 2nd and 3rd. Other in-demand hotels by UAE travellers include Le Metropole Hotel Alexandria, Al Marwa Rayhaan by Rotana-Makkah and Shaza Al Madinah. Travellers staying within UAE for the holiday weekend are heading in droves to Dubai, followed by Abu Dhabi and Ras Al Khaimah. Hotels are charging visitors the most in Ras Al Khaimah with rates sitting at $257 (Dh943) on average per night - nearly double the price of hotels in Dubai where it will cost travellers $134 (Dh492) on average for a hotel room. Popular UAE hotels next weekend include Jannah Resort & Villas Ras Al Khaimah at the top of the list, followed by Golden Tulip Khatt Springs Resort & Spa and Jood Palace Hotel Dubai. TradeArabia News Service A diverse group of Wyoming organizations advised the Interior Department on Thursday to follow the Cowboy States example on the imperiled sage grouse. Representatives from groups that rarely find themselves on the same side of the table signed a joint letter to the Bureau of Land Management reaffirming their commitment to Wyomings strategy for conservation. The organizations included the Petroleum Association of Wyoming, the Wyoming Mining Association, the Wyoming Stock Growers Association, the Wyoming Farm Bureau Federation, the Wyoming Business Alliance, the Campbell County Board of Commissioners, the Wyoming Outdoor Council, The Nature Conservancy and the National Audubon Society. Wyomings way of identifying crucial grouse habitats and surrounding them with the strictest protections, while prioritizing development like oil and gas outside those boundaries, was mimicked in the federal management plans that are now open for revision. A public comment period that invited new challenges and suggested changes to the two-year-old plans closed today. In contrast to some other recent comments, the coalition letter did not lay out specific changes it wanted made. Instead, it asked that the Interior keep any updates consistent with Wyomings rules on the matter, which are laid out in a series of executive orders from previous Gov. Dave Freudenthal and current Gov. Matt Mead, the groups said. The state followed the science and worked together on these plans. The feds should too, the letter states. Earlier this year, Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke called for a review of the sage grouse plans, laid out in more than 90 local management guidelines, covering 11 western states. The review and subsequent suggested revisions are in line with the Trump Administrations mandate to reconsider federal regulations that hamper energy development. Zinke said at the time that many westerners had expressed anger at the plans and a desire for change. The plans were controversial, but Wyoming largely celebrated when the plans effectively staved off an endangered species listing in 2015. Most groups that actively participated in developing the state and federal plans have said the regulations could be improved but the underlying strategy should remain intact. Wyoming, where 30 percent of the bird lives, has a history of collaboration on all things grouse, but the nine organizations behind Thursdays letter represent a surprising range of viewpoints, nonetheless. Other groups have also made strong statements to the Interior preceding the comment period deadline. The Western Watersheds Project, which filed the original lawsuit attempting to list the bird as endangered, warned again of the threat of extinction without stronger plans. The DOIs state by state approach is appalling, Rebecca Fischer from Wild Earth Guardians said in a statement Friday. This ignores the need to consider the species needs at a range-wide scale and will result in the failure to apply strong and consistent protections, she said. The Western Values Project meanwhile is seeking an extension on the 45-day comment period because the Interior hasnt released documents the group requested. Western Values alleges that its Freedom of Information Act request could reveal that industry lobbyists had undue influence in the agencys review. Outspoken groups from the industry side also weighed in this week. The Western Energy Alliance out of Denver called for more state control and collaboration going forward, a softened take compared to the fervor of some of its earlier statements. Finally, Wyomings governor reiterated the need for sound science to lead future changes to the plans, as well as his unease with some of the more controversial strategies mentioned by Zinke that were also noted in the agencys review this summer. Wyoming agencies sent a list of proposed changes along with the governors comments on how the plans could be improved without undermining the Wyoming approach. The city of Casper has named Keith McPheeters its new police chief. McPheeters formerly served as Farmington, New Mexico, deputy police chief. City Manager Carter Napier made the announcement in a Friday afternoon news conference. Napier said he expects the new police chief to be sworn in Dec. 11. Napier set a goal of bringing in a new police chief in time for the December holidays when he began as city manager over the summer. McPheeters was well prepared for the position, Napier said, citing similarities between Farmington and Casper, which he referred to as energy towns. Farmingtons population is more diverse than Caspers, and the city of roughly 45,000 has a larger police force than Casper, which should help McPheeters navigate through anticipated population growth and diversification in Casper, Napier said. McPheeters said he expects the department to function as a family under his command. Im a firm believer in team work, McPheeters said. In the same news conference, Napier named Jason Speiser interim fire chief. Speiser will not be a candidate for the permanent position. Speiser has been with the department for 16 years and previously served as a battalion chief. He will take the new role effectively immediately. The longtime Casper resident said Friday that he does not anticipate making changes to the department while he serves in his interim position, saying he would continue to follow the departments mission statement. Former Fire Chief Kenneth Kings retirement became effective Friday, a month earlier than anticipated. King initially announced his retirement last year on the heels of an apology for an email controversy. Police hiring process McPheeters spent nearly 25 years with the Farmington department before retiring in mid-2016. McPheeters holds a bachelors degree from Excelsior College. He is also a graduate of the FBI National Academy and Northwestern University School of Police Staff and Command. In addition to McPheeters, the finalists for the police chief position were: Boise, Idaho police lieutenant Brett Quilter; former West Jordan, Utah police chief Drew Sanders; and interim Casper police chief Steve Schulz. Schulz will remain with the force as a captain, Napier said Friday. After culling the field and consulting with the Wyoming Association of Sheriffs and Chiefs of Police, Napier named the finalists on the last Monday of October. His office spent the next three weeks seeking out more information on the candidates and coming to a final decision, he said in late November. The new chief will be paid between $105,000 and $126,000 annually, according to a job posting issued by the city. The position was staffed in an interim capacity since May by Schulz, who was tapped after former Chief Jim Wetzel was dismissed from his position. The dismissal occurred after problems in the police department became public, but the city has never offered a reason for Wetzels departure. A survey released in early April by the local branch of the Fraternal Order of Police described a toxic environment in the department. Fire hiring process The city will continue to look for a permanent fire chief while Speiser staffs the role in an interim capacity. Napier told a Star-Tribune reporter he had consulted with the division chiefs in making the appointment. Speaking last month, Napier said that 28 applicants had submitted their names for the position. A job posting for the position was open for three weeks. Even before King announced his new retirement date, Napier said he expected he would name an interim fire chief, as he did not expect to make the Jan. 2 deadline. Napier said at the time that he thought we have some good candidates. Speiser will not be a candidate for the permanent position, the interim chief said. The permanent fire position will pay within the same range as the police position, according to the job posting. King announced plans to retire in October 2016, just hours after apologizing for an email regarding the 2015 Cole Creek Fire. In an email to a subordinate who was collecting video evidence of the fire that destroyed 14 homes, King wrote: Could you cut out the bad parts, and make sure that no copies are made and only DCI views? The email was sent while the fire still blazed, but did not become public until the Star-Tribune published it a year later. King characterized the email as a bad joke, in an interview with the Star-Tribune. The states education consultant presented information Thursday about consolidating some of Wyomings 48 school districts, a cost-cutting measure that most lawmakers expressed little interest in. Im opposed to consolidation, Sen. Hank Coe, the chairman of the Select Committee on School Finance Recalibration, told the audience of educators on Thursday morning. A Republican from Cody, Coe comes from a county with three school districts. Were only receiving this report on consolidation just receiving it because were turning over all the stones. Sen. Dave Kinskey, a Sheridan Republican who also comes from a county with three school districts, lamented that lawmakers had wasted a large chunk of their day on a solution that, in the grand scheme of things, doesnt solve much. We have a half-billion dollar problem, he said, referring to the states overall education funding deficit. Weve now spent 20 percent of our time on an $8 million solution. You see the angst and anxiety people have about consolidation. Consolidating the states school districts has been a frequent topic of discussion by some lawmakers as they work to bridge a gaping education funding deficit. On paper, there appears to be good reason for looking into it: Of the states 23 counties, only eight have one school district. Forty-two of the 48 districts have fewer than 3,000 students. Lawmakers directed the states education consultants Augenblick, Palaich and Associates to conduct a study of possible consolidations in the state, and on Thursday, the experts presented their findings. Potential savings are possible through reduction of one-of-a-kind positions such as superintendents, business managers, curriculum directors, federal program directors, and others, the consultants wrote. Essentially, the state could save money by having one superintendent in a county like Sheridan, instead of three. Fremont County has eight districts; could one business manager serve them all? In the past, when the topic has come up, its generally presented that way: as administration consolidation. Lawmakers have said they dont want to close buildings and deprive small towns of their schools. Even though it seemed like lawmakers were merely doing their due diligence by looking at consolidation (though Rep. Cathy Connolly expressed some interest in it), educators still stood to testify against it. When you start to think about what are the real cost savings when you talk about consolidation, it isnt superintendents salaries, Marty Kobza, the superintendent of Sheridan County. No. 1, testified. Politically, its popular, I understand, but at the same time, the only way you save real dollars and Natrona County can probably attest to this is you close buildings. Natrona County School District voted to close four schools in October. Officials here said it would save more than $2 million a year. Superintendent Steve Hopkins, in comparison, makes roughly $190,000 annually. Unsurprising, a survey of superintendents and business managers showed none currently shared those duties with another district, and 80 percent of each said they would not do so. They were open to sharing some responsibilities: Seventy-two percent said they would share a fundraising administrator, 77 percent said theyd do the same with a grant manager, and 72 percent said theyd share a public relations position, among a number of other roles. On top of sharing administrative duties, there are some benefits to sharing, if not outright consolidating. For instance, Natrona County has a number of specialized teachers like those that teach art or advanced placement classes that students in one of the Converse County districts may not have access to. If theres to be any consolidation, that sharing of services would likely be the conduit. The consultants recommended sharing foreign language teachers, for instance, or combining payroll services. Indeed, the survey showed that a majority of districts would share several kinds of teachers, from foreign language to computer programming to special education. Kinskey asked the consultants what was in it for a district like Natrona which has nearly 13,000 students, more than 2,000 employees and is the only district in the county to consolidate with others. Would it just be out of the goodness of their heart? The consultant replied that larger districts would welcome the opportunity to provide these instructional opportunities for all of the students in their region. Essentially, the consultant said, it would be out of the goodness of their heart. Wyoming U.S. Sen. John Barrasso said he does not believe an official analysis of the GOP tax plan that found it would fail to stimulate the economic growth anticipated by Republican leaders. An analysis Wednesday by Congress nonpartisan Joint Committee on Taxation found that the bill would add $1 trillion to the deficit. That pushed at least one Republican senator, Bob Corker of Tennessee, to oppose the legislation. But Barrasso dismissed the JCTs analysis. Oh, thats the one that doesnt believe that theres going to be economic growth? Barrasso asked a reporter from Vox News. Yeah, I ignore that. Barrasso spokesman Bronwyn Lance Chester said that Barrasso believed the analysis was wildly pessimistic. Chester pointed to the White Houses Council of Economic Advisers, who have projected 3 to 5 percent economic growth as a result of the tax plan and to an analysis by the right-leaning Tax Foundation, which argued the JCTs projects were too conservative. Wyomings senior Sen. Mike Enzi, meanwhile, said the JCT projections likely underestimated the benefits of the tax plan. Bill expected to pass Republicans used a burst of eleventh-hour horse-trading Friday to edge a $1.4 trillion tax bill to the brink of Senate passage. The 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. The bill was expected to pass late Friday with the support of Barrasso and Enzi. Rep. Liz Cheney, the third member of Wyomings all-Republican Congressional delegation, supported the House version of the bill. The bill hit rough waters Thursday 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. After bargaining that stretched into Friday morning, Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Kentucky, and other leaders said victory was assured 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. Under the changes leaders agreed to, millions of companies whose owners pay individual, not corporate, taxes on their profits would be allowed deductions of 23 percent, up from 17.4 percent. That helped win over GOP Sens. Ron Johnson of Wisconsin 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 chambers leaders included to keep some GOP votes from high-tax states like New York, New Jersey and California. Collins, a moderate and frequent maverick who opposed her partys Obamacare repeal drive, said shed back the tax bill. The changes added more than $300 billion to the tax bills costs. To pay for that, leaders agreed to reduce the number of high-earners who must pay the alternative minimum tax, rather than completely erasing it. Deficit concerns Corker appeared to be the lone Republican holdout, continuing to cite the increase to the federal deficit, which has long been a concern of GOP lawmakers. Obviously Im kind of a dinosaur on the fiscal issues, said Corker, who battled to keep the measure from worsening the governments accumulated $20 trillion in IOUs. Both Barrasso and Enzi have long raised alarms about the deficit and faulted former President Barack Obama and Democratic politicians. Washingtons deficit is going to be 35 percent higher this year than it was last year, Barrasso said, while railing against Democratic policies in a speech last year. Enzi, too, has frequently attacked Democrats for failing to rein in the federal deficit created during the administration of President George W. Bush during the early aughts and increased during Obamas two terms. Most people in this country realize that the best medicine for a nation with an extreme debt problem is to cut spending, limit how much we spend in the future and balance the budget, Enzi said in a 2011 statement. Spokesman Max DOnofrio said that Enzi believed the JCT estimate likely underestimates the economic benefit the tax form plan would provide. DOnofrio said that the federal budget Enzi helped draft earlier this year led to a balanced budget by 2027 even taking into account lost revenue from tax cuts. Overall, 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 nations largest inheritances would be narrowed to affect even fewer. In addition to raising the deficit, the JCT found that the bills 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 non-partisan Institute on Taxation and Economic policy found that 66,800 taxpayers in Wyoming would pay more taxes in 2027. The group also estimated that 70.7 percent of the tax cuts received by residents would go to the richest 1 percent of Wyomingites, who would see their tax bill drop by $180,000 while the bottom 80 percent would receive reductions of between $100 and $1,100. 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. It would also explicitly let parents buy tax-advantaged 529 college savings accounts for fetuses, a step they can already take but which anti-abortion forces hailed as a victory by inscribing that right into law. Well into Friday afternoon, changes were still being made to the bill, which represents the largest change to the American tax code in decades, including handwritten notes scrawled into the margins of the legislation being circulated among lawmakers and distributed on social media by Democratic lawmakers frustrated with the lack of transparency. The Associated Press contributed to this report. SINCLAIR The town of Sinclair plans to begin foundation work on its historical church this spring, after receiving a $10,000 Wyoming Cultural Trust Fund Grant earlier this month. Sinclair Clerk Lezlee Musgrave said the 1924 building on the corner of North Sixth Street and Wyoming Highway 76 was named as part of a historic district and is in need of some repairs. All of the town buildings, which includes the church, is included in that district, Musgrave said. It is a very important part of our town, and we are trying to maintain all of our historic buildings to maintain the historic nature of them. Musgrave said the church has not been leased since Sinclair Baptist moved into the Parco Hotel a few years ago, but it remains an important part of the communitys history. Some of the older residents that grew up here have gotten married in the church, Musgrave said. We have leased it out to different pastors for church services. Casper Edge Engineering Owner Jason Knopp, after first being contacted about the church in January said he noticed that a part of the building was tearing from the rest. There is a portion of the church that has settled and dropped, Knopp said. Probably about 6 inches from the rest of the building. Knopp worked with the town through much of the year in order to apply for the Wyoming Cultural Trust Grant. When this project got submitted to the Wyoming Cultural Trust Fund board, they were really excited to see the project come in front of them, Knopp said. They themselves kind of understand the (history) of the community. Wyoming Cultural Trust Fund Board member Jim Davis, who visits the town several times in particular, said he had been waiting to see such restoration on the Parco for awhile. My association with Sinclair goes way back to 1992 when we formed an organization called Track across Wyoming, Davis said. We soon discovered that Sinclair offered a great (amount) of resources in the community toward tourism and we have always been anxious to see if there could be restoration to the Parco and the other buildings that contribute to the wonderful place. Davis said while the church is still in pretty good shape compared to other restoration projects, historic buildings typically can be more expensive. Usually historic preservation projects, which the Sinclair church is, cost more money to do, Davis said. We score the application high and also gave it $10,000. Knopp said the town should have enough funds saved to cover the first phase of the project. Before I went after the grant, the community of Sinclair had already set aside money to help with this project, Knopp said. Between the $10,000 we were awarded and the money the community had set aside, that should give them the $25,000 to fix the foundation. In addition to repairing the foundation, Knopp said the city would fix the roof, fix some of the doors and seal it up from the outside. Knopp said the grants are not expected to be available to the community until April; at that point the city plans to enter discussions for contractor bids. Once we are done with that phase of the project, we are going to start looking at what we can do to enhance the inside of the church to make it more inviting, Knopp said. 11218 Hagogohe to host a cultural festival during Christmas By Theresa Baranangko The chairman for Hagogohe Primary school in Buka District Mr Lawrence Bele will be hosting a first of its kind festival called the Sasalam Hihikuma festival at the Hagogohe Primary School by the end of this year 2017. The highlight of the festival is promoting culture and tourism. The aim of the festival is to revive the arts and culture of Bougainville, secondly to pass on the cultural knowledge, thirdly the people of Hagogohe have decided on this festival to commemorate Tourism as this year is the year of Tourism earmarked by the United Nations and lastly regarding the process of Referendum, the people of Hagogohe would like to emphasis through this festival that they are weapons free and are referendum ready. Mr Bele has spear headed this program in preparations for the visit of the Australian cruise ship sailing into Bougainville later in the Month of December. Tourists coming into Buka will be escorted to the show ground at hagogohe to visit stalls occupied by traditional artefacts of Bougainville and also see and taste the traditional recipes, join in the fun to watch traditional dancers in traditional attires and see other traditional activities that will be hosted in Hagogohe Primary school. As there will be awards given out to outstanding participants during the show, Mr Bele is inviting any interested person who wish to show case his cultural art to register their names at Hagogohe primary school so the committee can start preparing the performance lists. Ends// When the texted poured in, I began to notice a pattern. The first was from my son, Austin, regarding his identical twin, Kyle. Kyle has always been the less smart, attractive, and funny twin. We love him, even though Im far superior. My husband, Ron, texted next. Mary is like a Christmas tree. She gives gifts, she drinks water daily, she lights up the room, she has an angel on her head, and people flock to her. Despite myself, I laughed. My daughter, Ciara delivered a humdinger about her little brother. Cooper is a demon child with the spirit and attitude of a morose old man. This was the first draft of the Billiter-Gullberg newsletter when I asked the kids (yes, my husband falls in that category because hes the one who compared me to a tree) to write a few sentences about each other. I thought the letter would have more power if they all wrote about each other instead of my doing the heavy lifting. I write all year long, they could do this much. Or so I thought. My dreams of this letter that perfectly summed up the way our blended family could work together blew up in my face and I sat down, resigned to write the letter myself. Thats when the real responses started coming in, each one filling my heart with pride. Austins arrived first. Kyle is a junior at the University of Wyoming. He has kept up with his academics while also balancing his position with Pi Kappa Alpha (PIKE) fraternity as new member educator. No one could be prouder of Kyles accomplishments than me. Kyle has continued to surprise me and this year he has undertaken the challenge of studying the Arabic language, which I know he will do amazing. Ciaras paragraph about her little brother was also markedly different and heartfelt. Cooper is the most inquisitive and curious 11-year-old Ive ever met. He has the heart of a true, little explorer and the mind of a much smarter than I am mathematician, but I wont tell him that. Cooper wrote his note in colored pencil, alternating between blue and red. Ron! Adult Charlie Brown. Loving and kind and nice. Supportful of others. Father. I wont change Coopers grammar or spelling because that would change the essence of his message. And Ron is supportful of others. I think, though, Kyles write up about his twin brother made me realize that sometimes my ideas arent half-baked. When I heard Austin was going to be attending a new college I was very happy as well as sad. My brother has always been my rock, motivating and driving me to do well with school and throughout life. I was nervous to see him go but also excited for all the great things he will do at Baldwin Wallace. Austin has always exceeded above and beyond with school as well as with his social life making friends everywhere he goes. He is my best friend and I cant imagine a life without him. They got it. Well, everyone except Ron, who thought I was going to let that tree thing go. Im a lot of thingsa mother, a step-mother, an educator, a writer, a friend, a wifenot a tree. Then my phone chimed with his text. Ron wrote more than the required three to four sentences. He highlighted the four books I wrote this year, teaching and my column, noting that in 2017 I came back swinging after breast cancer and various health issues. But what got me was his reference to a fish-shaped coin he bought me when we first began dating. Mary also found her giggle and sense of adventure. The coin thats stamped Giggle is in my wallet. When he gave it to me he wrote, Never lose your giggle. And, over time, I had. My beautiful blue-eyed man, who I met on Christmas Day in 2010 concluded his piece by writing, Mary is more than my wife. She is my best friend. As I started weaving everyones words together, it hit me that this might be the best Christmas letter yet. Some men of science have towered in their time, and fewer women because of fewer opportunities. Some scientists traveled far ahead and the world had to catch up. Such was Isaac Newton in math and physics, Alexander von Humboldt in earths geographical and ecological relations, Albert Einstein in the relativity of matter and energy. But a scientist and much more, who may not be at the tip of the tongue of a good high school student, was Aldo Leopold. He was the father of the modern conservation movement. He pioneered the field of wildlife management and advanced the field so far that the textbook he published in 1933, Game Management, was still the main text for the course forty years later. Leopold was born in Burlington, Iowa in 1887 and grew up along the Mississippi River. Son of a furniture manufacturer, his life went in many directions after leaving his Burlington home but health of the land was always his main attention. Educated at Yale, he first practiced the new field of forestry as forest assistant at the Apache National Forest in the Arizona Territory. Then his interest went to the ecology of wildlife. He became so much more than a wildlife biologist. He was a husband, father, hunter, wildlife manager, naturalist, wilderness advocate, poet, philosopher, skilled author, teacher and visionary. In 1935 he was the leader of The Audubon Society and with some peers founded The Wilderness Society. But he is best known for a book that was slow to be discovered. His A Sand County Almanac, published after his death in 1949, was Leopold at his best. In a 1990 poll of the membership by the American Nature Study Society, A Sand County Almanac and Rachel Carsons Silent Spring stand alone as the two most venerated and significant environmental books of the 20th century. Though little noticed when published, during the environmental awakening of the 1970s, a paperback edition turned into a surprise bestseller. It still sells about 40,000 copies a year. Beautifully written, it is a book of nature, philosophy and science. Aldo Leopold died fighting a forest fire on a neighbors farm at the young age of 61. His son Luna published the book. His teachings are carried on by conservationists everywhere but especially by The Leopold Foundation. In the late 1990s I attended a foundation workshop near Cheyenne. From the workshop I took the activity, What would Aldo Leopold say? for the secondary teachers manual of activities my associate, David Rizor, and I were assembling for Wyoming teachers. The secondary manual and the elementary teachers manual are called Wild Wonderful Wyoming: Choices for the Future. They went to three thousand teachers in Wyoming and Nebraska. In the activity, the instructor tapes to a wall many profound quotes from A Sand County Almanac. Students read the quotes, pick a favorite and read it to the class. They tell why they picked the quote and a discussion results. Following are a few of my favorites. Like winds and sunsets wild things were taken for granted until progress began to do away with them. Now we face the question whether a still higher standard of living is worth its cost in things natural, wild, and free. For us of the minority, the opportunity to see geese is more important than television and the chance to find a pasque flower is a right as inalienable as free speech. Speaking of the plover, Leopold said, He has just flown 4,000 miles (from the Argentine) to reassert the title he got from the Indians, and until the young plovers are a-wing, this pasture is his, and none may trespass without his protest. August nights you can hear the whistled signals as they set wing for the pampas, to prove again the age-old unity of the Americas. Hemisphere solidarity is new among statesmen, but not among the feathered navies of the sky. My dog, by the way, thinks I have much to learn about partridges, and, being a professional naturalist, I agree. He persists in tutoring me, with the calm patience of a professor of logic, in the art of drawing deductions from an educated nose. I delight in seeing him deduce conclusions, in the form of a point, from data that are obvious to him, but speculative to my unaided eye. Perhaps he hopes his dull pupil will one day learn to smell. This was Leopolds thought after he shot a wolf in Arizona. We reached the old wolf in time to watch a fierce green fire dying in her eyes. I realized then, and have known ever since, that there was something new to me in those eyes something known only to her and to the mountain. Examine each question in terms of what is ethically and aesthetically right, as well as what is economically expedient. A thing is right when it tends to preserve the integrity, stability, and beauty of the biotic community. It is wrong when it tends to do otherwise. Leopolds teachings are even more important today than when he lived. Cheyenne politicians have a problem getting enough revenue. Theyre as addicted to it as some people are to tobacco. And in order to shore up state coffers with the first, it seems that legislators are willing to hike taxes on the second. However, excise taxes on tobacco lead to a host of illicit (and often dangerous) activities that undermine two of their advocates key goals: bringing in more money for the state and making residents healthier. Why? Cross-state smuggling. Its more common than you think. Wyomings revenue committee will take up a proposed $1 excise tax hike on cigarettes in December. Adopting the increase would raise cigarette taxes to $1.60 per pack and make smokes more expensive than they are in four of six surrounding states. Since 2008 I have co-authored studies detailing the degree to which cigarettes are smuggled between U.S. states, imported from Mexico and exported to Canada. In our most recent workusing data through 2015my colleagues and I estimated that the Cowboy State was a source of smuggled smokes to other states. For every 100 cigarettes consumed in Wyoming, an additional 17 were smuggled out to other states. The direction of smuggled smokes will reverse itself, however, if Wyoming adopts a 166.7 percent increase in its excise tax. Consider the following what if scenario on the proposed tax increase, which uses a statistical model created by Michigans Mackinac Center for Public Policy: All other things being equal, the $1 increase in the excise tax will turn Wyoming into a net importer of contraband cigarettes. 25 percent of all the smokes consumed within the state would be of the smuggled variety. And, because smuggled cigarettes cannot be taxed, net revenues to the state would be far less than the $26 million that Wyomings revenue estimators are expecting from the tax increase. Our model projects that revenue will still rise, but only by $14.3 million. It is not hard to see why. Its simply too easy to buy cigarettes where they are cheap and make a quick profit where they are more expensive. Take North Dakota, just a stones throw away from the northeastern corner of the state. At just 44 cents per pack in North Dakota, the tax differential between the two states would stand at a gaping $1.16 per pack. In addition, North Dakota doesnt mandate a tax stamp to provide evidence of the products origin. This makes affixing a counterfeit Wyoming stamp much easier, should some organized crime cell choose to do so. Wyoming pols might be tempted to dismiss this estimate. They should not do so. Last year we summarized the findings of more than 20 other studies from university and think tank scholars and consultants. Most showed cigarette smuggling to be a major issue. One study found that between 8.5 and 21 percent of cigarettes smoked nationwide were linked to tax avoidance and evasion. Many individual states had higher rates. Moreover, smuggling is not the only ill effect we see when some states increase their tobacco tax rate far above that of their neighbors. States with high cigarette taxes have been plagued by theft, violence against property and people (including murder-for-hire), corruption of public officials and other problems. Indeed, as prices escalate due to taxes, jurisdictions suffer from prohibition by price. The product remains legal, but becomes expensive enough to bring about some of the infamous consequences of alcohol prohibition. Cheyenne pols no doubt mean well, but going to the cigarette tax well to extract more revenue may be more costly than they realize. We've collected a few front pages from newspapers.com to give you a look at some Dec. 2 papers in history. With a subscription to newspapers.com you can search the Arizona Daily Star and many other newspapers using keywords or dates, and download articles or pages. A first-term state lawmaker wants to curb the ability of those accused of sexual harassment or rape to buy silence from their victims. The proposal by Rep. Maria Syms, R-Paradise Valley, would prohibit enforcement in Arizona of non-disclosure agreements, where complaints of this kind are settled out of court or before a lawsuit is filed with financial settlements conditional on the victim keeping the entire incident secret. She called those agreements a sexual predator loophole. They fly in the face of our states overriding interest in public safety and making sure these sexual predators cant pay their way out of liability or shield themselves from public view, Syms said. HB 2020 would declare that any agreement that restricts the disclosure of factual information that is related to an allegation of or attempted sexual assault to be contrary to state policy. That would not preclude a victim from voluntarily deciding she or he wanted to keep information about the incident secret. But if the victim later decided to come forward, the alleged assailant could not cry foul or revoke the deal because the legislation would make such confidentiality agreements void and unenforceable. But if the perpetrator is an elected official, there would be no opportunity to even propose a non-disclosure agreement: Any such deal would be illegal. Syms said elected officials should be held to a higher standard. Syms said she believes the time is ripe for the discussion. Were at a historic moment in our national dialog with respect to sexual harassment, sexual assault and these confidentiality agreements that have allowed sexual predators to continue victimizing people, she said. Syms said these agreements leave future potential victims unaware that the person with whom they are dealing has a history of harassment or even rape. And that, she said, means they cannot take the necessary steps ahead of time to protect themselves or even avoid the situation entirely. I think its a good moment for us to look at this issue and make sure that we continue to shed a light on these bad actors so they cannot go forward and use these confidentiality agreements to shield themselves from public view, she said. Syms acknowledged that there could be some opposition to what she is proposing and not just from those who are the assailants. Theres also the question of the desire of a victim to settle a complaint quickly and privately. I didnt want to preclude anybodys right to enter into contracts, Syms said. People do it all the time. But she said theres a balancing act here. The question is, is the states overriding interest in public safety in keeping these sexual predators away from future potential victims, does it override the interest of these individual parties in hushing up the wrongdoing? Syms asked. The legislation does have an exception in cases where the victim is a minor or in instances where other existing state laws may shield the identity of victims. So has Syms been a victim of harassment? Let me answer it this way: I think you would be hard-pressed to find a woman with a 25-year career who has not been the victim of harassment, she responded. So, of course. The Community Foundation for Southern Arizona is expanding into a larger campus that will offer small-scale spaces for nonprofits, as well as shared space to foster collaboration within the diverse nonprofit sector. Tucsons vibrant nonprofit community needs access to co-working space that is both centrally located and the right size for fledgling organizations, said Clint Mabie, president and CEO of the Community Foundation, which works with donors to build charitable funds, scholarships and endowments and to award grants. Currently, There is no central place for the nonprofit community to come and gather, no central place to collaborate and convene, and thats what this will become, he said. Two years ago the Community Foundations board determined the nonprofit had outgrown its 5,000-square-foot space at 2250 E. Broadway and started a search for a larger campus. We couldnt achieve our mission of convening the community in that space, Mabie said. The foundation commissioned a market survey in 2015 to gauge local interest in a campus for nonprofits and got an enthusiastic response, Mabie said. Mabie said the foundations location search concluded this year with a serendipitous twist. The Boy Scouts of Americas Catalina Council was looking to downsize from its 24,000-square-foot space at 5049 E. Broadway, at the intersection with North Rosemont Boulevard. That spot was ideal for the Community Foundation in terms of its size and central location, presenting the perfect opportunity for a swap, Mabie said. The foundation bought the Boy Scouts building in April and the Boy Scouts moved into the Community Foundations former space over the summer. Research shows shared working space can improve cost savings and efficiency, as well as the quality of service delivery for nonprofits, Mabie said. In Tucson, the new campus will also aim to help nonprofits connect with one another and ensure theyre not duplicating efforts, he said. This is geared primarily for the smaller nonprofit, because they do not have access to good space and they dont have access to a quality meeting space, he said. They can become very isolated from other nonprofits doing work in the community. The United Way of Tucson and Southern Arizona offers space for larger nonprofits and other organizations to rent at its Diamond Resource Campus, but the Community Foundations campus will fill an unmet need for smaller agencies, said Tony Penn, United Way president and CEO. Theres a big difference in the constituency well wind up serving, he said. What Clint and the Community Foundation are doing there is very complementary. Demolition has already begun on the interior of the existing structures at the new site. The Community Foundation is working out of a temporary space and will move to the new campus when construction is complete, which is slated for summer 2018. The campus is expected to be open to the public by fall of 2018. The new location has three buildings, including a two-story structure with 8,000 square feet on each floor. The Community Foundations operations will take up the second floor, and the ground-level floor will house collaborative working space where small operations can rent a desk or a cubicle and utilize shared meeting space. Theyll also have access to an on-site technical assistance center that will offer commonly needed services for nonprofits, such as board development, staff management training, financial sustainability, marketing and web development services, Mabie said. The other two buildings will each offer four, 1,000-square-foot spaces for larger nonprofit tenants to lease. PICOR will be the sites property manager. The Community Foundation is in the midst of a campaign to raise $4 million for the new campus and has already raised more than $1.5 million, said Phil Amos, chairman for the buildings fundraising campaign and former chairman of the Community Foundations Board of Trustees. About $3.1 million will go toward the building purchase and renovations. Amos father, George Buddy Amos, was one of the founders of the Community Foundation. He envisioned the foundation as a steward for charitable giving so that donors contributions could be combined and managed for long-term growth, and ultimately have a more lasting impact, he said. The Community Foundation was started in 1980 with a roughly $1 million administrative endowment. Today, the endowment is $150 million and the foundation gives out $7 million in grants each year, Amos said. Were big enough now that we can really start to have an impact on needs identified, he said. With $7 million, you really can start to make an impact. A former Tucson charter school teacher was convicted of luring a minor for sexual exploitation and assault, the Pima County Attorney's Office announced Friday. Joseph Massey, 44, faces up to more than eight years in prison when sentenced by Superior Court Judge Teresa Godoy on Jan. 16, 2018, said Deputy County Attorney Victoria Otto, a prosecutor in the case. Godoy also has the option of putting Massey on probation for five years up to life, said Otto. A jury convicted Massey of one count of luring a minor for sexual exploitation and three counts of assault for the purpose of sexual gratification. Between Nov. 1 and Dec. 2, 2015, Massey was a teacher at Southern Arizona Community Academy, 2470 N. Tucson Boulevard, when he targeted three girls. Two were ages 15 and the third was 18. According to prosecutors, Massey would go over to the students' desks, pretend to help them with their classwork, and inappropriately touch them on the thigh and buttocks over their clothes. Massey also offered to exchange sexual favors with one of the victims who was 15. Another student confirmed seeing Massey with his hand under the thigh or buttocks of one of the named victims, according to prosecutors. In May 2009, Massey was arrested on two counts of sexual conduct with a minor while he was an eighth-grade teacher at Utterback Magnet Middle School, 3233 S. Pinal Vista. Massey was accused of having an inappropriate relationship with a 15-year-old student. A member of the girl's family contacted the Tucson Police Department after discovering suspicious chat messages on the student's Facebook account. Massey went to trial in 2010 on the charges and he was acquitted by a jury, Otto said. A 35-year-old man is in custody in connection with an early morning shooting on Tucson's north side that left one man dead, officials said. At about 4:30 a.m., a woman called 911 to report shots fired from inside a home in the 1500 block of East Prince Road, near North Campbell Avenue, said Sgt. Pete Dugan, a Tucson Police Department spokesman. Officers went to the area and found the woman nearby, who said that she had been inside her home when someone began firing multiple shots. She was able to escape and call 911 from outside the home, Dugan said. Police entered the residence to clear the home and found an adult male with obvious signs of gunshot trauma. He was pronounced deceased at the scene, Dugan said. The woman was able to identify the victim as her brother, 31-year-old Jose Hurtado, whom she lived with at the house, Dugan said. While officers were at the scene, the woman noticed that her vehicle was missing. Detectives began their investigation and soon obtained information that the woman's estranged husband was involved in the shooting, Dugan said. Tucson police received information that the suspect was possibly in Oro Valley, and with the assistance of the U.S. Marshals Service and Oro Valley Police Department, they located the man and took him into custody. He's been identified as Jesus Harmon. No information was immediately available regarding what charges Harmon will be facing. Nine months after two men reported being zip-tied to chairs in Sells while their captors threatened to dissolve them in acid, one of their captors was sentenced Friday to 3 years in federal prison. A Honduran man and a Mexican man told federal agents they were taken hostage in a cinderblock house in March while trying to cross the border illegally, according to documents filed in U.S. District Court in Tucson. They said their captors zip-tied them to chairs, brandished a gun, and demanded payment for allowing them to continue on to Tucson. Darnell Garcia, 32, was charged as one of their captors and pleaded guilty in August to one felony human smuggling charge. Under the plea agreement, he faced up to five years in prison and two hostage-taking charges were dismissed. Among the threats told to the two men was that their captors would disappear them in acid if they didnt get their money, Judge Cindy K. Jorgenson said as she went through sentencing documents at a hearing Friday. Federal prosecutor Arturo Aguilar called the facts of the case egregious and accused Garcia of taking advantage of vulnerable people. Aguilar asked Jorgenson to sentence Garcia to between four and five years in prison. Defense lawyer Natalie Prince cast doubt on the facts of the case, saying the Honduran man is applying for asylum and embellished the kidnapping story to help his asylum case. Garcia apologized to the court and the victims. Prince asked Jorgenson to sentence Garcia to 27 months in prison. Jorgenson called Garcias actions really abhorrent and sentenced him to 41 months in prison. Before being held captive in Sells, the two men arrived at the Mexican side of the international border where mafia men said they had to pay a $500 crossing fee, according to an April 28 criminal complaint. They didnt have enough money, so they escaped at night and crossed the border on their own. When they arrived in Sells, they were forced into a car and taken to the cinderblock house with no electricity. Over the course of five days, their captors demanded they contact their families and gather $1,000 each. The family of the Honduran man couldnt pay, but the family of the Mexican man agreed to pay $1,500 to free both of them. The family sent three $500 money orders to a Western Union store in Tucson. After paying the ransom, the two men were taken to a bus stop and given $8 to board a shuttle to Tucson. One of their captors took photos of them and threatened to kill their families if they reported the kidnapping, according to court records. The shuttle went through a Border Patrol checkpoint and the two men were taken into custody for crossing the border illegally, Aguilar said. In a lineup, the two men also identified Melissa Marquez, 30, and Rosa Marquez Duran, 26, as two of their captors, according to the complaint. Both women later pleaded guilty to felony human smuggling charges, but Marquez Duran denied knowing the men were held captive. She was sentenced Nov. 1 to three months in prison. Marquez is scheduled to be sentenced Jan. 3 and faces 18 to 51 months in prison. Bear sightings have tripled in Southern Arizona, particularly in Rio Rico, officials said. Arizona Game and Fish officials reported about 12 bear sightings in October, where in a normal year they would hear about one sighting each week, said spokesman Mark Hart. Weve been scratching our heads about the bears coming to lower elevations, Hart said. The working theory is unusually dry, hot conditions forced bears to descend from their usual habitat above 5,000 feet in search of water, Hart said. Game and Fish hasnt heard about any bear sightings in Tucson, he said. Most sightings are near Rio Rico, Sierra Vista or in the Santa Rita Mountains east of Tucson. The Santa Cruz County Sheriffs Office has received more than 30 calls about a black bear roaming neighborhoods since the start of October, said Sheriff Antonio Estrada. Another person called Friday to say the bear was rummaging through garbage cans. The bear weighs about 225 pounds and likely is about 4 years old, Hart said. The bear was first seen near Rio Rico around Halloween, Hart said. It was captured Nov. 2, tagged, and relocated to an area more than 20 miles from Rio Rico. However, wildlife officials could not relocate the bear as far away as they would have liked, Hart said. Agency policy says a bear cant be relocated to an area where a bear hunt is under way, which includes much of Arizona this time of year. The worry is if a hunter kills and eats a relocated bear, which has been drugged during the relocation, the meat could sicken the person, Hart said. The bear came back to the Rio Rico area on Nov. 8, but disappeared for about 10 days. Hart said the bear likely stayed near Pena Blanca Lake during that time. The bear was seen again on Thanksgiving weekend and on Nov. 29 it tore up the bottom portion of a chain-link fence to get into some garbage. Most of the sightings were west of Interstate 19 and north of Ruby Road, Hart said. The Nogales International posted a video on Nov. 20 of the bear roaming through a Rio Rico back yard, running behind bushes next to a house and walking down the sidewalk of a residential street. Estrada said a resident saw the bear near a shopping center just west of I-19 near Rio Rico Road. Now that the bear has returned after being relocated, agency policy requires it be put down, Hart said. The problem is the bear has learned to avoid traps, he said. Officials cant shoot and kill the bear while it is in a residential area. Tranquilizer darts are only accurate up to about 100 feet and officials worry about a semi-drugged bear running through a neighborhood or a child coming across a dart that fell out of the bear. Hart advised Rio Rico residents to secure their garbage and not take it out until the day of pickup. Residents also should take down birdfeeders and remove fruit on low branches and on the ground. The bear has not shown any menacing behavior yet, but Hart cautioned that bears are unpredictable and likely would charge a person if it felt threatened. Officials hope the bear moves out of populated areas of its own accord in the next few weeks. As temperatures drop, bears start their hibernation, usually from around Christmas to March, Hart said. Another bear may have been spotted near Rio Rico, Hart said, but officials are more concerned with the bear that was tagged. The University of Arizonas new president says he wants the school to be more competitive among its peer institutions and a comparison of the UA and its peers when it comes to student retention, graduation rates, earning potential after school, and costs shows it has a way to go. President Robert C. Robbins, who is in his first year as the UAs leader, acknowledged the need for improvement at the school and laid out some of his goals, including breaking into the top 100 schools in the U.S. News and World Report colleges ranking, when he spoke before the Arizona Board of Regents in November. We are last among our peers and its not even close, he said, referring to UAs 124th position among the rankings. He wants to change that, in part by improving graduation rates and utilizing the schools best resources. The peer schools Robbins referred to were selected by the regents based on factors such as enrollment, retention, graduation rates, degrees awarded and research capabilities. The list includes both schools similar to the UA and those it aspires to be like. The Star analyzed academic and financial data for the UA and 15 of those peers featured in the College Scorecard, a U.S. Department of Education initiative to make comprehensive data on higher education institutions outcomes more accessible. A comparison tool is available in an online version of this story at Tucson.com. The most recent complete set of data available was for the 2015-2016 academic year. Some of the data used for comparison include admission and graduate rates, tuition fees, average debt and salary after graduation. Among the Stars findings from the analysis: Tuition at the UA was slightly above average among peers for both in-state and out-of-state students; UA was relatively easier to get into than most of its peer schools; Its graduation rate was slightly higher than the national average, but lowest among its 15 peers; UA graduates did not earn as much on average post-graduation as did graduates of the UAs peer institutions. Comparisons to peer institutions provides valuable insight as the board gauges its strategic goals, said Chad Sampson, the regents vice president for strategic planning. UA spokesman Chris Sigurdson said he could not comment further on Robbins plans, as they are still being fleshed out. Getting in, getting out Robbins said he would like to make admission to the school more selective to increase graduation rates and boost the UAs ranking. The school wasnt so selective in the 2015-2016 school year, when nearly eight out of 10 students who applied to the UA got in, compared with UCLA, the top performer on the list with a 17 percent admission rate. The average admission rate among peer schools, including the UA, was 52 percent. But not as many UA students came out with completed degrees within four to six years. It had the lowest graduation rate among peers at 61 percent, while the peer average was 82 percent. UCLA topped the list again at 91 percent. To improve graduation rates, the UA is looking closely at student retention, said Kasey Urquidez, vice president of enrollment management and student affairs advancement and dean of undergraduate admissions. Those two things are closely related. The UA said it is important to make sure freshman students succeed in their first year at school and come back for a second year. Increasing those number is a big hurdle. As part of the universitys efforts to boost retention, Urquidez said UA launched an engagement initiative in 2015 to recognize students who participate in research, internships or other out-of-classroom experiences. The goal is to make UA students feel more involved on campus and make them more marketable after they graduate, she said. Bang for buck Tuition costs at the UA for both in-state and out-of-state students were slightly above peer averages, the analysis showed. Eight of the 15 peers schools charged their in-state residents less money for tuition than the UA. In the 2015-2016 school year, Arizona residents paid about $11,400 a year to be a Wildcat, while University of Florida charged in-state residents about $6,400. Pennsylvania State Universitys main campus, the highest at about $17,000. For out-of-state students, the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities had the best deal among the peer schools that year at $22,210, compared with the UAs $32,630. Two peer schools in the University of California system were most costly to attend for out-of-state students. Tuition fees for both resident and nonresident students at the UA have gone up since. UA graduates also made less money on average 10 years after graduation than graduates at all but one peer school, Ohio State University. The UA graduates median salary was listed at $45,800, which is slightly higher than those of its state peers, Arizona State and Northern Arizona universities. University of Maryland-College Park graduates made a median salary of about $61,700, the highest amount among the schools designated as the UAs peers, followed by UCLA at $58,700. But the data dont take things like cost of living, which inflates salaries in areas like Los Angeles, into account, said Urquidez, the UA vice president. But we are committed to preparing students for return on investments, she said. We really believe in the education that we provide and the rate that we charge, we try to rightsize with merit awards and financial aid, she said. Going forward Improving these numbers takes time, Urquidez said. Right now, the university wants to focus on growing the freshman class and increasing the number of community-college students who transfer to the UA. She said, As we go through with this strategic plan this year, well be doing a lot of modeling and reviewing to determine what makes the most sense for the UA. Re: the Nov. 28 column Better late than never on Clintons misbehavior. There is no doubt that Bill Clinton is and was a sleaze, as columnist Cal Thomas states. Using his same logic about lying, cheating, abusing, verbally attacking and misleading, we should have never elected Donald Trump because he is a self-confessed sexual predator with all of the same personal characteristics Clinton possesses. The one difference between Clinton and Trump is that Trump let the world know what crimes he casually perpetrated on women thanks to the Access Hollywood tapes released prior to the 2016 election. Although he didnt win the popular vote, Trump did win the Electoral College, thus he is our president. Where was the moral compass of the Republican delegates to judge, with fresh evidence, the character of the person we now have to lead and represent our country? David Pear Northeast side Shredding the Senate and rushing bills through without public debate. Gerrymandering to weaken the voice of Democratic-leaning voters. Launching blatant attempts at voter suppression. This is the Republican party of today, and they mean that the Republicans have staked out a unique niche in the history of American politics: a major party that is hostile to democracy itself. Horrific as it is, the logic is impeccable. Tyrants around the world have feared democracy for the simple reason that if they permit it, theyll lose power. Republicans assault the free flow of ideas and rig the electoral system in order to survive. If they didnt, theyd have to seek popularity on the basis of their policies, which these days consist of destroying health care and giving money to billionaires. No wonder theyre scared. Our President has been caught making numerous false or misleading statements. His latest claim that the tax plan will cost him "a fortune", seems dubious and opens the door once again to insist that he release his recent federal and state tax returns. Our federal representatives need the information to evaluate whether the President is supporting his own self interest rather than doing what is best for all the citizens of this country prior to voting on the new tax bill. Our Free Press is shirking it responsibility by not raising this as an issue. Could the Press be conflicted between truth and the benefits that their Corporations will receive from the proposed business tax cuts? Let us all do our part to make sure that Truth sees the light of day. The New York Times has documented that President Trump lied on each day of his first forty days in office and that this pattern of telling untruths has continued throughout his time in office. He has insulted Gold Star parents, veterans, members of the media, and political opponents. He has been particularly crude to women. He admires and compliments authoritarian leaders while verbally attacking the media and our intelligence services. Despite this pattern of egregious behavior, he was elected President and still retains the support of millions of Americans. Republican leaders realize he is unstable and dangerous, but they support and use him for their own gains. These realities are depressing and frightening. If a school principal, law enforcement employee, hospital director, or local elected politician were to exhibit such behavior, they would be removed. But not President Trump, the most powerful elected official on Earth. We continue to tolerate his destructive and dangerous behavior. Stuart Sellinger West side Last week, Congress finally took up a bill to reform the tax code. Everyone from seniors, to universities, to homeowners have existing tax deductions that they benefit from on the table for debate. But somehow, one industrys special status has escaped consideration so far that of credit unions. It may surprise a lot of people to learn that credit unions are exempt from federal corporate income taxes. After all, community banks like mine pay federal taxes, and if you look at most large credit unions, they are virtually indistinguishable from banks. Yet, credit unions continue to benefit from an outdated, century-old tax exemption. Credit unions were first exempted from federal taxes because they were meant to fill a gap in the market. A hundred years ago, it was much harder to find financial institutions in small towns and rural communities, so credit unions were declared exempt from taxes to help provide basic financial services to people of modest means united by a common bond. What the tax exemption was not intended to do was serve as a taxpayer subsidy to billion-dollar institutions that primarily serve the wealthy. But, when you look at credit unions today, thats exactly what has happened. According to the National Credit Union Administration, today there are more than 280 credit unions in the U.S. with more than a billion dollars in assets up from only 10 in the 1990s. Arizona is no exception. There are six billion-dollar-plus credit unions in Arizona, and the $4 billion Desert Schools Federal Credit Union is larger than all but one Arizona-headquartered bank. But when it comes to credit unions, bigger doesnt always mean better. Even as many credit unions have grown larger, they have failed to meet their mission of serving people of modest means. Nationally, only 31 percent of credit unions membership are people of low and moderate income, while at banks this share is 40 percent. Whats more, according to the latest Home Mortgage Disclosure Act data, credit unions in Arizona issued only 7 percent of all of their mortgages to low-income people in 2015, and of the 109 Arizona credit unions required to report information on their loans, not a single one made a loan to a low-income person. Meanwhile, according to the Arizona Freedom Alliance, the Arizona headquartered TruWest Credit Union pays its CEO $1.4 million a year compared to the $27,000 the average Arizonan makes, which hardly seems like a prudent use of member funds. If you heard someone say, the CEO of a nonprofit is paid almost a million and a half dollars, you would probably raise your eyebrows. Well, thats exactly what is happening here. And this barely touches on the issue of how these large credit unions are spending their tax-free earnings. Credit unions have very few restrictions on how they can use these funds everything from big salaries, huge new headquarters, and multimillion-dollar marketing campaigns is currently allowed. Credit unions also plow millions of dollars into lobbying Congress and campaign donations in an effort to shut down the debate about their tax exemption. Crafting good public policy is often the result of parties on every side giving a little so everyone can gain. The same is true for tax reform. In order to simplify the tax code and lower tax rates for everyone, special interest groups are going to have to give up their tax carve outs. Its time for billion-dollar credit unions to start paying their fair share. These arent mom and pop institutions anymore. These billion-dollar credit unions are a modern day special interest group, and their tax-exempt status should be on the table for debate. Help India! By TwoCircles.net Staff Reporter Srinagar: A consultative meeting of Islamic scholars representing different schools of thought and civil society members on Thursday, November 30 was organised by a Valley-based civil society groupEhsaasover the property rights of half-widows. Support TwoCircles During the day-long deliberations between religious scholars, educationists, and civil society members, property rights of half-widows were discussed and a signature campaign endorsing the memorandum on property rights to be submitted to J&K government was also started. I have been working in a factory, a bookshop, and a school to educate my child. There is a need to help half-widows who have been left to raise three to four children on their own, Safiya Azad, a half-widow said during the meeting. Another half-widow Shamima said she had been left to fend for her two children after her husband was subjected to enforced disappearance in 2000. She said she had rejected the ex-gratia relief offered to her and instead sought the whereabouts of her husband that to this day she did not know. Presiding over the session, Chairperson of Association of Parents of Disappeared Persons (APD), Parveena Ahanger said the property issue of the half-widows was more important than their marriages. Even if some of these women take the ex-gratia relief, they only get Rs 12,500 of the Rs 1 lakh while the children get Rs 70,000 and the parents of the disappeared persons the rest, Ahanger said. She added that there had been cases of in-laws harassing half-widows. Muslim Khawateen Markaz (MKM) chairperson Anjum Zamruda Habib said there was a need to share the pain of half-widows. Calling for data aggregation on half-widows, she said their issues were close to the hearts of the people of Kashmir and their pain touched their hearts. Human rights defender and Convenor of Jammu Kashmir Coalition of Civil Society, Khurram Parvez said as per their survey conducted in 2006, there were around 1500 half-widows. He said most of them do not want to marry and that marriage should not be thrust upon them. Parvez said the government should not be given a right to interfere in the Muslim Personal Law relating to inheritance and added that the ex-gratia relief the government was providing was not compensation for the loss suffered by the half-widows. Mufti Muhammad Yaqoob Baba Al Madani from Jamiat Ahli-Hadees said Islam laid a complete blueprint for addressing such issues but the problem existed in the society. He said the rights of half-widows and orphans needed to be protected at all costs. Civil society member Shakeel Qalander said there was a need to think an out-of-box solution to help the half-widows come out of their misery. He called for starting a pilot project where these half-widows could be helped in a dignified manner. Former Chief Information Commissioner G R Sufi called upon the Ulemas to come forward for this cause. He also suggested setting up a trust for half-widows to which people could donate and save their taxable amount in the process too. RTI activist Raja Muzaffar Bhat said there was a need for bringing awareness among the victims and in many cases, he had found that their families did not even know for which organisations their husbands worked. Journalist Raziya Noor called for providing skill development training to the half-widows. In 2015, Ehsaas had initiated steps related to property rights of women with special reference to half widows and orphans by organising a deliberative session of Islamic scholars (Ulemas). Earlier in 2013, Ehsaas was instrumental in bringing a landmark consensus regarding the waiting period for half-widows which was decided as four years after rounds of consultations among local Islamic scholars. Last year, Twocircles.net had done a series on half widows, in which we had highlighted the undermining of the property rights of half-widows by their in-laws. BroadSoft Leading LATAM Unified Communications and Contact Center Market Share Tweet By Mandi Nowitz Web Editor By Mandi NowitzWeb Editor BroadSoft announced it was named Frost & Sullivan (News - Alert) s Latin America (LATAM) cloud IP telephony and UCC services platform provider of the year. The company, recently acquired by Cisco, is known for its unified communications, collaboration and contact center services (UCaaS and CCaaS). The IP telephony and UCC services market is seeing an exponential increase in Latin America, according to Frost & Sullivan, and BroadSoft (News - Alert) is leading the market with 36.6 percent of users on its platforms. Its clear recognition of the companys consistent innovation in enabling business-centric conferencing, unified communications, and contact center capabilitites. BroadSoft aims to transform business productivity for organizations of all types by integrating communications into business activities and workflows while enhancing process agility, said Sebastian Menutti, Senior Industry Analyst at Frost & Sullivan. BroadSoft empowers Latin American companies to redefine the future of work by inspiring teams to create, collaborate, and maximize performance on a daily basis. Its BroadSoft Business portfolio was acknowledged as an asset in Latin America, thanks to its accelerated suite of enterprise-ready, cloud-based PBX (News - Alert), UC, team collaboration, and contact center services. This aids in driving cost efficiency for all businesses, from SMBs to large enterprises. We are honored to receive recognition of our market leadership and as a future-of-work business collaboration visionary, said Hector Sanchez, vice president, CALA region, BroadSoft. We believe having a focus on delivering business collaboration productivity solutions through our BroadSoft Business portfolio will continue to maximize customer value and experience. Last year, BroadSoft announced Frost & Sullivan had chosen it as the recipient of the Asia Pacific Hosted Telephony and Cloud UC Platform Provider of the Year Award, a part of Frosts 2016 Best Practices Program. It went onto garner the same honor this year, as well. Please enable JavaScript to view the comments powered by Disqus. Article comments powered by Disqus Article comments powered by Edited by Erik Linask The Republican Tax Bill passed in the early morning hours on Saturday had something more than just tax cuts. There was a clause that will open oil drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. On Saturday, Republicans pushed through a massive tax overhaul bill that experts say will add up to $1.4 trillion to the budget deficit. The plan brings tax cuts to all Americans, with the largest cuts for the highest wage earners, and also slashes corporate taxes. It is the largest overhaul to the U.S. tax code since Ronald Reagan, and the first major legislative accomplishment for President Donald Trump. Drilling provision brings controversy The tax bill generated some immediate criticism for its massive addition to the deficit, something Republicans had railed against during Obama's two terms in office, and also for some smaller provisions added in to entice on-the-fence Republicans to support the measure. One of those was a proposal to open oil drilling in the Wildlife Refuge in Alaska, which had been long sought by Senator Lisa Murkowski. Some Democrats tried to bring attention to the oil drilling provision in the hours leading up to the tax bill vote. Kamala Harris, a Democrat from California, tweeted about the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge provision in an effort to drum up opposition, but it was to no avail as the bill eventually passed along party lines. Something that has been quietly slipped into the Republican tax plan: a provision that lets oil and gas companies drill in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. This is an attack on pristine lands that belong to the American people. Kamala Harris (@SenKamalaHarris) December 1, 2017 Some other longtime drilling opponents, including Democrat Maria Cantwell from Washington, also tried to bring attention to the drilling provision. "It's critically important, and I don't think anybody knows it is stuck in a tax bill," she told the New York Times in the days leading up to the vote. "It's been around for thousands of years, and for no good reason, we're going to change it? Is there no such thing as a special place?" A 'critically important landscape' Even some Republicans tried to oppose plans to open up drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. A group of 12 House Republicans sent a letter to Speaker Paul Ryan asking to preserve what they said is a "critically important landscape." The Arctic National Wildlife Refuge encompasses 1.2 million acres that are home to a number of animals including caribou and polar bears as well as deep deposits of natural resources. There have been proposals for decades to open the land for drilling, which has been opposed by Democrats and conservations groups alike. I went to an exclusive prep school. Think Mark Zuckerberg. But as I now reflect on it, though it was more or less on the side of the angels, it was not too swift when it came to Human Rights. I remember history classes when the travesties of US international policy were regularly passed over. It was really only as years passed that human rights began to creep into our consciousness. Now we have full-fledged international organizations whose business is to protect the rights of everyone on the planet. We should be aware of that. But our president appears to include human rights among his hatreds, with mosquitos and the former president. Let's see how he responds to the latest violation. The violation is the detention of alleged drug offenders in floating prisons in the Pacific. This is carried out by the US under the auspices of the Coast Guard. Misguided Donald Trump already has a good deal on his plate. He faces Mr. Mueller. He sees an agenda about to be sunk in Congress. There is all sorts of talk about a government shutdown. Add to that a laundry list of actual achievements -- including the destruction of Obamacare and the creation of a Cabinet made up of the sort of people he vowed to free us from. U.S. Coast Guard reportedly turning boats into floating prisons for drug smugglers: https://t.co/gkGQAldLQg via @AOL Stephen C. Rose (@stephencrose) November 29, 2017 This is reported by two other recognized news sources. And the NYT weighed in with this. The salient facts include the fact that that people are being illegally detained, that cruelty may be a feature of this novel torment, and that Trump can almost be guaranteed to defend the action as something Obama forgot to do that is necessary for our security. Hurt and harm Evil is what destroys and kills. It is conscious violence. It is the hijacking of memory and transporting it into permanent resentment. It is a human act. When Donald Trump broadcasts to everyone that he favors a little torture in the mix of law enforcement, he summons the worst angels of our nature and we end up with far-flung disasters like Mai Lai and Abu Ghraib. Hurt and harm are OK with Trump as long as he is sequestered on one of his properties, including the one he currently runs as a Trump Store. The wrong approach Not only is it wrong to turn international waters into the preserves of the US but it is also wrong to conduct a punitive, cruel and costly War on Drugs, If this is the American way it is the wrong way. A truly American way would listen more to our Declaration of Independence. Drugs are a scourge and we should legalize them and make them available on an ethical basis to those who need them. Mix in Trump and history and our ill-conceived war and you have disaster staring you in the face. Most people probably know by now that longtime anchor Matt Lauer was fired from his job at the "Today" show on Tuesday night. His co-workers found out about it just moments before they went on the air at 7 a.m. on Wednesday morning. Anchor Savannah Guthrie was emotional as she reported the news to viewers as she sat beside Hoda Kotb who was filling in. Since the announcement, Celebrities, comedians, other journalists, and loyal viewers have reacted in different ways. NBC family Through their sadness, the NBC family has been open with their emotions and have kept their promise to report the news as it develops. NBC News chairman Andy Lack submitted an official statement on Wednesday to let viewers know that the anchor had been fired and the reason for it. He later sent a less formal memo to his staffers. In that memo, he called the former employee's behavior "appalling." Co-workers at the morning shows including Guthrie, Kotb, Kathie Lee Gifford, and Megyn Kelly said that they are saddened by the allegations and they are having a hard time processing the news. Gifford said she texted Lauer and told him she adores him and forgives him. Natalie Morales worked with Lauer for 16 years before moving to be the NBC West Coast anchor on "Access Hollywood." In her reporting, she focused more on the woman involved than on her former colleague. President of the United States Wow, Matt Lauer was just fired from NBC for inappropriate sexual behavior in the workplace. But when will the top executives at NBC & Comcast be fired for putting out so much Fake News. Check out Andy Lacks past! Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 29, 2017 Journalists Geraldo Rivera tweeted his support for Lauer on Wednesday. Gayle King of "CBS This Morning" said she felt like she was having a deja vu experience. She was referring to the abrupt firing of her co-anchor Charlie Rose just a week ago. ABC journalists were shocked and sympathetic over the dismissal of Lauer. Talk show hosts No matter what the planned agenda was for daytime talk shows on Wednesday, Matt Lauer was the hot topic. Some of the hosts spoke about it being karma because they still believe Lauer had something to do with the firing of Ann Curry in 2012. Some say they know Curry is glad, but it was reported that Curry is not gloating over Lauer's downfall. Host Wendy Williams said she doesn't feel bad at all about Lauer losing his job. She went so far as to say that his three teenagers would have to hear a lot about their father at the bus stop that morning. Comedians Matt Lauer did not get a pass from comedians. They did what comedians do. They did not make jokes about the victims in this situation, but they did take a shot at Lauer. Jimmy Kimmel, Jimmy Fallon, Stephen Colbert, Howard Stern, and Seth Meyers had something to say about Lauer's termination. Celebrities and others Many people on social media are describing Lauer as "disgraced." Speaking of social media, Lauer has deactivated all of his accounts. Nancy Alspaugh was married to him from 1981 to 1988. She said she is shocked by the allegations, but she is supporting him 100 percent. She said she can't believe her ex-husband did anything so out of character that it would cause him to lose his job that he was so good at doing. What are your thoughts on the recent firing of Matt Lauer? Young Sheldon, the spin-off series of The Big Bang Theory, is a delightful depiction of the Boy Genius who became the irascible Sheldon Cooper, living in 1989 East Texas in a small community south of Houston. The most recent episode, A Patch, a Modem, and a Zantac reveals for the first time Sheldon Coopers hitherto hidden role in a monumental development in space history. However, the episode needs some explaining in historical context. Some spoilers follow. The launch equation (spoilers) The episode starts when a NASA engineer visits Sheldons high school science class. He begins to explain the space agencys plans to go to Mars, then under then-President George H. W. Bushs Space Exploration Initiative, and why it was likely to be so expensive. Sheldon, the ever inquisitive, asks why not land the rocket and reuse it. Even though the space shuttle was doing that very thing, the NASA guy blows off Sheldon and takes the discussion to the ever-popular how do astronauts use the bathroom in space. The space agency guy just made a big mistake. Most of the rest of the episode consists of Sheldon solving the problem of landing a rocket after it takes off. The young boy genius has to go through elaborate gyrations to get access to a computer to complete his work. Then he has to go through even more implausible contortions to get a meeting with the NASA engineer and show his work on a chalkboard to prove they were wrong. The space agency guy is duly impressed that a nine-year-old could show him up but points out that the technology available in 1989 is still inadequate to the task. In any case, the payoff is depicted in the video below. Could there be a Big Bang Theory follow-up? Sheldon is, if he is anything, a person who likes to get credit where credit is due. If he provided the work that led to SpaceXs remarkable feat of landing a rocket after it has flown to be reused, he would bloody well want to have that acknowledged. Elon Musk, the CEO of SpaceX, is putting out that he and his engineers solved the problem through years of diligent work. Who is going to believe that a nine-year-old boy almost 30 years ago showed the way to the most significant revolution in rocket design since Goddard first developed the liquid-fueled engine? No one can doubt that adult Sheldon would be up to the task. So we can hope that The Big Bang Theory showrunners and writers will not let the opportunity pass them by. A German governmental agency has dropped Tesla Model S car from the official list of Electric Cars eligible to receive subsidies in the country. The German authorities said Tesla was removed from the list because the Model S base version is very expensive and doesnt qualify for the subsidy scheme. According to the German authorities, customers are unable to buy the Model S base version without comfort features and are forced to spend over 60,000 euro ($71,500) to buy the car. The latest decision by the German authorities is expected to stir a new row between the German government and the US carmaker, Tesla. Ambitious subsidy scheme In 2016, Germany launched an ambitious subsidy scheme to encourage electric car usage in the country. The 1-billion-euro scheme was partially funded by the German auto industry. Under this scheme, any customer buying a battery-only electric vehicle is offered a 4,000 euros ($4,750) discount. For a hybrid model, a subsidy of 3,000 euros ($3,500) is offered to the customer. However, authorities have included a price cap of US$71,400 (60,000 euro) to exclude premium models from the list. German wants the sale of electric vehicles to hit the 1 million mark by 2020. In 2016, just 50,000 pure battery-only electric vehicles were sold in Germany. New charging points will be built across Germany The authorities plan to cover 400,000 vehicles under the subsidy program in a "first come, first serve" basis. In addition, there are plans to spend about 300 million euros (US$350 million) on building 15,000 new charging points across the country to provide battery charging facility to customers. When authorities announced the electric vehicle subsidy scheme In Germany last year, the price of Tesla Model S base version (including VAT) was nearly US$98,400. Tesla described it as unfair and said the price cap was purposely set by the authorities to exclude Tesla models from the list. Later, the company reached an agreement with the German Government, getting permission to sell a less expensive base model in Germany. In November 2016, Tesla removed some features from the Model S to bring cars price below 60,000 euro limit. The features that were dropped were dubbed as comfort package by the car maker. Tesla describes authorities claims as completely false accusation On Friday, a spokesperson from the German Federal Office for Economic Affairs and Export Controls (BAFA) told Reuters that Tesla is currently not offering the Model S without comfort features in Germany, and therefore it is not eligible for the discount. Tesla has described German authorities claims as a completely false accusation, as reported by the Reuters. The company says it has delivered Tesla Model S base version without the comfort features to several customers in Germany. The company also announced that it would probe whether any customer was denied the no-frills version by its sales team. At dialogue of world's parties, president vows CPC will help safeguard global peace, stability Xi Jinping, general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, walks into the meeting room on Friday with delegates who are in Beijing to attend the CPC in Dialogue with World Political Parties High-Level Meeting. The meeting is the first multilateral diplomatic event hosted by China after the CPC's 19th National Congress in October. XU JINGXING/CHINA DAILY Xi Jinping, general secretary of the CPC Central Committee, called on political parties worldwide on Friday to make joint efforts to build a community of shared future for mankind as the Communist Party of China, the world's largest political party with 89 million members, held the first high-level dialogue with world political parties in Beijing. Xi, also president, made the remarks in his keynote speech at the opening ceremony of the CPC in Dialogue with World Political Parties High-Level Meeting at the Great Hall of the People. Xi pledged that the CPC will continue to make contributions to safeguarding global peace and stability, pursuing happiness for people around the world, and boosting cultural exchanges among different civilizations. Xi's speech, lasting about half an hour, drew applause nearly 20 times from the around 600 delegates. The meeting is the first multilateral diplomatic event hosted by China after the CPC's 19th National Congress in October. The CPC will provide exchange opportunities for 15,000 people from political parties around the world in the next five years, Xi said, while proposing to establish such a meeting as a fixed political mechanism with wide influence. The concept of building a community of shared future for mankind, raised by Xi in 2013, has been translated into real actions with such moves as jointly building the Belt and Road, Xi said. Noting that China has offered much assistance and beneficiary loans for developing nations in recent decades, Xi said that since its establishment in 1921, the CPC has been striving not only for the happiness of Chinese people, but also for the happiness of people all over the world. In his speech, Xi proposed to build a prosperous world that is far from poverty, open and inclusive, and clean and beautiful. China will continue to create more opportunities for the world through pushing forward its economic development, Xi said, adding that China has contributed to more than 30 percent of global economic growth in the past five years. China will neither import foreign countries' development modes nor export its own mode to other nations, Xi said. He also expressed gratitude for the congratulatory messages sent by the political parties worldwide on the success of the CPC's 19th National Congress and his re-election as the general secretary of the CPC Central Committee in October. The three-day meeting, which will focus on the responsibilities of political parties in building a community of shared future and a better world, is attended by leaders from over 300 parties and political organizations in more than 120 countries. Marko Duric, vice-president of the Serbian Progressive Party and also director of the Kosovo Affairs Office of Serbia, said China is taking a more significant role in international affairs, so the ideas behind the success of China should be learned. "The success we have seen in China in recent years has shown us that socialism with Chinese characteristics is giving results," he said while explaining why he would like to read the newly published second volume of Xi Jinping: The Governance of China. Vojtech Filip, president of the Communist Party of Bohemia and Moravia, and also speaker of the Czech Parliament, said the CPC's 19th National Congress provided new chances to show the world how to solve problems. Arvind Kumar Shrivastava, a delegate from the Communist Party of India, said the meeting provided a "lifetime opportunity" for him to learn from the experiences of the Communist Party of China. "China is transforming to a very powerful and prosperous country," he said, adding that the meeting is helpful for his party as well as his country. Shrivastava said he had been to some villages in Guizhou province recently and was deeply impressed by the poverty reduction achievements in the remote mountainous region. "We have seen how the villages are prosperous under the leadership of the CPC and how the poverty-alleviation program has been carried out successfully," he said. Businessman and collector of Chinese art Leopold Swergold (left) meets with with Rice University adjunct lecturer Anne Chao (center) and curator Amy Poster (right) after a discussion on ancient Chinese Buddhist gilt bronzes at the Museum of Fine Arts Houston (MFAH). More than 20 pieces of the bronzes from the Jane and Leopold Swergold Collection are on display at the MFAH Arts of Asia gallery. may zhou / CHINA DAILY China is ready to embark on discussions with Myanmar about new highlights for bilateral cooperation, such as building the China-Myanmar Economic Corridor, to better benefit the people of both countries, President Xi Jinping said. Xi, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, outlined the vision while meeting with Myanmar State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi in Beijing on Friday. Suu Kyi is in China to attend the CPC in Dialogue With World Political Parties High-Level Meeting, which convened shortly after their one-on-one meeting. Xi noted his previous meetings with Suu Kyi and said bilateral cooperation has made progress and the developing ties have maintained good momentum. The CPC and the Chinese government will further honor the principle of friendship with Myanmar as always and are ready to further implement consensus reached by both sides, according to Xi. Suu Kyi voiced appreciation for being invited to the "unprecedented" high-level dialogue meeting. The ties with China bear special significance for Myanmar, since the two sides enjoy a historical grassroots friendship and close cooperation in recent years based on mutual trust and respect, Suu Kyi said. The sincerity and friendship felt from the CPC and the government will make bilateral ties closer and facilitate effective cooperation in various fields including the China-Myanmar Economic Corridor, Suu Kyi added. Also on Friday afternoon, Xi met with Cambodian Prime Minister Samdech Techo Hun Sen, who is also attending the high-level meeting. Since next year marks the 60th anniversary of the two countries' diplomatic ties, Xi said the two sides should take the anniversary as a chance to promote the steady and lasting development of the relations. Cambodia has always offered staunch support on issues regarding China's core interests, and China has always supported Cambodia's efforts in championing national development and stability, Xi said. China is ready to boost the leading role of party-to-party exchanges and expand cooperation in areas such as defense affairs and law enforcement, Xi said. Hun Sen said China is a partner that his country highly trusts. zhangyunbi@chinadaily.com.cn (China Daily 12/02/2017 page1) China is ready to advance infrastructure projects and production cooperation with Pakistan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan, Premier Li Keqiang said while meeting individually with the three countries' prime ministers on Thursday in Sochi, Russia. The leaders traveled to the city to attend the 16th Meeting of the Council of Heads of Government (Prime Minister) of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, the first such meeting after Pakistan and India became SCO members during the summer. When meeting with Pakistani Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, Li said both countries have made progress in building the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor since four years ago, and China is willing to promote key infrastructure projects and production capacity cooperation with the South Asian neighbor. The premier extended gratitude to his Pakistani counterpart on the security provided to Chinese companies and citizens in Pakistan and said he hoped security can be further enhanced to cultivate an inviting environment for further economic cooperation. While meeting with Uzbek Prime Minister Abdulla Aripov, Li said China will work with Uzbekistan to advance projects of production capacity cooperation and connectivity. The premier said China and Uzbekistan can complement each other and should strengthen linking their development strategies and provide a good environment for companies from both nations. Aripov said his country will work with China to strengthen cooperation in fields such as transportation infrastructure and hydropower. In his meeting with Tajik Prime Minister Kokhir Rasulzoda, Premier Li said China is willing to better align the Belt and Road Initiative with Tajikistan's development strategies and advance projects of production capacity cooperation. He also said China would like to promote infrastructure cooperation and help industrialize the Central Asian neighbor and contribute to regional connectivity and trade facilitation. China would like to cooperate with Tajikistan in modern agriculture and achieve win-win outcomes, the premier added. Rasulzoda extended gratitude to China for its support and welcomed Chinese to participate in key projects of power plants, natural gas pipelines and transportation. He said Tajikistan would like to accelerate production capacity cooperation, such as in the chemical industry, and expand trade in agricultural goods while providing preferential policies to Chinese companies. huyongqi@chinadaily.com.cn Please turn JavaScript on and reload the page. Loading... Checking your browser before accessing the website. This process is automatic. Your browser will redirect to your requested content shortly. Please wait a few seconds. HA NOI - Viet Nam e-commerce, although small, is among the fastest growing globally, according to a report released by Kantar Worldpanel, a global expert in shoppers behaviour. The report The Future of E-commerce in FMCG (fast moving consumer goods) is based on tracking the purchase of more than 500,000 shoppers in key countries spanning three continents. In terms of absolute value growth, the top six contributors are all leading power economies, led by China and the United States. The other top performing countries are South Korea, Britain, Japan and France. However, the online grocery sector is also expanding into new markets. There has been significant value growth, for example, in Thailand (104 per cent), Malaysia (88 per cent), and Viet Nam (69 per cent), where e-commerce is in uts early stages. In Viet Nam, the e-commerce channel has evolved thanks to booming internet usage and smartphone ownership, together with massive investment of key retail players. It now takes 0.5 per cent of the fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) market in four key urban cities of Viet Nam, which are HCM City, Ha Noi, a Nang and Can Tho. The percentage of e-commerce shoppers grew from 5.4 per cent to 8.8 per cent in four cities in the last year alone. Although the size of Viet Nam e-commerce market is still small compared to other formats, it holds a strong potential because the value growth of e-commerce within FMCG is up to 69 per cent, said David Anjoubault, manager of Kantar Worldpanel Viet Nam. "This makes Viet Nam one of the countries with the highest e-commerce growth rate in the world, Its now the critical time for investors to enter this promising market. Current retail giants should gradually move their offers online and take advantage of their brand equity with omni-channel strategy to defend their current position. On the whole, consumer trust and high logistics cost for delivery model are major challenges that need to be addressed by businesses to move Viet Nam e-commerce forward, he added. The study showed that e-commerce now accounts for 4.6 per cent of all FMCG sales globally. While the e-commerce channel is growing, the FMCG market as a whole is sluggish, increasing just 1.3 per cent during the same period. E-commerce now contributes to a record 36 per cent of global FMCG growth and will continue to outpace growth in offline FMCG retail. Our projections show that in 2025, online FMCG will become a US$170 billion-dollar business and hold a 10 per cent market share says Stephane Roger, global shopper and retail director at Kantar Worldpanel. The big global uplift will come from the US, predicted to rise from a 1.5 per cent e-commerce share this year to 8 per cent in 2025. South Korea and China will continue to lead the way and Asia in general remains at the cutting edge of online adoption. Viet Nam e-commerce specifically, is expected to expand from 0.5 per cent to 2.2 per cent share in 2025 coupled with the rise of digitisation. VNS HCM CITY Executives from 20 companies based in South Koreas Gyeongsangbuk-do Province met with nearly 90 Vietnamese counterparts in HCM City on December 1 to discuss business opportunities. The companies are in sectors like cosmetics; food including soybean paste, soy sauce, dried shiitake mushroom, black garlic, and snacks; beverages; and agricultural produce like rice, fruits, and ginseng. Speaking at the Viet Nam-Korea B2B Meeting, Hoang Van Anh of the Viet Nam Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said the two countries co-operate in many fields, especially investment and trading. Korea is Viet Nams third largest trading partner and Viet Nam is Koreas fourth largest, he said. Their trade was worth over US$45 billion in the first nine months of this year, with Viet Nam having a deficit. The two have similar agricultural produce, but Vietnamese firms need to learn from their Korean counterparts to improve their production. Vietnamese companies should promote technical co-operation with Korean firms in processing farm produce or can work with Korean companies at the event to promote export of their products to Korea. Kim Heung Soo, chairman of the Korean Chamber of Commerce and Industry in the south and centre of Viet Nam, agreed with Anh, saying Korean firms should not only think of exporting their products to Viet Nam but also consider importing Vietnamese products. Viet Nam has an abundant supply of farm produce, including many high-value specialities at cheap prices, he said. Kim ChangYil, a representative of Yeongju city businesses, said Korea has many kinds of farm produce and processed specialities like red ginseng, ginseng, and fruit juices. These are of high quality and safe and popular in many countries, he said. With its rapid economic development and rising incomes, Viet Nam has increasing demand for higher quality products, which the Koreans can offer. The event, part of the Korea-Viet Nam Trade and Culture Exchange Festival being held in HCM City, is expected to further promote bilateral trade, Son In Rak, CEO of Yeoungnam daily newspaper, one of the organisers of the event, said. The festival, being held from November 30 to December 4, includes activities like a multi-cultural family reunion, an exhibition of Vietnamese and Korean products, a buyers meeting, art performances and a gala dinner. The event is hosted by Gyeongsangbuk-do Province and Glocal Kim together with the newspaper in collaboration with the VCCI. VNS HCM CITY Despite billions of ong spent on wastewater treatment facilities, many projects are still incomplete and wastewater pollution remains a huge problem. The Tham Luong Ben Cat waste water treatment plant, with processing capacity of 131,000 cubic metres per day, was scheduled in October to begin treating wastewater of about 700,000 residents living near the Tham Luong Ben Cat Canal. However, the 54- kilometre pipe network that leads the wastewater to the treatment plant has not been completed. Temporary pipes were built, but they only allow for a processing capacity of 10,000 cubic metres of water, which is just 10 per cent of the designed capacity. The pipe network was expected to receive World Bank financing of US$400 million, but the fund was pulled in June, as requested by the World Bank. HCM City is now looking for investors for the full pipe network. The project owner, the HCM City Steering Centre for the Urban Flood Control Programme, has asked the citys Peoples Committee for permission to build a temporary 3-kilometre pipe network, estimated to cost around VN200 billion ($8.8 million). The temporary network would help increase water treatment capacity to around 40-50 per cent of the plants intended capacity as work is completed on the full network. However, the construction of a temporary pipe network would take around two years. Meanwhile, a wastewater treatment project in District 2s Nhieu Loc Thi Nghe area, with around 1 million households, is in a different predicament. It has adequate wastewater pipes but has no treatment system, because the pipe network project was finished before the treatment plant. As a result, the wastewater, rather than being processed, is instead dumped directly into the Sai Gon River. The Nhieu Loc Thi Nghe pumping station collects wastewater from the 59 wells placed along the canal and dumps it into the river, controlling the amount to dilute the wastewater. It is estimated that hundreds of millions of cubic metres of wastewater are dumped by this station. An 8-kilometre long pipe to lead wastewater from the Sai Gon River to the Thanh My Loi Ward wastewater treatment plant has been under construction since April. The Nhieu Loc Thi Nghe wastewater treatment project is still looking for investors, with construction expected next year. By 2020, HCM City plans to operate around 11 wastewater treatment plants, with the combined processing rate of about 1.86 million cubic metres of waste water per day. Currently, there are only two treatment plants in operation: Binh Hung and Binh Hung Hoa. Their combined processing rate is only 171,000 cubic metres per day, which is 9.2 per cent of the amount of HCM Citys wastewater (1.75 million cubic metres per day). The city plans to introduce more policies to attract investment in water treatment plants, especially from foreign firms, by adjusting revenue for water treatment to make it more appealing. Water polluters will be investigated more thoroughly and some of them will have to pay more for water treatment. - VNS Grand prize: The best painting was by o Khanh Linh from Thanh Hoa. VNS Photo Nguyen Binh HA NOI o Khanh Linh from the central province of Thanh Hoa won the Grand Prize at a national painting competition in Ha Noi yesterday run by the Danish Embassy and the Viet Nam-Denmark Friendship Association. Linh, a third grade-pupil at Le Van Tam Primary School, beat nearly 62 other competitors in the final round of the competition with the theme I Draw My Dreams. "I did my painting with a pencil and coloured it with crayons," she said at the award ceremony. "My teacher and mother introduced Denmark to me and I studied about the country through books - Andersons Fairy Tales in particular." First prize 1: A colourful painting by Nguyen Minh Hoang from Ha Noi. Linh portrayed Vietnamese and Danish children riding bicycles and taking buses to protect the environment. She received a Canon camera and a set of Lego toys for her effort. "Im impressed by the creativeness of the children participating in the competition," said Ambassador Charlotte Laursen. "The use of bright colours and the stories about Denmark and Viet Nam portrayed in each painting. Their dreams are so happy, so lively and full of surprise". The competition was part of a cultural exchange programme called Denmark In Your Eyes by the embassy and VIDAFA to celebrate the 46th anniversary of Viet Nam and Denmark diplomatic relations. About 800 pupils from across Viet Nam participated in the competition. A total of 63 were awarded prizes. Two first prize were presented to Nguyen Minh Hoang from Ha Noi and Vu Huyen Phuong from the northern province of Bac Giang. First prize 2: Love and friendship by Vu Huyen Phuong from Bac Giang. Three second prizes went to To Anh Khoi from Ha Noi Educational Technology School; Nguyen Le Thu An from Thanh Hoas Le Van Tam Primary School and Duong Quyet Thang from northern Bac Giangs Yen Son School. Ngoc Lam Primary School and Centre for Gifted Childhood Colours, both in Ha Noi, took the group prizes for the most competitors. The first competition was launched last year. It became an annual event, attracting students from all primary schools in the country with support from Ministry of Education and Training, Kim ong Publishing House, Nhi ong Newspaper and others. In space: A painting by Vang Mi Tinh from Ha Giang. It won an encouragement prize. "Im delighted to see the beautiful dreams of the students about conquering the sky, the ocean, the universe - and making friends with Danish children and children throughout the world," said Vo Tuan Nhan representative of VIDAFA. The Danish Embassys Culture Programme in Viet Nam has a budget of more than US$3 million. The programme focuses on promoting local culture and art and culture exchange between Viet Nam and Denmark. VNS HA NOI Sandy Ngoc Nguyen was sexually abused at the age 8. She attempted suicide several times over the years. Facing death, she regained the strength to live and to overcome the pain and hurt of her trauma. She is one of many women around the world joining the art project "1001 Portraits of the Goddesses" carried out by Hiratsuka Niki, a Japanese-English artist from Australia. Niki travelled the world to draw portraits of women who are victims of sex abuse and record their stories. She opened an exhibition displaying a part of her project yesterday in Ha Noi. Born in 1986, Niki grew up on the Northern Beaches of Sydney and studied philosophy at the University of Sydney. In the years after graduation, she became an English teacher and pursued her love of learning languages overseas. She studied Vietnamese in Ha Noi from 2009-2010, which turned out to be a major advantage when she returned to work on the project six years later. In 2015 she trained as an art therapist and discovered the healing properties of art. When she shared the story of her experiences as a sex abuse victim through a 2016 exhibition of her art in Sydney, she realised that her art had not only helped her heal but also brought comfort to others, who then felt able to share their stories as well. Art became the way she invited people to share their stories with their communities through her project. I kinda refer to some superhuman qualities within these women to step up on a social level and share their stories, said Niki, explaining her use of the word "Goddess". Its rare because you dont actually see a lot of people standing up and sharing this. Thats the biggest challenge of my project. Regarding the number 1001, Niki said she wants to portray as many women as possible through her project and the number sounds impressive. I will not stop at the number 1001, I will approach more and more women in the world and help them raise their voices, she said. Niki said that Sandy is the woman who impressed her most in Viet Nam, who encouraged her and inspired her to carry out the project. Sandy bravely told her story to the public at the exhibitions opening ceremony. Last year, she published an autobiography in the hope that people who have had similar experiences can realise their strength. Try to open your mind, try to tell your story. Learn to forgive so you can receive love. Love and love will come back to you, said Sandy. Nguyen Van Anh, director of the Centre for Studies and Applied Sciences in Gender, Family, Women and Adolescents (CSAGA) said the exhibition helps raise awareness of sex abuse in Viet Nam. We need to raise our voices to stop sex abuse of women and little girls, she said. The exhibition will run until December 6 at the Vietnamese Womens Museum, 36 Ly Thuong Kiet Street, Ha Noi. VNS HCM CITY Poor waterway infrastructure and lack of wharves as well as stopover stations are major obstacles preventing the full development of waterway tourism in HCM City, according to river transport and tourism companies. Nguyen Hai Linh, owner of the Elisa floating restaurant, said the city had not invested enough in river tourism products. The closure of Bach ang Wharf, a busy docking place for tourist boats and floating restaurants on the Sai Gon River, made it difficult for businesses to operate as they had to move to Sai Gon Port in District 4, Linh said. Linh, who spoke at a roundtable on waterway tourism held earlier this week in HCM City, said the city needed to create more favourable conditions for floating restaurants, yachts and river tourism services to operate downtown. An Son Lam, owner of the Indochinese Sailboat Company, said his company had to sell several boats as a result of the closure of Bach ang Wharf. Cleaning up polluted waterways, improving infrastructure and building more berths and wharves for tourist boats to dock are all needed, said Lam, adding that Bach ang Wharf and Sai Gon Port are attractive boat stops for tourism. Nguyen Van My, director of Lua Viet Travel Company, said restaurants, shopping services and tourist destinations should be carefully planned along the river to attract tourists. Unnecessary requirements to operate river transport and tourism services should be streamlined to encourage more investors, My added. New plan The citys Peoples Committee has issued a plan to develop river tourism for the 2017-2020 period. Under the plan, at least seven waterway tourism products will be developed along Sai Gon, ong Nai, Nha Be, Soai Rap and Long Tau rivers and Ben Nghe, Te, Tau Hu, and Lo Gom canals by 2020. The number of tourists purchasing waterway tourism products is expected to reach 450,000 next year, with a growth rate of 15 per cent a year on average. As part of the plan, the first public river bus route in HCM City began operation last week. The 10.8-km Bach ang- Linh ong route, with 12 stops, starts at Bach ang Wharf in District 1, and goes through districts Binh Thanh, Thu uc, 1 and 2. Bui Xuan Cuong, director of the citys Department of Transport, said many waterway tourism routes would be developed in coming years, including routes from HCM City to Binh Duong, and to Ba Ria-Vung Tau and Cuu Long (Mekong) Delta provinces. Greenlines DP Company will launch high-speech boats for a route from the HCM City centre to Can Gio District on December 23, he said. HCM City has 1,000 km of rivers and canals connecting the city with the neighbouring provinces of Binh Duong, Tay Ninh, ong Nai, Long An and Ba Ria-Vung Tau and the provinces of the Cuu Long (Mekong) Delta. VNS HCM CITY As the HIV response is being integrated into the general healthcare system, raising awareness of healthcare workers is important in addressing discrimination and stigma. Stigma and discrimination related to HIV remain among the biggest barriers to universal access to HIV health services, and this leads to a high number of AIDS-related deaths, said Marie-Odile Emond, country director of UNAIDS (United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS) Viet Nam. Despite great efforts from the Government and affected communities over the years, discrimination still exists in schools, workplace, family, community and healthcare facilities, she said at a conference held yesterday in HCM City. This has hindered Viet Nams progress towards achieving testing and treatment 90-90-90 targets (90 per cent of all people living with HIV will know their HIV status; 90 per cent of all people with diagnosed HIV infection will receive sustained antiretroviral therapy; and 90 per cent of all people receiving antiretroviral therapy will have viral suppression) and the goal of ending AIDS by 2030, she said. People living with HIV in fear or denial are less likely to get tested, disclose their HIV status to intimate partners, families and caregivers, and often will seek treatment late and at times even too late. People at higher risks of HIV infection, including users of injected drug, sex workers and men who have sex with men, face even double stigma and discrimination in accessing HIV and other health services. Viet Nam has a clear supportive legal framework that addresses HIV stigma and discrimination, including the Law on HIV/AIDS Prevention and Control and many sub-law instruments. The challenge often lies in inconsistent enforcement of these across all sectors and at all levels, and as the law cannot cover all situations, she added. In 2015, UNAIDS launched a fast-track approach, focusing on innovative interventions to reduce discrimination in healthcare settings in large cities, including HCM City. The pilot project was implemented between September 2016 and December 2017 in three health facilities in HCM City: Pham Ngoc Thach Hospital in HCM City, District 6 Hospital, and District 4 Preventive Medical Centre. The project includes two major components: assessment of sigma and discrimination in healthcare settings and interventions to reduce HIV related sigma and discrimination. After more than a year of implementation, the results and useful lessons learned from the project will inform the national policy to reduce discrimination in healthcare settings and expand this effort in other high-burden provinces, with support from development partners. Findings from the project show that it was necessary to measure stigma and discrimination in healthcare settings to develop evidence-based interventions that would improve the quality of health care services. A participatory training approach with healthcare workers to share views and agree on action, as well as dialogue between patients and health care providers to better understand stigma and discrimination issues and health facilities procedures, are critical factors to reduce HIV-related stigma and discrimination. Discrimination comes from limited awareness and knowledge of HIV, HIV transmission, and lack of universal precautions among healthcare workers, said Le Tien Dung, deputy director of Pham Ngoc Thach Hospital. The programmes participatory training with healthcare workers proved useful and led to initial changes, according to Dung. VNS PERTH National Assembly Chairwoman Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan held talks with leaders from Western Australia to seek co-operation opportunities in various fields of mutual interest, such as mining, renewable energy, liquefied petroleum gas, education-training, tourism, seaports and agriculture. At a meeting with Governor of Western Australia, Kerry Sanderson, in Perth on Friday, Chairwoman Ngan expressed her belief that elevating the bilateral strategic partnership on the occasion of Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phucs visit to Australia in March 2018 will create a foundation for the two countries localities and businesses to enhance co-operation. She noted that two-way trade reached nearly US$984 million in 2016. Viet Nam is the 16th biggest trade partner of Western Australia. Sanderson affirmed that the Western Australian administration attaches great importance to co-operative relations with Viet Nam. Viet Nam has a lot of potential to develop tourism with popular destinations like Hoi An, Son oong Cave, and Ha Long Bay, she said, adding that it is necessary to open a direct air route between Viet Nam and Perth. The two sides discussed fields that need stronger collaboration in the future such as education, culture, tourism, science-technology, education-training and people-to-people exchanges. While meeting with President of the Western Australian Legislative Council, Kate Doust, and Deputy Speaker of the Legislative Assembly of the Western Australia, Lisa Baker, Chairwoman Ngan described Western Australia as a leading natural resources mining centre and a top educational centre of Australia, which plays a significant position in Viet Nam-Australia cooperation. Viet Nam supports businesses from the state to strengthen trade and investment partnerships with Vietnamese localities in order to increase two-way trade to AU$2 billion ($1.5 billion) in the future, Ngan said. She called on Western Australia to support Viet Nam in the fields of its strengths such as agriculture, livestock, water management, and education. The two Western Australian legislators said they want to promote co-operation with Viet Nam in science-technology, education and economics. At a meeting with Chief Justice of Western Australia, Wayne Martin, Chairwoman Ngan hailed the signing of a cooperation agreement between the Supreme Court of Western Australia and the Supreme Peoples Court of Viet Nam. She hoped the Supreme Court of Western Australia will support the training of Vietnamese judges as well as share legal information and experience in judicial administration. More investment from Western Australia Also on Friday at the Viet Nam-Australia Business Dialogue in Perth, Western Australia state, Chairwoman Ngan pledged to stand side by side with Australian enterprises during the process of doing business and investing in Viet Nam. Ngan said with a population of 100 million by 2020, improved business climate, upgraded transport infrastructure and increased purchasing power, Viet Nam has drawn over US$313 billion in foreign direct investment (FDI) from 128 countries and territories over the last 30 years, and has become an important link in the global value chain, especially in electronics, apparel, agriculture and fisheries. Viet Nam is committed to creating the best business environment in accordance with standards of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), 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 Australian investors. While hailing the huge potential for bilateral cooperation, the top legislator said Viet Nam 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. Viet Nam 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. Viet Nam 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 Viet Nam is one of the Asian countries that Australia has given priority to developing ties with, adding that Vietnamese is the third most popular language in Western Australia. He said the state authorities are satisfied with Viet Nams 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 Viet Nam on the back of exchanges between their people and administrations, with a focus placed on education, trade and investment. Viet Nam boasts the sixth largest number of students in Western Australia, while two-way trade neared US$1.2 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. On the afternoon of December 1, the Vietnamese NA leader visited several economic establishments in Western Australia, including the mining group Alcoa and ship-builder Austal, where she has welcomed the two companies to invest in Viet Nam. VNS HA NOI Ta inh Huy, 35, of Thuong Vuc Commune, Ha Nois Chuong My District, was one of 86 outstanding young people given a 2017 Luong inh Cua Award, for making farming machines and creating jobs for 50 local youngsters. The annual awards were presented on Thursday morning in Ha Noi. Huys story began in 2005 when he graduated high school and opened a shop to repair motorbikes. Huy saw local farmers working very hard in their fields but without efficient agricultural machines. He researched and made his first agricultural machine few months later. The machine was designed to cut soil, spray pesticide and irrigate. The machine, worth about VN1.6 million (US$70), was well received by local residents, the Tien Phong (Vanguard) newspaper reported. Huy later closed his shop and opened a mechanics workshop. He spent seven years upgrading the machine. In 2014, he unveiled the upgraded-version with eight functions, including ploughing, cutting soil, turning soil, burying soil, weeding grass, planting seeds, spraying pesticides and irrigation. The machine cost about VN13 million (US$750) but the productivity was much higher than a person doing the same work. Now, the machine has 15 functions, including the ability to dig furrows and mix fertiliser. He has sold thousands of the machines across the country, with some even exported to Laos. Huy was already honoured as one of 10 outstanding young people of Viet Nam in 2016. Cao inh Thuan, 18, of the commune said he quit studying after he finished 9th grade because his parents were very poor. He has worked at the workshop for two years and earns about VN5 million (US$220) per month. Rabbit co-operative Another Luong inh Cua Award winner this year is Nguyen Manh Thang, 31, of the northern Vinh Phuc Provinces Tam ao District. Thang graduated from the Viet Nam National University of Agriculture, majoring in veterinary medicine. After graduating, Thang raised chickens but failed to make a profit. In 2014, he started raising rabbits. He bought 80 rabbits from New Zealand, but with little initial success, as many of the rabbits died. Thang said he had to visit other rabbit farms to learn. He found out how to clean the rabbits feeder and farm to ward off diseases. Thanks to these lessons, the rabbits thrived and now females give birth seven to eight times a year, with litters of up to seven baby rabbits. From the initial success, Thang decided to invest VN600 million ($26,400) to establish a farm to feed rabbits following Vietnamese Good Agriculture Practice (VietGAP) in 2015. Now, his farm has 500 breeding rabbits and thousands of commercial rabbits each year. Thang earns VN300 million ($13,200) each year and employs eight local labourers. Carpentry workshop This years award was also given to Nguyen Van Thanh, 31 of the northern Bac Giang Provinces Yen My Commune. Thanh was born in a family with a small carpentry workshop. Since he was child, he always wanted to broaden the workshop and create more sophisticated products. He worked in a lot of workshops in nearby provinces to gain experience for several years. He improved his skills enough to open his own workshop in 2011 with investment of VN100 million ($4,400). The workshop specialised in manufacturing wooden chairs, tables, beds, wardrobes, floors and stairs. His business turned a profit quickly and three years later, he borrowed VN200 million ($8,800) from a local bank to expand. He repaid the debt last year and opened three additional workshops. He earns revenue of VN1.6 billion ($70,400) per year and employs 12 local workers. The Luong inh Cua Award is an annual award sponsored by the Ho Chi Minh Communist Youth Union Central Committee, given to young people with outstanding achievements in manufacturing, trade, applying modern science technologies, protecting the environment and setting up new rural lifestyles. VNS On 15 December, the Royal Air Force Museum Cosford will be hosting the next Cold War Lunchtime Lecture with a talk entitled The Air Defence of the UK in the last 20 Years of the Cold War: Defence on a Shoestring. In this talk, Dr Kenton White from the University of Reading will look at the conventional defence planning of the UK during the Cold War.Kenton is a Sessional Lecturer in Politics, International Relations and Strategic Studies at the University of Reading, and also works with the University of Portsmouth at RAF Cranwell. He has a PhD in Strategic Studies, researching British defence policy and practice during and after the Cold War. He studies military history and defence policy from the Napoleonic Wars to today. Prior to entering academia he was the Managing Director of a computer animation company. Within this lecture, Dr Kenton will question whether during the Cold War, did Britain really have the means to defend itself, in the event of a shooting war? This lecture analyses the conventional defence planning of the UK, its relationship to the policy, and the possible and actual execution. In 1979 Britain committed almost the entire Royal Air Force to NATOs defence of Western Europe. 100,000 troops were assigned to Home Defence, and Britain would act as a staging post for foreign troops on their way to the front. Deterrent plans were aimed at the perceived threat: planning for the manifestation of that threat, and implementing those plans. These plans relate intimately to NATOs Flexible Response strategy and the desire to raise the nuclear threshold enabling NATO to stop a WTO attack by conventional means. Analysing the plans for mobilisation, and comparing them to the forces and facilities available, this lecture seeks to understand if the UK fulfilled its obligation, not only to NATO, but to the Armed Forces and British public. Professor Kenton White is a Sessional Lecturer in Politics, International Relations and Strategic Studies at the University of Reading, and also works with the University of Portsmouth at RAF Cranwell. He has a PhD in Strategic Studies, researching British defence policy and practice during and after the Cold War. He studies military history and defence policy from the Napoleonic Wars to today. Prior to entering academia he was the Managing Director of a computer animation company. This FREE lecture will be held in the museums National Cold War Exhibition lecture theatre at 12.30pm on Friday 15 December, lasting approximately one hour. As spaces are limited, organisers advise visitors to book their tickets in advance via the Museums website to avoid disappointment. The Cold War Lunchtime Lectures form part of the RAF Museums Research Programme . The Air Defence of the UK in the last 20 Years of the Cold War: Defence on a Shoestring, is the final lecture taking place at Cosford this year, with more lectures planned for 2018. The programme also consists of the Trenchard Lectures in Air Power Studies and the First World War in the Air Lunchtime Lectures, which are held at the University of Wolverhampton, the Royal Aeronautical Society in London and the RAF Museum in London respectively. For further information about the Museums research programme or to book your FREE ticket to the lecture, please visit the Museum website www.rafmuseum.org/cosford. The Museum is open daily from 10am and entry to the Museum is FREE of charge. MOLINE, Ill.Deere & Co. has completed its acquisition of the Wirtgen Group, a leading manufacturer worldwide of road construction equipment. In June, Deere announced a definitive agreement to purchase the international privately-held company. The Wirtgen Group will enhance the size, scale and stature of our construction equipment business and will help Deere continue its global growth, said Samuel R. Allen, Deere & C. chairman and chief executive officer. The Wirtgen Group has a global footprint with approximately 8,200 employees and sells products in more than 100 countries through a large network of company-owned and independent dealers. Wirtgens product portfolio is complementary to Deeres existing construction equipment offering and establishes Deere as the industry leader in global road construction. Allen said the acquisition aligns with Deeres long-term strategy to expand in both agriculture and construction the companys two global growth businesses. NORA SPRINGS --- Two Illinois residents are dead and a third injured in a car-train crash near Nora Springs Friday. The crash happened just before noon Friday at 260th Street and Zinnia Avenue near Nora Springs. The deceased have been identified by the Iowa State Patrol as the driver, James D. Blazier, 66, of Harvard, Ill., and the front seat passenger, Dixie J. Blazier, 66, also of Harvard, Ill. A backseat passenger, Glenda L. Mundis, 55, of Harvard, Ill., was transported by air ambulance to Mercy Hospital in Mason City. Troopers said Blazier was northbound on Zinnia Avenue when he entered into the path of a westbound Canadian Pacific train. The train struck the front passenger side of the Chevy Equinox, causing it to roll and coming to stop on its roof, the report states. The train was a single engine with no cars attached. The crash remains under investigation. WATERLOO --- Three people have been arrested in connection with a Thursday night raid where police allegedly found drugs within reach of children. Police arrested 23-year-old Chavontae Charvez Boyd --- who was out on bond awaiting trial in a June shooting --- for possession of ecstasy, marijuana and K2 synthetic marijuana, two counts of violation of the drug tax stamp act and four counts of child endangerment. Brittaney Kay Reiter, 23, was arrested for possession of marijuana with intent to deliver, one count of violation of the drug tax stamp act and four counts of child endangerment. Tristin James Bumgarner, 19, was arrested for possession of marijuana with intent to deliver and one count of violation of the drug tax stamp act. According to court records, four children under age 3 were found at 214 Denver St. when Waterloo police searched the residence shortly before 9 p.m. Thursday. Officers found marijuana on a kitchen table and drug paraphernalia throughout the house, court records state. Officers also found a large bag of marijuana, a bag of ecstasy pills and two large bags of synthetic marijuana as well as an electronic scale and cash. While authorities were on their way to search the home, Reiter left the residence, and officers stopped her and found a large bag of marijuana in the vehicle, court records state. When officers were at the door preparing to enter the home, Baumgarner allegedly threw 14 bags of marijuana from his window, according to court records. Boyd is currently awaiting trial in connection with a shooting near Elks Memorial Park that injured a 29-year-old man. Boyd is accused of being a driver for another person, who fired the shots. WATERLOO Every year, students at Columbus High School are asked to dig deep as they donate money to the Thanksgiving food drive. Conducted by the social ministry Christian service class, the drives proceeds support food assistance programs at the local chapter of St. Vincent de Paul, a Catholic charitable organization. This year, weeks into the November effort, they needed to dig a little deeper. A few days before Thanksgiving and the original end of the fundraiser, students were well below their goal of $26,000. Teacher Pat Wiss said they had raised less than $15,000, so a decision was made. We extended it, because we werent doing well. By the time the drive wrapped up Friday, that had changed. Members of the class presented an oversized check to Pat Russo, executive director of the St. Vincent de Paul Society of Waterloo, for $32,576 during a school assembly. Thats a school record, guys, senior Josefina Jaramillo told the assembled students. It beat last years total of $31,791, which had also been a record, and was 125 percent of this years goal. Students had donated 164 food items, as well, a number thats been dwindling over recent years in favor of cash contributions. We are proud to reach this goal to support St. Vincent de Paul, added senior Ana Ortiz. Russo was pleased to receive the money, which will cover the organizations annual food assistance budget and then some. He estimated the budget to be $24,000. Every year the Columbus family amazes me. You get to a point where I think you cant do more, he said, and then end up topping the prior year. We had a really slow start, acknowledged senior Addisen Lytle, before students kicked it into gear. Once we got the ball rolling it was smooth sailing. The class organized about a half dozen events such as a community meal featuring food from the Waterloo Brown Bottle restaurant, a trivia night and a Halloween dance. We had collections every day during second period, said Lytle, through which most of the money was raised. Wiss said the community meal, provided for a donation, raised $2,500. Taking an offering at a different Catholic church in Waterloo and Cedar Falls each week raised another $5,183. Everything about this drive comes back to love, its like Christmas, she said. The money will start being put to use just in time for the holiday through the Christmas basket program. On the Saturday before Christmas, 500 families will be getting food that will last more than a day, said Wiss. Coats and toys are also provided for members of each family. Additionally, the organizations year-round emergency food box program provides three to five days of food to needy people, serving approximately 100 families per month. MARSHALLTOWN The commandant of the Iowa Veterans Home has put on hold a plan that called for residents to be temporarily moved from single rooms to double rooms while living facilities on the Marshalltown campus are updated. I heard their concerns, Commandant Timon Oujiri said Friday after announcing his decision to residents. The plan called for residential care veterans to be moved out of the 117-year-old Heinz Hall to Sheeler Hall, perhaps as early as September 2018. Whether they would remain there or be moved back to Heinz had not been determined. Now, each dorm resident has a private room and a shared bathroom. If they were doubled up, four people would share a bathroom. They voiced their concerns at a town hall meeting in November. I understand their concerns, Oujiri said in a statement. The correct decision sometimes is not the right decision. Therefore, I have made a determination to reverse my decision to initiate relocating the residents of Heinz Hall to Sheeler. The plan is on hold while the veterans home conducts a compressive plan with residents participation, Oujiri said. The Iowa Veterans Home has about 554 residents. It operates on a combination of state and federal funds. Its fiscal 2019 budget request was for $7.59 million. ANKENY The Des Moines company selected to grow marijuana and manufacture medical cannabis products would like to produce tinctures, creams, soft gels, suppositories and even inhalers that allow patients with a variety of ailments to get customized therapies. We want to create efficacious doses within the parameters established by the law, Lucas Nelson, an attorney for Kemin Industries and a consultant with MedPharm Iowa, told the Iowa Medical Cannabidiol Advisory Board on Friday morning. The Iowa Department of Public Health on Tuesday released a notice of intent to give MedPharm Iowa a cannabidiol manufacturing license. The company, affiliated with Kemin, a Des Moines ingredient firm, would be charged with supplying medical cannabis products by Dec. 1, 2018. The state will issue up to five licenses for medical cannabis dispensaries by April. Tom Swegle, chief executive officer of MedCara Pharmaceuticals, of Conrad, demonstrated a transdermal cream applicator that would dispense 2.25 milliliters of prescription cannabis cream per click to be applied topically for joint pain, for example. A penlike oil dispenser also could be adapted to release one drop per click. All products would be in child-resistant containers, like traditional medications. MedPharm Iowa was the only company to apply for a manufacturers license, possibly because of the tight turnaround to develop products and an annual fee of $150,000 to $200,000, said Sarah Reisetter, deputy director of the public health department. The relatively low cap for tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC, allowed in the products may restrict the market so manufacturers would have a hard time making it profitable. People are concerned about the sustainability of the program, Reisetter said. Iowas new medical marijuana law expands beyond chronic epilepsy the illnesses patients with a doctors prescription could treat with medical cannabis to include cancer, multiple sclerosis, AIDS or HIV and others. But Nelson and others who spoke at the meeting Friday would like more conditions, including post-traumatic stress disorder or ulcerative colitis. We see this bill as a great start, Nelson said. The state and this board, we really do want to make this a collaborative effort to bring this treatment to the people of Iowa. Dr. Bob Shreck, a Des Moines oncologist and board member, expressed concern about the lack of research findings on the effectiveness of medical cannabis. The federal government has tightly controlled studies of medical marijuana, which advocates argue has hamstrung efforts to use these therapies legally. We, as doctors, are stuck, Shreck said. We live in an evidence-based world. I would be reluctant to open this wide open to every single use everyone wants this to be open to. At this time, the board does not plan to ask the Iowa Legislature to raise the THC limit or add more medical conditions, but will lobby for removing a prohibition on some felons getting medical cannabis. The state health department will request permission to retain fees to pay for the cost of the program. WATERLOO City Council members have been unable to reach a consensus on the future of fireworks use. Theyll try again Monday when they consider an ordinance that would ban the use of consumer fireworks in the Waterloo city limits, except for novelty items like sparklers and snakes. Council members have held several work sessions in recent weeks to discuss whether to allow the use of fireworks or follow the lead of several other large cities, including Cedar Rapids, Iowa City and Cedar Falls, in voting for a ban. Waterloo fireworks ordinance still stalled WATERLOO City Council members shot down a plan to limit fireworks use in Waterloo to four The Iowa Legislature earlier this year lifted an 80-year ban on consumer fireworks and allowed them to be shot off from June 1 through July 8 and again from Dec. 10 through Jan. 3. The law does not allow cities to ban the sale of fireworks. But cities are allowed to approve shorter usage periods or completely ban setting them off. Waterloo previously limited fireworks use to June 30 to July 4 but fielded numerous complaints from residents about the noise traumatizing veterans and others with stress disorders, agitating pets and disturbing the peace. But its unclear whether council members have the votes to approve the ban. Councilman Ron Welper said he supports a ban. Councilmen Bruce Jacobs and Tom Lind have previously voiced support for a ban but did not participate in the two most recent council work sessions. Councilman Jerome Amos Jr. said he supported allowing fireworks use only on July 3 and 4. I dont believe in that ban because Ive heard our police chief say that it would be a nightmare to enforce, he said. Councilman Pat Morrissey said he wanted to allow fireworks only from 5 to 11 p.m. July 4, adding a restriction to limit sales only to industrial zoned areas of the city. Councilman Tom Powers said he was flexible on the dates and times, but was not in favor of a ban. People want to have an opportunity to teach their kids how to safely do fireworks, he said. Councilman Steve Schmitt suggested the council should just ban fireworks during the upcoming winter use period and wait until three new council members are seated in January to address the summer period. Id still like to see the new council set the July 4 fireworks schedule, Schmitt said. Id like to see this current council just make a decision for New Years Eve, call it good and move on. The meeting is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. Monday in the council chambers on the second floor of City Hall. If you were to arrive at Icelands Keflavik International Airport during the month of December expecting cheerful holiday lights or a jolly fat man in a red suit, you would be in for a bit of a surprise. Instead of being welcomed into the country by the familiar and cheerful figure of Santa Claus, your first encounter would be with slightly menacing, unmistakably witch-like figure: Gryla. Although she has not always been associated with the Yuletide season, Gryla has evolved to become the center of Icelandic Yule and Christmas folklore. While she bears some of the clear markings of the stereotypical witch as a cauldron-stirring hag figure who owns a scary black cat, she is actually described as a troll or ogress in Icelands tour guidebooks and articles. Gryla is said to live in a cave hidden deep in the mountains, where she always keeps her cauldron boiling. From her hideaway, Gryla travels throughout the island country carrying a large sack and searching for badly-behaved children. When she encounters these children she stuffs them in her sack, carries them home, and boils them for dinner. From stockings full of coal to receiving a whipping to the clutches of Krampus, legends of harmful consequences for bad children are quite common during the holiday season, yet that is not why Gryla the troll has become associated with the Icelandic holidays. Terry Gunnell of the University of Reykjavik dates the legends of Gryla to at least the 13th century, when the ogress was not associated with Christmas. However, as the legend evolved and made its way to the 1600s, Gryla became more and more associated with the December holiday, partially because of her adopted children: the 13 Yule Lads. The 13 bearded Yule Lads have taken a central role in modern Icelandic holiday celebrations. In the 13 days before Dec. 25, the lads are said to descend from the mountains one by one. They each enter a village on their appointed evening, and bring their own personal kind of mischief with them. In modern celebrations, children leave out shoes for the lads on each of the 13 nights. If a child has been good, they receive a gift. If they have been bad, they receive a rotten potato, thus they have been referred to as Icelands 13 Santa Clauses. The Yule Lads have become beloved cultural figures and part of the local tourist industry. In downtown Reykjavik, cheerful animated images of the lads are projected onto buildings to create a decidedly local holiday season feeling to the city. This portrayal of the lads as mostly harmless, however, is a 20th century invention. Historically, the Yule Lads have been seen as mischievous and potentially frightening. Each has his individual night to come into town, and as they appear, they invade peoples homes, steal food, and generally annoy residents. Each lad has a particular idiosyncrasy which dictates just how he annoys and harasses the people on his given December night. The particular obsessions of each lad may seem innocuous today, but it is easy to see how the theft of food, water, and light would have been downright dangerous up until recent times. The 13 Yule Lads Sheep-Cote Clod (AKA Stiffy Legs) Dec. 12: This peg-legged lad sneaks into sheep pens and sucks the milk out of a familys ewes. Gully Gawk Dec. 13: Gully Gawk loves milk too, but he steals the foam off of buckets of fresh milk. Stubby Dec. 14: The shortest Yule Lad, Stubby breaks into a familys kitchen to lick the burned bits of food off of their pots and pans. Spoon Licker Dec. 15: As his name implies, this scrawny lad sneaks into kitchen after dinner is over and licks all of the familys spoons. Pot Licker Dec.r 16: Pot Licker is more aggressive than his spoon-loving brother. He knocks at the front door, then takes advantage of the household distraction to sneak in and help himself to the pots in the kitchen. Bowl Licker Dec. 17: This lads greatest desire is to steal your bowl of food. Door Slammer Dec. 18: He waits until the town is asleep, then runs around slamming doors for fun. Skyr Gobbler Dec. 19: Iceland has its own form of yogurt, which they call skyr. Skyr Gobbler is quite partial to it and enjoys stealing it from others. Sausage Swiper Dec. 20: Also a food-stealing lad, this one will take all your sausage. Window Peeper Dec. 21: He sneaks around at night looking for open windows to gaze into. Door Sniffer Dec. 22: Always in search of bread, Door Sniffer uses his large nose to find it inside homes. Meat Hook Dec. 23: In his search for meat, this lad sends his long hook down chimneys to steal what he wants. Candle Beggar Dec. 24: December is quite dark in Iceland, and this lad makes it worse by stealing precious candles. Belief in the hidden people, nature spirits, elves, and other mythological creatures is quite common in Iceland. This could be the origin of these somewhat frightening holiday spirits. Magnus Skarpheinsson, an elf researcher in Iceland, says that the Yule Lads are like the hidden people and live in a different, but adjacent, dimension than ours. Gunnell draws a distinction between nature spirits and the Norse concept of elves, but he says that with mingling of cultures, these differences became blurry, leading to locals belief in the Hidden People. Could the Yule Lads be either elves or nature spirits who become more menacing as the dark approaches? Perhaps. With 20 hours of darkness engulfing the island in December, it can feel like nature is turning against you. Food and light, two of the lads favorite quarries, become scarce, and that would have been especially true a century ago, just before the Yule Lads and their mother began to lose their frightening reputation. Gunnell goes further in his multicultural explanation of the Yule Lads origins. He notes that it is common in Scandinavia for young men to run around from farm to farm wearing a sort of a goat costume. Thus, says Gunnell, It may well be that the Yule Lads were at one time just a bunch of young men who would visit nearby farms in costumes and maskspretending they were supernatural spirits that had come down from the mountain. That mundane origin could easily fold into preexisting beliefs in nature spirits. Gunnell goes on to say that in Norway, it is believed that nature spirits begin to come down from the mountain in October, slowly taking over the land and forcing the people into their homes as the darkness got thicker. In December, everyone stayed inside for fear of the land spirits just outside their doors. Its really all about nature spirits taking back their land, he says. Norway and its former colony Iceland indeed share many common ties, and this could be another one. Gunnells ideas of cultural crossbreeding and supernatural beliefs also bring us back to the witch-like troll figure of Gryla, mother of the 13 lads. He states that the name Gryla is similar to a Danish word for Growler, which, he explains, is a word commonly used to refer to trolls or giants. Their names, he says, come from the sounds you hear on the landscape from animals. Danish rule over the island began in 1380. Denmarks influence would have begun before that, roughly to the time to which Gunnell dates Grylas origins. Much like December in Iceland, Gryla and her 13 sons are dark and menacing. They appear as the dark gets longer, the days get greyer, and the cold gets deeper. They disappear as the sun begins to return. With modern technology, the dark and cold have become easier to live with, and in the last hundred years the Yule Lads have evolved a more cheerful demeanor. For the Pagan, the intriguing Yule Lad mythology may hold a similar spiritual truth to the wheel of the year. In December, the time of rapidly advancing darkness and cold, the world seems to become a more dangerous place. At Yule, the light is reborn and the danger slowly recedes. The Yule Lads, appearing one day at a time before Dec. 25 and departing a day at a time afterward, may be another mythological story that coincides with natural cycles. Seen from the Pagan point of view, they are another example of how myth reveals the spirits and sacredness of the natural world. * * * The views and opinions expressed by our diverse panel of columnists and guest writers represent the many diverging perspectives held within the global Pagan, Heathen and polytheist communities, but do not necessarily reflect the views of The Wild Hunt Inc. or its management. past daily news Sep 13 (1) Sep 09 (15) Sep 06 (12) Sep 04 (10) Sep 03 (10) Aug 31 (17) Aug 29 (14) Aug 26 (13) Aug 22 (11) Aug 21 (12) Aug 19 (21) Aug 14 (6) Aug 13 (10) Aug 10 (10) Aug 08 (9) Aug 07 (10) Aug 06 (10) Aug 05 (8) Aug 03 (8) Aug 02 (7) Aug 01 (7) Jul 31 (14) Jul 29 (1) Jul 27 (7) Jul 25 (5) Jul 24 (10) Jul 22 (11) Jul 19 (16) Jul 17 (6) Jul 16 (10) Jul 15 (13) Jul 12 (7) Jul 11 (5) Jul 10 (8) Jul 08 (8) Jul 07 (3) Jul 06 (5) Jul 05 (8) Jul 04 (11) Jul 03 (8) Jul 02 (7) Jul 01 (5) Jun 30 (8) Jun 28 (7) Jun 27 (8) Jun 26 (7) Jun 25 (8) Jun 24 (6) Jun 23 (6) Jun 22 (9) 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Nov 26 (16) Nov 25 (14) Nov 24 (18) Nov 23 (21) Nov 22 (21) Nov 21 (24) Nov 20 (20) Nov 19 (23) Nov 18 (17) Nov 17 (17) Nov 16 (34) Nov 15 (25) Nov 14 (17) Nov 13 (21) Nov 12 (18) Nov 11 (9) Nov 10 (15) Nov 09 (9) Nov 08 (9) Nov 07 (12) Nov 06 (8) Nov 05 (4) Oct 29 (1) Oct 01 (1) Jul 29 (1) May 11 (1) Jul 11 (1) News / National by Staff reporter Former first lady Grace Mugabe has a couple of questions to answer to the authorities over how she amassed assets in foreign lands as the net closes in on individuals and corporates who stashed their wealth in foreign lands.On Tuesday, President Emmerson Mnangagwa gave a three-month deadline to individuals and corporates that externalised foreign currency to return the loot or face arrest.In a statement, Mnangagwa said it had been brought to his attention that huge sums of money and other assets were externalised, thus prejudicing the hard currency-starved economy of the much-needed liquidity.Highly-placed sources told the Daily News yesterday that the net will spare no one - big and small, as the new government puts its foot down to restore financial discipline that had become an anathema under former president Robert Mugabe's spendthrift administration.It is being alleged that the powers-that-be already have the list of people involved in the externalisation of foreign currency and want to give them the leeway to return the loot in the spirit of letting bygones be bygones before the law takes its course.Without suggesting any wrongdoing on her part, they said it would be interesting for the authorities to see if the former first lady could account for some of the assets acquired by the first family in foreign lands.Grace projects herself as a shrewd businesswoman whose interests span across farming, education, property and dairy production.Notwithstanding the economic meltdown that has led to local businesses haemorrhaging to the point of closure and massive, Grace is said to have made considerable acquisitions beyond Zimbabwe's borders.What is not clear is whether she had the requisite approvals for the foreign purchases and if there was no undue influence on the part of the bureaucrats that presided over the approvals.The then powerful Grace recently spent a cool R45 million rand on a 9 249 square metre property in Sandhurst - a leafy suburb where the affluent in South Africa live large.She also reportedly brought a Rolls Royce Ghost model worth half a million dollars around the same time in September, again in South Africa.Known for wearing diamond studded spectacles, gold crusted watches and a ring that was bought for over a million dollars, Grace is also said to own properties in Malaysia, Singapore and Hong Kong.While details about the Mugabes' wealth are sketchy, Grace has led a life of opulence, and shopping, an ingrained habit that earned the former first lady the moniker "Gucci Grace".Mugabe's sons have openly paraded their wealth through purchases of Rolls Royce vehicles, expensive watches and choice champagnes.Some estimates put the Mugabes' net worth at $1 billion dollars and according to WikiLeaks, the former president's assets "include everything from secret accounts in Switzerland, the Channel Islands and the Bahamas to castles in Scotland".A snapshot of the Mugabes' wealth came to the fore in 2015 over an ownership dispute of a $7,6 million Hong Kong home with an Asian tycoon.Legal experts said with Mnangagwa having thrown the gauntlet by giving citizens who externalised foreign currency and brought assets in foreign land three months to return the loot, the deal that Mugabe signed with the generals granting him immunity may not insulate him or his families from accounting for their wealth outside the country's borders.Constitutional law expert and one of the authors of the current Constitution Alex Magaisa said as things stand, the Mugabes are exposed to legal action."It is presumably on this basis that the exit deal includes provision for immunity from lawsuits. The question is whether the exit deal takes precedence over the Constitution. It is axiomatic that the Constitution is the supreme law of the country. Section 2(1) of the Constitution states that: 'This Constitution is the supreme law of Zimbabwe and any law, practice, custom or conduct inconsistent with it is invalid to the extent of the inconsistency,'" he said."This means if, as it appears, the deal is inconsistent with the Constitution, it is invalid. If sued, the courts should give precedence to the Constitution and he would have to prove that his acts were done in good faith. As for members of his family, the immunity would not hold. They never had immunity during his presidency and they cannot claim immunity now," added Magaisa.Roman Catholic cleric - Father Fidelis Mukonori - who played a key role in persuading 93-year-old Mugabe to step down after pressure from the military and the populace, told the Daily News that "Grace's immunity" was not part of the deal."We did not discuss her immunity with the generals," said Father Mukonori.Former Finance minister Tendai Biti, who clashed several times with Zanu PF officials during the inclusive government era, told the Daily News that over $3 billion left the country between 2009 and 2013 when he was still in charge."There are people who took out money; there are lot of things that happened. At least $3 billion left this country when I was the minister of Finance between 2009 and 2011 due to illicit financial inflows," said Biti, without mentioning individuals or companies involved.The MDC this week said the net should not just target small fish.Obert Gutu, the MDC's spokesperson and a former deputy Justice minister, claimed this week that it was a public secret that top politicians and other well-connected individuals illegally externalised huge amounts of money over the years."Some of these criminals have actually gone ahead to buy and/or construct expensive mansions in Cape Town, Johannesburg, Durban, Dubai and Hong Kong, using the proceeds from these externalised funds," said Gutu."Billions of United States dollars, particularly arising from the illicit sale of diamonds from the Marange and Chiadzwa diamond fields, were illegally externalised by these criminals. All this money should be brought back to Zimbabwe sooner rather than later," said. News / National by Staff reporter OUTSPOKEN war veterans national chair Christopher Mutsvangwa says the alleged military intervention which forced then President Robert Mugabe to abandon his job in the last two weeks was a "counter coup" to former first lady's Grace's "bedroom coup".The alleged coup by the Zimbabwe Defence Forces (ZDF) was inspired by worry over Mugabe's perceived intention to facilitate Grace's rise to the presidency.According to NewZimbabwe.com, Mutsvangwa, who has virtually been the de facto face of the controversial military intervention, denied this was close to a coup."There was no coup. There was a counter-coup," Mutsvangwa told guests at a SAPES policy dialogue forum on Thursday."The coup was carried out by Grace when her senior husband was losing his faculties and sleeping all the time."She just uses a marriage certificate to get her cohorts at State House to start running this government. I saw it in cabinet, I told you."So, I am not talking about some detached observation from somebody who was outside. I was in the politburo; I was in cabinet."Grace, a mad woman with no brains, was in charge of the country on behalf of her cohorts and we are revolutionaries; we don't carry out any coups."We protect what the people want and that's what we did and if there is anybody has issues with that you try to form your own army." A handful of Bay Area stories you may have missed this week. Screenshot from the livestream cam of Castro Live-Stream Castro Action From the Comfort of Your Couch, Hoodline Peep the neighborhood and watch live broadcasts of live happenings at Jane Warner Plaza and Harvey Milk Plaza on three new 24/7 livestream cams. Read more. You May Be Able to Get Your Recreational Pot as Soon as Jan 5th in SF, Mercury Newsercury News The sale of recreational marijuana has been approved by San Francisco supervisors when it becomes legal in California in January. Read more. Uber-style Surge Pricing for SF Meters,SF Chronicle We may be the first city to pay for parking by demand and would fluctuate by time of day and block. The plan is being considered by the Municipal Transportation Agency, and if approved, each of our city's 30,200 meters will be subject to hourly rates. Read more. $90,000 Sale of an Upscale SF Street Has Been Reversed,CBS News After failure to pay taxes on a private gated street for two decades, it was sold to a savvy investor. Now, after much commotion, the sale has been overturned and Presidio Terrace street is returned to its wealthy homeowners. Read more. A.I. Can Help Decide Who You Actually 'Super Like' on Tinder, TechCrunch Tinder's new feature uses A.I. to help select people that it thinks will be of special interest to you to 'super like.' According to their data, super likes are highly effective, increasing your chances of matching by three times. So go on, get to swiping. Read more. News / National by Staff reporter PRESIDENT Emmerson Mnangagwa violated the constitution when he appointed more than five non-parliamentarians as ministers on Thursday, constitutional lawyer Professor Welshman Ncube has said.The new ruling Zanu PF leader also beached the constitution by maintaining provincial affairs ministers, said Ncube who also heads the MDC party added while an opposition coalition threatened to sue the president over the issue.The new constitution gazetted in May 2013 provides for the establishment of eight provincial councils and two metropolitan provincial councils. But almost five years after the crafting of the supreme law, the councils have not been set up.On Thursday Mnangagwa announced a 22-member cabinet, ten ministers of state for provinces as well as six deputy ministers.However, in an interview with New Zimbabwe.com Prof Ncube said the president violated both section 104 (3) and Chapter 14 (268) of the constitution."The President appointed eight non-elected people as cabinet ministers which is a clear violation of section (3)."Like his predecessor, the president has also retained provincial affairs ministers which are unconstitutional," said Prof Ncube.In terms of the constitution, ministers and deputy ministers are appointed from senators or members of the national assembly.In addition, up to five ministers, chosen for their professional skills and competence, may be appointed from outside parliament.However, Mnangagwa appointed eight cabinet ministers who are members of the legislature.Some of the unelected new ministers include Christopher Mutsvangwa, Perrence Shiri, Sibusiso Moyo, Clever Nyathi, Winston Chitando, Victor Matemadanda, and July Moyo.Prof Ncube said Mnangagwa's only option to rectify his appointments is to fire some of Zanu PF's proportional representation MPs and senators, and replacing them with the new ministers."The bottom-line is that the current appointments are illegal in terms of the constitution. We all have to see what Mnangagwa and Zanu PF will do to legitimise this flawed process," said Ncube.The Presidential press secretary Mr George Charamba said yesterday, that 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.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.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 night's (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 country's 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 won't 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), Christopher Mutsvangwa (Information, Media and Broadcasting Services), 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), 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. Welcome to Age of Autism, the nation's first daily Web newspaper for the environmental-biomedical community those who believe the autism epidemic is a health crisis that requires urgent action; that autism is an environmentally induced illness, that it is treatable, and that children can recover. For the most part, the major media in the United States aren't interested in that point of view, they won't investigate the causes and possible biomedical treatments of autism independently, and they don't listen to the most important voices those of the parents. We will do all those things, and more. To illustrate the difference The Age of Autism will make, consider the way the Baltimore Sun edited a story about Jenny McCarthy, who believes that vaccines triggered her child's autism and that biomedical treatments are a big part of his remarkable and ongoing improvement. Here are phrases that were taken out of the story that originally ran in the Chicago Tribune, as noted by Anne Dachel, who will be Age of Autism's media editor: 1) Autism is "something McCarthy believes was triggered by vaccines." Deleted. 2) "It's not just that she is voicing the same thing parents have been saying for years ('We vaccinated our babies and something happened') on high-profile programs such as The Oprah Winfrey Show and Larry King Live." Deleted. 3) "DAN! also provides contacts for the approximately 600 doctors in the U.S. who use complementary and alternative therapies to treat autism." Deleted. 4) "McCarthy wasn't about to wait for evidence-based medicine; she felt she had a limited window of time to pull her son back into this world." Deleted. What the (deleted)!? And what an irony that Baltimore is where autism was first diagnosed, and that the Johns Hopkins psychiatrist who did so was the first of many to miss the environmental clues that could have kept hundreds of thousands more cases from ever happening. How can we trust the mainstream media to cover the autism epidemic when they themselves censor important information and skew the discussion toward the tired old genetic argument? Even the fact that autism rates are soaring self-evident to anyone with eyes to see, and clear evidence of an environmental trigger is treated as a big question mark by the media and public health officials. At The Age of Autism, we're not going to let those suffering from epidemic denial -- E.D., as our editor-at-large Mark Blaxill calls it -- waste our time or delay urgent research into What's Going On (the apt name of Mark's new column for us). As many of you know, I wrote the Age of Autism column for United Press International for two years, and I became convinced by my own reporting that autism's origins are recent -- triggered by something new in the environment -- and that treatment can work. I located the very first case ever described in the medical literature, Donald T., and heard from his brother the remarkable story of Donald's recovery from severe autism when gold salts were used to treat his juvenile rheumatoid arthritis, an autoimmune disease. To state the obvious: The very first case of autism recovered with biomedical treatment, but the doctors ignored it because they were so busy blaming parents. Now they don't blame parents for causing autism, they just blame them for trying to do anything about it. I'm proud to team up with several people who have done a great deal about it, both for their own children and for the autism community at large: Managing Editor Kim Stagliano, mom of three autistic daughters who still found time to write for Rescue Post and for Huffington Post with a brand of hard-won humor that is uniquely hers; and editors-at-large J.B. Handley of Generation Rescue and Mark Blaxill. All were instrumental in bringing this site to life, along with our founding sponsors SafeMinds, Generation Rescue and TACA. The Age of Autism will be wide-open and transparent in its reporting and commentary on causes and treatments; I am beholden to no individual, organization or fixed point of view. My commitment is to in-depth reporting. I am not a social worker or an autism parent, I'm a journalist drawn to what I called, in my last UPI column, "the story of a lifetime." Based on my own work, I do believe mercury including the horrendously neurotoxic ethyl mercury in vaccines is clearly implicated in the rise of autism, and that its continued use in flu shots for children and pregnant women is catastrophic. So is the expanding use of thimerosal in vaccines shipped to developing countries where (no surprise) autism rates are soaring. Again, the apologists talk of cultural differences and better diagnosis; for the real story, see my interview with a husband and wife team who watched autism come to India, along with new shots, over the past few years. Generation Rescue, whose Rescue Post is being incorporated into The Age of Autism, did a phone survey showing much lower rates of neurodevelopmental disorders, including autism, in never-vaccinated kids. That study demonstrated by example that such children are not at all hard to find in the United States, contrary to the protests of the CDC. Again, the media ignored this startling survey when they weren't belittling it another sign of journalistic group-think from those who believe whatever "the experts" tell them. We're not going to settle for that. We'll follow the truth wherever it leads, and we hope you'll come along with us and, if you can manage it, donate to The Age of Autism and help us pursue this story. Fasten your seat belts it's going to be a bumpy ride. By Kim Rossi Like everyone in America, I've been watching the sexual harassment scandal grow ever wider from politicians to actors and directors and now to include media stalwarts Matt Lauer of NBC and Charlie Rose, darling of PBS. Matt Lauer is said to have had a lock button installed under his desk so he could lock a door on a woman without her knowing it, and perhaps to avoid standing up and exposing his, er interest. (Paging Judy Blume!) In autism we calling locking someone into a room a restraint. Matt called it privacy, I suppose. At what point will politicians and the media start listening to mothers of autistic children who have been screaming, some for decades, that a vaccine caused their child's autism? When do we get to move from the "crazy, histrionic, too stupid to understand real science blaming mothers" category to the "holy crap, these women (and their kids) have been living a nightmare and we made it worse"? When do pains in the ass who dare to threaten commerce and sacred cows become legitimate citizens with a message of dire discrimination and trauma? We need our turn. I'm looking forward to our day of reckoning. And if you're a female looking for a job in Hollywood or the media, today is a good day to apply. I wish my almost 23 year old and 22 year old vaccine injured daughters could take advantage of this female friendly climate. Kim Rossi is Managing Editor for Age of Autism. By Michael Scherer, Scott Clement 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. - - - The Washington Post's Emily Guskin contributed to this report. MICHAEL GRACZYK Associated Press HUNTSVILLE, Texas - A court reprieve that halted the scheduled December lethal injection of a Texas prisoner means 2017 will end with 23 inmates executed in the U.S., a figure that although up slightly from the previous year is half of what it was a decade ago. The year-end numbers also show that Texas will regain its standing as the nation's most active state in carrying out capital punishment. Texas inmate Juan Castillo, who had an August death date postponed because of Hurricane Harvey, was set for lethal injection Dec. 14 for a December 2003 robbery and fatal shooting in San Antonio. However, the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals, the state's highest criminal court, this past week sent the 36-year-old Castillo's appeal back to his trial court to review arguments from defense attorneys that a witness presented false testimony at Castillo's 2005 trial. Castillo's was the last execution scheduled for 2017 in the 31 states that impose the death penalty, according to statistics kept by the Death Penalty Information Center, a Washington-based group that opposes capital punishment. Texas put to death seven prisoners this year, matching the state total from 2016. They were among the 23 inmates - up from 20 last year - put to death in eight states in 2017. Arkansas carried out four executions, followed by Alabama and Florida with three each, and Ohio and Virginia with two each. Georgia, which topped the nation in 2016 with nine, executed one prisoner this year, as did Missouri. Alabama executed inmates Tommy Arthur, Robert Melson, and Torrey McNabb this year. Oklahoma, which typically has one of the busiest execution chambers in the country, went another year without putting any inmates to death as the state struggles with implementing a new execution protocol. Oklahoma put all executions on hold two years ago after several mishaps, including a botched lethal injection in 2014 and drug mix-ups in 2015, and the state's attorney general's office has said it won't request any execution dates until at least 150 days after new protocols are released. Among the more than three dozen condemned prisoners in the U.S. who won court reprieves from scheduled executions this year was Texas death row inmate Clinton Young, whose friend Robert Pruett was executed in October. "We understand the reality of what we're facing," Young said in an interview before his October scheduled execution, which was stopped by the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals. "Nobody sits here and cries over it. You've got a limited time. You try to make the best of it. "But it's like, you don't want to see your friends go." Governors also halted executions. In one dramatic case, Ohio Gov. John Kasich stopped the November execution of Alva Campbell Jr. when state corrections officials failed after multiple attempts to find a vein on Campbell suitable for the needle carrying the lethal drug. Executions in the U.S. peaked in 1999, when 98 inmates were put to death. The following year, Texas alone carried out a record 40 executions. As recently as 2010, the national total was 46, but it has been declining steadily. "Partly it's because of impediments to execution, like the embargo of the optimum drugs," said Kent Scheidegger, legal director of the California-based Criminal Justice Legal Foundation, which advocates for capital punishment. "Although Texas seems to have found ways to get them, many states have not." Scheidegger also attributed the decline to a "dramatically lower" homicide rate compared with the 1990s and "greater selectivity in which defendants are sentenced to death, by both prosecutors and juries." A significant impact in Texas was approval of life without parole as a sentencing option in capital murder cases starting in September 2005. Before that, juries could choose between a death sentence and a prison sentence that offered the possibility of parole. At least eight inmates - five from Texas and one each from Missouri, Alabama (Vernon Madison set for Jan. 25) and Ohio - are set to die in the first quarter of 2018. The first, scheduled for Jan. 18 in Texas, is Anthony Allen Shore, who confessed to killing multiple people and is known in the Houston area as the "Tourniquet Killer." News / National by Staff reporter THE opposition Coalition of Democrats (CODE) has threatened to sue President Emmerson Mnangagwa for violated the constitution by appointing more than five non-parliamentarians as ministers on Thursday.The new ruling Zanu PF leader also beached the constitution by maintaining provincial affairs ministers, said Ncube who also heads the MDC party added while an opposition coalition threatened to sue the president over the issue."He (Mnangagwa) has gone ahead to disregard the constitution and appointed provincial ministers contrary to the Chapter 14 of the constitution which requires that these be appointed from people who would have won in those respective provinces and that the metropolitan mayors should be chairing the provincial councils," CODE President Elton, Mangoma told reporters in Harare Friday."This must be a sign to everyone that this President does not want to implement anything in the constitution and he will do anything that is good for him."Mangoma said CODE was consulting lawyers over the constitutional breaches."We are conscientizing people that there is a violation and thereafter we will take the case to the court and those are the things that we are doing right now," he said."President Mnangagwa himself was the minister of Justice Legal and parliamentary affairs, which ministry was tasked to align the constitution or the statutes with the constitution and he failed to do so."If anybody who thought that it was because of the former President Mugabe, now that doubt has been taken away by what he (Mnangagwa) has done in only one week." By Aaron Blake The first member of President Donald Trump's White House has been charged with and pleaded guilty to a crime stemming from interactions with Russia. And depending upon whom you ask, Michael Flynn's plea deal either signals doom for the Trump administration or is a good sign about the lack of a case being pieced together by special counsel Robert Mueller. Mostly, though, the plea deal leaves plenty of big, open questions that will determine which side of that debate is right. Below are four of them. 1. What does Flynn even know? There is no question more central to this debate - and, right now, to the entire Russia investigation. Whether you think the plea deal was appropriate, a good deal or a bad deal, the most significant thing about it is that it signals Flynn is cooperating. And it's likely his cooperation is far-reaching. "The plea is significant not so much for itself, but for its value as an investigative tool," said Jack Sharman, a Birmingham attorney who served as special counsel to the House Financial Services Committee during the Whitewater investigation of President Bill Clinton. "The special counsel now has an ally who understands that he will only get a benefit if he 'cooperates' with the investigation and that the meaning of 'cooperation' is entirely within the control of the prosecutors." Sharman added that "to have value for the pleading defendant, his or her cooperation needs to be robust - no half-measures [on] anything." It's clear Flynn was on his heels here, as The Post's Carol D. Leonnig reported Friday night. And liberals are currently fantasizing that Flynn is spilling all kinds of secrets about potential collusion with Russia and God-knows-what-else. But he can only share that information if he has it. Trump undoubtedly had a personal affinity for Flynn and seemed to trust him implicitly. But to suggest Flynn knew something incriminating is to believe that there was something incriminating at all and that Flynn was party to it. And depending upon whom you ask, the light charges Flynn pleaded to Friday might signal that there simply wasn't much there. Here's how the National Review's Andrew McCarthy put it: "Understand: If Flynn's conversations with the Russian ambassador had evinced the existence of a quid pro quo collusion arrangement - that the Trump administration would ease or eliminate sanctions on Russia as a payback for Russia's cyberespionage against the Hillary Clinton campaign and the Democratic Party - it would have been completely appropriate, even urgently necessary, for the Obama Justice Department to investigate Flynn," McCarthy wrote. "But if that had happened, Mueller would not be permitting Flynn to settle the case with a single count of lying to FBI agents. Instead, we would be looking at a major conspiracy indictment, and Flynn would be made to plead to far more serious offenses if he wanted a deal - cooperation in exchange for sentencing leniency." To the contrary, for all the furor, we have a small-potatoes plea in Flynn's case. 2. Why did Flynn lie? McCarthy's argument absorbed, it still begs the question: Why did Flynn feel the need to misrepresent his conversations with the Russian ambassador? Generally when talking to the FBI, you'll want to be extremely careful about what you say, for fear of exactly the kind of pickle in which Flynn finds himself. Was he simply worried about violating the Logan Act, a seldom-used federal law against conducting diplomacy if you aren't authorized to do so? Or were Flynn's lies merely the latest in a long volume of those close to Trump seeming to cover up the existence and substance of their contacts with Russia? It's no secret Flynn misstated details of these contacts - that much we knew dating back to February - but why wouldn't he have been more careful? Was it because he just messed up and didn't fully process the question, or did he actually have something to hide? It's difficult to believe one would lie for no good reason, given the stakes, and yet here we are - again. 3. Who else, besides Jared Kushner, directed Flynn to talk to Russia? According to The Post's reporting, Flynn contacted the Russian ambassador with the knowledge and at the direction of plenty of influential people. ". . . Court records and people familiar with the contacts indicated [Flynn] was acting in consultation with senior Trump transition officials, including President Trump's son-in-law, Jared Kushner, in his dealings with the diplomat," according to a Washington Post report. "Flynn's plea revealed that he was in touch with senior Trump transition officials before and after his communications with the ambassador." Kushner has been named by reporters, but court documents indicate there were more people involved. And there simply weren't that many people senior to Flynn on the transition team. The biggest question of all would seem to be whether one of the officials is Trump himself. 4. Why did Flynn direct Russia not to respond to U.S. sanctions? One of the things to which Flynn pleaded guilty was lying about asking Russia not to respond to the Obama administration's recently announced sanctions in response to Russian interference in the 2016 election: "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," according to a Washington Post report. There is plenty left out about these conversations. Perhaps the biggest is why Flynn argued that Russia shouldn't escalate the feud over sanctions and why Russia granted his request. Did he simply make a suggestion and not explain why, or did he indicate that the Trump administration might seek to ease those sanctions when it took over less than a month later? That's been a central question for the better part of a year. And it remains so even after Flynn's plea deal. Speaking tonight to a mostly black audience at a Montgomery Baptist church, Alabama Senate candidate Doug Jones invoked the memory of Rosa Parks on the 62nd anniversary of her arrest, saying the state could be at another turning point. "The world started to change because of one heroic seamstress who was tired and didn't want to give up her seat on the bus," Jones said. Parks' arrest on Dec. 1, 1955 launched the Montgomery bus boycott, a landmark success early in the civil rights movement. Jones said the state is at a crossroads and should turn away from what he described as the divisive leadership style of Republican nominee Roy Moore. The election is Dec. 12. "We've got to decide what kind of Alabama we want to have," Jones said. "Do we want to have an Alabama in which everyone is treated with dignity and respect and equally and we try to get good jobs and we keep our healthcare? Or do we want to have an Alabama that tells the country that we're still a divisive people, that we only care about a certain segment of our population?" Jones was interrupted by applause several times at Maggie Street Baptist and got a standing ovation when he mentioned the prosecution of two Klansmen who bombed the Sixteenth Street Baptist Church in Birmingham in 1963, killing four young girls. Jones was a U.S. attorney when he brought that case. Jones would be the first Alabama Democrat to win a statewide race since 2008. Jones urged the crowd to help end that drought by showing up for the special election and making sure like-minded voters don't sit it out. "To make that needle move to the right side of history I need your help," Jones said. "You've got to call them on the 12th and say, 'Hey did you cast that vote yet?' You've got to call all your friends and neighbors. Get 'em out there. Make sure. Call and say, 'Do you need a ride?' " Polls have shown Moore leading in the race. That's despite allegations that surfaced three weeks ago that Moore sought sexual encounters with teenagers when he was in his early 30s, about 40 years ago. Moore has adamantly denied the claims, saying they are lies intended to undermine his campaign. Click here for all coverage of Roy Moore. Doug Jones speaks at Maggie Street Baptist Church in Montgomery on Dec. 1, 2017. Arthur Griffin of Montgomery, 45, was in the audience at Maggie Street Baptist tonight and said Jones has the right message and has a chance to win. "It's really a team effort," Griffin said. "He needs the citizens to call one another and push his message to them, because a lot of times, we just give up on these races and we don't go vote because we just assume the Democrat is going to lose. But this time we actually have a chance. We've got to stick together. We've got to help this guy." Montgomery County Probate Judge Steven Reed, a Democrat, attended tonight's event and said it was fitting that Jones appear at the Montgomery church on the anniversary of Parks' arrest. Reed was asked how important it is for Jones to energize black voters. "I think it's important that Doug energize all voters," Reed said. "The black vote by itself is not going to win this election. He's going to need to energize not only Democrats but also Republicans as well who are willing to look at the man vs. the party. "As it relates to the Democratic base, they've definitely picked up a lot of momentum. I think he's touching all corners of the state. And I think he's talking about the issues that are really relevant to Alabamians and really relevant to what we need in a United States senator." Jones said if voters send him to the Senate he would seek solutions through compromise on important issues like healthcare. "We've got to be able to reach across the aisle and talk to people," Jones said. "We've got to have the kind of dialogue that it takes to move this state and this country forward. We don't need to be talking at people. We need to be talking to them. And we need to be listening to them." This story was corrected at 7:37 a.m. on December 2 to say Friday was the 62nd anniversary of Rosa Parks' arrest. After arguing with his girlfriend today, a Hatton High student made threats about harming people at school, authorities said. Brennon Johnson (Lawrence County Jail photo) Brennen Heath Johnson, a 19-year-old student from Mt. Hope, was arrested on a felony charge of making a terrorist threat, according to the Lawrence County Sheriff's Office. He is jailed with bail set at $10,000. Deputies were called to the school on Alabama 101 in Town Creek after 2 p.m. No injuries were reported. "Johnson is alleged to have made threats to harm some students after becoming upset following an argument with his girlfriend," Sheriff Gene Mitchell said in a statement. The sheriff said specific details about the threats aren't being released, as the investigation is ongoing. However, "it is clear that Johnson did not have the means to carry out the threats he was making," Mitchell said. The Lawrence County Board of Education will be hold a disciplinary hearing on Monday to discuss Johnson's education future, the sheriff said. Willie Brown, who died Friday morning at 70 years old, made a long career out of shucking oysters at Wintzell's Oyster House in downtown Mobile, but he wasn't a fan of the bivalves himself. "I tried them once or twice," he told the Press-Register in 2010. "I just don't have a taste for them." During his 47 years behind Wintzell's oyster bar, the best part of his job, he said, was interacting with the customers who became his friends. And they loved him in return. The restaurant posted the news of Brown's death Friday afternoon on social media, along with a black-and-white photo of the oyster-shucker in his apron, his sweet spirit showing in his smiling eyes. "If you knew Willie, then you know that he was strikingly humble, always letting his work speak for itself," the Facebook post read. "Leaving a legacy of service to oyster eaters and to our community, Mr. Brown will forever be remembered and respected as a true icon at Wintzell's Oyster House." Our hearts are heavy with sadness as we share that we lost a very special pearl today. Willie Brown, legendary oyster... Posted by Wintzell's Oyster House on Friday, December 1, 2017 The post has been shared hundreds of times. Past and present customers have warmly remembered that Brown served them their first oyster, or their child's first oyster. They shared photos of themselves taken with Brown at the restaurant, where he went to work on the day after Thanksgiving in 1970, according to the 2010 interview. Brown was hired by Oliver Wintzell himself, who founded the restaurant in 1938. "He was a good fellow," Brown said of Wintzell in the interview. "He always had a joke to tell." Tally Beck, a native Mobilian now living in New York City, said that Brown opened his first raw oyster in the early 1970s, when Beck was just 3 years old - and he remembers it. "My father took the ceremony very seriously, and Willie was happy to do the honors," Beck said Saturday. "During every family visit to Wintzell's during my childhood, we would always make sure we sat at the section of the bar where Willie worked. He greeted me each time with a big smile as my father ensured everyone within earshot knew that Willie had served me my first oyster." As an adult, Beck would bring friends to the oyster bar on visits home, and Brown "warmly welcomed" them. "Wintzell's - and even Mobile - won't be the same without him," he said. On November 27, 2010, in honor of his 40th year as a fixture at Wintzell's, Mobile City Council proclaimed Brown "an icon" on Willie Brown Day. In 2013, the Alabama Restaurant and Hospitality Alliance named him the state's restaurant employee of the year. The newspaper's food editor, David Holloway, described the master's shucking method in the 2010 profile: "Brown selects an oyster from the icy bin in front of him, perches it on its back and pokes around on it until he finds the sweet spot. Then, with a practiced hand he forces the blade between the shells and pops it open. He lays the opened oyster on the bar and starts the process over again. The whole act lasted about 15 seconds." Brown, then 63, said he had slowed down a bit with age, but estimated that he could shuck a dozen oysters in three minutes. Visitation will be Thursday, Dec. 7, from 1 to 8 p.m., at Small's Mortuary, 950 S. Broad St. The funeral will take place Friday, Dec. 8, at noon, at Emanuel Seventh Day Adventist Church, 2000 Martin Luther King Ave., following visitation starting at 10 a.m. at the church. This story was updated on Monday, Dec. 4, 2017, to include funeral arrangements. Why are military rulers so keen to deny what they have really done? On November 15, as tanks rolled into Harare, Zimbabwean military spokesman Major General Sibusiso Moyo addressed the nation. Dressed in camouflage, Moyo reassured Zimbabweans that the armys actions were not a coup, even though President Robert Mugabe was under house arrest, state media was under military control, and political opponents were being arrested. Soldiers taking power and denying staging a coup is nothing new, especially after the end of the Cold War. Yet, in the last years, statements that dont only twist, disguise, and distort the meaning of words but blatantly deny reality itself are becoming a common feature of political debate around the world, from Harare to Cairo, from Bangkok to Washington. We know that he who controls language controls meaning and he who controls meaning controls reality. But what happens when the powerful deny reality? Its not a coup On August 6, across the globe from Zimbabwe, another man in uniform addressed his nation. Capitan Juan Caguaripano reassured the people of Venezuela that his soon-to-fail attempt to depose elected President Nicolas Maduro was not a coup, but a civil and military action to re-establish constitutional order. The script was familiar. Three years earlier, in Thailand, General Prayuth Chan-Ocha used the same words. On May 20, 2014, the austere military man deposed elected Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra and took power. This is not a coup, he declared on national television, echoing the words of the master of coup-denial, the Egyptian dictator Abdel-Fattah el-Sisi. There are many good reasons to deny that you are staging a coup. by In July of the previous year, el-Sisi seized power from elected President Mohamed Morsi, a member of the Muslim Brotherhood. His actions had nothing to do with a military takeover, el-Sisi claimed. Scores of secular Egyptian commentators confirmed his version, and a green laser beam echoed them from the facade of a government building overlooking a crowded Tahrir Square: it is not a Coup. Readers may find these words hardly surprising. After all, there are many good reasons to deny that you are staging a coup. For starters, its hard to establish internal legitimacy for a government whose claim relies exclusively on tanks and guns. On top of that, a coup hardly invites international support. The US, for example, has a law that compels the State Department to suspend aid to governments that come to power through coups. Similarly, regional organisations, such as the African Union, increasingly refuse to recognise military take-overs as legitimate, fearing it may encourage others. Finally, the military seizing power doesnt play well in the simplified moral world of Western news cycles which equate coups with bad and elected governments with good. Lying about staging a coup, then, seems like the reasonable thing to do. Beyond doublespeak The words of General Moyo and those of his colleagues in camouflage may seem just a contemporary example of doublespeak. Yet, if we take a step back, start connecting the dots, and put them in the context of global political rhetoric, something new and sinister begins to appear; something visible in its purest form in the words of Trumps campaign strategist and counsellor, Kellyanne Conway. In January, responding to an embarrassing attempt by Sean Spicer to defend an undeniably false statement he made about the size of the crowd at Trumps inauguration, Conway said he there was no falsity in his statement, he just provided alternative facts. Her words, as those of el-Sisi, Prayuth, and Moyo, are more than doublespeak. The Orwellian term implies an awareness of the difference between opinions and facts and a command over their blurring. In doublespeak, facts can be distorted but with an understanding that they exist on a different plane from interpretations. Facts remain facts. The new form of rhetoric denies this difference; it is an attack on reality itself. While doublespeak relies on ambiguous sentences and meandering logic, this new form is proud of its clarity. It is confident in its rejection of facts and adamant in showing their inefficiency in contradicting opinions. Politicians are used to cloud interpretations; now they are proudly declaring the victory of opinions over facts. There is nothing duplicitous in this way of thinking, no consciousness of truth, no attempt to control reality. It just presents a new reality. This is the ultimate feature of contemporary authoritarianism. There is only one cure we can use against this malaise: reclaiming and asserting reality, even if is not what we would like it to be; speaking truth to power, even if power resides in ourselves; preserving integrity, even if it may require shedding parts of ourselves. Zimbabwe, Egypt, and Thailand are now military dictatorships, whether we like their new leaders or not. Authoritarianism is on the rise and is occasionally ushered in through democratic elections, whether we agree with their results or not. Extreme right-wing movements and white supremacists are thriving in the cracks of Euro-American capitalism, whether we continue to think about this system as the cradle of democracy or not. Denying these facts or blaming them on Chinese influences, Russian hackers, radical Islamism, or mass idiocy makes us only look like General Moyo: a man in funny dress negating what is clearly happening around him and his role in it. The views expressed in this article are the authors own and do not necessarily reflect Al Jazeeras editorial policy. On November 23, Sudans President Omar al-Bashir paid his first official visit to Russia, where he met with Russian President Vladimir Putin, Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev and Defence Minister Sergey Shoygu. The visit took place in defiance of the two arrest warrants for Bashir issued by the International Criminal Court (ICC) in relation to a court case on war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide committed in Darfur. Putin not only invited the controversial leader to Russia, but also sent a Russian plane to Khartoum to ensure his safety and comfort during the journey. Bashir responded to Putins gesture of goodwill by using the visit to express support for Russias positions in the Middle East. This move was a message of defiance to Washington and Riyadh and a desperate attempt by Bashir to hang on to power, at the expense of his countrys future. US interference During his meeting with Putin in Sochi on 23 November, Bashir levelled serious accusations against the US. After expressing his gratitude to Russia for its support in international fora, Bashir told Putin we are primarily opposed to US interference in the domestic affairs of Arab countries, in particular US interference in Iraq. He also expressed support for Russias role in Syria and said that the country is suffering because of US interference. In an exclusive interview with the Russian news agency Sputnik, Bashir blamed the US for the secession of South Sudan in 2011, and claimed that Washington was now planning to split the rest of Sudan into five countries. Bashir also told Sputnik that he discussed the establishment of military bases on the Red Sea coast with President Putin and his defence minister. He also revealed that he was interested in purchasing Russias S-300 air defence system as well as Su-30 and Su-35 jets. Sudan should not be a battlefield for the rival regional and international powers and Bashir should not be allowed to exploit such rivalries to stay in power. by The key question raised by Bashirs remarks is why he chose to attack the US just weeks after the permanent lifting of decades-old US economic sanctions on Sudan and in the midst of an ongoing high-level diplomatic dialogue aimed at the normalisation of relations between the two countries. This unexpected shift is a desperate attempt by Bashir to stay in power beyond the elections scheduled for 2020. There are reports that Bashir has recently discovered that the US is not willing to support his candidacy. Bashir may have initially assumed that US President Donald Trump, who appears to have little interest in human rights and democracy, would help him to escape the ICC charges and allow him to run for office in the 2020 elections, in return for cooperation on issues such as counterterrorism efforts. However, it seems that the US has recently signalled to Bashirs foreign minister, Ibrahim Ghandour, that the Sudanese president would have to leave office before the remaining sanctions are lifted and Sudan removed from the US list of state sponsors of terrorism. Bashir was further disappointed when John Sullivan, the US Deputy Secretary of State did not meet him in person during his visit to Sudan in mid-November. Moreover, Sullivan indicated that Washington would expect the regime to accept far-reaching reforms, including the repealing of the apostasy punishment, and improvements in its human rights record in return for removal from the list of state sponsors of terrorism. In light of these developments, it is likely that Bashir gave up on any future US support and decided to cosy up to Russia for his own survival. The Sudanese public and even members of his own government have responded with astonishment to this unexpected shift, which could cause serious diplomatic harm to Sudan at a time when the countrys relations with the world finally seem to be improving. Ghandour immediately attempted damage control by downplaying Bashirs accusations. He argued unconvincingly that Bashirs request for Russian protection against aggressive US actions were made in the narrow context of US attempt to use the UN Security Council to ban Sudans gold exports. Abandoning Gulf alliances The US was not the only country the Sudanese president appeared to turn his back to during his visit to Russia. In Sochi, Bashir told Russia Today TV channel that he would oppose any Arab war against Iran, thus distancing himself from Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. Bashir is said to be disappointed that he has not received the financial rewards he thought he would from his Gulf allies after moving quickly to cut diplomatic ties with Iran in early 2016, and sending thousands of Sudanese soldiers to fight with the Saudi-led coalition against the Houthis in Yemen. Bashir previously signalled his dissatisfaction with Riyadh when he refused to back the Saudi-led blockade against Qatar. So far, Sudan has tried to remain neutral in the ongoing crisis and has claimed to be supporting Kuwaiti attempts to mediate. Now, it looks like Bashir has finally concluded that he would be better off openly siding with Russia and Iran, rather than the US and Saudi Arabia, as they seem to be winning on many fronts in the Middle East. Having witnessed Russias success in keeping Bashar al-Assad in power, Bashir may also be under the impression that Putin can protect him too, if he plays his cards right. Some observers, on the other hand, think that Bashirs recent rapprochement with the Russian-Iranian axis is nothing more than a tactical manoeuvre to blackmail the US and Saudi Arabia into providing political and financial support to his presidency. It is indeed possible that he is using the Russian-Iranian card merely as a way to pressure the US to support his regime and his Gulf allies to loosen their purse strings. If so, it is certainly a very high-risk gamble. His offer of a Red Sea military base to the Russians will certainly not be well received in Washington. Also, it is too early to tell how seriously the Russians will react to Bashirs overtures. In terms of geopolitics, Sudan is nowhere near as strategically important as Syria, so Russia may well choose not to put its weight behind a controversial figure like Bashir, as it did with Assad. Russia is likely to continue to support Sudan in the UN Security Council and other international forums and may be willing to supply Sudan with more advanced weaponry. But it is unlikely to be ready to intervene militarily as in Syria to protect Bashir from the US aggressive actions. Whatever Putins response may be, Sudan should not be a battlefield for the rival regional and international powers and Bashir should not be allowed to exploit such rivalries to stay in power. After 28 years in power, Bashir does not have much to offer to his allies or the Sudanese people. Even after the lifting of the US sanctions, the countrys economy is on the verge of collapse. The National Dialogue Bashir initiated in 2014 failed to convince the main opposition forces and virtually none of its 800 or so recommendations, including those on basic freedoms, have been implemented. Even some members of his own government view Bashir as a liability rather than a strong leader that can bring stability to Sudan. Now that Bashir seems to be ready to risk everything to stay in power, Sudanese political forces should work harder than ever to push for a meaningful democratic transition in the country. The views expressed in this article are the authors own and do not necessarily reflect Al Jazeeras editorial policy. Six months into the Qatar-GCC crisis, which has opened an unprecedented rift among the Gulf countries, the opposing sides appear no closer to a resolution. Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates, along with Egypt, continue to enforce a blockade against neighbouring Qatar, which has refused to comply with a controversial list of demands. The blockading countries accuse Doha of supporting terrorism, allegations that Qatar vehemently denies. The dispute has put this months Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) summit in jeopardy, with Bahrain even calling for a freeze of Qatars membership. On the half-year anniversary of the crisis, Al Jazeera asked Gulf residents about their views on the dispute and their hopes for a resolution. Kuwaiti journalist Hussain Abdulrahman I think that the blockade is not the traditional way we, as GCC countries, deal with matters. I think this is a major mistake from a human and moral perspective. I am against the blockade, or any harm done to any Arab countries; Qatar is our brother and the GCC people are one. I do think that they will stop the blockade against Qatar, but the question is when? We are dealing with time, and I think that Qatar is able to overcome this situation. This does not only impact Qatar alone, but all of the GCC countries, economically and socially. We want this to be settled the right way and hope that all the parties agree with one another. Qatari university lecturer Sarah al-Derham Historically speaking, the unjust blockade imposed on Qatar should not come as a surprise; what is surprising is the reaction and response of many influential figures from political to social who have previously shown loyalty and admiration towards the Qatari government and its leadership. It is interesting to see how loyalties can shift overnight and how the Gulf community is more fragile than united. Should the blockade be lifted, Qatars relations with the blockading countries will steer from being trusting and optimistic towards a more cautious route. In my opinion, the only aspect that may lead to reconciliation is the social aspect, as families and tribes from the Gulf countries are complexly intertwined with one another and even that aspect may still be tension-fueled. Omani school administrator Hassan al-Khathiri This problem has been created by the Western countries, like America and Europe; from the backyard, they are preparing and wishing these things to happen in the Gulf. Its created from nothing, this problem, and it suddenly appeared at the surface. Myself and anybody who has a clear mind and clear heart wishes that every country in the world would live in peace, and that all the problems would disappear between the brothers in the Gulf. There are some signals to show that mistakes happened, and they are on their way to correcting these mistakes, and we hope for a positive result [at the December GCC summit]. Western countries chose the wrong timing to start this crisis. This is not the time. Qatari industrial engineer Mohammad al-Muftah It was a shock to us Qataris that our neighbours our brothers took such a decision against Qatar and the people of Qatar. But our leader, Sheikh Tamim Al Thani, did not let it impact us or let us feel the effects internally. If this had happened in any other country, they probably would have dealt with it differently. The Qatari people themselves also helped the situation by standing by him. In my opinion, the blockade will not be lifted any time soon, but Qatar has proven to the world and to us that we do not need them; we are doing well independently. But we do hope that it will come to an end soon. Omani businessman Salim Said Bahid al-Mashikhi I wish that the relations between the Gulf countries would come back again because, in the end, we are all brothers. Its six countries; its like six brothers, and I wish the fractures would be solved. This is something normal that happens with relationships with human beings. Sometimes they have different opinions, they will disagree about something but in the end, we wish as all Gulf citizens that all these six countries will come together again as brothers and solve these problems. Reporting by Megan OToole, Zena Tahhan and Ahmad Sharbak Former Egyptian Prime Minister Ahmed Shafik is reported to have arrived in Cairo, after being arrested and deported from the United Arab Emirates (UAE), according to his lawyer. Shafik, who recently announced plans to run for president next year, has resided in the UAE since 2012 after losing the Egyptian elections to Mohamed Morsi. He arrived in the Egyptian capital late on Saturday, news agencies reported citing sources at Cairos international airport. The reports came after Shafiks lawyer said on Facebook that her client had been arrested at his home in the UAE and would be deported to Egypt. Dina Adly also said in her post that all lines of communication with Shafik had been shut down since Friday. Also on Saturday, the UAEs state news agency said that Shafik was heading to Cairo, while his family stayed behind. Video message On Wednesday, Shafik said in an exclusive video message to Al Jazeera that he had been blocked from leaving the UAE, hours after announcing plans to run in Egypts 2018 election against President Abdel-Fattah el-Sisi. I was surprised to know that I am prevented from leaving the UAE, for reasons that I dont understand and I am not willing to understand, he said in his statement. I reject any intervention in Egypts affairs by preventing me from participating in a constitutional right and a holy mission to serve my country, added Shafik. I call on the UAE leaders to order the lifting of any restrictions on my ability to travel. The UAEs Foreign Minister Anwar Gargash later responded in a series of tweets, saying there was no obstacle to Shafiks departure from the UAE. [Shafik] took refuge in the UAE and ran away from Egypt after the results of the 2012 presidential election. We presented him with every facility and generous hospitality despite our severe reservations about some of his positions, Gargash said. Sahar Aziz, an associate professor of Law at Texas A&M University, said it was likely that there was some truth to Shafiks claim that he was barred from leaving the UAE. He clearly has been deported. Presumably, the reason why he was deported was in retaliation for his claim that he was barred from departing from the UAE for France he wanted to go on a European trip where he was going to be campaigning among the Egyptian diaspora, and then presumably head to Egypt, Aziz told Al Jazeera. I dont think that he would take such a big political risk of insulting his hosts of over five years, who effectively gave him refuge while he was facing criminal charges in Egypt. He wouldnt do something like that publicly on Al Jazeera if there wasnt some truth to it. I think he probably was kept, but now he is going to pay a higher price, she added. Shafik was prime minister for one month in 2011, during that years Arab Spring uprising. After losing the closely contested 2012 election to Morsi, Shafik fled to the UAE. He was placed on trial in absentia in Egypt and found guilty of corruption charges. He was later acquitted, clearing his path for a potential return to Egypt. On Friday, Egypts Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry said he sees no legal restrictions that could prevent Shafik from running in next years elections against Sisi. I see no reason why he should not run. I say that as a layman. I know hes had some issues with the judiciary. I am not sure whether those have been resolved or not, Shoukry said in a meeting in Italy. But in principle, he is free to represent himself to the electorate. As in any society, its up to the electorate to decide. Shafik is not the only person planning to challenge Sisi in the presidential election. Khaled Ali, a prominent Egyptian rights lawyer, has also voiced his intent to contest the 2018 elections. News / National by Stephen Jakes An MDC official Descent Bajila has said President Emmerson Mnangagwa through his appointment of a new cabinet has exhibited that he is just an extension of the former President Robert Mugabe."As I said yesterday, Lacoste zealots on Social Media have been spreading fake news about EDM being any different from RGM. They circulated hoaxes about EDM requesting CVs from Ministers, EDM keen on a small Cabinet, EDM being magnanimous to working with opposition, EDM driving without a scary convoy and so on and so on," Bajila said."Those who wanted to believe in the hoaxes did believe. That is what freedom is about. They told us that by refusing that such was real we were being too negative and pessimistic. Again that is a benefit of freedom. Some who pretended to speak on behalf of EDM even told us that EDM is abolishing the position of Deputy Minister. Today they are saying the likes of Terrence Mukupe deserve to be Deputy Ministers."He said some have been carried away by Nkosana Moyo's positive commentary about EDM being a decisive and astute man."There is nothing decisive about EDM. He is indecisive and captured. The very fact that he is appointing his Cabinet in installments says a lot about his indecisiveness. He started with 2 Acting Ministers, then a Cabinet with a few Deputy Ministers and no Vice President. No doubt there is another installment of appointments on the way," Bajila said."His logistical inabilities were laid bare at the swearing in ceremony where some dignitaries were introduced by wrong names, titles and nationalities. That the venue and time of the swearing in of the new Cabinet has not been determined yet the appointments are said to be with immediate effect is just another sign how clumsy the fellow is."He said no one is allowed to carry out the duties of a Minister without taking an oath of office. He said ministerial appointments are only effective from the time one takes an oath of office."The fact that there were 3 women in the RGM Cabinet and it is exactly those 3 women that EDM retained, nothing more nothing less, puts paid the suspicion that the fellow could have anything to do with affirmative action. He couldn't even request Chiwenga to second female Generals," he said."Most interestingly, one of the charges against RGM in the impeachment motion was failure to observe Chapter 14 of the Constitution which requires Government to facilitate the establishment of Provincial Councils and Devolve power to them. The Mugabeist move by EDM to appoint 10 Provincial Affairs Ministers means that he too is not willing to implement devolution and is therefore guilty, ab initio, of the same crimes for which RGM was supposed to be impeached. With Rtd Brigadier George Chiweshe as Judge President of the High Court, EDM knows that ALL challenges to his incumbency will be thrown away."He said an appeal at the Supreme Court also won't help because Chief Justice Luke Malaba and his bench were alive when war veterans stormed into Anthony Gubbay's Office to end his tenure as CJ."Most recently, they watched Operation Restore Legacy. By the way, if you toyitoyied that day, this is what you unknowingly toiled for," he said. Double suicide explosion kills at least 17 people and injures 47 others in northeastern town of Biu, Borno state. At least 17 people have been killed in two suspected Boko Haram suicide bombings on a market in the northeastern Nigerian town of Biu, officials have told Al Jazeera. Forty-seven others were wounded in Saturdays explosions, and many were in criticial condition, said Al Jazeeras Ahmed Idris, reporting from the capital, Abuja. Biu has been largely spared by the Boko Haram insurgency, but many areas surrounding that town have been attacked on several occasions, he said. This is one of the cases we have been seeing over the past five or six months. Idris said that as of yet there had been no claim of responsibility. However, local officials believe the attacks had the signature of Boko Haram, he added. We have seen them targeting soft spots like places of worship and schools, said Idris. Eight years of fear The UN estimates that 20,000 people have been killed and at least 1.7 million displaced since Boko Harams offensive in 2009. Nigerias military has stepped up its operations against the group, but counter attacks are also on the rise in the northeast. In early September, Amnesty International published a report that said Boko Haram was responsible for at least 400 deaths since April. More than half of all schools in Borno are closed with millions of children unable to start classes this year because of the ongoing threat of Boko Haram, according to United Nations Childrens Fund (UNICEF). Government declares 10-day curfew, empowers police and military to crack down on protests against delay of poll results. Tegucigalpa Honduras descended deeper into crisis on Friday night as the government declared a 10-day curfew and empowered police and the military to crack down on the unrest that has erupted over the five-day delay in the release of official election results. The curfew, which began at 11:00pm local time (05:00 GMT), suspends the right to free movement from 6:00pm to 6:00am (12:00 GMT 00:00 GMT) and directs security forces to detain anyone violating the curfew or who is in some way suspected of causing damage to people or their property. The executive decree also orders the military to support the police in maintaining order, including removing road blockades and other occupations that protesters have set up throughout the capital city and across the country to pressure electoral authorities to release honest results in an increasingly contested presidential election. President Juan Orlando Hernandez, who is seeking re-election, said the curfew was imposed to safeguard security after heated protests spilled over into looting on Friday. Hernandez opponent, Opposition Alliance candidate Salvador Nasralla, claimed that looting was the result of infiltrators and government operations designed to sew panic and chaos and justify a military crackdown and curfew. He also suggested the Supreme Electoral Tribunal (TSE) will use the shield of the curfew to announce Hernandez as president-elect with limitations on peoples ability to protests the results. {articleGUID} The nationwide military curfew brought back memories of the 2009 US-backed military coup that overthrew President Manuel Zelaya, who now supports Nasralla and is the coordinator of the Opposition Alliance. Roberto Micheletti, de facto president at the time, immediately decreed a curfew on June 28, 2009, and subsequent curfews, enforced by police an military, were sporadically imposed throughout the summer and autumn of 2009. Honduras suffered a grave deterioration in human rights, including disproportionate use of force by security forces and targeted killings of political activists and human rights defenders. Coup backers justified Zelayas removal with flawed claims he was seeking presidential re-election, which is prohibited by the Constitution. Hernandez, who supported the coup, justifies his bid for a second term in office using a contested 2015 court ruling overturning the constitutional ban that his critics say was illegal. Worst crisis Before sundown on Friday in central Tegucigalpa, the boisterous atmosphere of political celebrations and rising tensions of the past week fell silent as businesses shut down early and most cars abandoned the streets amid fears of a deteriorating security situation and difficulty moving through the city with protesters maintaining barricades of burning tires in several neighbourhoods. {articleGUID} Amid the unrest in recent days, riot police have fired tear gas to disperse protesters and military police have reportedly shot live bullets at protesters. At least one person has been killed in protests in La Ceiba, according to police, and one person in Tegucigalpa, according to the human rights organisation COFADEH. Declaring who is the winner and who is the loser wont resolve the problem because the crisis is installed, COFADEH coordinator Bertha Oliva told Al Jazeera hours before the announcement of the curfew. Impunity and militarisation are established in the country and there are no immediate proposals to assume shared responsibility for a new social pact, Oliva said, adding: We are in the worst crisis the government could put us in. Still no results Unrest has escalated since Wednesday night, when thousands of people took to the streets after Hernandez eclipsed Nasralla in the TSE partial official results following an hours-long silence due to technical problems. The shift in the results contradicted what TSE magistrate Ramiro Lobo had called an irreversible trend towards Nasrallas victory on Monday. On Thursday, Lobo raised concerns about the TSEs technical issues and called for the situation to be investigated. The TSEs slow delivery of results from Sundays election and a sudden change in the direction of results in favour of Hernandez after the first report of results, which initially showed a 5 percent lead for Nasralla with over half of ballots counted, has stirred suspicions of manipulations and fraud. Opposition supporters also accuse TSE President David Matamoros of selectively processing votes to favour Hernandez and his National Party. Matamoros is an active member of the National Party and previously served as the partys general secretary and as a member of Congress. Both candidates have claimed victory since Sunday. The TSE missed its self-imposed deadline to deliver full final results by Thursday. With 94.35 percent of ballot boxes counted, Hernandez leads with 42.92 percent over Nasralla with 41.42 percent. It remains unclear when final results will be released. The TSE had been scheduled to begin on Friday afternoon a special review of the ballots that had been flagged for additional scrutiny. The Opposition Alliance, which has accused the TSE of discriminatory vote processing that saw a majority of Nasralla ballots singled out for additional monitoring, refused to take part in the process. The Alliance said the TSE failed to meet five of its 11 demands, including a vote by vote recount in three departments where voter turn out was abnormally high, and access to the TSEs database of the polling station data and votes. Opposition campaign manager Marlin Ochoa said Friday evening that the Alliance and the TSE failed to reach an agreement to continue with the special scrutiny process to complete the vote count. He blamed the lack of an accord on the TSEs intransigence. Ochoa also called supporters to join peaceful protesters on Sunday afternoon in Tegucigalpa and the financial capital San Pedro Sula, as well as across the country. The northern town of Telskof is among the first areas of Iraq to start rebuilding in the wake of ISILs occupation. Telskof, northern Iraq Linda Adib Younis house in the Iraqi town of Telskof has high ceilings, with shelves all the way to the top stacked with trinkets cuddly toys, ornate porcelain figures, vases. There were even more before she was displaced by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL, also known as ISIS) in 2014. Younis, 44, moved to Telskof from Baghdad nearly three decades ago and started a dress rental business, hiring out flouncy gowns for weddings and other parties. Her house became a central gathering point for local women; she held coffee mornings, where she would read peoples fortunes in their cups. Life changed for Younis, along with the other 800 or so families living in Telskof, in August 2014, when ISIL seized the town. The armed group subsequently swept through the surrounding province of Nineveh, viciously killing and abducting Christians, Yazidis and Shia Muslims. Younis and her family fled to the neighbouring Kurdish city of Dohuk. I cried every day, said Younis, noting she had become used to having neighbours constantly in and out of her house and felt intensely lonely after the move. Telskof, which translates roughly to Bishops Hill, is situated in an area steeped in ancient history: the former heart of the Assyrian Empire. It is close to the ruins of the ancient cities of Nimrud and Nineveh. The areas Christian identity dates back to the fourth century. Before ISIL arrived, it was an affluent area, so most of those who fled from Telskof opted for rental accommodation in nearby towns and cities, rather than displacement camps. There is no safety Jina Kyriakos, a 38-year-old mini-mart owner, was among the last to leave. Its a small Christian village, far away from everything else, and I couldnt imagine ISIS would come, she told Al Jazeera. But eventually, as their neighbours all began to move, Kyriakos and her husband packed their belongings and fled to Dohuk. They thought they would be home within a few days; instead, it was more than two years. Before 2003, there were an estimated 1.4 million Christians in Iraq. But between the 2003 US invasion and the 2014 ISIL incursion, around half fled the country, with many seeking refuge in the United States or Europe. Others left Baghdad and other areas of Iraq where they were a minority and moved to the Nineveh plains, one of few places in Iraq with Christian-majority towns and villages. So when ISIL arrived in Telskof, for many, it forced a second displacement. When we had to leave Telskof, it was even more painful than our first displacement, said Azra Bashir, 19. We felt that wherever we go is not safe, that all we will ever face is migration, that there is no safety for us. Although Kurdish and Iraqi forces pushed ISIL back from Telskof in less than two weeks, the town remained on the front lines of the battle against the armed group, which briefly retook it in May 2016. The homes of displaced residents were used variously by ISIL fighters, Kurdish Peshmerga forces and Iraqi paramilitaries. When people began to return this year, most found their homes ruined. Today, the painted facades of the houses and shops remain pockmarked with bullet holes. Along with Qaraqosh, a large Christian town nearby, Telskof was one of the first areas in Iraq to start rebuilding after ISILs occupation. It will be no small job: The Catholic charity Aid to the Church in Need estimates that 12,000 houses in the Nineveh plain need to be rebuilt, for a total cost of $200m. The fate of Telskof is being seen as a bellwether not just for recovery, but for the future of Iraqs beleaguered Christian communities. The returnees Kyriakos was among the first to return, going back to her house in February 2017. It was like a ghost town, she recalled. The shop was ransacked, all the windows were broken, and everything was dirty and smelly. It took several months to repair, she said. By April 2017, almost half of the towns residents were back. Younis says she found her collection of dresses in ruins. My daughter came back to the house first, and called me to say that I should be prepared to see what had happened to the dresses, Younis recalled. They were ripped and filthy, torn to pieces. I felt it physically; these dresses were my whole livelihood. With the help of a training programme and a grant from the International Rescue Committee, some have restarted their businesses. Kyriakos mini-mart is open again, meaning that residents no longer have to travel to other towns for groceries. Telskof is small, and everyone is connected to each other, she said. When they heard my store was running, other people began to open up their places too the bakery, the tea shop. But the future remains uncertain for the people of Telskof. After Iraqs Kurds voted overwhelmingly for secession in late September, clashes broke out between Arab and Kurdish forces, including along the border between the two regions, where Telskof is situated. Residents were again displaced for two weeks, later returning home with their confidence shaken. Still, life goes on. During her long displacement, Bashir married a young man from the same town. We are looking to the future, she said. She has also opened a shop selling baby clothes and has made some sales as families with children return to Telskof, hopeful that schools will reopen soon. Younis has restocked her dresses a smaller array than before and is hiring them out again. There are fewer parties now, and most people are strapped for cash after years of disrupted work, so prices are down. But she is cautiously optimistic: The village is not full, so the events are not as before. It takes time for normal life to return. But I hope it will. Syrian state media says air defence forces intercept missiles in raid on army base, blaming Israel for the attack. Israeli missiles attacked a military position near Damascus overnight and Syrias air defence system thwarted them, Syrian state television said on Saturday. The blatant assault led to material losses at the site in the countryside around the capital, it said. An Israeli military spokeswoman declined to comment on reports of the attack. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported that the missile attack was likely carried out by the Israeli military and targeted several government military bases in Al Kiswah on the southwest outskirts of Damascus. Sources told Al Jazeera that the Israeli raid was aimed at government military sites and positions of the Lebanese Hezbollah movement and that the sound of large explosions caused by the raid was heard in Damascus and its surroundings. The Observatory further reported power outages in many areas of the Syrian capital. Al Qoraish, an Arab newspaper published from London, reported that several Iranian soldiers were killed or wounded in the attack. Al Jazeera was unable to verify the report. Missiles intercepted According to Syrias state-run SANA news agency, pro-government forces managed to destroy two of the missiles in a response attack. The Israeli enemy fired after midnight at 12:30 several ground-to-ground missiles at a military location in the countryside of Damascus, where our air defences intercepted and destroyed two missiles, SANA cited security sources as saying. The missile attack was believed to be the latest in a series of Israeli attacks on Syria, where a six-year civil war has devastated much of the country and displaced millions of citizens. {articleGUID} Earlier this year, a senior Israeli official vowed that Israel would bomb Syrian President Bashar al-Assads palace in Damascus if Iran and Hezbollah continued to expand its sway over the war-torn country. The Syrian conflict began in March 2011 against the Assad government, but it morphed into a civil war that has killed hundreds of thousands of people. Pope Francis has met Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh who fled Myanmars military crackdown in Rakhine State. Pope Francis has met Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh who fled Myanmars military crackdown in Rakhine State. He apologised for the worlds indifference to their suffering and asked them for forgiveness. He also used the politically sensitive term Rohingya something he avoided doing while in Myanmar earlier this week. Al Jazeeras Charles Stratford reports from Coxs Bazaar, Bangladesh. Pope Francis has wrapped up his Asian tour and is on his way back to the Vatican. Pope Francis has wrapped up his Asian tour and is on his way back to the Vatican. The international community hoped he would address the 620,000 Rohingya who have fled violence in Rakhine State. But he did not mention the ethnic minority until day five of his tour. A plan by Bangladesh and Myanmar is being sketched out to repatriate hundreds of thousands of refugees. The repatriation will reportedly be voluntary, but only after identification of each refugee has been verified by the Myanmar authorities. The Myanmar government does not recognise the Rohingya as an ethnic group, and it withdrew their citizenship in 1982. Al Jazeeras Charles Stratford reports from Kutupalong refugee camp, Bangladesh. Court issues stay against part of law that forces people to uncover their faces when receiving various public services. A Canadian court has suspended part of a controversial law that bans face coverings in the province of Quebec. The Superior Court of Quebec issued a stay on Friday against Bill 62, a law passed in the Quebec legislature in October that bars individuals from covering their faces when they receive or give public services. The court suspended Section 10 of the law, which forces individuals to uncover their faces to receive a range of services, including riding a public bus or seeing a doctor. The ruling comes after a lawsuit was filed last month by the National Council of Canadian Muslims, the Canadian Civil Liberties Association (CCLA) and Warda Naili, a Muslim woman who wears a full-face veil, also known as a niqab. The legal challenge argued that Bill 62 violates the constitutional rights of Muslim women, who will now have to remove their religious coverings to receive basic services. The groups also said the law will encourage xenophobia, harassment and discrimination. {articleGUID} Were delighted that the Quebec Superior Court has suspended the Niqab ban a law that tries to dictate to women what they can and cannot wear, the CCLA said in a statement on its website. This is a huge victory but theres still work to be done, the group added. The case will move forward on the merits and we need your support. Quebec government not unsatisfied The Quebec government has justified Bill 62, formally known as an act to foster adherence to state religious neutrality, as part of an effort to ensure equal rights between citizens. Speaking to reporters, Quebec Premier Philippe Couillard said he was not unsatisfied with the courts ruling. Im not unsatisfied with the judgment because theres no mention of a violation of the charters [of rights] or any major constitutional problem, he said, according to CBC News. {articleGUID} The Quebec government plans to release directives to allow for religious accommodations under Bill 62 by next summer. The law has been strongly criticised by civil liberty and human rights groups across Quebec and Canada, however. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said last month that the federal government was looking at ways it could possibly weigh in on the debate. I think Ive been very clear that I dont think a government should be legislating what a woman should or shouldnt be wearing. I dont think thats something that is right for Canada, Trudeau said, according to the Canadian Press. The US Senate has narrowly approved a landmark tax bill in a major step towards delivering a legislative victory to President Donald Trump. Vice President Mike Pence, who presided over Saturdays vote, announced the 51-49 result to applause from Republicans. No Democrat voted for the bill. The plan, entitled the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA), amounts to the largest tax overhaul in the US since 1986, and will add $1.4 trillion over 10 years to the countrys budget deficit. It cuts the corporate tax rate from 35 percent to 20 percent and offers modest reductions for all income levels. Praising the bill, Trump said on Twitter, We are one step closer to delivering massive tax cuts for working families across America. Mitch McConnell, the Republican leader in the Senate, said the reforms would make America more competitive and keep jobs from being shipped offshore and provide substantial relief to the middle class. Democrats, however, derided the bill as a poor deal for the middle-class and poor Americans. Chuck Schumer, the Senate Democratic leader, described it as regressive and ill-suited for the condition of the country. Democrat Senator Bernie Sanders accused Republicans of looting the Treasury while Senator Jon Tester said he had received the 479-page bill just a few hours before the vote. One page had hand scribbled policy changed on it that cant be read, he said. At least four Republican Senators, whose votes had been in doubt over concerns about the deficit, said they would back the bill on Friday after McConnell agreed to make changes. The lone Republican dissenter, Senator Bob Corker, said he was disappointed by the vote. I wanted to get to yes, Corker 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 could deepen the debt burden on future generations. The Republicans hold a 52-48 Senate majority. The Senate and the House must now negotiate a single bill before the reforms can be signed into law. The Republican-led House approved its own tax bill in November. Now, we will move quickly to a conference committee so we can get a final bill to President Trumps desk, House Speaker Paul Ryan said in a statement. Trump said he hoped to sign the final bill before Christmas. Egyptian presidents approach will lead to higher levels of oppression and more deaths, analysts say. Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi gave his security forces a three-month deadline to restore security and stability to the countrys northern Sinai province, but experts say his strategy has already caused more damage to the region and its residents. After the latest string of attacks, Sisi on Wednesday reiterated his pledge to restore security in a televised appearance, saying his government would use brute force against armed groups in the area. On November 24, more than 305 people were killed in a bomb and gun attack on a mosque in Bir al-Abed, a small town in Sinai, shortly after Friday prayers. According to local media reports, 120 others were wounded in the attack, which took place about 40km west of El Arish, the provinces capital. In response, the Egyptian military launched air attacks on targets in mountainous areas surrounding Bir al-Abed hours after the attack. Sinai researcher and writer Mohannad Sabry said that signs of Sisis brute force strategy already began to appear last week, when police and military forces began raiding the villages and residential clusters near the site of the attack. Locals have estimated that such raids detained dozens of people, mainly displaced over the past years from the areas of Sheikh Zuwayyed and Rafah, he told Al Jazeera. According to Sabry, the detainees included several people who were leading a community effort to collect donations for the victims of the latest attack. The Sinai Peninsula, a volatile desert region, is split into two governorates north and south and has been a hotbed for various armed groups. History of violence Egypt has for years been battling an armed movement in the thinly populated desert region, which has gained pace since the military overthrew democratically elected President Mohamed Morsi of the Muslim Brotherhood in mid-2013. In 2014, after a deadly suicide bombing that killed 31 soldiers, Sisi declared a state of emergency in the peninsula, describing it as a nesting ground for terrorism and terrorists. The declaration brought with it curfews and highly restricted the residents freedom of movement. It also led to the erasing of entire villages and the destruction of an agricultural economy, says Sabry, who spent several years in the region. If Sisis pledge means intensifying the use of brute force, then we are certainly anticipating much more losses, higher levels of oppression and more losses and harm inflicted on the community, he said. The pattern of the last four years has left the people of Sinai terrified after every attack. The local communities of North Sinai have become accustomed to the fact that the regime and its authorities would not invest any policies or effort to protect the civilians, but will continually view them with suspicion and clamp down on them with sometimes lethal force at any moment, especially in the aftermath of attacks, Sabry said. The mosque in Bir al-Abed was frequented by Sufi Muslims, a sect of Islam perceived as impure by groups affiliated with the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL, also known as ISIS) group. Although no one claimed responsibility for the recent attack, local affiliates of ISIL have claimed other attacks in the last few years. Previous attacks in Sinai have mostly targeted security forces and members of Egypts Coptic Christian minority, but mosques in North Sinais Sheikh Zuweid town have also been attacked. In July 2015, ISIL affiliates simultaneously attacked multiple security and military targets, killing at least 35 people in various parts of Sinai, including El Arish and Sheikh Zuweid. Earlier this year, a truck bomb and a shooting killed at least 13 people. In February, hundreds of Coptic Christians fled El Arish following a series of attacks that killed at least seven people. Mass displacement The constant violence on the peninsula has led to the displacement of 30,000 families, who have fled the towns of Rafah, Sheikh Zuweid and El Arish over the past two years. I have heard the fearful prayers for an end to terrorism, not only because of it being terrorism, but also and sometimes mainly because of the collective punishment the community has suffered since the beginning of the military campaign in 2013, Sabry said, noting that residents have voiced their concerns and cited the need for an actual strategy, but to no avail. About 550,000 people, or one percent of Egypts total population, live in Sinai. In the past, leaders of the country have failed to extend services to the peninsula especially its northern half rendering it the poorest, least-developed area. Sarah Yerkes, a fellow at the Washington-based Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, said the new brute force strategy was a quick and harsh response to the latest attack. The Egyptian security forces are not well-trained or well-equipped to actually root out terror in Sinai, so even the biggest display of force will not likely be effective, she told Al Jazeera. In a statement issued on Thursday, the Union of Sinai Tribes a coalition of tribal leaders in the peninsula reiterated their support for the Egyptian military and called on residents of the area to cooperate in exchange for moral and financial support. Although Yerkes says some in the region are pleased that the government is taking a strong stance against the massive terror problem in Sinai, others are very concerned. This use of force has already uprooted many Sinai residents, so this campaign has the potential to do a lot of harm to the local civilian population, she said. They need to tackle the extremist problem at its core and deal proactively with the drivers, not just react militarily to attacks. Allison McManus, research director at the Tahrir Institute for Middle East Policy, added that it was unclear how the new strategy would pan out. The suggestion to use whatever force necessary elevates concerns, as it seems to flout laws and norms on excessive use of force and best practices in countering insurgency in the long term, McManus told Al Jazeera. This mandate, and particularly the short timeframe given, does not give great confidence that the current strategy is taking into account best practices in countering an insurgency. Destroyed livelihoods Though the Egyptian military has claimed some success, some question whether the army has violated human rights provisions in the process. The previous campaigns have caused loss of life, destroyed livelihoods, and resulted in displacements across North Sinai, McManus said. The Sinai violence poses one of the biggest challenges for Sisis government. During his 2014 election campaign, Sisi vowed to implement a project that would fully develop the peninsula within less than two years of his election. However, ongoing attacks cannot only be attributed to the regions lack of access to resources, McManus said. The path to radicalisation is also paved with genuine belief in the righteousness of violence, feelings of marginalisation, antipathy towards the state after years of repression, and the salience of the global jihadist project, she said. As such, an effective strategy must include political, economic and social responses. Praljak drank the poison just seconds after hearing he had lost his appeal against a 20-year-prison sentence. Convicted Bosnian Croat war criminal Slobodan Praljak died after taking potassium cyanide in a war crimes court in The Hague, Dutch officials have said. The first preliminary result from the toxicology report shows that Mr. Praljak had a concentrated amount of potassium cyanide in his blood, the Public Prosecutors Office said in a statement on Saturday. That led to heart failure, which is the probable cause of death, the statement added. A confirmation regarding the cause of Praljaks death on Wednesday is expected in a final report after the end of the investigation. The probe is also looking at how he managed to get the vial of poison into the high-security building. Praljak drank what he said was poison just seconds after hearing he had lost his appeal against a 20-year-prison sentence. I, Slobodan Praljak, reject the verdict. Im not a war criminal. Then he drank from a small bottle or flask and declared: What I am drinking now is poison. The Bosnian Croats sentenced Jadranko Prlic, prime minister of the Croat statelet Herzeg-Bosnia: 25 years Bruno Stojic, defence minister of Herzeg-Bosnia: 20 years Slobodan Praljak, HVO chief: 20 years Milivoje Petkovic, deputy commander of HVO: 20 years Valentin Coric, commander of HVOs military police: 16 years Berislav Pusic, president of Herzeg-Bosnias Commission for the Exchange of Prisoners: 10 years The judge immediately suspended the hearing and called for a doctor. The incident happened when the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) was handing down its last judgment in an appeal by six Bosnian Croat political and military leaders, who were convicted in 2013 of persecuting, expelling and murdering Bosnian Muslims during the 1992-1995 war. Wednesdays hearing was the final case to be completed at the ICTY before it closes its doors next month. The tribunal, which last week convicted former Bosnian Serb military chief General Ratko Mladic of genocide and other crimes, was set up in 1993 while fighting still raged in the former Yugoslavia. It indicted 161 suspects and convicted 90 of them.